One of the people Aimee Wallis Buchanan touched in her time on Earth described the experience this way: “You’re lucky if you meet a person like Aimee once in your life.”
While some of those whose days are spent doing good for others tend to take on saintly qualities after their deaths, those who knew and loved Aimee felt that sort of presence radiating from her every day, both as a Presbyterian minister and more recently as the co-founder, with her husband, Bill, of the Asheville Youth Mission.
Kids, teens, parents, nonprofit leaders, the homeless, hungry and downtrodden saw an actual glow about her, a twinkly-eyed essence that seemed to elongate her arms so that she could embrace an entire community with a huge, smiling hug. She radiated compassion and a spirit of giving, always searching for another way to encourage the weary or heal a hurting heart.
Aimee’s unexpected death early Monday morning at age 44 from flu-related complications has left countless hearts hurting, not only among the teens she and Bill have nurtured and guided through AYM, but the many adults who have been on the receiving end of the nonprofit’s volunteer and service projects beginning in 2010.