It is with tears in my eyes that I report that my beloved first writing teacher, Miss Alice Webster, passed away on Thursday, just a month after I visited her in Rochester.

Her kind niece wrote me the news this afternoon, saying that she had declined quickly, “although the joyful countenance rarely left her.”

And that is how I will remember her: with a joyful countenance. Rest in peace, Miss Webster.

Read my July 11^th blog post for about our visit last month.