Skylar Elizabeth Fox McFarland

Skylar Elizabeth Fox McFarland was stardust born on Mother’s Day in 1996, and she blazed a spectacularly beautiful light over this world. There is no way to distill her inquisitive, clever self into words, but Skye lived fully. She counted meteors over the Pacific Ocean, hiked California’s redwood forests, camped Oregon’s sand dunes, and read by the light of Alaska’s midnight sun. She waved to an eel 60 feet below the Catalina waves and surveyed the earth’s curvature free-falling from 10,000 feet above the Louisiana landscape. Skye was the first to touch her brother-being-born and announced that his skin felt like a salamander. Nine years later, she was also the one who swam with him in a cold Irish loch so he could be brave. Skye didn’t just walk in Memphis, she danced. She ate crepes in France and gelato in Italy and trod on dusty Roman cobblestones. She zip-lined through treetops, kissed a dolphin, and spelunked a Mexican cave. She dug for crystals in the wilds of Arkansas and followed in the footsteps of Al Capone in the Gangster Museum. She once ate a burrito the size of her arm. She wore funny hats. She loved to draw, compose on the piano, and sit in the calm of the boat, fishing. She liked to dig through thrift stores for funky pants and pawn shops for treasures. She spent many summers at Duke TIP and loved every minute of it. She shot ducks on the Prairie and could take down the even the most vicious skeet. She loved cats and didn’t think five was quite enough. She had a sly sense of humor. Skye was the most curious and creative person imaginable and her whole being was beautiful. Skye graduated from the Louisiana School of Math, Science, and the Arts in 2013 and attended Louisiana Tech University until her death. She was never afraid to voice her opinion in class or elsewhere. She liked the Nightvale podcast and co-hosted an EDM radio show on KLPI under the DJ tag Cecil; she was proud of her success raising money in support of the university station. Skye was active in the student group Prism and passionately believed in equality and acceptance for all individuals. She also kept painful secrets and in the end they overwhelmed her. She took her own life on February 1, 2015. There will forever be a Skylar-shaped hole in the universe. She was so loved! Left deeply grieving are her parents, Sarah McFarland and Mark Melder; her brother Griffin; her step-brother Matthew; her grandparents, Lois and David McFarland, Ellis and Trent Melder, and Nancy and Hec Braud; aunts and uncles Rachel and Tim Kummer, Sara and Bobby Bond, Kim and James Melder, and Rhonda and Daniel Braud; many cousins; and beloved friends. A celebration of Skye’s life will be held at the Natchitoches Country Club on Saturday, February 7th at 11:00. All are welcome to share stories about the adventure that was her amazing life. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation in support of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Hug your dear ones close and do an act of loving kindness for a stranger.