RIP Hope J

Thank you for being you. You made BBI a good place.

with a small group from her school.

A parent offers advice that most often comes from experience and since my world travels extend only as far as a cruise to Mexico, I needed help.

Of course, the wonderful Hope stepped in and wrote a comprehensive "what you need to know" guide for Sami.

My heart is crushed with the news of her passing.

She was a truly beautiful human being and the world is a much colder place now that she is gone.

I called my daughter and when she learned of Hope's passing she broke down. When she was in Ghana she went to several places that Hope suggested and, of course, told them that Hope sent her - she was welcomed with broad smiles and open arms.

Life is so fragile, so unpredictable. So very sad. G-d bless you, Hope.

along with the rest of the BBI family.

but as i read all these comments I know she meant alot to so many people and was a a loving, selfless person which is rare in this day and age. My prayer's go out to her friends and family and I am saddened to know that the Giants family has lost such a great person.

a warm soul. I can tell, from everyone else's account, that she was a great person and will be very much so missed. With that said, I tip my hat to you, Hope, and thank you for touching the hearts of so many people in such an astoundingly positive way.

You will forever be thought of and missed, even by those of us who never had the pleasure to meet you. Rest in eternal peace.

posted already but for the BBIers that are attending the game, why not wear an armband or a black sash with HopeJ on it. I never knew her but from all the postings here I wish I had! Rest in Peace! Go Giants!

way to see if I could go to a Giants game. I am going to miss her.

If possible…Love to Tish…can you go on Sunday?



Hope De. Johnson
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Davis & Harman LLP



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just emailed again...let me know if you get it..

Rest in peace HopeJ

This is sad news. I only had limited interaction with Hope (back when I was Celtic33) a few years ago. Since then I've pretty much been just a lurker...Needless to say, her posts were always kind, and I know she was loved by many of the die hard BBI'ers. My condolences to those who knew and loved her.
But something tells me her kind soul is at peace and in true eternal joy.

peace and blessings to all who knew her

Awful, awful news. Hope was always very kind to me both online and when I saw her at games. She was a tremendous soul, and my condolences go out to her friends and family. RIP, Hope. You left us way too soon.

My prayer go out to your family, espeically this time of year. My the lord look after them and yourself.

Thank you for being you.

just remember the next time you hear someone say" I'm just one person, what difference can I make?" obviously 1 person can make a huge difference in people's lives

I just met HopeJ once, at a BBI gathering in DC (and saw her a couple of times at training camp.) She impressed me with her warmth and caring and, over time, that has been reinforced time and again on this board. Hope, we will miss you terribly. RIP.

But I read some of her threads and posts and she sounded like a compassionate and friendly individual from her words. My condolences to her family and friends.

BBI and Pete's Corner won't seem the same without Hope. She was a fixture here since the early days. She was a soft and sweet person with a moral backbone of steel. May her grace transcend to all of us and to those many lives she touched.

named Hope. I signed up here not too long ago and lurked here for a long time before that. One of the things that drew me to this site was its sense of family, which was rarely a part of the Giants.com message boards. I remember reading several of Hope's posts and noticing what a kind and compassionate person she was through the many posts.

Throughout reading this entire thread you can tell what an amazing person she was. It is truly inspiring to see someone who obviously loved to see people happy, and would do many generous acts at a moments notice. If we could all aim to be half as compassionate, caring, joyous, and giving as she was through your testaments, this world would be a much better place.

RIP Hope, although I never had the opportunity to meet you or talk to you on the message boards, your legacy has made an impact on me. Thank you for that.

I never met you, but I feel as though I got to know you through BBI. You were a kind and gentle person, and your words were filled with wisdom. The world is poorer without you in it.

Over the years, as my young family would gather around the kitchen table to light the menorah, we'd turn off all of the lights in the room and I'd watch the warm glow from the candles frame the happy faces of my children and my wife and somehow, regardless of the ups and downs in life that oftentimes can prove unsettling, I'm filled with a joyous appreciation for my life and all that G-d has been kind enough to share with me.

That didn't happen tonight.

The news of Hope's passing has shaken me, knocked the wind out of my sails, saddened me beyond a point that those who didn't know her can relate to or understand.

