While I am preoccupied with preserving PF’s legacy and attempting to fundraise I think it more than important to recall the contributions of Eileen Coly, PF’s second President and of lesser import perhaps, my beloved mother. It is true that Eileen Garrett as our founder remains still on the world stage but the PF would literally not have been as productive without the quiet capable hands of our second President. In point of fact the organization was in very real danger of closing as no one was anxious to take up the baton after Garrett’s demise in 1970. PF was never envisioned at its creation to become a family run non profit organization but it became a multigenerational labor of love. I came across this obituary seemingly in random this morning…if anything that transpires is truly ever strictly random… and I was struck emotionally by the sentiments of Drs. Alvarado and Zingrone in the Journal of Scientific Exploration. Who better to eulogize her than Nancy and Carlos who worked along side her and who themselves contributed so greatly to PF’s output. There is literally not a day that goes by that I don’t think of “Mrs. C” professionally and personally with often so many others sharing heartfelt memories of her. I leave it to Nancy and Carlos to capture a bit of her essence in the PDF that follows.
If you are further interested in more detail I suggest you read through the memorial in the PF’s Lyceum which will help to flesh out a more rounded description of this hard to forget individual.
I will close with Eileen Coly’s oft spoken familiar lament “We can’t stop now because we haven’t solved the mystery of psychic phenomena yet. It’s got to be out there somewhere–but little by little the information is still being sifted and brought in.” Don’t you agree? If you share her vision to ensure the work goes on, donate here.