Allison Huguenin

December, 1987. Allison Huguenin holding Pixie. Abbie looking on next to Pierre, Molly standing by Alison. The picture is taken in our apartment in Kaivoksela, Finland just north of Helsinki.

“Allison left us on Friday morning. We lived with the knowledge that her illness was terminal from the beginning of June.”

So began an email from long-time friend and former companero – Pierre Huguenin announcing Alison’s death from cancer. Allison and Pierre were good friends, she English, he French. We worked together in Finland at the World Peace Council for five years, socialized a fair amount, went mushrooming together, Pierre and I doing what we could to counter the powers that be. Some years later, Nancy and I stayed at their Paris apartment together, I believe in 2008 at which time we spoke to Alison by phone. They had talked of visiting us sometime in Colorado, but it never happened…although we would have very much loved to have hosted them, an invite still open to Pierre.

Allison was a simultaneous English-French, French-English interpreter and translator. Try it some time. Even if you are bi-lingual, it takes considerable skill. She was a real pro. Of course, she used to regularly love to attack my “American English” (“not the real thing you know”) and replace it with British spelling and grammar. I would then rewrite her edited versions back into “American English.” Alison wrote us every Christmas. I was (far) less disciplined in responding., but it didn’t matter as we had shared a rather fascinating moment in history together in a wonderful place, Finland…the kind of ties that bind.

Rest In Peace…