sad, sad day

Yesterday the world lost a light, a woman I am very sorry wasn't one of my best friends. (I'd have had to take a number, though; seems lots of folks felt the same way.)

Penny vs. Cancer, Little Red Hen

Penny McAllister lost her battle with leukemia yesterday. A valiant three-month fight, which ended a few weeks before her 57th birthday. I only met Penny once. I worked with her daughter Katie at the time, and her mother, Joyce, had been the curator of special collections at the University (and Tom's boss) for years and years. Katie is very much like Joyce, and when I walked in and saw Penny sitting in the office, I said something about how she fit right into the space between her mother and her daughter. (They are three of a kind.) She said, "Yes, I'm the missing link!"

This was before I knew her younger daughter, Mary-Keeley. Both girls worked at special collections while they were undergrads, and I worked there as a grad student. I ended up working with MK longer and knowing her better than I did Katie. But my heart aches for both of them right now, and for Joyce. For everyone who knew and loved her, which by all appearances was a huge circle of folks.

--Jennifer
No shiny things today.