Wrote to a friend to find out how she was - a cancer had returned and her much awaited visit to Australia had to be postponed to allow her to have treatment. I did not hear back which was not like her. So I wrote to a mutual friend to find out news. She answered almost immediately to tell me she had passed away on Monday after complications from surgery. Mary Anne was with her till the end.
I put my hand to my mouth and drew my breath in hard. You see she had always been one of these indestructible, incredibly sensible, totally organised, completely alert and very go- getting women with whom I had shared many a walk in the Swiss Alps, many a Committee meeting, and many a lunch and dinner. We had kept up a good exchange wherever I was in the world and had been so delighted that Brisbane was finally in her travel plans. Talking of which there very few places in the world she had not been to, together with her friend and for the years we lived closer, we would look forward to their return from their world wide adventures so we could pick their brains on the Emperor Penguin's life or the joys of the Trans Siberian Express.She delighted us with her tales and her photo albums always meticulously prepared and annotated of where they had been and what they had seen. She lived her life more dynamically, more eloquently and more appreciatively then anyone I know so I should not feel sad, and yet I feel a sense of loss and grief, remembering her kind face and smiling eyes, as once and perhaps only once, while climbing a steep and snowy side, she asked for my hand to steady her passage.
I put my hand to my mouth and drew my breath in hard. You see she had always been one of these indestructible, incredibly sensible, totally organised, completely alert and very go- getting women with whom I had shared many a walk in the Swiss Alps, many a Committee meeting, and many a lunch and dinner. We had kept up a good exchange wherever I was in the world and had been so delighted that Brisbane was finally in her travel plans. Talking of which there very few places in the world she had not been to, together with her friend and for the years we lived closer, we would look forward to their return from their world wide adventures so we could pick their brains on the Emperor Penguin's life or the joys of the Trans Siberian Express.She delighted us with her tales and her photo albums always meticulously prepared and annotated of where they had been and what they had seen. She lived her life more dynamically, more eloquently and more appreciatively then anyone I know so I should not feel sad, and yet I feel a sense of loss and grief, remembering her kind face and smiling eyes, as once and perhaps only once, while climbing a steep and snowy side, she asked for my hand to steady her passage.
The wonderful and unforgettable Doreen Barrack 1935- 2016.
To her life long friend and support Mary Anne my heartfelt hugs.
Marina~Such a poignant account of friendship and loss...
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry.
Laurie Cummins