Photograph of her daughters running through the woods, taken by Edna.

[My mother] once told me about a boyfriend she'd had when she was 16. He traveled to Switzerland with the Boy Scouts and brought back an amethyst necklace for her. (She gave it to me on my 21st birthday, as it was my birthstone.) Apparently, his mother broke them up as she felt they were becoming too amorous.

I see my mother as an extremely intelligent, capable woman, who despite a fierce determination to attain a college education and a successful career as a chemist, became trapped by the social conventions of her time.

I have two favorite memories. The first is from my childhood. When I was a little girl she used to take me with her when she went walking in White’s Woods. She would point things out to me, the light on a flower, the dew in a spider web, fall foliage reflected in a pond. I have often thought she taught me to really see everything around me from a very early age. The second is when she was ill. It was her last Easter and we were in CT. Everyone else was asleep and I was getting your Easter baskets ready. We sat together on the floor in the back bedroom and filled plastic eggs and chatted. We had so much fun.

She believed very strongly in non-violence. Other than that I can’t think of values that she instilled in me. She wasn’t the type to instill her views/values on others. She would discuss her point of view, but was respectful of different opinions. I was always treated with respect.

A funny story: As little girls, Suzy and I went to the Catskill Game Farm with Mom and Dad. Mom was taking pictures of us at the petting zoo, and one of the little animals, a goat I think, got a hold of Suzy’s dress and was chewing on the dress instead of the normal food. [My sister] was scared and crying, and Mom, the photographer, had to make a decision whether to comfort the child or get the shot!

I think I mentioned when we spoke about how Mom followed the Civil Rights Movement and explained it to me. How she seemed proud of our pastor who went to the South to participate in what he believed was right. She was a quiet person who had her own mind.

When she worked at American Cynamid (in the chemistry labs) she decided to wear pants in the lab as a safety measure. This was in a time when ladies all wore skirts and silk stockings to work. The rumor around work was that she must have scarred legs or something since she had to cover them up! She proudly joined the previously all-male chess club at work – very proud to be included based on her intelligence.

Do you know that she didn’t dream in color? She even dreamed in black and white!

Susan (nearest) and Laurel. Photograph taken by Edna.

Laurel is now a math teacher in Florida.