Perhaps the most magnificent of all the crowns Koa ever wore was perched atop her beautiful head on the day she died. Unbeknownst to us, three of Koa’s dear friends lovingly crafted a crown for her to wear on the last day of her physical life, as she journeyed through Bronson Hospital on the organ donor “honor walk” to a room where she was expected to pass. Our hearts were filled with wonder at the perfection of the marriage of loving sentiment, a knowing by friends, and the absolute Koaness reflected in that crown. Not until we had washed and perfumed and kissed her body, did it come off. What will we do with this tradition? What kind of meaning can we pull from it, how can we caress and move forward with it? We do not know. But we do know that somehow it will continue and evolve, in ways that Koa would sanction, and in ways rooted in joy.

— Dean Suárez-Starfeldt, Sunrise Gathering 2019