We have missed Jeanne these last four years since her death on January 10, 2012. During her last days a stream of visitors at Baltimore's Mercy Hospital visited and realized soon enough that her death was near. Her siblings, Eileen, Tony, Mary and I, and her husband, Frank, could say only "I wish I could take the place of the dearest and youngest among us."
So on this anniversary I show two of my favorites of her water colors. The first above is surely her own testimony. The lovely floral grouping growing right out of what must be one of her own boots, a boot worn on her own foot, a boot that had to assist her in her life-long struggle with lymphedema. We never heard her complain about it. And thus we never thought of her as disabled though her leg required constant daily attention so that it not distract her from her generous commitments to life. The flowers remind us about the mysterious relationships of our struggles to the beauty that we find in life, something that Jeanne learned better than the rest of us.
This second painting (and I wish my photos did more justice) is her homage to Henri Matisse. Matisse had the advantage of spending time in Cote d'Azur. Jeanne never visited there, a region of sunlight, sand and beautiful waters. Here Jeanne offers us shadow and light on a breezy afternoon. I imagine her there today walking out on this veranda and strolling down to the sea.
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