Passages

To women especially important to me have passed away from this family: Robyn Suzanne Leary Mancini passed away in New York on June 6, 2011 at age 60. She was the granddaughter of Ralph Backman. My mother Joan Kirkham, daughter of Ralph Backman (and aunt to Robyn Leary), passed away after battling pancreatic cancer for 11 months on Jul 14, 2011 in Ogden, Utah.
I am aware of a hesitancy to put my mother's death into print. But I know of her legacy, which will touch many for a long time to come and which supports me in all things.