Loss of a Friend: Dr. Evelyn Golden

There is a bit of irony with my last post. After I had written it, a friend called to tell me of another friend's death. Her name was Effy. We worked together in the kitchen at the synagogue, and she was a favorite person there. She was the oldest and slowest, but she had the best attitude and was a working inspiration. I loved working with her because we would always laugh and talk about our gardens. She always took egg shells home from an evenings cooking to chop up and spread in her garden. She was a tiny woman, bent with age, but she moved fairly well, and she cooked great chicken legs.

A month or two ago she fell ill and couldn't come to the kitchen any more. Her death is sad for us because she was an amazing woman, more amazing than I ever knew because she had no pretending and spent most of her time listening rather than talking. But, she was hurting and her death has spared her more pain. I take solace in that.

But this post was not intended to be a tribute to a friend (though in a way I guess it is). Rather I thought it fitting given my last post about searching to do more in my community. Effie and I had mostly talked about our gardens, the kitchen and my work at Eastern Michigan University. I had met her daughter, though we had talked little. So I really knew little about Effy and what she had done before our paths crossed in the kitchen. I learned a lot about her when I read her obituary. It's the longest one I've ever seen, and it's inspirational. I encourage you to read it and hopefully find your own inspiration. It was printed in today's Flint Journal. Here is the link: mlive.com - Death Notices