My wife and kids know that Dad is upset, and they also know that this is the kind of sorrow that can't be washed away with a kind word or a hug.

I hear them downstairs, laughing, enjoying the evening, enjoying being with one another, and know that its going to take awhile to get over this one.

This time, its not like how Daddy gets when the Giants blow a close game, this time a good night's sleep isn't going to make the sadness disappear.

Its a foolish endeavor when one attempts to understand the ways of G-d - why good people die young, why innocent people suffer - so I'm not going to even try to make sense of all of this.

Its just so damned sad.

I know that you guys know exactly how I feel, and in that, I find some comfort.

This place is so much more than what it seems to be - its just a shame that it takes something like this to make it so damned clear.

this is terribly sad to hear. My thoughts and prayers go out to Hope, her family and friends.

I met Hope several years ago, in a somewhat unlikely setting...a sports bar in Nashville, Tennessee. I hadn't lived in Nashville very long, and was at the bar to watch the Giants-Raiders game. I didn't know anyone there, and I was sitting alone at a table with a big-screen in front of me, drinking a beer.

Waiting for the game to start, I was checking the place out, when I saw someone appear out of a crowd at the bar. And there she was...Hope...decked out in her Giants gear. I mean, she was covered head-to-toe with Giants stuff. I was flabbergasted. I mean, that was the last thing I was expecting to see in Nashville, Tennessee. Once I regained my wits, I introduced myself, and she sat with me and watched the game. We both ordered big plates of BBQ and had a blast.

Hope was the person who hooked me up with BBI. I didn't know about it, and she told me it was THE place to hang for Giants fans. I lurked for a good while and finally came onboard...I think in 2004.

It was great meeting Hope. I have related this story to many people over the years. It will always be a wonderful memory for me.

Such a sudden thing. It's just shocking. Mercy...I don't know what else to say.

Go easy, Hope. You've got the best seats in the house to watch your team play.

No pain or suffering,he just wanted her at his side.
RIP Hope

and I don't want to talk you out of your pain.

But please know that Hope more than anyone would want you to cherish the lights of Chanukkah...to take a moment to drink in the joy of being with your family, that all are healthy, that you are inside, sheltered and warm, and that your bellies are full.

Tomorrow we will be making potato latkes here with friends...with sour cream, apple sauce, cherry pie filling...the works.

We will celebrate life and happy times with family and friends. And you know in your heart who did this every minute of her life. Our Hope.

That woman milked every drop of joy from every nanosecond of her life.

Like the saying she put on her FaceBook page: Work like you don't need the money. Love like you've never been hurt, and dance like nobody is watching.

And when you do these things, our Angel Hope will be with you. She had that gift of being able to make you laugh even in the middle of crying.

When you're sad, she'll be just over your shoulder comforting you. When you're happy ... she will be in the echo of your laughter. I know it.

(((((((((Jeff)))))))))))

but she seemed like a wonderful person. RIP.

in this thread however 24 hours later it is amazing that this woman is on my mind as often as she is. I met her twice only and instantly had a relationship that was like best friends. She was driving up from Maryland or DC (not sure, pls forgive) and she was selling her parking pass. Had to meet her at the hotel by Giants Stadium on gameday morning. This became an instant connection between us as she joked about me meeting her there again soon. Maybe you don't get it but it is something I will remember her by.

but i'm sad for her.

i don't know if i've ever encountered anyone who got as much joy out each day, was as happy to be alive, as Hope.

the thought that its all be taken away from her, that its all gone - that's what makes me feel this way.

after 9-11 i interviewed an orthodox jew who had been on one of the top floors of the second tower.

his story of finding his way down the stairs and safely into the street moments before his tower toppled was amazing and made for great radio.

I asked him what went thru his mind after the building fell. he said he immediately went to a synagogue to say the Birchat Hagomel, which is a prayer thanking G-d for deliverance - apparently it was first said after a rough desert crossing.

point being, my follow-up question was something like "how does a religious man such as yourself come to terms with a G-d who might allow what just happened to occur?"

as i mentioned in an earlier post, his response was, "who are we to understand the ways of G-d?"

