Nancy has been my friend for almost forty years. I met her through my late brother when she was pregnant with Joharie. She was part of my Oakland family. She was brilliant, funny, and very caring. I remember when she first went into teaching, her creativity, her rapport with her students , and her professionalism. Whenever I visited the bay area, Nancy, Vickie, and I and her daughter and grandkids would go out to dinner either to a Chinese or Mexican restaurant and catch up on all the going ons in our respective families. Her leaving us for that great school in the sky leaves a void in our hearts, but the unselfish, generous, and joyous life that she lived enriched us all. I shall never forget her. Her spirit and her legacy live on. She left the world a better place for so many of us.
As a tribute, I'm borrowing (and modifying) a poem from Langston Hughes:
“I loved my friend
(S)He went away from me
There's nothing more to say
The poem ends,
Soft as it began-
I loved my friend.”