Planting Trees

I'm just back from Helen's lovely memorial service, and won't try to recount the glowing eulogies presented by a host of luminaries (among them both a current and a former U.S. Senator, some of her many, many spiritual children). Rather, I share the quote on the tiny blue spruce seedling in a tidy tube - one of which was handed to all of us as we left, which we were advised to "plant very soon" by the officiating pastor. This quote sums up Mrs. Boosalis' approach to life and public service:

The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit."
~ Nelson Henderson

"Plant very soon." Do not hesitate in doing good.

Cheers to my 250,000 strong family here in Lincoln, Nebraska, all of us "Helen's children" today. Let's all try and live up to it.

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+Helen Boosalis+ + Memory Eternal +

Former Lincoln Mayor and past gubernatorial candidate Helen Boosalis died at a Lincoln hospice this morning. Helen and her husband Mike sat in the pew behind our family's at Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church for many years. I served on committees and in clubs alongside her several times, and really have never met a classier, more gracious and intelligent, gifted natural leader. Her charm, wit and sparkling sense of humor set everyone at ease. Her energy was amazing. You will be greatly missed, Helen.

Of historical note, Mrs. Boosalis was the first woman mayor of a city with a population over 100,000 people in the nation. Her race for the governor's seat against Republican Kay Orr in 1986 was also a first for the nation. I think of her fondly every spring when the hundreds of ornamental pear trees she planted along Lincoln streets bloom, and every fall when their scarlet foliage ignites the pedestrian ways with beauty.

As the Greeks say, eonia I mnimi ~ eternal be her memory. Rest in peace, dear sister.

Bradford pear blossoms like the ones on the trees that grace Lincoln, Nebraska thanks to Helen!