By Leigh Clifton
It’s been three years, three long years since St. Pete
Police cadet Kelly Rothwell went home to break up with her then- boyfriend,
David Perry, and was never seen again. Three years since her family and close
friends have heard her cheerful voice, seen her wide, infectious smile or felt
her comforting, serene presence
Today I want to write about Kelly Rothwell the person; I was
privileged to speak to several of Kelly’s closest friends and wanted people to
get to know the Kelly that they knew, the Kelly that they remember, with joy
and heartache, fondness and laughter and always, ALWAYS with love….. Some spoke
to me by phone, some by text and some via FaceBook message. But all had one
common thread; Kelly had profoundly touched their lives in immeasurable ways..
She was just that kind of girl…
Erin Hansel has known Kelly since they were in 5 year old
kindergarten students together at St. Michaels the Archangels School in Baltimore,
Maryland, where Kelly grew up. She and
Kelly spent a lot of time together and their mothers were friends. She
remembers spending the night at Kelly’s house in her basement bedroom, playing
records and giggling about stuff. She
and Kelly also took pottery classes together at Gardenville Rec Center.
“I remember her having a Basset hound; they are the ones
with the flappy ears that howl, right?” Erin wrote. (Nancy Rothwell told me the
dog’s name was Duke.) Erin also
remembers sailing with Kelly and her dad. “She was in heaven out on the water…”
Another one of Kelly’s childhood friends, Janet, told me
that she and Kelly used to skate in the roller rink shows at the Gardenville
Rec Center in Baltimore.
“When the skaters would perform for each other during the
cast party, the members of the group would sometimes exchange costumes with the
boys and then skate to their group songs. We all enjoyed that and so did the
kids” Janet wrote me. “She was a treasure, a very sweet person…”
Jen Belcastro went to high school with Kelly in the 90’s in
Baltimore. She actually knew Kelly’s three sisters better, as Kelly was a few
years older than she was.
“What I remember most about Kelly was that she was a free
spirit type, a nature lover with a kind heart. A total hippie in high school..
I looked up to her spirit and style. I
think of her often.”
So many of Kelly’s friend’s remembrances run along the same
theme… she touched their lives with her kindness and grace.
Melissa Clemons Johnson wrote “Kelly and I went to high
school together in Maryland. What I remember most about her was her smile, her
warmth, her presence and her self-confidence. She was a very caring person
about everyone and everything. She would
have done anything to help you out. She is very missed in all ways but most of
all I miss her smile… that’s the part that I miss the most.”
Kelly’s dad, Tom Rothwell told me the story of taking Kelly and her sisters on his 24 ft
boat the “Two-Rific-Too.” Tom had named the boat after seeing a bumper stick
about twins (Kelly’s sisters Lindsay and Lauren are fraternal twins) after the
girls were born. As a member and officer at the GlenMar Sailing Association in Middle
River on the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland, Tom raced competitively for years and
his name is on the High Point perpetual racing trophy, something he’s won 4 times. When Kelly was
little, Tom would sail with her and her sisters to Fairlee Creek on the Eastern
Shore of Maryland where a famous Corn Roast was held every year. The Glenmar
Sailing Association would supply between 10 and 15 bushels of corn and the
charcoal. Sailors would bring burgers
and hotdogs to roast on the fires.
“We would all of us raft up and then spend the night on the
boat. The food was great and the people all enjoyed it. In the morning, I would
start cooking bacon and eggs… everyone would wake up to the smell of bacon and
show up for breakfast! There was always well-over 100 people at these roasts.”
Tom just recently gave the Two-Rific-Too away; it had been
sitting in his yard for a while.
“I’ve dealt with Kelly’s loss; I’ve done my crying. I have
great memories of taking her sailing as a little kid. That’s what I hold onto.”
Nancy Rothwell, Kelly’s mother, was just grateful to all of
Kelly’s friends that gave me remembrances of her.
