In memoriam

Ann Vardaman Miller

192_ -- August 12, 2006

Beloved professor, inspiration, and friend

From the thousands of moments that file by every day, here is one that I will remember always: Tea at Barnes & Noble with Ann Miller and Mrs Vardaman a couple months ago in June. I'd brought a few of my favorite poems to read aloud to these former-professors-turned-friends. "...Even after I have forgotten what year it is,/ my middle name,/ and the meaning of money,/ I will still carry in my pocket/ the small coin of that moment..."* Moments before she was driven away, I caught one last glimpse of Ann Miller, with her coy--almost flirtatious--smile through the car window. Standing there with the hot Texas sun on the back of my neck, I knew that I would see her no more.

And an excerpt from a June 30th letter to Professor Miller, which I never mailed because I wanted to print the above picture from 2001 and send it to her:

...As a teacher, you no doubt have been told that you've impacted your students' lives. While I do and will remember your classes fondly, that memory I've stored away...is the way you taught with love. I know of course you love Dickenson and Chekov and Yeats (and I'm realizing more how literature has at its core love and compassion), but even more so how you loved your students and found beautiful things in them. One day you ran your hands through Rosamund's hair and told her it was the most beautiful hair you'd ever seen! And this is what I carry with me from my days in Carroll Science, and what I hope to do in practicing medicine, teaching, or serving....

We miss you, Professor Miller.

Baylor Lariat press release

* Lines taken from "This Much I Do Remember" by Billy Collins