Louisa Atcheson

Louisa Patricia Atcheson

Was born in Bronx, New York on the eve of World War 2. She grew up on the streets of New York, left home at an early age and supported herself as a cocktail waitress in some swanky restaurants and some dives where she got her initial education and eventually earned her doctorate in Psychology at City College of New York. Her thesis was entitled "Nobody Loves the Menstrual Woman but the Snake" – an in-depth study of menstrual taboos past and present.

Louise was the consummate Renaissance woman. Not only was she a psychologist, with a wide-ranging practice but she was a ceramist, a painter, a collagist, improv actor, fabric artist (shibori, patchwork), gardener, photographer, printer, writer, traveler, studier of religions, music lover extraordinaire (and toward the end of her life, Garage Band aficionado).

She spent long periods traveling in India and Brazil absorbing the cultures and exploring local healing techniques and Spiritual studies. If she was interested in exploring a new realm, she didn't hesitate but would immerse herself in the process, savoring the experience and encouraging her friends to go along for the ride.

Louise loved animals. Fish, a Pekinese whom she found in a parking lot in Marin county and Persephone, a black Pekinese mix from the SPCA, were her animal companions for much of her adult life. Persephone, in particular, soulfully bonded to her owner. She became a service dog whom Louise took to Laguna Honda to work with AIDs patients at the Zen Center run hospice there.

Louise had two major illness in her life. The first was pancreatic cancer, which she overcame, Nineteen years later, she developed metastatic colon cancer. In spite of these extremely challenging battles, she maintained her deep interest in the world and its wonders until the very end. She lived and died with great passion. She left us on 12/12/12.

A creased copy of the poem by Roger Keyes, "Hokusai Says", was found among her belongings. The final line reads:

Look, feel, let life take you by the hand.

Let life live through you.