UDALL, Camerie (Camie)

The White Mountain Independent, Show Low, Arizona ~ 03/30/2012 Camerie (Camie) Udall of anywhere and everywhere died peacefully March 27, 2012, after a brave, long battle with cancer. She was surrounded by loving family and friends. As with everything she encountered in her life, Camie gracefully and courageously embraced the challenges of her illness with incredible tenacity, strength and hope. Born on June 5, 1975, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where her father was assigned as an FBI agent, Camie was the sixth child in the family of Barry and Risa Udall. She grew up in St. Johns, and lived an idyllic, small-town life. At the age of seven, Camie was diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome. She spent the rest of her life battling the problems and tics occasioned by the difficulties of the condition. Camie was a bright and ambitious student, and excelled in all areas. In fact, she was student body president and valedictorian of her graduating class at St. Johns High School in 1993. She also graduated from BYU with a degree in international development and served an LDS church mission in Málaga, Spain, from 1996-98. A gifted, charismatic and idealistic young woman, Camie spent much of her time from the age of 18 until her marriage in 2004 as an international humanitarian worker on various assignments in Russia, Mexico, Zimbabwe, Kosovo, and Afghanistan. In the year before her marriage, while her fiancé, Tommy O’Loughlin, was stationed in Iraq, she traveled around the world, working for a time in an orphanage in India. Camie found ways of putting her idealism to work effectively in some of the world’s most intractable conflict zones, including establishing schools for girls and providing training for women in Kosovo and Afghanistan as well as a center for the homeless in Kabul. Her work with and constant reaching out to those in need was a trademark that defined her purpose in life. Two years after their marriage, Camie and Tommy took a year off from “regular life” to travel and work in most of the countries in Central and South America. Throughout all her travels, she endeared herself to people everywhere, leaving friends scattered throughout the globe. At last count, Camie had visited 81 countries during her lifetime. Many thanks to Cam’s dear friend, Deb Barry of Wales, who tirelessly cared for her in the last few months of her life. Camie was a unique individual with an indomitable spirit. It was easy to feel just how much she loved her family and friends, particularly her nieces and nephews. Camie’s laughter, friendship and zeal for living will be greatly missed by all who knew her. Funeral services will be held at 11:30 p.m. Saturday, March 31, at the Downtown Chapel of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, St. Johns. Interment will follow at the St. Johns Westside Cemetery. Burnham Mortuary of St. Johns handled the arrangements. Send an online condolence at website www.burnhammortuary.com.