Some of Pearl's accomplishments:
- Raising Ben and Patrice
- Speaking Fluent German
- Rediscovering Norwegian relatives when she was in college
- [Read Pearl's Norway story here]
- Travelling to visit her Norwegian second and third cousins in 1994 and 2004
- Joining Peace Corps at age 60 and having a great time not being the only one with white hair in SA VII
- Thailand, Spain, Germany, Hungary, Austria, Czech Republic, Belgium, England, Canada, Mexico, South Africa
- Riding through GG Park to the ocean every weekend
- Lifting thousands of pounds at the Embarcadero YMCA
- Being a good friend to many
- Serving those in need
- Reusing everything
- Maintaining excellent health
- Being able to find any article, regardless of out of print or disappeared status
- Teaching us to read and enjoying every minute of it
- Investigating retirement in Ireland
- VLSP 2005 Community Service award for contributions to HAP
- [Read VLSP's article about Pearl here]
Words that Pearl clipped from a newspaper regarding her death:
Do not stand at my grave and weep.
I am not there, I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow,
I am the diamond glint on snow,
I am the sunlight on ripened grain,
and I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you wake in the morning hush,
I am the swift uplifting rush of quiet birds in circling flight,
I am the soft starlight at night.
Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there. I do not sleep.
What can you do?
Pearl might say:
- take a walk in the woods
- take good care of yourselves and your loved ones
- choose one thing from your list of things to do later...when the kids are older...there is more money...more vacation...and do it now
- teach a child to read
- teach an adult to read
- watch an episode of ALIAS
We know that Pearl would ask for nothing more than to be remembered her the way she was. For those with questions about making monetary donations in lieu of flowers, we have included details here.
We also know there a lot of unanswered questions about her biking accident, during which she suffered a severe brain injury through her helmet when struck by another biker on January 29th. We don't recommend looking for more information than that, but those who insist may click here.
Snail mail: PO Box 15462, Fort Wayne, IN 46885-5462 [please no perishables or packages].
February 9th, 2006.