Natasha Stephanie Anne Ott

Fierce, funny, brilliant and kind.
She loved sea otters and dirty jokes.
She hated hypocrisy, self-delusion, complacent misery, and all the petty cruelties humankind is heir to when we don’t appeal to our better natures.

Born: January 9th, 1981
Passed: Friday, March 20th, 2020
Known aliases: Tasha, Tash, Nacho, and Hot Stuff

I still can’t believe that she’s gone. Her smile is more vivid to me than breathing, and her laughter seems to always dance beneath the absurdities and happy surprises of the day.

She taught me how to love, by example.
She taught me that it’s an act of creation.
She taught me that you should love the rough spots even harder.

If you’re seeing this page you might have found a sticker. Tasha and I purchased an RV and had plans to travel together in it. And now I travel without her. And now she travels within me, always, in my heart.

But it’s not enough for her to be in my heart. I’d like the world to know something of her too. So I made some stickers, and visited some places, and put stickers in the special spots I would’ve loved to share with her. Maybe you saw a sticker, and are reading this now because of it.

I’m sorry for everyone that didn’t get to meet this beautiful soul. Every person fortunate enough to know her well came away better for it. As a very poor substitute, I’d like to share some of the things that she help teach me:

  1. Love the rough spots harder
  2. Take the time to eat well (and there’s always room for desert)
  3. Don’t be afraid to be goofy
  4. It’s always a good time for a dirty joke
  5. Listen to the people you love, and be present for them
  6. Listen to yourself
  7. Honor your feelings, but don’t be a slave to them
  8. Be bothered by what’s wrong in the world, and strive to make it better
  9. Be grateful for what’s right in the world, and strive to see it

Be grateful for the Natasha’s in your life

Tell them you love them.
Tell them how you feel.
And never leave anything important left unsaid.

If you’d like to help honor Tasha’s memory, here are some of the causes that she cared about: