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Editor’s note: To make the online memorials special, we accept articles written by someone in the branch. Include fond memories, appreciation for her activities in the branch, whether she was an art, letters or music member, and something about her creative works and achievements. Always include date and age at time of death. Please also send photos of the member and of her work, or commentary about her creativity. Submissions for the In Memoriam webpage follow the deadlines for the The Pen Woman magazine.

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We honor the lives of these departed Pen Women…

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Janet Collins

Janet Collins, a member of the Manhattan-New York City Branch, died on February 10, 2024, at the age of 89. We are happy to have known her and will miss her.

Janet occasionally read her warm, accessible poetry at the branch’s artist receptions, and her poems were published in The Pen Woman.

She was also musically gifted and regularly played the piano to entertain residents in venues like church meetings and assisted living facilities.

 

Christmas Is…

By Janet Collins

Christmas is family, Christmas is fun,

            a time for giving to everyone;

The message of hope, the promise of peace

            that love might prevail and fighting cease.

Christmas is memories, Christmas is cheer;

            a time to greet friends far and near;

The leap of the heart, delight of the soul

            when love fills us up and renders us whole.

Christmas is laughter, Christmas is song,

            a time for dancing and getting along;

The flower of joy, the season of light

            when Love came upon us that winter night.

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Margaret Helen Bennett

February 11, 1929- February 21, 2024

Marge Bennett, a gifted artist, teacher, scientist, beloved aunt, and much beloved member of the Sarasota Branch of the NLAPW for 33 years, died Wednesday, February 21, 2024, in Sarasota, Florida. She was 95.

A professor of chemistry, she had always been drawn to art but had never studied it. One day, she signed up for two college art classes in Florida. And an artist was born.

Marge became a painter, working primarily in watercolor and acrylics. She once said of her works: “My art reflects my search for serenity and beauty. My heart wants color and light, my head requires balance and design.”

Marge’s paintings received frequent awards and recognition. Her work is included in collections throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe. She was well known and loved in the arts community in Sarasota, Florida. Marge operated her own gallery in the Towles Court Art Center in Sarasota and later was shown at the Elizabeth Stevens Gallery at Towles Court.

She was active in a number of arts organizations, including the Florida Watercolor Society, Women Contemporary Artists, and the National League of Pen Women, where she served as parliamentarian for many years.

Marge was preceded in death by Fred, her beloved husband of 44 years, and is survived by many close friends and a passel of nieces, nephews, great nieces, and great nephews, who count themselves blessed to have known such a kind, creative and beautiful soul.

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Nina Adkins

July 1, 1942 — December 29, 2023

Nina Macaluso Adkins, loving wife, mother, sister, teacher, nurse, and artist died peacefully in her sleep Friday, December 29, 2023, at age 81. Nina was given five years to live after the diagnosis of pulmonary fibrosis in 2011 and just like her feisty spirit, she lived and beat that disease for 12 years.

Nina was born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She attended St. Mary’s School for 12 years and graduated from the University of New Mexico nursing program in 1965. Nina married William Adkins on June 6, 1964. She worked as a public health nurse, a school nurse, practicing registered nurse, and nurse educator for more than 38 years. She earned a master’s degree in education and co-founded the Albuquerque Public School’s Practical Nursing Program, from which she retired as the director in 1998.

After retirement, Nina became very active in the art community. She was the co-chair for the Western Federation of Watercolor Societies Exhibition, hosted in Albuquerque in 2002. She was also on the board of the New Mexico Arts & Crafts Fair for four years and was standards chair for 2010.

Nina was an award-winning signature member of the New Mexico Watercolor Society and showcased her art in The Gallery ABQ as a founding member (formerly Nob Hill Gallery) and the Yucca Art Gallery. In 2022, she was honored as a “local treasure” by the Albuquerque Art Business Association.

She was a watercolor, acrylic, and collage artist using bright colors to create joyful paintings. Her paintings hang in private collections in the United States and abroad.

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Sandra Quinlan

1934-2024

Sandra Quinlan was born in Detroit, Michigan, and moved to Albuquerque in 1945. During her husband’s military career, she lived in New York, Louisiana, Ohio, California, Scotland, and Colorado before returning to Albuquerque in 1962. She began art studies in New York and continued with workshops from leading artists across the country.

She began painting with water media and then discovered acrylics and collage, which became her love. Her work is in collections in the United State, Europe, Canada, and Japan.

