In memoriam E.G.

Hello again
This is probably the most personal post I've ever tapped out on these keys.
Sad news reached me late last night: Esther G., one of my slightly older friends, a great scholar on George Mackay Brown, very recently decided to put an end to her life.
Esther was not only one of the most intelligent, but most certainly the kindest, most generous, most self-effacing, modest woman I have ever known. It seems that she could no longer bear the pain she had been in for some time.
At our last meeting a few months ago, I noticed again that she was limping very badly. I asked her what the matter was and she mentioned her hips. But when I suggested she seek help from a specialist (I know a couple of really great hip specialists around here), she just shook her head, smiled and limped off.
I think she may have worn herself out caring for her sick father, which she did for many years without telling anyone, until shortly before he died in May 2006. I hoped she would manage to recover and for a while it looked like she did. But perhaps the gap he left behind was too great...
Although I think this is a huge waste and I doubt that it would be my way, I respect Esther for what she did. It takes courage.
I know we all will miss her terribly. She may have been a retiring person, a bit of a loner even, but she did have lots of friends who cared about her.We will miss her acute and astute comments on books we read and discussed together. We will miss her quiet, often rueful, but always loving smile. We will miss the sight of her usually unruly mop of greying curls above her slightly stooped petite figure with the thin waist. We will miss hearing her voice and her occasional laughter. We will miss her generosity, the thoughtful gifts she so often surprised us with. We will even miss the camera that she would pull out of her bag to snap a souvenir, which she would then promptly send out in many envelopes -- because she was generous, and she liked to share.(Esther in a happy mood, late Oct. 2005)

I will personally miss her because she and I shared a love of Scotland, and she introduced me to one of Scotland's finest writers and poets, George Mackay Brown, whose entire works she translated into German -- a massive, massive achievement.
My life would have been so much the poorer without her.
Thank you, Esther, and good-bye -- it was a huge privilege to have known you.