We join the community and the nation in mourning the loss of Senator Edward Kennedy this week. He truly was a great legislator and champion for the little guy.

He and his staff were everything that the remembrances of the past few days claim.  See http://www.tedkennedy.org/tributes for the thoughts of dignitaries and residents of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

My own experiences with Senator Kennedy were professional and personal:

• uncommon responsiveness and help with the Immigration & Naturalization Service to obtain the paperwork needed to adopt our daughter in 1994,
• Senator Kennedy’s tremendous personal time, money and thoughtfulness for the nursing care he received in 1964 at Cooley Dickinson Hospital in the four years I served as director of community relations and development, and
• delivering on his word in helping shepherd through the Pediatric AIDS Grant to the Boston VNA in 1988 when the Reagan Administration was still resisting the need to acknowledge, protect and invest in care and research for HIV.

Senator Kennedy was an imperfect man in many ways, a but a tremendous person and special public servant.

He personally contributed to my professional success, to helping my family have the blessing of our daughter, Joanna, and to teaching me the lesson of the importance of remembering those who showed care and kindness.

We’ll miss Senator Kennedy and the many things he did for those in need.