Obituary of Desja Arille Manuel

The story of one human life on earth can sometimes read like a book, page by page, or as a sonnet or poem, line by line. However this particular story unfolds like a song, note by note; trills of laughter, sparkles of joy and soaring sounds of life embraced with joy. Ms. Desja Arielle Manuel, "Slimmderella" came into the world on July 30, 1989 in Gary, Indiana. She was born the youngest child in the family of Edgar and Charise Manuel. Desja had two brothers, John and Dwayne and one sister, Denisha. A happy, bubbly child, she was always very definite about what she wanted. She was always drawing and singing. Her mother remembers, "When she was about one and a half years old, she loved her pacifier. One day she lost it. She was lying on her bed, yelling and kicking to each syllable, enunciating, "I want my PA-CI-FIER." She had everyone in the house looking for it. Another vivid memory is when she was two, we were in the car, looking for the place where we were going and Desja was hungry. She told us about three time she was hungry. We kept saying ok and driving trying to find this place and the fourth time she busted out in a song she made up, singing she was so hungry. This is when we first learned she could sing." "One of the funniest stories that sticks out in my mind is when she filed her first tax return at the age of 14. It was only $70 and she didn't want to wait for it to come in the mail. So she asked me to loan her the money and she would give me the check when it came. I did. Then she asked her sister to buy her a pair of pants and when her check came she would pay her back, her sister did. She asked her brother and her aunt to loan her money and would pay them back when her check came. They did. And it was the funniest thing, when her check came, she cashed it and spent it and no one ever knew it came, She sold that check over 4 times that I knew about. We all just laughed and said we all got Got." "When we would go grocery shopping, she would still get in the cart and I would push her around while we shopped. The last time she was in the buggy was in May of this year. People would stare at her and I would say "she's my baby." Educated in the public school system, Desja graduated from Central High School in Aurora, Colorado. She continued her education at Community College of Aurora where she completed the classes and certification and earned a Life Insurance License. Desja was an artist and entrepreneur. She was employed at C & E Financial Services in the position of Receptionist and Tax Preparer. She was known for excellence in her work and for being a delight to work with. In her free time, Desja enjoyed spending quality time with family and friends, rapping, traveling and shopping. Her best friends, Yassira Guerrero, Portia Pearsan and Armand Robinson and all who knew her loved Desja for her uniqueness, ambition, generosity, creativity, loyalty, pureness, realness, feisty attitude, hustle and her love of life. Her sister-in-law, Bethany's favorite memory of Desja is when she would tell her mother she was hungry and if she didn't feel like cooking, Desja would pretend to pass out and fall on the floor from hunger. Her mom would get up and cook her something, This worked until she was 24. Her favorite movie was "The Temptations" she would always quote and say "Ain't nobody coming to see you, Otis." Desja's favorite color was green. She loved all music and she was known for being able to bring out the best in everyone. The song of Desja will never end. It lives in the hearts and minds of all who knew and loved her. That included everyone who ever met her. Her mother remarked, "I thank Jehovah God for the 25 years, 4 months and 19 days he gave me with her. And I look forward to seeing my beautiful Desja in the resurrection." Desja Arielle Manuel departed this plane of existence on December 18, 2014. She soared to a higher note to sing a chorus with the angels. Those left her to cherish her memory and to continue her song in life include her parents, Edgar F. Manuel and Charise A. Manuel of Aurora, CO; brothers, John Cohns and Dwayne (Bethany) Cohns; sister, Denisha Cohns; nephews, Dwayne Cohns, Jr. and Rome Redwine; nieces, Athena Cohns and Damia Cohns, all of Aurora, CO; and a host of aunts, uncles, cousins, other relatives and many friends. Sing and dance with the Angels Desja