Paris Journal 2008
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No time for writing today, because I was writing this: We suddenly lost a good friend and devoted Zontian on August 20th. Dr. LeClair Bissell passed away while in Connecticut preparing to sell the house that she and her deceased partner, Nancy Palmer, owned there. LeClair’s death was unexpected – she had an intestinal embolism that proved not to be surgically correctible. LeClair was born on May 18, 1928. We helped her celebrate her 80th birthday at the Zonta installation potluck on May 21st. We all know that she was a wonderful, strong woman who worked throughout her life for women’s rights. Following are some more things you may or may not have known about LeClair. She received her BA from the University of Colorado, followed by an MS in Library Science from Columbia University in 1952. She worked as a librarian for the New York Public Library until 1959, and attended the Yale University School of Alcohol Studies in 1960. It was then that she returned to Columbia to earn an MD in 1963. After completing her residency at Roosevelt Hospital in New York City, she did a fellowship in endocrinology and metabolism there. She was a world-renowned expert in the field of treatment for addiction, including alcoholism, especially among medical professionals. For this work, you will see her name cited thousands of times on Google. She was the president of the American Society of Addiction Medicine, and she served as a member of the AMA’s panel on alcoholism, the Intercongregational Alcoholism Advisory Board, the JACS foundation (for Jewish alcoholics) advisory board, the Carter Mental Health Commission’s task force n alcoholism, the New York State Board for Professional Medical Conduct, and the Permanent Advisory Commission on the Status of Women. One of LeClair’s many books and publications (co-written with Richard Watherwax), The Cat who Drank too Much, is a charming and popular tale that is intended for kids and adults. One reviewer on Amazon.com describes it succinctly as a book that “can make you smile and give you chills at the same time . . . [it] tells a great tale without being preachy.” The book was the basis for a short film, “The Cat who Drank and Used too Much,” which was narrated by the actress Julie Harris. LeClair was the recipient of numerous awards and honors, the most recent being the 2007 Florida Achievement Award from the Florida Commission on the Status of Women (FCSW) for her nearly 50 years of service working on behalf of women and specifically for women in addiction recovery. When she accepted this award, she said, “I’m not a senior, a ‘silver’, or an older, I am an old woman and proud of it.” LeClair had an interesting family background. She was the daughter of Clayton Bissell, a major general in the US Army who is well-known in aviation history. One of his colleagues, Ike Eisenhower, gave her some horseback-riding lessons when she was a girl. Her mom and dad are buried in Arlington National Cemetery. LeClair gave generously to political causes and candidates that she believed in. She served for years on the board for Planned Parenthood of Southwest Florida. She was active in the Democratic Club of the Islands, the Democratic Women’s Club of Lee County, and the Lee County Democratic Party. On Sanibel, she was a longtime member of the Committee of the Islands, a political group devoted to protecting Sanibel’s unique environment and quality of life. In Fort Myers, she was an member of the Unitarian Universalist Church on Shire Lane, where she recently served many hours on the pastoral search committee. She and Nancy were practicing believers in rescuing animals, especially unwanted Chihuahuas. LeClair was fond of other people who rescued animals. When a friend’s beloved cat (who was a rescue animal) died in 2004, she wrote the following e-mail to her friend: “What a lovely obit for your
cat! I wonder if you know the following fantasy? “When an animal dies that has
been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There
are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play
together. There is plenty of food and water, places to lie in sunshine, and
our friends are warm and comfortable. All the animals who had been ill and old are restored
to health and vigor; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong
again, just as we remember them in our days gone by. “The animals are happy and content,
except for one small thing: they miss someone very special to them, someone
who had to be left behind. “They all run and play
together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the
distance. The bright eyes are intent; the eager body quivers. Suddenly he
begins to break away from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs
carrying him faster and faster. YOU have been spotted, and when you and he
finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again.
The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved
head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone
from your life but never absent from your heart. “THEN YOU CROSS RAINBOW BRIDGE
TOGETHER. “There's another version of
this that adds a paragraph for the dogs and cats that never had a human of
their own and the humans who never loved an animal. Somehow they get paired up and they too
cross the Bridge. This one always made
me wish I could believe in an afterlife. Since I don't, I just do what I can
for the beasts here. We fostered three this summer who are off to what we
hope are ‘forever’ homes and our own six ancients remain. “You have too good a feeling
for cats to be allowed to go long without one, but only you can tell when the
right time will be. No one will replace your cat, but somewhere there's
another totally different individual right for you. LeClair” |
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
LeClair’s book, The
Cat Who Drank Too Much.
A passageway on the rue de l’Université near the
Musée Branly.
The Ecole Militaire at night.
Le Centenaire, on the boulevard de la Tour Maubourg in
the 7th arrondissement.
Eiffel Tower and Peace Pavilion, across from the École
Militaire, at night. |
