There is a common trait to a lot of stories told here: how well she was able to rise above the differences of opinion (and, boy, there were so many), and still be personally nice to everyone, even with the ones that would get under her skin. And that, I can assure, was completely genuine. It is related, but not completely explained, by her tendency to see mostly the best in people -- something that heavily influenced her political views.
I had the privilege to meet her in person a few times late last year in NY. She guided me and the missus through all South Manhattan. We had a lovely time. She kept insisting for us to visit the Tenement museum, which is not exactly a museum, but more like a series of guided tours though the city, with a distinctive political/ideological background. I kindly kept declining, she new exactly why, and she kept insisting anyway, She even said, "I know you don't want to go, but I will keep suggesting it". She simply held to her beliefs, big or small, no matter what.
And I must confess, before I went to New York, I had second (and third, and fourth) toughts about contacting her about it. We simply disagreed about everything. Ou conversations were always an exercise in finding common ground, and most of the times, it was quite hard, given how far away from each other our positions were. But, much to my surprise, she was extremely welcoming (and I could see she knew I had second toughts). She acted like we never disagreed about anything and/or that those disagreements were completely irrelevant.
That was a lifetime lesson.
).
But such a warm person on a private thread. Darn... I still can't get over it. I never met this person, but some of us have been interacting with her for decades. There will be a void that I'll selfishly miss
