Remembering AQ: Carol Thompson Okay
Jun 17th, 2009 by Capsun
Note: This is part of my (supposedly) Weekly AQ Wisdom special series. To see other posts in the series, click on the Best Bets tab at the top of any page here and scroll down to the “AQ McElrath” section. Material for this post was taken from information available at her Celebration of Life in February.
“Ah Quon was tireless and inspiring in her work to improve the lives of others on two levels. She was an effective social change agent working with organizations and institutions to implement systemic improvement. That work will be well recorded in Hawaiian and labor history. She was equally committed to helping people on a personal level.
“My father, David Thompson, once told me, ‘Ah Quon is very effective but there is more. She is really good with people. When she talks with the membership, she is always friendly, kind and respectful. She likes people and they like her.’
“Right until the end of her life, despite her own health problems, she sought to give courage, comfort and friendship to others. While she was undergoing chemotherapy at Kaiser, she befriended others with cancer and would encourage them to stay positive. Despite her own illness and advanced age, she was actively supportive of my mother MItsue and our family while we negotiated the trials of aging. She called, visited, gave advice and was a lifelong friend to Mitsue.
“In the summer of 2008, I drove AQ through Kaimuki and around Diamond Head, just holo holo, which was rare for her. She told me that she thought her time was near and she talked a lot about her family. I asked her if she ever felt tired or burnt out from helping others, to which she replied resolutely, ‘No, never, not ever.‘ I asked her about her thoughts of leaving hte world and she shrugged and said that she had lived a long life and that everyone had to go sometime. She said that she was still working hard, calling people, organizing her papers and wanted to make sure that her work on universal health care continued. She then asked about the welfare of our mutual friends and family members. She had an unusual balance of concern about large issues and genuine kindness, compassion and caring towards invidividuals. She was the cloest to a saint tha I have known and my appreciation of her grows with her absence for she has left so many with so much.”
-Carol Thompson Okay, Counselor, Diablo Valley College
Mahalo!
She is a true inspiration