[Dialogue] Mary Coggeshall

marilyncrocker marilyncrocker at juno.com
Fri Feb 26 23:08:59 CST 2010


Hi Dear K. Elise,

I loved reading your piece on Losing Mary.  Wasn't she a great lady,
indeed!!

Our memories of that fine Coggeshall family were first with Bayard, who
came to the Maliwada consult in December 1975, I imagine as most US docs
at that time, quite walking on the cutting edge of the untested, and yet
willing to explore, venture, step over the abyss.  Little did we know
that a powerhouse gal stood in the shadows of the homeland and was ready
to do all you have described, and more.

Our Order was blessed to have the Coggeshall family, like so many others
who decided to be "those who care," join us, take our hands, often lead
us and encourage us to "do the impossible deed."

I trust Mary and Bayard's kids and grandkids know how important their
forebears have been in what we once (and rightly) called "the civilizing
process."  I hope they (the dear ones now remaining) might dip into
Saviours of God and somehow come to know that their parents and grands
were, indeed, making stepping stones along the crimson line.

Thank you for initiating our OE celebration of dear Mary.

With love and appreciation,

Marilyn

On Fri, 26 Feb 2010 09:36:45 -0700 "George Packard"
<george.packard1 at rcn.com> writes:
Dear Colleagues,
Tomorrow is a memorial service for  Mary Coggeshall.   In honor of the
many contributions that Mary made to the life and work of ICA, and
knowing that many of us in the ICA network will continue to benefit from
her wisdom, I share this bit of writing.
In gratitude,
Elise
K. Elise Packard, Ph.D., Project Manager
International Family Literacy Initiative
ProLiteracy Worldwide,  www.proliteracy.org
 
 
Losing Mary
 
L
ast month I received word of Mary Coggeshall’s passing, and felt sadness
at the loss of a friend and an ally in the work of peace and justice. 
“Main Street Mary” had earned her name from neighbors who admired her
passion for making good things happen in her own community. I knew her as
someone who extended her main street to dirt roads continents away.
 
I lost Mary once in Chile.  She was not lost, but I could not find her
shortly after she was supposed to arrive in Santiago. She had ventured
beyond the quiet streets of New Jersey to travel to Santiago to encourage
our work in a small Chilean village during the time of the Pinochet
government. In the political environment of that era, people were
“disappeared”; so not knowing if Mary had arrived, or where she and her
friend, Retty, might be staying was unsettling.  In 1978 there were no
cell phones; in fact, there were no phones at all in the village. Making
a call required walking several miles into the next town to call from the
municipal office.  I walked, I called hotels…..no Mary. That evening we
were hosting a reception in Santiago for those who were supporting our
work, so I traveled on the bus with members of our development team from
the village to the city. When we entered the hotel, the site of the
reception, there was Mary standing with Retty at the top of the
stairs….smiling, saying “Welcome to Santiago.”  Mary was at ease, in
spite of having had to find her way from the airport to the hotel without
the benefit of speaking Spanish.  She was in a new place, but she was not
lost.
 
Mary once said that when she, Retty and I got together, you could expect
the unexpected. When I was asked to meet Mary and Retty at the airport in
Chicago, I was determined not to lose them. This time, with the benefit
of a telephone, I was right there when they arrived, ready to pack their
luggage into the car and gracefully move through Chicago traffic.  As the
three of us talked about past adventures and present concerns, I noticed
that we were low on gas. I was relieved to find a gas station; but in
exiting the car, I noted that we had a flat tire.  Mary and Retty were
game to walk to a nearby ice cream store for a treat while a mechanic
changed the tire. I was flustered, Retty found it humorous, and Mary was
calm.
 
In fact, Mary was calm driving the New Jersey Turnpike, hosting a formal
reception, sharing a cup of tea in her kitchen. Calm, but not shy about
raising concerns and asking tough questions.  “Is what we are doing
changing lives?”  “Are we beginning an action that will be sustained over
years?” 
 
I will no longer be able to share a cup of tea with Main Street Mary,
seeking her advice. I won’t  be able to laugh with her about old times;
nor cook up plans for the future. But she is with me in the memory of her
calm and her questions.  I can ask for her advice; and see her warm
smile.
 
We have lost Mary, but she is not lost 
 
                                                                         
                                                 Elise Packard, January
2010


Marilyn R. Crocker, Ed.D
Crocker & Associates, Inc.
123 Sanborn Road
West Newfield, ME 04095
(207) 793-3711
____________________________________________________________
Senior Assisted Living
Put your loved ones in good hands with quality senior assisted living. Click now!
http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL2141/c?cp=Yah7h6T959VjBC8Em5SMSgAAJ1Aa0VHddhFJfdUOLQjqOi3XAAYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAADNAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASUQAAAAA=
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://wedgeblade.net/pipermail/dialogue_wedgeblade.net/attachments/20100227/654b0f0c/attachment.html>


More information about the Dialogue mailing list