I wish my faith was as strong as Hope's - I understand how people find comfort in the lord. its also times such as this when I feel a bit confused.

ultimately, i know i'll think of all the ways G-d has blessed me, has shown me the way to find beauty in the world - such as people like you, schnitz.

tomorrow when we light the candles, i'll make sure to feel hope's presence in the room, and i'll tell her that schnitzie says hi.

Sounds like a remarkable lady. God Bless Her and her family. I think I saw her drive by our tailgate a few weeks ago. Did she drive a white mid size Toyota or Nissan wth Maryland plates?? If so I wish I would have waved her over and chatted with her.

I've been reading the site for a while now and have posted sparingly over the past few years. I never had any conversations with hope, be it here or in person...I obviously never met her either. From what I can tell from her posts and from peoples posts on her passing, she was a lovely woman and a great human being. I wish I had gotten the chance to know her... My thoughts and prayers are with her family at this tragic time. She will however have the best seat in the house on Sunday next to Wellington, Tisch, and others. Giants will win this one for Hope...

and thus have not been online. When I read this thread's title, my eyebrows immediately shot up as my jaw dropped. Hope was, as anyone who conversed with her online or in person knew, one of the good ones. Very, very good. May she rest in peace.

very sad news. Although I never met her, I heard a lot about Hope. A few of you have told me how great she was and I was looking forward to meeting her at some point.

She was so polite here on BBI. For those of you who were friends with Hope, I am sorry for your loss.

That last line of your post made *me* cry. I think because it is true.

As for your question to the Orthodox Jew -- (why do we save our heaviest questions for the members of the most rigid sect of our religion?) -- he gave you the answer G-d gave to Job, when Job stood in the middle of the dark desert night, his family dead, his wealth stripped from him, even his health deserting him, and raging, Job shook his fist at G-d and demanded, "How could you do this to me????"

And G-d said, "Who the fuck are you????"

G-d didn't do 9-11 to us. Hateful men did 9-11. G-d created everything and put it all in motion and enlisted us to move the furniture around and fix the glitches. He gave us the material, and a human-sized portion of G-dlike willfulness so we could babysit everything until G-d could come back and make it all perfect...in G-d's time.

G-d didn't take Hope from us. What took her from us was the failure of the only thing about Hope I can think of that wasn't exceptional -- her finite, mortal body. It just got real sick, real fast and quit. Just like that.

God didn't take Hope from us. God gave Hope TO us. And doesn't that make us the lucky ones? How lucky were we to know someone so incredibly joyful, so loving, so approachable and outgoing and full of soul? So funny and friendly and cheerful...so generous and such an inspiration.

How many of us remember a single day, otherwise ordinary, that was made special, fun and extraordinary because we got to share it with Hope, because of the way she made you feel so special, so unique, so loved?

A soul so rich and bright as that cannot be contained in a fragile, ephemeral human body...but neither can it be extinguished once liberated from its mortal shell. I have felt Hope's soul all day today, and I am seeing it in all the BBIers who are sharing in this tragic loss.

I miss her. I know she had so much more to give. But I am changed and so much better for having known her. I know so many people here are...even those who never met Hope in person.

Not everyone gets to know a real live Earth Angel in their lifetime. We are the lucky ones, my friend. =:-)

Hope was the best of us, G-d needed her upstairs, we suffer her loss but he gains an angel to those in need... she'll lift us up where we belong...

Great stories, folks. I've "enjoyed" catching up on this thread this morning.

.

it has been unbelievably moving reading this thread and impossible not to cry

go out to all of Hope's family and friends. As the esteemed BBI community has already so eloquently expressed, her presence here will be dearly missed.

Godspeed Hope.

had an angel in our lives.

Hope was a once in a lifetime miracle. I understand this now.

the sun is shining, we're off to services where we can thank G-d for loving us and putting Hope into our hearts.

Every year each of our three girls lights candles in their own menorah, which we leave in the center of our kitchen table until the flames are gone.

We have an electric menorah that my grandmother gave us when we first got married.

Its been years since its been out of the box in which we keep it in the attic.

When the sun goes down this evening, one more menorah will be lit in our home.

