In memoriam……..

A while ago I wrote of travelling back to the BVI so that we could help a friend who had been diagnosed with terminal cancer.  It was a tough few weeks, during which I learned much. I learned of the kindness of strangers, the ring in Dante’s inferno that was designed specifically to accommodate the US medical system, I learned of inner strength and empathy, and so much more.

Aileen taught us a lot about dignity in the face of an implacable foe and finally showed us just how incredibly strong one tiny person can be.  Particularly one as stubborn as she.

And this morning the bright light that was Aileen Narizzano Malcolm is no more.  She has left us with memories to treasure – of endless games of Scrabble, huge meals, great parties, litres of red wine, wonderful art, magical books shared and critiqued, the three weeks that she spent with us here at Les Terraces with Judy, which produced another slew of paintings and so much more.  There is so much to celebrate in her life that it is, perhaps, wrong to mourn her.  She poured huge amounts of love into the children to whom she gave birth, those that she adopted as very small people and those who became part of her adult adopted family.  Yes, she could be chippy and difficult.  She had her mean moments too, but who doesn’t?

Aileen was an inspiration in her slightly hippyish way… she loved her south American adventures with Judy, her best friend of 50 years, and the first sign real that all was not well with her was her reluctance to plan this year’s trip.  Aileen, filled with enthusiasm after their trip down the Amazon in 2012, had wanted to do more.  She was over 60 when she decided to get a tattoo – a butterfly, so appropriate for the ephemeral beauty they represent – somewhere in the forests of Belize.

Aileen - queen of the caricatures (although she insists that they weren't), from a photo taken one night while she was visiting Les Terraces.

Fly well my friend, and enjoy the next journey – whatever it proves to be.  Tomorrow I shall wear purple for you.

2 thoughts on “In memoriam……..”

  1. Farewell to a truly enlightening and enigmatic lady.

    “There are some we meet in passing,
    And forget as soon as they go,
    There are some we remember with pleasure,
    And feel honoured and privileged to know,
    You were that kind of person”

    [Author Unknown]

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