The first time I met Connie was 1970 or 71, on Monhegan. Around that time, Connie and Leon bought a home in Woodacre, which was next to where I was living, in the bucolic valley called San Geronimo, in California.
We might say we shared the San Geronimo Valley Community Center. I regularly taught t’ai chi ch’uan there and Connie had many art shows and exhibits. The local cafe was also often furnished with her paintings. I have one of Connie’s wonderful paintings hanging in my living room.
I spoke to Connie mid-June. I have always been impressed and happy by how her friends and students have gathered around her to help and take care of her in such a loving manner. In the announcement they sent to inform us of her passing they wrote:
“Connie celebrated each and every one of us. She enriched our lives and the world with her passion for art, for healing, for peace.”
That is the way I like to remember Connie.