We'll place it in the window where it will shine for the next seven nights of Hanukkah.

and for as long as my wife and I live, that will be our menorah, and of course, Hope's menorah.

Prayers for her and her family and loved ones. Prayers for our community in her loving memory.

thanks for letting me read your conversation. It was meaningful and very special to me. I never met Hope, but I spoke with her frequently on here and will miss her. The fact that she was able to make such impressions over the internet just shows how special she was.

It's not like Hope was my best friend or that we hung out or were on the phone every week. When you consider thing quite literally, she was just some lady from D.C. I met at a few Giants games and camp, e-mailed with a dozen-plus times, and bantered with on the site.

But there I was, coaching our travel hoops team's second game of the day, and we were down 20 in the 4th to the league's elite team. (Thankfully, we won our days first contest.) There's a tuimeout with about 6 minutes left, no chance to win this one. Just to play hard for pride. And there I was in a huddle of 12 young boys, thinking, "What would Hope say right about now?"

I laughed, and gave them a pretty positive pep talk.

People like Hope Johnson, I don't think they set out to make an impact. They just do, by being who they are. They just have "it."

I know we all keep coming back to all these threads, reading and re-reading. I feel very fortunate to have met Hope. And even though I only saw her, on average these past 6 years or so, maybe 1-2 times a year, I'm really gonna miss her.

.

When the dragons grow too mighty
To slay with pen or sword
I grow weary of the battle
And the storm I walk toward
When all around is madness
And there's no safe port in view
I long to turn my path homeward
To stop a while with you

When life becomes as barren
And as cold as winter skies
There's a beacon in the darkness
In a distant pair of eyes
In vain to search for honor
In vain to search for truth
But these things can still be given
Your love has shown me proof

last few years to meet Hope. I am very sad to hear of her passing. She always showed tremendous compassion to those of us on here who need guidance or just a prayer to help us through some tough times. So Dear Lord please send your blessings to her family in this trying time. Let them know that you needed Hope for some special reason and that she will be looking down on them forever. Lord let them please remember the tremendous faith Hope had in you and that she believes she is now in a better place. Protect her family, and may you continue to bless them today and everyday. Amen

...was that she loved people as they are, without conditions, while reminding them not to take themselves too seriously. If she remembers our first encounter in Albany in 2004 (and knowing Hope, she does), she knows what I mean.

If we can all just be a little bit better, maybe we can make up for the good the world has lost.

I'm sitting here in an Irish bar in Manhattan waiting for a ride to the tailgate and still find myself reading this thread. I'm trying to figure out why the death of a woman whom I've literally hung out with on two occassions (camp last year and New Orleans) is affecting me as much as the death of my grandmother, the rock of our family with whom I was very close.

I suppose on some level it's because I regret the missed opportunities to spend more time with her, but I guess mainly it's just really hard to come to grips with someone that special, that caring, that full of life dying so young. It just seems so wrong on so many levels.

If she were here she'd tell me to hush up and order another beer, so I'm going to try to just think positive thoughts about all this, but it's not coming easy.

Peace and strength to all of Hope's family and friends. She apparently left quite an impact upon so many, hopefully we all can learn from her lessons.

I think it's also got to do with people knowing when someone special has left us. Lots of "good people" pass away every day. But few leave a mark on so many people, worldwide, and in such humble fashion. It's that we all genuinely feel like the world might have gotten a little colder this week.

earlier this year, I've decided not to dwell on the 'should have' and cherish the time I did have with them. I never met hope. I should have gotten together with you guys in NOLA, but I didn't. But that's ok. I still have the experience of knowing Hope through BBI and I'll remember that.

It does serve to remind us that life is short. You never know when your life, or the life of someone you love will end. So if you keep that in mind in your daily dealings, you'll be better off. I think that is Hope's gift to us.

never have I seen such reflection , prayer, and thoughtfulness on any BBI thread. Many have refected on her life and their life and their relationship with God. In death Hope continues the message as she did in life.

I was out of town for the last few days. Just got back today, and to see this! I am stunned.... Does anyone know the cause of death???

RIP Hope, you were an icon here at BBi.