Bertha Livingstone

As I get older, what I cherish most in life are the people. Bert was one of the special ones. As I reread her obituary, I'm struck by how many good things she did, some of which I never knew about. I'm not sure how much she influenced my love of gardening, as it came later in my life. But I think of her often when I notice the beauty of nature. As with so much of my life, I feel very lucky to have known Bert. She will not be forgotten! A visitor to my home recently commented on a piece of...

Bert was my boss at the Biology Forestry Library in the 1970's when my husband was in graduate school at Duke, but she quickly became my friend. She was also the best boss I ever had. We have kept in touch all these years. The last time I visited was sometime around 2010, I think, after she had moved to the little house that Mary and David built for her. My daughter and I spent several days with her at Easter in 1996 in Durham. I remember having chocolate-mint ice cream with her! She...