A breast cancer survivor, she endured and conquered six sessions of aggressive chemotherapy in the fall of 2002; underwent a full mastectomy of her right breast; and returned to the table for reconstructive surgery.

That's not all. Prior to being diagnosed, she had a partial hysterectomy as a result of a collapsing uterus.

There are stories to be told about her trials and tribulations in these battles, but unfortunately, she won't be the one telling them. She was strolling along Highway 9 on March 21 around 8:59 p.m. with her dog, Ralph, when she was struck and killed almost instantly by a car. Loveday, a Los Gatos resident and former Saratogan, was 41. The dog survived.

"I just think it's so ironic that this happened," says Patrice Brill, one of Loveday's best friends. "It doesn't make sense, after all she's been through."

Brill says she has fond memories of Loveday.

"She was an extremely selfless and warm person," Brill says. "She saw the good in everybody and everything."

They were former co-workers, and Brill says she remembers Loveday constantly offering to drive her to work, even though it would add an extra 20 minutes to the commute, and sharing her lunches with others at work.

It wasn't only co-workers with whom she liked to spend time. She also enjoyed bonding with her kids, Lindsay Rhodes, Ginger Snyder and Oliver Baranyai.

"We used to go shopping a lot and just talk about anything," Rhodes says. "We also went to my brother's baseball games together."

Rhodes admits it was difficult to see her mother, who was usually so full of life, go through chemotherapy.

"I kept telling her, 'It's OK, at least you're still here,' " she says. "But seeing her get better was such a relief."

"I remember she used to always tell us, 'Think positive, don't think negative,' while driving us to school," she says.

Loveday's sister-in-law, Roberta Harris-Loveday, who went with Loveday to each doctor's appointment, says several people pulled together to show their support in more ways than one.

While Harris-Loveday helped with the medical side of things like changing bandages, her husband— Loveday's brother Guy— made everybody cry and laugh when he shaved his head to look like his sister. Also, her friend Andy Meyer and nephew Ron Snyder redecorated her room and painted the walls purple, one of her favorite colors, as a surprise upon her return home after having her first surgery.

"She was brave all the way," Harris-Loveday says.

She was a lover of nature, and the family will be spreading Loveday's ashes over oceans and mountains.