From Filippo De Vivo

We all loved spending time with Shona at I Tatti. She was happy, witty, and sensible; she was generous, friendly, and funny. In Italian you sum up the combination of these traits with one word: "solare", sunny - and that's exactly how you felt about her. She was clearly very happy about life in Florence, enthusiastic about her research and always eager to hear about colleagues' work, ready to discuss theoretical takes and archival findings. I felt very profoundly that she was the ideal colleague: as enthusiastic about the history of Bologna as about family matters, she had always a kind word for people around her, and you sensed distinctly that she was genuinely generous. We had a strong common interest for notaries and notarial records and, together with Christina Neilson, also a fellow of VIT, we were planning a conference together - it makes us extremely sad that she's not with us to take matters forward anymore, and we sincerely hope to go ahead in her memory.

On a personal level, Shona visited me and my family at home only once. She brought dessert, a sweet schiacciata that she said she loved but rarely ate. Ever since, she was always incredibly warm about family matters and children. Sometime in April, I was telling her how we'd discovered lice in the hair of our children (5 and 3). She was full of recommendations for us and for the school, and she seriously offered to come and help unpick the "lousy lice" herself. I felt that kind of matter-of-fact generosity was typical of her. She had that kind of strong sense of material life connected with a loud laugh that would cheer the spirit. I would like her family to know that I and everyone else at I Tatti are extremely proud to have met her and that the time we all spent together here was a very happy one.

From John Henry

I first met Shona at her nuptials, perhaps a bit before. Over the decades, my wife and I would socialize with the Wrays on numerous occasions, in both Sacramento and Kansas City. When I took a position in the economics department at University of Missouri-KC, she would often pop into my office to exchange pleasantries--sometimes serious conversations--and I would reciprocate.

What can one say? Shona was one of my favorite people--and that list is quite short. She had a terrific sense of humor, was quite willing to “rag on” Randy, discuss issues with the kids (as do all good parents)--and a great cook. From an academic perspective, Shona was exceptionally bright, well-informed, and judicious. We always had something arcane to discuss. And that smile…! (The photos speak for themselves.)

It is customary to say at this point that the world will miss Shona. That’s not true. Most of the world has no knowledge of her passing. But, for those who knew her, this is a real loss. I, along with all others whose paths crossed with hers, will always remember her and lament her death at such an early age. If the world were truly reasonable, this should not have occurred.

From Derek Neal

Memory of Shona: conferences

I remember Shona's kindness and interest very well from the one occasion that we spent some time together, the 2010 MAMA conference at Conception Abbey, for which she recruited me. Shona waited at the Kansas City airport until I arrived on a delayed flight and then drove me and another attendee to the abbey. (At a junction in the road where a road sign indicated "Conception" was to the right, I wondered aloud what lay in the other direction, to which Shona replied "Contraception"!). After the conference Shona drove me back to Kansas City and gave me excellent ideas on how to spend my one evening in town. I am very sorry that I didn't have the chance to know this lovely person better, and my sympathies go out to her family and other friends.

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 Jane Emley

Rememberances of Shona

Shona had an easy grace that made you feel right at home. With her winsome charm, she would light up a room as soon as she entered. Her nose, gently up-turned, was impish and beguiling. Her radiant smile was an invitation to laughter. Her warm hazel eyes were vibrant and penetrating, revealing of the keen and acute intellect that propelled her insatiable curiosity. The roundness of her rosy cheeks seemed to embody the way she so fully embraced life. She was an exuberant woman with an infectious laugh. Shona was a kind and generous soul. She was an authentic and free spirit. I will miss her so much.

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