Description:
Gratitude is the first word that comes to my mind when I think of the life of Florence Wald and the privilege it was to have known Florence as cherished friend, colleague, and mentor who contributed to my life in many ways and inspired me in my vocation of integrating the arts in the spiritual care of persons living with life-threatening illnesses. I saw her as a vanguard woman of her time, leading the way and encouraging others of us to take the risks to go forth and make concrete the visions we had been given to address some of society's inequities and maladies, and to find ways to contribute to the beauty and quality of life as we sought to enable persons to find their spiritual roots and meaning in life—especially those who were coming to the time of dying.