Initial Reflections on Losing a Parent (Gail Schlachter Hauser, 1943-2015)
My mom was 72, so it’s not like we hadn’t contemplated her mortality. It’s something she was fully aware of. With each passing birthday, she would marvel that she was still here, that she had made it to see age so-and-so. Yet, still, the suddenness of her death makes it especially hard to process. It doesn’t feel like it was her time to go. Not now, not this way. It makes no sense. She didn’t even live longer than her parents, one of the few goals in her life she didn’t accomplish.
After we told my daughter about her grandmother’s death, my daughter asked if grandma’s soul would come back to visit her. Sidestepping the heavy theological implications, I told her that if she listens carefully, she’ll hear her grandma’s voice in her thoughts. At least for me, this is why my mom will never leave me. As clearly as if she were standing in front of me right now, I can hear her encouraging me, praising me, occasionally chiding me. I can hear her telling me that it wasn’t her time to go, but at the same time I can hear her telling me that she had the time of her life.
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We will be celebrating Dr. Gail Schlachter Hauser’s life on May 17 in Los Altos Hills. Click here for details and to RSVP.
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Blog Posts About Gail Schlachter Hauser’s Death
* Initial Reflections on Losing a Parent (Gail Schlachter Hauser, 1943-2015)
* My Mom Died: Gail Schlachter Hauser, 1943-2015
Gail will be missed by all who knew her. She was someone who knew that sometimes in life the little things are the big things. So many times she’d driven from Sacramento to the Bay area to see me when I was visiting San Francisco that I finally decided that I really wanted to drive to Sacramento to see her offices. So when Gloria and I were in SF year before last we drove there to see her, her house, and most importantly the offices of Reference Services Press, the successful publishing business which she had built in recent years.
She had described her offices and from her description I felt I had to see it for myself. Like any successful small publisher her offices included the executive office, a marketing office, the finance office, the customer support office, and fulfillment and shipping room, as well as the conference room. What was remarkable about Gail’s operation is that she was the only person who worked there! She’d move from office to office so that she could be in a setting that was optimized for the task at hand. I was so glad to get photographs with her in each of her offices.
John Dove
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[…] Initial Reflections on Losing a Parent (Gail Schlachter Hauser, 1943-2015) * My Mom Died: Gail Schlachter Hauser, […]
I’m sorry for your loss. I lost a grandmother this semester also. I’m sure she was a wonderful woman.
Analiese
[…] 1943-2015) * My Mom’s Idea of a “Really Good Day” (Gail Schlachter Hauser, 1943-2015) * Initial Reflections on Losing a Parent (Gail Schlachter Hauser, 1943-2015) * My Mom Died: Gail Schlachter Hauser, […]
[…] 1943-2015) * My Mom’s Idea of a “Really Good Day” (Gail Schlachter Hauser, 1943-2015) * Initial Reflections on Losing a Parent (Gail Schlachter Hauser, 1943-2015) * My Mom Died: Gail Schlachter Hauser, […]