From Wendy Harcourt

Shona was a wonderful friend, we shared many family holidays, many moments in our lives, I miss her greatly. It is hard to put in words, I wanted to share something of what I felt in this poem. It reflects on our last day together in Rome when she was visiting with family and we went off to explore the Maxi museum and walk the streets of Rome together before coming back to join family, promising we would do many more days like that - I had one booked this month in florence with her, and more in the states. I cannot understand she is gone, she gave such a lot of joy and love.

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From Yeva Nersisyan

I knew Shona as a student of Prof. Randall Wray and so did every other student in the Economics department. They would occasionally host dinners for us, starving graduate students, which were always perfect.

I got to know Shona a little better when I stayed with the Wrays in their Redhook home for about two weeks a couple of years ago. She was such an interesting person to be around; always had some interesting story to tell. Just being around her you learned so much.

Her hospitality was beyond limits. One thing I remember very well was her teaching me how to cut a cooked chicken into pieces. She was an excellent cook and I remember watching her cut that delicious rosemary baked chicken with such an ease. I told her I could never learn to do that. The excellent teacher that she was she told me it was easy, and started to teach me how to do it step by step.

My thoughts are with her beautiful children Alina and Shane. They are Shona's gift to all who know them.

Yeva Nersisyan

From Frances Andrews

I did not know Shona well, but enjoyed the few occasions when I did meet her, including the memorable session at the Renaissance Society of America conference in Venice, where the venue (the vast and magnificent refectory of San Giorgio) did justice to the papers even if the audience didn't! Today I was reading about the 1321 exodus of students from Bologna and found myself needing to check some details, turning automatically to her book. I have been thinking about her and her family ever since I heard the news on the day after she died, but it still brought me up short to realise that this would not be followed by other work from the same pen. It will remain as a testament (no pun intended) to her clarity of thought and mastery of the history of Bologna and its university but how I wish there could have been more, and that she too could have enjoyed the long years of the testators whose lives she studied.

From Marc-Andre Pigeon

Dear Randy,

I found out about Shona's passing last week from Ajit but after discussion, thought it best to wait before reaching out.  I was planning on writing something this weekend -- or even braving a phone call (I always worry about what to say) -- but happened upon this site and was so very moved by your beautiful tribute to Shona.  It made me reflect on my brief but memorable encounters and the urge to write was overwhelming.

I can still see her in your Red Hook home, all energy, light and kindness in a world that seems to want to strip that away.  I can still remember the warmth of her greeting when I first arrived in Red Hook, a little afraid, a lot uncertain.  I can still remember the time, at your place, when Shona introduced me to the magic of pesto. I was immediately won over and devoured all that was on offer.  She quickly offered to make more despite my protestations.  I observed as she blended these things called pine nuts with a substance referred to as olive oil and an herb known as basil with this strange device called a hand blender.  Needless to say I was impressed with this magic and rushed out and bought a hand blender almost immediately afterwards.   

I think you were late for that particular supper so it was just me, her and the kids but she made me feel like I was part of your family, a family.  Always.  For a little guy from North Ontario, that made all the difference especially as I struggled through my breakup with Danielle, especially as I struggled to digest this big brave world of the United States of America, especially as I struggled to make sense of this discipline of economics that, upon until I met you, seemed devoid of humanity or even reason.

So my heart goes out to you and the kids for this huge loss.  For what it's worth, I have every confidence they will get through this and prosper.  I lost my father when I was 18, my sisters 15 and 13, and my younger brother 10.  With the ballast of a strong and truly inspirational mother -- like you as a strong and inspirational father, it all worked out.  I'd be lying if I said I don't still miss him, still don't think how much I'd like to be able to, as you say, experience that wonderful evolution from son-father to friendship.  But there is one thing I know for certain which I hope will ease some of that realization: your children will carry Shona's light with them, one way or another, feel a responsibility to it, hold onto it when they need to, and always be grateful that their beautiful mother chose wisely in the father they still have.

Take good care Randy.  My thoughts are with you.

Marc-Andre

From Alice Perlmutter

Shona was one one of my closest friends. We met when she first moved to Red Hook and Alina was almost one and Shane was almost 3. Our children have known each other their entire lives. Shona was my one friend who was always up for an adventure. If I was headed off to NYC with my kids, I knew Shona would be the one come and bring her kids along. If we read or heard of an interesting place, Shona would be up for going.

One thing Shona really loved was the county fair. We started going when our kids were young and it was mainly for their entertainment. But as the kids got older, we still wanted to go and would just drag them along. Shona was not only interested in all the exhibits, but loved to go on the rides as well. She especially loved the ferris wheel and roller coaster. She would take my kids on the ferris wheel for me. And we never left the fair with out stopping at the 4H group milkshake booth, no matter how long the line.

Shona and I would take our kids camping together. She loved camping and was a great campsite cook. Always bringing something interesting and fun for the cookout.

Every year she when she came to Red Hook we would go on a hike to Bash Bish Falls, a nice waterfall nearby. The water was icey cold, but she was always the first person to jump in.

Another thing we would make sure to do every year was to go blueberry picking at Grieg Farm. She would always say, she had so much work to do, but she would have to have some of those blueberries and take the afternoon off.

I was always happy when summer came and she would come to Red Hook. I would get a text from her (if you know Shona, you know of her love of texting) saying she was in Red Hook and to come over.

We went to visit her in some of the many places she lived. We went to Kansas City, to Rome when she was there at the American Academy, and took our families on vacation together to the Island of Ponza and then we last saw her when we went to visit in Florence last December.

My children were very close to her and are devastated. She was a lot of fun and had a great heart. I will miss her all the time.

My love goes out to Randy, Shane and Alina.