I lost a friend today; she passed away this morning from cancer. I have been thinking about her a lot this afternoon. She had many wonderful qualities. She was smart and funny and stubborn and very independent and very strong as well.
She took the news about her cancer pretty well, but she wasn't one to complain about things. She grew up in a time when complaining was not allowed. She was a member of the "Greatest Generation" and had the strength of character to show it.
I thought of her as a mentor in many ways, not the least being her addiction to using her brain and keeping it young. She was 85 years old and still as sharp as ever. She read incessantly and took classes whenever possible. She was still driving to Dartmouth and Colby Sawyer to take enrichment courses and she had recently become involved in the OLLI program that is starting up in Claremont this spring. In fact, her illness is why she had to give up working on the committee.
One of the most amazing things about her is how much she cared about education and the impact it could have on the community. She was so proud when Granite State College opened up on Pleasant Street in Claremont. She was a former English teacher and she taught back when a teacher's salary was even more pitiful than it is today, but she never complained about it. She taught me many things, but the most important was that no matter how old you were you could still learn something new. I think the older you are the more you appreciate the importance of education.
Every time I sign up for adult college classes or take advantage of an educational opportunity I will think of my friend and her philosophy about education.
She took the news about her cancer pretty well, but she wasn't one to complain about things. She grew up in a time when complaining was not allowed. She was a member of the "Greatest Generation" and had the strength of character to show it.
I thought of her as a mentor in many ways, not the least being her addiction to using her brain and keeping it young. She was 85 years old and still as sharp as ever. She read incessantly and took classes whenever possible. She was still driving to Dartmouth and Colby Sawyer to take enrichment courses and she had recently become involved in the OLLI program that is starting up in Claremont this spring. In fact, her illness is why she had to give up working on the committee.
One of the most amazing things about her is how much she cared about education and the impact it could have on the community. She was so proud when Granite State College opened up on Pleasant Street in Claremont. She was a former English teacher and she taught back when a teacher's salary was even more pitiful than it is today, but she never complained about it. She taught me many things, but the most important was that no matter how old you were you could still learn something new. I think the older you are the more you appreciate the importance of education.
Every time I sign up for adult college classes or take advantage of an educational opportunity I will think of my friend and her philosophy about education.
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