Someone who always rejoiced with those who were rejoicing

I had a few exchanges with Anna, but not many. Although the discussions we had were quite personal, as fan-to-fan encounters between people who share an intense interest but will never meet each other sometimes tend to be, I was not in the group of people who knew her well enough even to know she was ill. I remember thinking, when the contacts started, that they were unusually direct and unusually understanding.

Thinking back to the second half of 2012, when most of our exchanges occurred, I remember her as an unbelievably sweet-spirited correspondent; she wrote me spontaneously twice to weigh in on things I’d blogged about or stuff happening in the fandom — and to reassure me at what I now suppose must have been a time when she herself needed reassurance.

Anna stood among a group of fans who attended the Wellington premiere and met Richard Armitage.

Anna’s report of that event, “From an Armitage Ambassador: He’s smiling at you!” was published here. It encapsulates very much what I knew of her spirit and her values based on our extremely brief contacts. This is the piece most of us will remember:

… he was happy to see us there and engaged with us. And by us, I mean all of us, anyone who reads this blog.

Take another look at the smile above — he’s smiling at you.

It was the unbelievable last line that got me. When one fan meets him, we all meet him.

I realize now that when she wrote that, she may already have been thinking about things from the perspective of eternity.

She rejoiced with all who rejoiced and now I mourn with all those who mourn for her.

May her memory be for a blessing.

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~ by Servetus on May 6, 2013.