Laura Witherspoon

is honored with a Brick from Steve Witherspoon.

Born 6/15/40
Parents: Charles Edward and Velma Ruggles

Compassion is the ability to leave the realm of your reality and comfort and place yourself into the reality and discomfort of another--and then, sometimes when no one else will, you give the other person what he or she needs.

If I could point to the one trait that my mother, Laura Witherspoon, has instilled the deepest with her children, Deb, Jeff, and myself, it is that brand of unrelenting compassion.

As a teacher in the Wichita Public Schools, you learn that all kinds of students will walk in the door, whether they’ve already learned what they should, eaten breakfast, or found clean clothes to wear. My mother taught art and gifted classes during three decades and always found the time, money and effort to give something extra to meet the needs of the students.

A sack of used clothes, some change here or there for students willing to stay after school and clean paint brushes, driving students home after a late play--our society doesn’t spend much time rewarding these feats, but my mother has always recognized how better off society is when people practice compassion.

As it became apparent that some local women were not able to display their work in a public fashion, WomanArt became a reality, and the differences between men and women were celebrated, not derided. My mother dedicated time and energy for 11 years to help brighten Century II and the intrinsic satisfaction of striving female artists.

I teach history in the public schools and I can say with great certainty that the quality of the leaders of humanity’s past has often been judged by their level of compassion toward their contemporaries. I believe that my mother has been a great leader in that respect. Thank you for instilling that quality in your children.

Submitted bySteve Witherspoon

September 18, 1998