From Gautam Dasgupta

Our Respects to Shona

Our heartfelt condolences to Randy, Shane and Alina, Jim, Celia and Maggi,
We all lost a bright scholar and a great human being!
With fond memories of Shona we pray for her eternal peace.
-Gautam and Antusa

From Ginger Alexander

Shona over many years

I met Shona when she was two years old.  She was a delightful child who was very tolerant of her little sister's "melt downs".  She had a very far reaching and high little voice and I thought at that time that we had a future opera diva in our little girls.  But I was wrong, instead we had a future medieval scholar, that we would all still love but not understand the Latin that was the language of her subject field.

My heart goes out to her family and our neighborhood families that loved Shona and the other little girls that were so much the very heart of  our lives at the time.  I have the fondest memories of Shona as a toddler, a teenager, a young adult and especially a mother herself - I loved her in all of these stages of her short  life.  I want to say how very heartbroken I am for  Randy, Shane, Elina, Celia, Jim and and especially for Mags and Brian.  She is/was a light in our lives.

You are all in my hearts and always will be. And Tommy too. Ginger

From Fred and Ardemis Tajirian

We are shocked by the horrible news of Shona's death. We are grieving with her parents, Maggi, her husband and children.

From Randy Wray

SHONA and Me

We met in Rome in August 1986 at a gathering of all Fulbrighters to Italy; as we were the only two located in Bologna it was inevitable that we’d become acquaintances. She was the Italy enthusiast, and having already lived in the country a year she was well-connected and fluent. Other than a stint teaching elementary and high school in Mexico City, I’d never been anywhere. I had just struggled through a last-ditch effort at a year of Italian at Washington University (with Hyman Minsky sitting in the class—at least he made me look good by comparison!) after I found out that Jan Kregel had moved to Bo from the Netherlands. I’d been forced to watch Fellini films in college and knew second or third generation Italians in California and had no interest in spending a year there. So I was disappointed, and wanted to bail-out of the Fulbright—but Minsky told me I MUST GO! Minsky insisted that Italy is paradise and I reluctantly packed—prepared for the worst.

I was wrong, of course.

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From Matt Forstater

Our hearts are heavy with grief and sorrow to have lost our friend Shona.  We feel fortunate to have shared our lives with such a wonderful person these last fifteen years.  Our boys, Harris (21) and Raymond (14) have grown up with Shane and Alina, first in Red Hook, NY, from 1997-99, where Randy and Mat worked together at the Levy Institute and where Mat and Shona both taught at Bard College, and since 1999 in Kansas City, where Randy, Mat, and Shona all taught at UMKC.

Our families have shared many times together, including traveling to Italy, and several trips back to New York since moving to KC.  We shared many dinners, cookouts, swims, walks, and conversations.

Shortly after we all arrived in upstate NY in August 1997, we celebrated Alina’s first birthday all together as new friends, Gail six months pregnant with Raymond. Our kids trick or treated in their Halloween costumes and we shared the first of many meals, friends, and interests.  We got to know Randy’s Mom and Shona’s parents, and they got to know our parents (three of the four of whom have since passed away).  And we got to know Maggi as well. And the Minskys, the Kregels, the Harcourt/Sardoni’s, and so many good friends. And Heather the (male) cat!

We can’t recall anyone ever saying an unkind word about Shona (how rare is that?). She was a generous friend who never asked a favor, yet who could be relied upon in a pinch. Our deepest, sincerest heartfelt condolences go to Randy, Shane, Alina, Maggi, and all the Wrays and Kellys, and everyone who knew her.

Please do not hesitate to call on us for anything!

The Forstaters – Gail, Mat, Harris & Raymond