Farewell Mary Vance

[Janet Gilmore]

Dear Sangha,

A member of our sangha, Mary Vance, died this afternoon after a very brief illness.  She was admitted to the hospital on January 4th after symptoms began just before Christmas. She was diagnosed with some sort of lymphoma around a week later and they felt that it was treatable and they were optimistic about her recovery.  Since her immune system was compromised they didn't want visitors and she remained in the hospital for treatment. At first the treatment appeared to be working, then her lung got punctured during a procedure and she got sepsis, then lymphoma spread to her central nervous system. This all happened very very quickly.  

Those of us in the book group felt especially close to Mary since we all get to know each other deeply through discussions of the books we study and sharing our experience of practicing the dharma in our everyday lives.   Mary was always gentle, sincere and authentic every time she spoke and she was clearly a devoted student of the Dharma. She will be greatly missed.

Please keep Mary and her husband, Dan, in your loving kindness practice and tonglen. She had been registered for the upcoming retreat until this sudden illness.  We will certainly be holding her in our hearts throughout the retreat.

I'll get an address for her husband and share it when I do. 

with love and gratitude, 

Janet