“It’s wonderful that so many of Kelly’s friends have such
fond memories of her,” Nancy spoke through her tears. “I keep her in my heart
and I pray for her every day. I try to keep busy but she is always near me. I
miss her and love her so very much…Kelly was an amazing young woman who touched the lives of so many people. She had such a passion for life and was such an inspiration to all. Kelly accomplished so much in her abbreviated life and that is a life to be celebrated, not mourned."
In a lighter moment, Nancy recalled Kelly’s 1972 Yellow VW
beetle.
“I remember she had flower stickers all over it,” she
chuckled. “She was a hippie girl, through and through.”
There are so many people who knew Kelly so well; I tried to
contact as many as possible. There are quite a few of Kelly’s friends that live
in Colorado, where Kelly lived for a while when she attended Adams State
College. One of her best friends there was Amy Gray from Alamosa, Colorado, who
spoke to me earlier today and had wonderful memories of her friendship with
Kelly.
“I first met Kelly in chemistry class at Adams State
College; I was majoring in biology and she was geology major I think. I was
instantly drawn to her; her smile could light up a room. She was so
intelligent, she taught me a lot about the origins of rocks and the use of
light to determine what types of materials the rocks were comprised of.”
Amy laughed as she recalled Kelly’s yellow VW bug. Kelly and
her father Tom had driven it out to Colorado.
“She named it Putt-Putt,” she chuckled. “She also used to
say Mary Land, instead of Maryland; that used to crack me up so much!”
Amy is still so incredibly saddened by the loss of her
friend. She was one of several close friends from Alamosa.
“Kelly was magical, she was a jewel. One year she dressed up
as a ladybug for Halloween… she was just so much fun! She loved all things and
all people. And her laugh!! She had this wonderful laugh that instantly
enveloped you and made you feel absolute love. It was really distinctive. We
all just fell in love with her. She was just pure magic.”
Amy also said that Kelly was the consummate hippy. She was always tooling around town in
Putt-Putt; she had pasted big flower stickers all over the car.
“She was so mellow, so cool. Her favorite song was
“Wildflowers”, by Tom Petty. If you
listen to the words, you will understand.”
Amy said that the 12th is a tough day for her.
Her son was born on the 10th of March and says that there is sadness
and joy at the same time around this time of year.
“I just can’t believe that she’s no longer on this earth. On
the one year anniversary of her “disappearance” a bunch of us from Alamosa went
up to Navaho Lake. We did a prayer circle and had a remembrance ceremony in her
honor. It’s just so incredibly sad that someone so beautiful would be taken
from us. It’s almost as if she was too good, too pure of heart to last in this
lifetime. I think of Kelly and her family every day and I pray that they
hopefully find some peace. Kelly was just magic…. Just magic…”
Finally, Kelly’s sister Lauren spoke of Kelly and effect she
had on her life.
“To be honest… No one knows for sure what will come of this.
We can only hope that she is found and justice is served. But I do know, for
sure, that I think of her every single day. Good things and bad. And I’m so
thankful for the influence she’s had on my life. Her departure did not end our
relationship. She will always be my sister and that love never dies.”
There are several others of Kelly Rothwell’s friends that
couldn't get back to me in time for this publication. I hope that they read
these remembrances and comment on the blog, using their names and how they knew
Kelly. It’s a wonderful tribute to this woman, who I never had the honor of
knowing, that SO many people were touched by Kelly’s heart.
I leave you with this
last thought.. the words from Wildflowers by Tom Petty. They truly do sum up
the essence of Kelly’s spirit…
You belong among the wildflowers
You belong in a boat out at sea
Sail away, kill off the hours
You belong somewhere you feel free
Run away, find you a lover
Go away, somewhere all bright and new
I have seen no other
Who compares with you
You belong among the wildflowers
You belong in a boat out at sea
You belong with your love on your arm
You belong somewhere you feel free
Run away, go find a lover
Run away, let your heart be your guide
You deserve the deepest of cover
You belong in that home by and by
You belong among the Wildflowers
You belong somewhere close to me
Far away from your trouble and worry
You belong somewhere you feel free
You belong somewhere you feel free…..