Her name was Margie....possibly the stongest minded woman I ever knew. She was always ready for a good time or an argument and with her I had both. She corresponded with well known people in a variety of fields and was herself a world class pianist, although she never let you know that. Anyone listening to her with any training at all knew it though.

She could push me harder and farther and into thinking patterns and thoughts that I didn't think were possible. She challenged virtually every thought I had during the short time I knew her and would make me back down if I couldn't debate it with her successfully. When I did, she gave way with good grace. She was known to be alternately both a serious minded woman and a complete "character." Her practical jokes were legendary among her many friends.

Mainly though, she exuded a love and a spirit and a zest for living I have rarely encountered in anyone else. She loved her husband, her son, her parents, her friends, and life in general, with unadulterated passion and she made those around her want to share in the passion as well. She fought a serious cancer for almost 4 years and when visitors came to see her, they were the ones who walked away feeling better! Her son came to see her in the hospital the weekend before she died and she gave him a nasty lecture on missing days in college to come home. When he left she told him, as she told all, "I'll be okay again in a few days....This is just a little setback."

When she died a piece of me died too and I knew I would probably never encounter another human being like her. It changed my life. Her name was Margery A. Patterson, she was my mother, and she died 35 years ago....today.

Spaw