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In Memoriam

In Memoriam:                                                              Nancy Hartshorne Freeman Creshkoff

An amazing woman died recently, died quietly in the early morning hours of November 19th in New York City. She had been so many things in her life: radio producer and writer for the early FM radio show Children's Circle, editor for textbook companies like McGraw-Hill and Macmillan, associate editor of the journal Curator published  by the American Museum of Natural History, just to name a few of her accomplishments. She had been a single mother and breadwinner decades before this became even remotely acceptable. She was the very model of a hardworking professional, attacking each job with determination and commitment to excellence, but at the same time remaining a warm and generous person, perpetually compassionate to those who had the good fortune to cross her path. Physically, Nancy Creshkoff was striking to look at: she wore bold colors, knotted scarves and dramatic jewelry, she had a mane of hair pushed back from her forehead, she had a style all her own.

I'm partial of course, she was my mother.

An extremely busy mother who still involved herself in the lives of her children: Mary, John, Maggie and Rebekah, and was supportive of my father, Larry, throughout hard times as well as good during their 54 years of marriage. She took the time to make extraordinary birthday parties for her children; parties that school friends (now more than middle-aged) remember to this day; a mother who truly listened to what was being said and understood what was not being said; a mother who became my partner in clay more than 25 years ago, supporting and encouraging me in a quixotic endeavor even though she never really enjoyed the muddy stuff herself.

She had been ill so long, her body failing to the degree that each day she seemed to lose more autonomy, more control. Isn't this what we all fear in the end, this helplessness? At the end Nancy Hartshorne Freeman Creshkoff faced those extreme limitations with remarkable grace and dignity, exhibiting the same grit and courage she had shown throughout her entire life. And so I ask you all to remember my mother; a truly remarkable woman. Please hold her in your thoughts for a moment, and grant her a small measure of the immortality she deserves.

Thank you

              

There is such beauty all around us...