In loving memory of those who made our lives
and the world a brighter place. Gone too soon.
The Most Revered
Desmond Tutu OMSG CG GSCtJ
October 7th, 1931 – December 26th, 2021
Bishop Desmond Tutu was born in 1931 in Klerksdorp, Transvaal. His father was a teacher, and he himself was educated at Johannesburg Bantu High School. After leaving school he trained first as a teacher at Pretoria Bantu Normal College and in 1954 he graduated from the University of South Africa. After three years as a high school teacher, he began to study theology, being ordained as a priest in 1960. The years 1962-66 were devoted to further theological study in England leading up to a Master of Theology. From 1967 to 1972 he taught theology in South Africa before returning to England for three years as the assistant director of a theological institute in London. In 1975 he was appointed Dean of St. Mary’s Cathedral in Johannesburg, the first black to hold that position. From 1976 to 1978 he was Bishop of Lesotho, and in 1978 became the first black General Secretary of the South African Council of Churches. Tutu is an honorary doctor of a number of leading universities in the USA, Britain, and Germany.
Desmond Tutu has formulated his objective as “a democratic and just society without racial divisions”, and has set forward the following points as minimum demands:
1. equal civil rights for all
2. the abolition of South Africa’s passport laws
3. a common system of education
4. the cessation of forced deportation from South Africa to the so-called “homelands”
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
August 10, 1993 – September 18, 2020
On marriage
“Every now and then it helps to be a little deaf...That advice has stood me in good stead. Not simply in dealing with my marriage, but in dealing with my colleagues.”
“If you have a caring life partner, you help the other person when that person needs it. I had a life partner who thought my work was as important as his, and I think that made all the difference for me.”
On creating change
"I tell law students… if you are going to be a lawyer and just practice your profession, you have a skill—very much like a plumber. But if you want to be a true professional, you will do something outside yourself… something that makes life a little better for people less fortunate than you."
"Real change, enduring change, happens one step at a time."
"Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you."
"Women will have achieved true equality when men share with them the responsibility of bringing up the next generation."
On her life
"My mother told me to be a lady. And for her, that meant be your own person, be independent."
"So often in life, things that you regard as an impediment turn out to be great, good fortune."
"Reading is the key that opens doors to many good things in life. Reading shaped my dreams, and more reading helped me make my dreams come true."
On how she would like to be remembered
"Someone who used whatever talent she had to do her work to the very best of her ability. And to help repair tears in her society, to make things a little better through the use of whatever ability she has. To do something, as my colleague David Souter would say, outside myself. ‘Cause I’ve gotten much more satisfaction for the things that I’ve done for which I was not paid."
Chadwick Aaron Boseman
November 29, 1976 - August 28, 2020
Deeply saddened to hear that we have lost such an inspirational young man.
He helped me connect to a new group of students when I entered their lives halfway through the year.
We didn't know each other, they were missing their beloved teacher and I needed to find a way to connect. We found our common ground in Wakanda as we did a film study on #Blackpanther.
Thank you for bringing us a little closer and for being a bright light of human authenticity in a world the can sometimes feel so big and dark and scary.
All our love to his family, friends and supporters the world over. He was taken too soon.
An honest man here lies at rest, in power:
The friend of man, the friend of truth,
The friend of age, and guide of youth:
Few hearts like his, with virtue warm'd,
Few heads with knowledge so inform'd;
If there's another world, he lives in bliss;
If there is none, he made the best of this.
-Epitaph On A Friend - Robert Burns
Image courtesy:https://www.artstation.com/bosslogic
Kenneth Robinson
4 March 1950 - 21 August 2020
How do you express what someone meant to you if you never actually met them?
Sir Ken was one of the first to open my eyes as a teacher. He ignited the learning disruptor in me and for that, I will forever be grateful.
The pain
That made you
The odd one out
Is the story
That connects you
To a healing world
Eleven - Tanya Markul
Leeloominai Lekatariba Lamiatcha Ebat de Sabat - My Lilu
15 November 1998 - 5 May 2020
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Terence David John Pratchett
28 April 1948 - 12 March 2015
My muse and he only, really, entered my life when he had already left his behind.
"Talent just defines what you do,' he said.
'It doesn't define what you are. Deep down I mean.
When you know what you are, you can do anything.'
Sir Terry Pratchett