I visited Eleanor in one of the Boston Hospitals in the summer of 1965 with Bill Riddel. I never thought she wasn't going to make it, and then she was gone. She was a thoroughly lovely girl who I had hoped to know better. She left a space in our class early on...
Ellie was my roommate for part of Freshman year. She played lacrosse and seemed very healthy when I first met her. She came in after lacrosse practice one day, however, saying she hurt all over. Soon after she was diagnosed with lupus. During the summer her parents brought her to visit me and I was shocked when they had to carry her down the stairs into our home. Even then Ellie had a smile on her face and remained positive. In the fall I was very sad to learn that she had died. Ann (Heisler) Ohren
Ellie was in our Freshman class, and was always friendly to me. She was from Marshfield, MA, and in the summer of 1965, I had a job in Boston at Mass General Hospital. I called Ellie and she invited me down to Marshfield and met me at the bus station. I saw her house, and met her mother, and we drove around the area and had a pleasant visit. A few weeks later, I went back again and had a nice visit, but her mother took me aside and told me that Ellie was actually quite ill and may need to be hospitalized.
The next time I called, her mother told me that Ellie was in the hospital in Boston with a mysterious disease that they did not know how to treat. I visited Ellie in the hospital and she was friendly but looked pale and weak. They said she had a mysterious "tropical disease", and all sorts of experts had looked at her. I went back several times to see her, and the last time was on a Saturday. Her mother was there, and looked quite distraught. Clearly, it was more serious than I realized. I told Ellie that I would be back on Wednesday, but Wednesday morning her mother called me and said Ellie had died the day before. I was shocked. It was unbelievable.
Why am I writing this? Why is this important? It is because friends are not forgotten. People may not be aware that other people notice them and remember them. But we all live on in the memories of others.
Emily Albrink (Hartigan)
Energy - toward life, with humor and verve.
Richard L. Gregor
I visited Eleanor in one of the Boston Hospitals in the summer of 1965 with Bill Riddel. I never thought she wasn't going to make it, and then she was gone. She was a thoroughly lovely girl who I had hoped to know better. She left a space in our class early on...
Harriet Ann Heisler (Ohren)
Ellie was my roommate for part of Freshman year. She played lacrosse and seemed very healthy when I first met her. She came in after lacrosse practice one day, however, saying she hurt all over. Soon after she was diagnosed with lupus. During the summer her parents brought her to visit me and I was shocked when they had to carry her down the stairs into our home. Even then Ellie had a smile on her face and remained positive. In the fall I was very sad to learn that she had died. Ann (Heisler) Ohren
William P. Riddle
Ellie was in our Freshman class, and was always friendly to me. She was from Marshfield, MA, and in the summer of 1965, I had a job in Boston at Mass General Hospital. I called Ellie and she invited me down to Marshfield and met me at the bus station. I saw her house, and met her mother, and we drove around the area and had a pleasant visit. A few weeks later, I went back again and had a nice visit, but her mother took me aside and told me that Ellie was actually quite ill and may need to be hospitalized.
The next time I called, her mother told me that Ellie was in the hospital in Boston with a mysterious disease that they did not know how to treat. I visited Ellie in the hospital and she was friendly but looked pale and weak. They said she had a mysterious "tropical disease", and all sorts of experts had looked at her. I went back several times to see her, and the last time was on a Saturday. Her mother was there, and looked quite distraught. Clearly, it was more serious than I realized. I told Ellie that I would be back on Wednesday, but Wednesday morning her mother called me and said Ellie had died the day before. I was shocked. It was unbelievable.
Why am I writing this? Why is this important? It is because friends are not forgotten. People may not be aware that other people notice them and remember them. But we all live on in the memories of others.
George E. Gill
Well said, Bill.
Fred Montgomery
Thanks, Bill. Very true.
Jay Ross Kaplan
Thank you Bill for articulating what so many of us have come to believe about friendship.