Carol Green, ?-2003

I found out over Christmas that one of my professors died of cancer. She had some rare form in the muscles of her back, and it spread really quickly. Not two weeks ago, I was told that she probably wouldn't make it, but I didn't expect her to go so soon.

Carol Green basically taught me how to write and research professionally. In a large part, she's responsible for pointing me in the direction I took in life. She's the one who whipped my scholarly work into shape. She's the one who guided my interest in Native American history. She's the one who talked me into going to graduate school. I was working for her when I realized that I didn't want to get my PhD. She encouraged me to go into editing. She was always there to give me The Eye when I was being cocky or feeling precocious.

I didn't always like her—in fact, I spent a lot of the time despising her for being mean and unpredictable—but I always respected her as a scholar and appreciated the guidance she gave me. When I found out she probably wouldn't recover, I wanted to write a letter to her thanking her for everything she had done for me, but what do you say to someone who is dying? Now I can't say anything.