Goodbye to Our Own Sheila
Portland has lost an incredible community member and activist. From the Neighborhood Schools Alliance:
“Our beloved friend, Sheila Rae Brown, passed away Jan. 17, 2007. Sheila was a community organizer with Neighborhood Schools Alliance, and an NSA Steering Committee member. She was a member of Jefferson High School PTSA, a longtime SMART Reader volunteer at Irvington Elementary School, and an active member of the Irvington Neighborhood Association.”
She was lovingly described by a member of NSA as “a model of an engaged, outraged, civilized citizen.”
We can all try to live up to that example. Rest in peace, Sheila. We’ll miss you.
, 
.
Thanks for honoring Sheila Wacky Mommy. She really will be missed.
January 18th, 2007 | #
Some things about Sheila I will miss:
Her beautiful white hair. It contrasted well with her black leather jacket and dark shades.
Her articulate and outraged letters to the editor and the school board.
Her piercing commentary on the world through her words and her cartoons.
Her beautiful cheekbones.
How she showed up to meetings and demonstrations even though she was really, really sick.
We had a little memorial luncheon for her at a Thai restaurant. Her brother told us how Sheila had always been a rabble rouser. She worked in a mostly male field–animation. She never married. She followed the civil rights movement closely from her home in LA, so much so that the local paper’s editor called her a Communist. She was honored.
We in NSA were honored that she worked with us. She was one of several community elders who have taught us sooo much about keeping up the fight.
Thanks for honoring her, Wacky Mommy.
Anne
January 21st, 2007 | #