Geraldine S. Fulton

is honored with a Brick from Laura Fulton-Harmon.

My mother. I think of her everyday, in many ways. She is my heroine. Like many women of her generation, she was a full-time homemaker who supported her husband through a world war and 40 years of medical practice. She was a very active mother to her four children, whose births spanned 20 years, active in the Girl Scouts and PTA, a volunteer at school, but also in civic organizations like the League of Women Voters. I think the work she was most proud of was her Braille transcribing for the American Red Cross.

In our family, she was the strength and the stability, and in my mind, the best mother in the world. Now that I have a daughter of my own, I appreciate more and more the sacrifices she made for us and I realize how much I learned from her. As I help my child to learn and grow, I hear my mother's voice in mine as I try to be the mother that she was.

With most of us, our true character is revealed in our defining moments. For me, the manner in which my mother faced her own death summarizes her greatest strength. Although she must have been frightened, depressed, and feeling ill, her main concern was the family she was going to leave behind, particularly her husband, who she knew would have an unusually difficult time surviving without her, and her youngest daughter, me, who was soon to be married and still very much dependent on her. She wanted to face the end of her life bravely, and to make her passing as easy as possible for us. I can think of no greater gift.

I am thrilled to have this opportunity to honor my mother's memory. She always supported Wichita State University and was even a student in her retirement years. What a wonderful way to honor the heroines in all our lives. Although this picture is unusual I include it because it is how we all like to remember our mother--laughing!

Submitted by Laura Fulton-Harmon

July 16, 1998 (for Geraldine S. Fulton)