Dear Leslie,
I’ve been thinking of you since Melanie died and want to send my condolences and wish you all strength as you grieve this deep loss.
I don’t have much experience with Parkinson’s, but it must have taken much patience and perseverance. I’m sure you both navigated the challenge with love and integrity.
I heard the KPFA interview you did with Kate Rafael recently and so much appreciated the clear and fluent way you summarized Melanie’s remarkable strengths. It was marvelous to get a sense of your partnership.
I first met Melanie in 1993 when she came to do a workshop with students at Antioch College where I was teaching at the time. The students hung on her every word and were hungry for her insights and to learn about her principled life and work.
Since then, Margo Okazawa-Rey and I have included a piece by Melanie in our intro text/anthology for women’s and gender studies. It’s an old piece — Jews in the US — but continues to be so salient. We’re revising the book for a new edition and plan to keep this article for the next crop of students and as a small way to honor Melanie’s life.
Wishing love and peace to you and all those who hold Melanie in their hearts. We are honored to have known her.
—Gwyn Kirk