This is certainly the hardest thing I've ever had to write, and my heart is very heavy trying to find the words.
I am very sad to have to tell you that Patricia has died after 2 weeks in hospital. Her partner requested that this be kept private while she was ill, but he has given me permission to share this news now and I felt that her friends would want to know.
She was loved by so many of us for her kindness, intelligence, humour, wit... for the beautiful books she so generously made and shared with us, for the even-tempered perspective she brought to all discussions, for her readiness to help, for her compassion and the friendship she showed us. She was at the heart of MobileRead, one of the people who made it the place it is, one of the reasons I (and many of us, I know) wanted to spend time here.
She will be sorely missed. Some of us in Paris got to know her personally when she came to our meetups and we will always feel her absence now.
Words can't express my grief knowing that I won't see her again and I know that many of you who knew her well will share it. I am sorry to bring such tragic news. Today is a dark day and we are all poorer for the loss of one of the finest souls I have ever known, someone I was happy and privileged and proud to count as my dear friend.
Please feel free to share some stories and memories of Patricia here to honour her, if you like. I think she would have liked that.
UPDATE :
I have sent the link to this thread to Patricia's partner who shared it with her sister and daughter and they are all very moved by all your heartfelt words. i wish i had the eloquence of some of you ; you all seem to speak from my heart so much better than i can right now.
i also asked if there were any charities we might give to, in Patricia's name. after discussing it, Patricia's family has proposed three, the combination of which would best represent Patricia :
Gingerbread (which helps single parents, and which did help Patricia),
http://www.gingerbread.org.uk/portal...portal/Website
the Stroke Association (which helps stroke victims - in a way, this is what Patricia was)
http://www.stroke.org.uk/
and
Medical Aid for Palestine.
http://www.map-uk.org/
According to her partner, the tradition in the UK is that cheques are sent to the funeral directors, who would then send donations to those charities. However since we are such an international population, this may not be practical for everyone, so i've included direct links to the charities sites. When i have the information about the funeral director i will add it here, as well.
UPDATE 2
pilotbob has set up a donation page :
Quote:
Originally Posted by pilotbob
I have created a Donation Page which will split your domain in Memorium of Pat evenly among the three charities requested by her family.
http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/PatClark
You can make your donation on line with a credit card. I hope this helps people make a donation to all three charities in one pass.
BOb |
UPDATE 3
Here is the information about Patricia's funeral arrangements, if anyone in the UK would like to attend the service :
Quote:
The Memorial Service for Pat will be held at 12.30 on Thursday 16 September in the Wenalt Chapel, Thornhill Crematorium. Participants are requested not to bring flowers, but donations can be made to any of three charities (Gingerbread, the Stroke Association and Medical Aid for Palestinians), c/o Tovey Bros Funeral Directors, 9/11 Cardiff Road, Newport NP20 2EH. A collection will also be made on the day.
The Memorial Service will be followed by a private burial for close family only.
Please do circulate news about the Memorial Service to anyone you think might be interested.
Pat has also already received a rather unusual form of e-commemoration. She was a keen participant in the Mobile Read Forum, a web-site which circulates free (and legal!) copies of electronic books. Usually the tone of the contributions is either light-hearted and/or geeky, but the section devoted to Pat is rather different.
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...39#post1095039
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Thornhill Crematorium is in Cardiff, Wales, for those unfamiliar with it. Thanks Sparrow for suggesting I clarify that.
http://www.remembranceonline.co.uk/m...ll-crematorium