V'Ann's Courage (Charlotte Cagan)

I worked side-by-side with V'Ann at Mingei International Museum in Escondido, from the day it opened - December 5, 2003 - until her last day of work there - December 20, 2007. During that time I came to know V'Ann as a person of enormous depth and prodigious intelligence, with a unique quietude, humility and above all, acceptance for what emanated from the universe - for good or for naught. It was this unwavering acceptance, an ultimate sense that we are all in the end 'powerless' that I believe fueled her strength in the last months of her life. Rather than fighting her condition, she accepted it, and with courage and determination forged on. Up until the last week of her life, she was calling me to confer on Museum matters. Her favorite phrase was, 'In a perfect world...' knowing all the while that it wasn't and therefore devising pragmatic solutions to the the problems of work and life. It isn't a perfect world, but V'Ann certainly did the very best she could with the special talents and personal qualities she was given.