2006 memories of Susan and Ray in Saint-Aignan

Susan and Ray were are friends of ours from Oakland, California. They came to visit us in Saint-Aignan in March 2006. That was nine years ago — who knows where the time goes? The memory is vivid and it all seems like it happened last week.

At the Valmer gardens near Vouvray

Instead, what happened last week was shocking and saddening for those of us who knew, worked with, and admired Susan. She died. She had fought a 17-month-long battle with cancer, which started as breast cancer. "Fuck cancer," as another friend and former colleague, Ginny -- a cancer survivor herself -- wrote on Facebook a day or two ago. All of us who worked and became friends with Susan, who appreciated her talent, intelligence, and kindness agree. We are angry and very sad. She didn't deserve that affliction.

At Saint-Aignan

Susan wrote a library of technical books and manuals over the years. She was prolific, and almost intimidating, by dint of of her drive, talent, and accomplishments. She acted as if it was all no big deal, but those of us who did that kind of work knew different. Her accomplishments were awesome, and she seemed to manage it all with ease. And she never lost her sense of humor, her cheerfulness, her modesty, or her caring nature.

At Villesavin

She came to work at Claris (Apple's software subisidiary), where I worked, sometime between 1992 and 1995, as an independent contractor. It's hard to believe that was more than 20 years ago. Claris laid me off in 1998, when Steve Jobs closed the company down. Susan had long moved on by then. I took a year off work, and then found a job as a technical writer at another company.

Susan instead took a position as a manager at a start-up company, setting up a whole new department. She got in touch, or I did, and we had lunch together a time or two. She asked me to think about coming and joining her new group. She had put together a talented team, made up of some writers I had worked with before, and others who I am happy now to have gotten to know and to have worked with back then.

Susan and Walt taking photos at Amboise

It took me six or eight months to get to the point where I felt comfortable leaving my the job I had taken on only a year earlier. I felt had to finish the project I was working on. When it was done, I called Susan and told her I was ready if she still had a place for me. She said yes, come talk. I did, and in June 2000 I joined her team. We worked together for about two more years before our start-up was sold to yet another company, she in turn got laid off, and, several months later, I threw in the towel. My career was over.

Susan clowning around at Chaumont

Susan's wasn't, however. She worked for another couple of companies, very successfully, for 10 more years. And then, in late 2013, she was diagnosed with cancer. I saw pictures of her on Facebook so I realized what was going on. The clue was the head scarf. She went public last December. She must have known what was going to happen. Five months later she is gone.

Near Vouvray

Susan and her husband, Ray, came to Saint-Aignan for a visit in March 2006. Our 14-year-old dog, Collette, had died two days earlier. I really didn't feel I was in any shape to entertain anyone, but with Susan it was all very natural and comfortable.

Actually, Susan entertained us during those dark  days. Looking back at the photos reinforces the positive feelings I have about that time, even though we had experienced a big loss. Susan helped us get on with our life.

Susan (a.k.a. Susie) arrived in Saint-Aignan first, and we toured around for three or four days before Ray got here, saving the major chateaus for his arrival. Meanwhile, Ray had been on a tour of the battleground sites of World War II's Battle of the Bulge, in Belgium. His father had been part of that military campaign back in the 1940s.

Susie and Ray at Chambord on a sunny day...

While they were here, I took the photos of Susie and of the both of them that are in this post. It was their first trip to the Loire Valley, if I remember correctly. I didn't publish these photos back then. Now is the time to do so. Susan's funeral is today, Tuesday, April 28, 2015, in Oakland, California. I wish I could be there, but it isn't possible. She was one of those people who was always there for you, and it's hard to imagine that she is not there any more. My heart goes out to Ray and to all of Susan's friends and loved ones.

...and at Chenonceau in the rain

These are my memories, for the record. You have yours too, I'm sure. Cherish them.

Don't forget that you can click or tap on any of the images to see them at a larger size. Think about the good times. Here are a couple of other blog posts — this one and this one — about that time in all our lives.