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Here's a statement of the obvious: The opinions expressed here are those of the participants, not those of the Mutual Fund Observer. We cannot vouch for the accuracy or appropriateness of any of it, though we do encourage civility and good humor.

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Deb Walters

Dear friends,

With heavy heart, I'm passing along word of the passing of Deb Walters a/k/a Slick. She'd had a long fight against cancer, with good stretches and bad. Her executor, Bill Armstrong, reports that "she went peacefully and she was reasonably comfortable."

Deb has been a constant champion of MFO, even as the events in her life made her less visible here. She was the first person to become an ongoing subscriber to MFO with a generous monthly contribution, she conceived of using year-end challenge grants to motivate support, she herself pledged two of those challenges, and she was working hard to help me find a path toward financial sustainability for MFO. Quite beyond that, she was calm and sharp, both cheerful and a cheerleader on particularly gray days.

While comfort in her passing is hard to find, just now, I'll close with the words of the poet Jane Kenyon.

Let the light of late afternoon
shine through chinks in the barn, moving
up the bales as the sun moves down.

Let the cricket take up chafing
as a woman takes up her needles
and her yarn. Let evening come.

Let dew collect on the hoe abandoned
in long grass. Let the stars appear
and the moon disclose her silver horn.

Let the fox go back to its sandy den.
Let the wind die down. Let the shed
go black inside. Let evening come.

To the bottle in the ditch, to the scoop
in the oats, to air in the lung
let evening come.

Let it come, as it will, and don’t
be afraid. God does not leave us
comfortless, so let evening come.

Comments

  • @MFO Members: A giant on the MFO Discussion Board. I'll miss her insights !
    R.I.P Deb
    Ted
  • I am sad to hear the news.
    Emily Dickinson:

    AMPLE make this bed.
    Make this bed with awe;
    In it wait till judgment break
    Excellent and fair.

    Be its mattress straight,
    Be its pillow round;
    Let no sunrise’ yellow noise
    Interrupt this ground.

  • Really sorry to hear this sad news about Slick. Hope she is now watching this board from a better place of bliss and serenity. Cancer is such an insidious disease.

  • I think she was 'before my time' at MFO but it's always sad to lose forum regulars and thought leaders. My sympathies to you and all who knew her.
  • alas,

    RIP

    rono
  • So sad to hear. Slick was a constant champion of helpful knowledge and civility. RIP
  • edited July 2019
    Sorry to hear about your good friend David. I always enjoyed reading what she had to say.
  • Deb's last visit to the board, by the way, was in early July. Even at the end of days, she was, it seems, thinking of you.

    Her service will be August 2, in Albuquerque. I will send a remembrance on our collective behalf.

    David
  • edited July 2019
    Thanks @David_Snowball for letting us know.

    As I recall, Slick joined not long following the death of her husband, more accustomed to making the big financial decisions than she. She was a quick enthusiastic learner. Always most gracious in thanking each and every one who helped in the early going. And, as the years went on, she contributed greatly to the informed civil discussion that characterizes this board. Will be sorely missed.
  • We've just lost one of the good ones. RIP.

    OJ
  • Old_Joe said:

    We've just lost one of the good ones. RIP.

    OJ

    truth.
  • She was informative, non-combative and gracious.
    All serious virtues of a decent person.
  • Wow this was a shock to hear. I was just messaging with Deb a couple of weeks ago. She was so incredibly generous with her time and patient with her advice. I always enjoyed talking with Deb through the board. What a wonderful woman...... I will really miss her. Thanks very much for letting us know @David_Snowball
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