Sunshine Laughing

I met Anna-Marie in December of 1980. Our initial conversations revealed her to be a deep thinker. For her degrees in education (she graduated with two), Anna-Marie took numerous philosophy courses, at which she excelled. Her skill at poetry reflected her superior intelligence and depth of understanding of many difficult subjects which she chose to embrace. Anna-Marie was multi-talented, and that's an understatement. Her poetry reflects this. However, she was not arrogant or high-minded quite the opposite. Anna-Marie had a passion for people and especially as a teacher, for her students. Indeed, at the age of 12 years, she chose to pursue the profession because of a bad teacher she had that year, and she didn't want other students to suffer the same experience. If you were fortunate enough to be in Mrs. Fuller's elementary school class, it would be a seminal event that would change your life. I know because I lost count of the students and their parents who confessed as much. I can also add my voice to theirs because I had the distinct privilege of being married to Anna-Marie for 39 years, and she changed me in ways I can't even begin to describe. Without her influence in my life, I would be a much different person today. A much lesser person. Anna-Marie's poetry reflects her compassion and understanding of the human condition. And nestled in among all the deep thinking, there are some fun little gems that show Anna-Marie had a lighter side a playful side that rounded her out and made her all too human.