[NLA] (no subject)

[Staley, Carolyn]

Andy's note this morning says it all and I thank you, Andy, for putting
words to our grief.  We've been dumbstruck in a sense here at NIFL, which I
know you understand better than anyone, Andy.  No words can adequately
express the empty place in the life of each of us who loved Susan and whose
life she so deeply touched.  We've tried to put words to it, but maybe
that's the humor and ultimate irony:  at least in this articulation, it
requires writing. It's expressing thoughts using the artistry of words, and
Susan did that for us better than anyone. Words are sacred expressions and a
reminder of the strength and joy that literacy gives to life. 
 
We'll have a time to remember Susan's life and memorialize her properly in
the coming weeks. But for now, we just hug and weep quietly and walk past
her office and weep again. 
 
For my own part, I have felt a new strength through Susan's passing.  We're
thankful that her pain is over. But we miss her so. It's almost as if she's
here and still shining with us, and saying "It's good, but let me  look at
it and make some suggestions. I'll work on it with you and I'll get back
with you."    And everything's better because of her help. Andy called it
"Susanizing" his writing.  Her writing was a gift, yes, but she also had the
gift of helping make things better for all who knew her--encouraging people
to dream, to achieve their goals, to have lofty ideals.  To do justice, love
mercy, walk humbly with God.  That's a gift that will last forever--at
least, it will for me.  The literacy field has lost a champion and we at
NIFL have lost a true friend.
 
Carolyn 
-----Original Message-----
From: hartman [mailto:hartman at thebell.org]
Sent: Thursday, February 28, 2002 5:59 PM
To: nla at lists.literacytent.org
Subject: RE: [NLA] (no subject)


At first, when I heard the news of Susan's death the other night, I only
felt sadness.  
 
Then, I started thinking about all the ways that she was a wonderful, lovely
person.  Susan was a natural humorist, a healer and consoler, a person with
insight, a lover of all things Brazillian, and one of the most gifted
writers I have ever known.  She was a great friend.  Susan did not make you
prove you were a friend, she simply adopted you into her legion of friends
and then you could stay or leave.  Few left.  Her office at NIFL was a
magnet for people needing advice, consoling, friendship, or just a smile.  
 
Yesterday, I was thinking more about Susan's role in the national literacy
movement and at the NIFL.  Susan was very low key about her role and fended
off all attempts at recognition.  But she played a very important part in
the evolution of the field over the past fifteen years.  I first met Susan
when she was presented the Advancement of Literacy Award by the National
Coalition for Literacy.  She had played an important, if behind the scenes,
part in turning Mrs. Bush's interest in literacy into a series of events and
very public demonstrations of support that were turning points in the late
80's and early 90's.  It was not widely known, but Susan played an important
role in the creation of the National Literacy Act of 1991.  The NIFL would
not have provided the kind of support for Learning Disabilities without
Susan's leadership on the issue.  Hardly a writen word went out of the place
without having been edited, and improved, by her.  Susan, along with Lynn
Reddy, wrote "From the Margins to the Mainstream."  That document reflects
both her writing prowess and vision for the field.  If the field of adult
literacy had a Hall of Fame, Susan should be a charter member.
 
I am going to miss Susan.  She was truly a unique and special person.  If
you did not know Susan or the role she played in our field's development,
believe me, we will all miss her.
 
Andy Hartman
 
 
 
-----Original Message-----
From: nla-admin at lists.literacytent.org
[mailto:nla-admin at lists.literacytent.org] On Behalf Of Johnson, Alice
Sent: Thursday, February 28, 2002 12:42 PM
To: 'nla at lists.literacytent.org'
Subject: [NLA] (no subject)
 
It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Susan Green,
writer and editor at the Institute and long-time advocate for literacy, on
February 25th.  Susan's career included nearly a decade at the National
Institute for Literacy, 12 years with the Follow Through early literacy
program at the U.S. Department of Education, and several years on the White
House staff of First Lady Barbara Bush.  Mrs. Bush said of Susan: 
"Susan Green was one of my mentors in literacy.  She was there with me in
the beginning, when few people were really paying attention to literacy.
She was passionate about it, and would have personally taught every single
man, woman, and child in America how to read if she could have.  She was a
dear friend, a warm and loving person. She will be missed by me and all who
knew her."
A Susan Green Memorial Fund is being established to benefit at VALUE (Voice
of Adult Literacy United for Education).  Susan was a central and
irreplaceable part of the National Institute for Literacy, and is deeply
missed.  
-- Staff of the National Institute for Literacy 
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