Love Never Dies
Updated: Jun 18, 2018
A Personal Story: Elizabeth Polley
I met Caroline Grace Rose Cotter my sophomore spring semester at Ohio State University in Introduction to Equine Science. I looked like the typical messy, barn cleaning, western style riding girl and she looked like the prim and proper English rider.
I had a car on campus and she needed a ride to labs. We immediately clicked as friends. So much so within hours of knowing each other we decided that I was similar to Poison Ivy and she, Harley Quinn. Grace, the name she went by, was an Army ROTC Cadet. For four years we were each other's go to for everything. It was odd relationship. We continued to see other people but always knew the other was our number 1. Grace and I even had plans to marry after she graduated vet school in 2020 and before she was given a duty station. She never wanted kids but said she'd be 100% okay adopting one with me because she knew how much I wanted to be a mom.
Unfortunately, Grace shot herself on December 17th, 2017 at nearly 5:00 a.m. while she was on the phone with me. I was the last person she said "I love you" to. I was the last person she wanted to hear. Grace was supposed to start modeling with me that evening. I was in a modeling funk for over a month after she died.
I drug myself out of it piece by piece. Vince Falconer and I had planned to shoot for awhile and he suggested why not do a memorial shoot for Grace. It was such a perfect suggestion. On March 4th we photographed 'Love Never Dies' in memory of the love of my life. I wanted it to symbolize her being with me, her leaving me behind, and me trying to move ahead of losing her. I will always love Grace and will always remember her. I will always strive to be my best no matter what for both her and me. I will continue modeling to make both her and I proud.
