Nine days ago, I posted a lighthearted account of my engagement with jigsaw puzzles, in the course of which I referred to a resident of our building who, I said, is "the maven of the puzzles." She is an eighty-five year old woman named Mary Ann Clarkson, a cheerful, heavyset woman devoted to progressive politics and the Rachel Maddow show. When we moved in, Mary Ann informed me in a conspiratorial voice that there was a "deplorable" in the building [a Trump supporter] and that we did not talk politics when she was around. Mary Ann has been my favorite among the many new acquaintances I have made since moving to Carolina Meadows.
Mary Ann suffers from congestive heart failure. I learned this morning that she passed away suddenly yesterday while visiting her daughter. Somehow, the light seems to have gone out over the puzzle table in the lobby.
Someone reading this blog alerted Mary Ann that I had referred to her in a post, and she was very pleased. It is a small thing, but I am happy that in this way I was able to let her know a bit of what she had so quickly come to mean to me.
I shall miss Mary Ann Clarkson.
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The deaths of new friends and acquaintances is the downside of places that serve the elderly or retired. Every year I experience the loss of friends and new acquaintances at the American University OLLI where I've been active for the past 10 years. I've had two study groups cancelled because the death of the leaders; I've had people in groups that I've led die mid-term. I've gone to a lot of funerals and memorial services. The experience has emphasized to me the importance of living to the fullest while I still can. Paradoxically, the downside is also an upside--the lively interest and determination to live a fulfilling life to the very end of so many of the people there is an inspiration.
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