An endearing gift

By LAURIE STUART
Posted 12/18/24

One of the most endearing gifts one can receive is the gift of companionship and mentoring. A wise voice. Wisdom shared. Help received.

I, and the River Reporter, have been blessed with such …

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An endearing gift

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One of the most endearing gifts one can receive is the gift of companionship and mentoring. A wise voice. Wisdom shared. Help received.

I, and the River Reporter, have been blessed with such beings throughout the decades. None were more instrumental and influencial than the three older women who joined the staff in the early 1980s: Gert Kuneman, Jean Kerrigan and Grace Johansen.

Gert, a retired college president’s secretary, spent four days typing editorial copy each week. She and I would have lunch every Monday. She was encouraging and always reminded me that I needed to “Let go, and let God.” Her words and her wisdom accompanied me through whatever trials I was experiencing in the moment. In my 40s, I adopted her as my Godmother, and she adopted me as her Goddaughter.

Jean, a retired publishing executive, was the epitomy of a volunteer. A member of the Tusten Volunteer Ambulance, St. Francis Church Auxiliary and numerous other organizations, Jean paved the way for community members to accept the paper as part of the community. She made the paper legitimate in the eyes of longtime residents. Ever gracious, ever helpful. And always selling raffle tickets!

Grace Johansen was a force of nature, assuming the role of the paper’s first advertising manager. Between her, Gert and Jean, with newspaper board president Beth Peck in the forefront, they launched the Tusten Cochecton Library.

Beyond that, they held me steady through their work and their love of community.

Join me in honoring those who have influenced you by participating in the Monthly Conversation Experiment by answering the prompt with a short reflection: Who has influenced you? Why was it meaningful? What is the most precious gift you have received from another?

Send your short reflections, poetry, and artwork to editor@riverreporter.com. The deadline for this prompt is December 31.

monthly conversation experiment, influence, guardian, companion, endearing gift, mentor

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