GIFT
MEG's
Meg's Story
Megan Elizabeth Garbach
Born on May 6, 1986, Megan Elizabeth Garbach is the fourth of five children of loving parents, Kathy and Ray Garbach. She was a beloved daughter, sister, fiancé, aunt, niece, cousin, and friend. Meg brought a ray of sunshine into every life she touched.
Selfless, loving, giving, faithful, free-spirited, loyal, creative, silly, witty and "champion of the underdog" – these are some words that others have used to describe her. She found joy in the simple things of life and cherished her relationship with nature and the environment.
Her Smile
Mirrored her soul
Ray is fond of saying that Meg's mile could light up any room. The inscription found on two benches in Highland Park best describe Megan; "Her smile mirrored her soul." That beautiful bright smile however did not always reflect how she felt inside.
At times, Megan struggled to love herself
in the same way that she loved others.
Meg worked as a waitress and hostess while in high school and college, played lacrosse, and graduated from SUNY Albany with a degree in Earth & Atmospheric Science.
She toured Europe with friends, spent time in Australia with her fiancé, and returned to Rochester to work in a civil engineering firm as an environmental consultant and project manager. She performed her job responsibilities with competence and was well-liked and respected by her professional colleagues.
It was
Meg's beautiful bright smile
that masked the darkness she experienced inside.
Although on the outside Meg appeared happy and content, she suffered a silent battle with depression She tried to hide her anguish so as not to burden her friends and family with the darkness she felt. It was not in her nature to burden those closest to her..
They wanted to ensure that the gifts Meg so freely gave to the world during her lifetime were her legacy.
Sadly, on President’s Day, February 17, 2014, at the age of 27, Meg lost her battle with depression. Her family and friends promised that the manner of her death would not define how she was known in life.
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These gifts are embodied in many touching stories shared about Meg -- sitting with a lonely boy on the school bus that had no friends, making and distributing peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to the homeless in downtown Albany, and donating countless pints of blood to the Red Cross in the hope of saving lives.
