A Fond Farewell to a Dear Friend

Jean Bolz died yesterday. Jean was the kindest, gentlest, person I ever knew. She was a HUMANIST in every way that one can define that word. The newspaper said that Jean lived in Minnesota and Fargo, North Dakota. I hadn't known that, but when I read that, I said to myself, "Yes, that is where I would expect a person like Jean to come from." She possessed a purity that a blind man could hear and a deaf man could see. She was soft in voice, but firm in values. If you crossed her principles, you would be told about it, but you would be allowed up for air! That was Jean's personality as best as I can describe her.
I knew Jean as a fellow teacher at the Worcester Adult Learning Center. Jean taught Pre-GED, GED, Adult Basic Education, and may have substituted at times in the English for Speakers of Other Languages Program. Whatever program Jean taught in, the student was always FIRST and she dealt with them in a HUMAN and PROFESSIONAL way (both) in the same manner as the other teachers who worked with Jean at the time: Mary Jane Howard, Margaret Farrey, Ann O'Leary, Ann Doyle,Cathy Coleman, Pat Dumphy, Ellen Sweeney, and others whom I have forgotten. It was an era of excellent, compassionate teaching and Jean had much to do with it.
Jean was married to the late Ray Bolz who was the Dean of Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Both Jean and Ray were of the Unitarian religion which stresses PEACE and HARMONY and both of these individuals were the pictures of both. I can recall being at social gatherings at Worcester Tech and at Jean and Ray's house and what gracious host and hostess they were. I can recall how proud Ray was when he moved into his new house after he retired from Worcester Tech. This must be over ten years ago now when I visited and he was very energy conscious then. He was very proud of the extra insulation that he put into his house and the solar panels that had been installed on the roof. He also loved his state of the art workshop (he was an engineer) that he showed me in his cellar. Unfortunately, he had little time to use it because Ray passed away shortly after that.
What is Jean's legacy? I would say it is the values that must live on in the lovely family that she leaves behind. I saw how strong those values were, so they have to be strong in them. She also has left a part of herself in me and and I am sure all the lives of all the students she met. What better legacy could there be,Jean?