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Today's my late mother's birthday. If not for ovarian cancer, today she would be 85 years old. She was remarkable. Top of her class at Oklahoma City's Classen High School, she managed to get to Radcliffe despite coming from humble origin. 1/n
She would go by train from OKC to Boston, worked several campus jobs and received tuition assistance (no loans back then) and scraped by. Her goals, like many of her peers, was to marry, have a family, and be active in her community. 2/n
She raised 5 kids w/ my father who worked in aerospace during the exciting Apollo era. His salary didn't go as far as needed in SoCal, so she began teaching school. At first she taught US History, but the small private school soon had her teaching lots of things, including... 3/n
automotive care. Seriously! She read the DMV manual, got books from the library and taught those boys and girls to check the oil, change a filter, and change a tire. She was incredible! She was also very active in... 4/n
local and international politics. She was an early organizer for protesting the Soviet treatment of Jews. She was a poll worker who got excited to see a first time voter. She'd buy them donuts and a Coke out of her own money (back then, no stickers!) 5/n
Eventually, Mom became one of the first stock brokers, now known as financial advisors, on the West Coast. She would sit among these men, many of whom smoked cigars in the office or who went out "after the close" for many martinis, and she just worked so hard to build 6/n
her client book. She worked longer, harder than anyone I know. She sent letters to everyone in the phone book. (I got a penny for each envelope I addressed.) Slowly but surely, she built up a huge book and became one of the top brokers in the country. 7/n
She was a loving and attentive grandma. She raised funds for so many great organizations. She interviewed applicants for Harvard for years. She was amazing and I guess most of us think our mom is. Happy Birthday Mom!