Sandra was past president of the New Mexico Art League, past state president of the National League of Pen Women, board member of New Mexico Arts and Crafts Fair, and a longtime member of Yucca Art Gallery, which was started by Pen Women. Her past affiliations include the

New Mexico Watercolor Society, signature member of the Rio Grande Art Association, the National League of American Pen Women Yucca Branch, and an associate member of the Society of Layerists in multimedia.

Sandra’s sentiments on death: “Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a well-preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, wine in the other, body thoroughly worn out and screaming: ‘Woo hoo, what a ride!’”

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Barbara Chamberlain

The Santa Clara County Branch of the National League of American Pen Women is sad to announce the passing of longtime member Barbara Jean Cowgill Chamberlain.

Barbara became a life member of Pen Women in 1975, originally in the now-defunct Santa Cruz Branch. She became an active member of our branch right away and was always willing to help with anything needed.  She attended many biennials and loved them.

Barbara was born on April 22, 1935, in Fresno, California. She won a scholarship to University of Southern California to study journalism. While there, she met and married David Chamberlain. They moved to Aptos, California, where Dr. Chamberlain set up his dental practice and they raised three children. After they children were grown, she went back to school, earning her bachelor’s in history and master’s in information and library science.

Barbara was a prolific writer and her Jaden Steele mystery series, “A Slice of Carmel” “Slash and Turn,” “The Sword of Smuggler’s Point,” and “The Edge of Carmel,” based in the town of Carmel, California, were a read not to be missed. I wrote a review for The Pen Women Magazine of the last one.

She had the biggest smile and was always ready with a kind word. I don’t think she had a mean bone in her body. She was also very active in the local Lions Club and Red Hats.

Barbara’s advice for a life well lived was, “Try to help people as best you can” — a motto we can all emulate.

— Submitted by Susan Zerweck, Santa Clara County Branch

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Anne Bonner

Anne Bonner, a letters member of the Cape Canaveral Branch for 13 years, died in early December 2023. She was an active and supportive member of the branch and will be sorely missed.

A fifth generation Floridian, Anne was proud of her heritage and spoke often of her father, Judge William Akridge, who was mayor of Cocoa, a state representative, and a circuit court judge for 20 years. Her maternal grandfather was the first dentist in Melbourne.

Anne attended the University of Florida, where she was a majorette with the Fightin’ Gators band and a member of the Alpha Chi Omega sorority. In the 1950s, she met her future husband, Otis Bonner, a student at the University of Georgia, on Cocoa Beach. After making her debut in Orlando, Anne married Otis, who became an Air Force fighter pilot and retired as a colonel after 26 years of service.

Having lived all over the world as an Air Force wife, Anne considered the Philippine Islands and Hawaii her favorite places. She learned Asian cooking, oil painting, cake decorating, and snow skiing, and played lots of bridge when she was not involved with her children.

No matter where Anne traveled, she was always reading and writing, and poetry was her first love. She was a member of the Florida State Poets Association, Inc., National Federation of State Poetry Societies, Florida Historical Society, the Cape Canaveral Lighthouse Foundation, the Cape Canaveral Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and a former board member of the Space Coast Writers’ Guild.

Her poetry often reflected her mischievous sense of humor:

Memory was excellent,
addresses, telephone numbers
distant relatives, new friends;
old age settling in,
brain shrinking or runneth over;
no longer storing words not used every day.
useless information in this information age.
Just would like to remember where the car is parked,
(or where the car keys are.)

Anne wrote 10 books in as many years: five historical fiction books for young adults set in the wilds of early Florida during the chaotic time of the Civil War and five historical love stories for adult readers, set in Florida (of course).

She especially enjoyed dressing in period costume and presenting programs to fourth graders in local elementary schools. Anne and her grandson, Shaun, appeared in a TV documentary about the Canaveral lighthouse and port.

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Bernice Delores Strand Reid, 86

Past NLAPW president

Bernice Delores Strand Reid, PhD, loved the National League of American Pen Women. She became acquainted with the organization in the 1970s through her art teacher, Conchita Rodriquez, who recognized Bernice’s talent and encouraged her to enter art shows and apply for membership.

Bernice’s early love of art was crushed by an elementary teacher. She did not return to it until her mid-30s, while she and her husband, Carlton, resided in the Panama Canal Zone as a way to manage the restrictions on her activities as an older expectant mother. She rediscovered art and what she called the rest of God’s plan for her life.

