A Mother's Day Tribute

My Mom has always loved and believed in me. That’s as powerful as it gets. She made

me feel like anything was possible if you just tried, because hard work resulted in

great results. The daughter of Irish immigrants, she was raised by a Mother who

worked as a cook, nanny, secretary and seamstress for the wealthy Mainline families.

Her Father was a gardener at the Schmidt (Schmidt’s Brewery heir) Estate. My grandfather

later in life became the Justice of the Peace for Radnor. My Mother’s manners were impeccable,

in part due to her exposure to the wealthy families for whom her family worked, and her

schooling by the Immaculate Heart sisters, but mostly it was due to her kindness. To this

day I have NEVER heard her utter an unkind word about another person and her integrity

is unmatched by no one. She would tell me, “If you have nothing good to say, then

say nothing at all.”

Of the two things that I like most about my mother, the first is her

passing on her love for music to EVERYONE. She started to play piano and sing at age

three. (What an underachiever!). Everyone in our house had to play an instrument and sing, and

the family motto for our parties was, “You have to sing for your supper.” The second most

important lesson she has taught me is that being a good person - inside and out—is the most

important part of life. It wasn’t money, it wasn’t your career, or your looks. It was how you treated

people. Being kind and giving was paramount to living a successful life. She constantly gave

back by her being an educator for thirty eight years, teaching math and science. She retired after

she received her PhD. She was a straight “A” student and loved teaching others to learn. She

believed that knowledge is the kind of power that no one can ever take away. She often talked

about Nazi Germany and how the Nazis had stripped Jews and Catholics of all their possessions

and freedom, and eventually for many, their very lives, and yet there was one thing they could

never destroy- the educated minds of these people. No matter how the Nazis tried to take every

decent thing away, they couldn’t strip them of their degrees or steal their education. Think about

that. A powerful message.

My Mom is very ill now and I’d like to honor her by establishing a scholarship in her name. It occurred

to me after thinking about this process, that many of you may want to honor your spouse

or child or maybe even your Mom or Dad. Most of us will never have the level of money you need

to have a building named after us or even an endowment at the university level, but we do things

at BWSF a little differently because we can. If you would like to have your name carried on and

each generation of your family involved with choosing a scholar, then please call me. When I was

young and had a high school friend pass away, I wrote a song for the family. In the song, the chorus

described how my friend would never truly die if we were to remember her in our minds. Establishing

a named scholarship allows this type of dream to come true.

I have the most wonderful Father, but for now I would like to thank my Mom. She has left me:

 -Unconditional love that will last forever;

 -The ability to be thankful and resilient in all circumstances;

 -A love of learning and the desire to continuously improve;

 -Patience and self confidence;

 -A kind spirit and a generous heart;

 -The wisdom to make good decisions;

 -The capacity to take care of those that God has entrusted to me;

 -The ability to lead, serve, and value differences;

 -The habit of always trying to do my best;

 -The courage to do the right thing and to strategically fight when needed.

Happy Mother’s and Father’s Day