I was so bereft to hear the news about Sandra. Although I can’t claim to have known her well on a personal level, I interacted with her on numerous occasions related to WAWH, the CCWH, and the Berks. As everyone knows, she was an absolute delight to work with — so competent, so upbeat, so generous and kind. She was just an absolute gem of a person, and she worked so hard, with very little financial reward, to keep our women’s history organizations running smoothly.
I don’t have a single episode to share, so much as a visual memory of her sitting behind a table at registration for some conference or other — a welcoming and reassuring face for people frazzled from traveling and seeking to get themselves oriented.
But I will say that she was exceptionally helpful and kind when I was asked to be the keynote speaker for the CCWH luncheon at the 2017 American Historical Association annual meeting. This was a big deal for me — I had not been honored with many such invitations at that point in my career. Sandra made the process so smooth — she told me exactly what to expect and was there when I arrived, making sure the tech worked and taking the edge of my anxiety by being so calm and buoyant herself. She also sent me a lovely message afterwards, saying that the talk had been well-received, which meant more to me than she probably realized.
This is such a huge loss for all of us in the field.
Rebecca Plant
