Once in a lifetime, a person comes into your life, a very special person. Someone who is unlike any other friend you have. That person was Amy Minami. I met Amy through Parents Without Partners.

Amy always had a smile on her face. She never had a harsh word to say about anyone. Amy always saw the glass as "half-full". No matter what life threw at her she always took things in stride.

I am so not like her, that's why I always admired her spunk and positive attitude. Not too often does someone come into your life that makes you change for the better.

I attended Amy's funeral last wednesday, July 13, 2011. She died of cancer.

Amy was 58 years old. She grew up in Hawaii. After graduating high school she moved to California and met her husband in college.

After getting married she found out she could not have kids. So Amy and her husband decided to adopt. They adopted a baby boy and named him Christopher.

Shortly after bringing Christopher home, they received a call from the adoption agency. The agency told them that the baby had some birth defects and he was mentally challenged. The adoption agency offered to take the baby back and find them a new baby.

Amy refused. In the short time Chris lived with them, Amy and Chris already developed a strong bond. She told the adoption agency that this was the baby she wanted.

As a friend, that showed me how incredible Amy was. She had an unconditional love for Chris. Chris is now 26 years old.

When Amy divorced her husband and came back to Hawaii, she had no job skills and only $26 to her name. Chris was still a young child. She told Chris that he should go live with his dad. He refused. He told his mom he wanted to live with her, no matter if they were homeless and living in a car.

Fortunately, Amy found a job at the Shriners Hospital. She worked there 17 years before her passing this year.

Last summer Amy complained of a stomach ache. She went to see her doctor and after some tests he informed her that she had cancer.

After several months of chemo therapy, her doctor informed Amy that the cancer had spread. It was now in her lungs. It was no longer curable. She took the bad news in stride, maintaining her positive attitude.

Maybe it was Amy's faith in God that kept her from falling apart. She knew she was going to a better place, a place where she would no longer feel any pain or suffering.

Amy had many, many friends.