MARYANN RICH

RICH--Maryann B. (September 1, 1958 - November 28, 1996) Artist, died 20 years ago today from pancreatic cancer. Maryann was exceptionally talented, keenly intelligent, brilliant and beautiful. Her conversation spiced with her delightfully sardonic wit - she was utterly charming. The memory of her lambent smile, flickering upon her face, often traveling in company with an arched eyebrow, over her dark, expressive, lustrous eyes, is - for me - a Proustian moment. A rush of emotion - and I am able to recall her verve, her humor, and the pleasure of simply being in her company. She had the rare ability to listen, to be present in the moment - the hallmark of a genuine friend and of a great person. If we are fortunate in life we meet people who with the right words, a hand on our shoulder, a smile, or a disinterested, selfless act of kindness at just the right moment, makes all the difference. Maryann was one of those people. During the bleakest period of my life, when friends were suddenly few and far between - she was a very good friend. It is her kindness that I remember best, kindness I was never able to fully repay. Maryann was a true spiritual aristocrat - a uniquely gifted individual. Her work was beautiful and elegant, visually and intellectually. She was an original, as unrepeatable as a cloud. An unlucky, cruel, icy wind - the coldest of all - and she was gone. My friend was dead. How can it be that such a vital spirit can simply vanish altogether, so completely from the world. She lives still, in my memory - as frequent traveler across my mind's landscape. But, Maryann was a world of her own, of multitudes, potential and possibilities as expansive as the starry firmament - how can such a world simply cease? Her death hit me very hard - cruel proof of the old adage, that only the good die young. But because there was so much to mourn, there is much to celebrate. And that is what I want to do today, to honor, share and celebrate the memory of an old friend with the world. Maryann was my friend. I loved her. And I will miss her forevermore.