In addition to Conchita, she studied portraiture under Chung Neto a renowned Panamanian artist. Bernice was a woman with an enormous capacity to love and encourage people in need. Her portrait business gave her a new, powerful way to connect with people and share the wisdom and strength she received from her Christian faith.

She returned to the United States in 1976 and continued her association with Pen Women while Carlton was stationed at Fort Monroe, Virginia. She attended her first Pen Women Biennial during that assignment, determined to emulate the distinguished and accomplished women enjoying vibrant and creative lives well into their 80s and 90s.

Over time, Pen Women became a part of the Reid family experience. It touched the lives of each of her six children, as well as her life partner, Carlton, who willingly joined the ranks of supportive husbands — affectionately known as “penguins” — during his first Biennial. She traveled with her daughter, Dawn, and granddaughter, Amanda, to several biennials.

After Dawn attended her first bicentennial, she was inspired by how Pen Women generously mentored the next generation of artists. That led her to expose Amanda to this wonderful community through the biennials. It also led Dawn to enroll Amanda in cello lessons. Together, they birthed a love for the arts and the cello in particular, and precious memories of time spent with her grandmother.

Her sons, Christopher and Carlton, Jr., while stationed in the national capital region, also attended biennials hosted in Washington, D.C. In addition to Chrstopher and his wife, Dhakshike, her nephew Myles Reid provided volunteer IT support during her presidency at the Pen Arts Building. Last, but not least, Carlton took woodworking classes in Panama to keep up with the demand to frame Bernice’s paintings for friends and neighbors intent on purchasing her art. They saw her talent and relished being able to say they owned one of her early works.

During the Lincoln Bicentennial, under the presidency of Jean Holmes, Bernice, who is my mother-in-law, was able to celebrate my induction in the NLAPW at the Bicentennial Concert at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall auditorium. I collaborated with Marge Wheeler to stage a tribute to President Lincoln, Vinnie Ream, and our missing service men and women and prisoners of war. The concert culminated in the debut of “Vinnie Ream,” a classical music performance by Elaine Brady and composed by me.

Years later, following a serious stroke, Christopher and Dawn helped Bernice travel from California to attend her last Biennial, where she was able to hug and enjoy the extraordinary women who so enriched her life for over 50 years and introduce more grandchildren to the league. That was the year the famed journalist, historian, and author Cokie Roberts was inducted as an honorary member of the Pen Women and celebrated the league’s achievements throughout its long history. Bernice was gratified to see me serving as the Washington, D.C. Branch president, and that her efforts to preserve the league through a contentious lawsuit had not gone in vain.

Candace Lowe Long, past NLAPW president (2014-2016), had these words to say about Bernice:

“She was a primary mentor for me as the Lord began to lead me to put my name in to run for NLAPW president. Of all the women who encouraged me, Bernice’s insights gave me the strength to remain. Her tenure was fraught with threats, betrayal, and spiritual battles. During my tenure, I was confronting the ‘old ways of doing things,’ which upset many. She paved the way in my mind for answering the ‘call to serve’ and staying the course when times got hard. I called her many times over my years as president. Bernice and I fought the same battle, just in different eras. I flew out to Fort Worth to visit her as my time of decision grew near. She was limited in mobility at that time — but I needed that one-on-one with her to steel me up for the challenges ahead. Bernice was a rare woman of great giftings and leadership ability. She went on paths others dared not go. She was a true forerunner and pioneer. My life was greatly blessed by her friendship. Bernice raised a dynasty of gifted men and women who excel at what they do. God bless her.”

Following her interment at Arlington National Cemetery, we chose to celebrate Dr. Reid’s life with a memorial concert to showcase her art, writings, and music. During the concert, Milena and Marc Wojno, the children of Larry and Lubitsa Wojno from the Buffalo Branch, shared fond memories of how she returned a large sum of money to the Buffalo Branch in accordance with their deceased branch member’s will. They were happy to meet Bernice and hosted a large banquet in her honor. Milena also recalled Bernice playing her song, “The Rainbird,” on their family piano. Dr. Reid composed “The Rainbird” from memories of a bird that sang outside her window while living in Panama. They were thrilled to hear my arrangement for soprano and counter tenor performed as part of the memorial concert.

For myself, Bernice Reid has been more than a mother-in-love. She was a mentor, an inspiration, and a godly example to do everything with excellence and to work hard at all that I put my hands to do for the glory of God.

Learn more about Dr. Reid’s Memorial Concert.

—Submitted by Grace Reid

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