THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 24, 1995 TAG: 9512220168
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Ida Kay's Portsmouth
SOURCE: Ida Kay Jordan
LENGTH: Medium: 68 lines
There is no way I can write about Christmas this year without talking about two women who recently died. They personified the true meaning of the season, year-round and life-long.
Nobody gave more to this community than Loretta Larcombe, who left us at age 60 week before last, and Jerlene Harding, who passed on at age 62 last week.
Each in her own way gave the most valuable gift of all, part of herself.
Loretta worked as if she were getting paid at a number of volunteer jobs - most notably for the Portsmouth Museums, Portsmouth General Hospital, the Police Department's Mounted Patrol and at Oasis. She didn't work some time or only when she felt like it. She was constant even through a long battle with cancer. Even as her illness began to overtake her, Loretta was thinking about the projects she and her husband, John, were working on.
Jerlene's interests were different but no less important to the community. As a public school music teacher for 30 years, she labored long and hard outside of school hours to create the Tidewater Area Musicians (TAM) Orchestra. Nights, weekends, holidays and summer, she was working for her young musicians. When she retired a few years ago, she kept on with the orchestra, which provided a performing arena for young musicians. It was her way of broadening the lives of young black students. Many of them have gone on to achieve solid careers they might not have found without Jerlene's gift of herself to each of them.
Neither woman sought personal publicity. When we heard from them, it was to promote projects, not themselves. Each was almost shy about having stories written that gave them any personal credit.
Because they never sought personal glory from their work, these women embodied the true spirit of giving, which is what Christmas is all about.
No one is perfect. We're all human beings experiencing frustrations and setbacks. But what makes a difference is whether we ultimately put our energies into complaining and obstructing or into trying to make things better.
Many years ago one of my Wake Forest classmates, Cree Deane, used to remind us constantly that when you point your finger at somebody else, there are three fingers on your own hand pointing back at you.
Cree, daughter of a North Carolina congressman, was the conscience for those in our group setting out to change the world 45 years ago. She believed the world could change only if each individual changed, and she believed that change must come deep in the heart of each person.
Pointing out failures and griping about how somebody else was running things was not enough, Cree told us all the time. Each person also has a responsibility to make things better.
Every time I start carping, I can see Cree pointing her finger as a reminder of the three pointing back at me. It's a good thing to remember.
It's easy to find fault. And, unfortunately, Portsmouth has a lot of people who are very good at talking negatively about their community but who do very little to correct the problems.
Neither Loretta Larcombe nor Jerlene Harding was blind to shortcomings. But they did not let that stop them from working to better the city, each in her own way.
With a sadness for their loss to this city, I write about them on Christmas Eve. But we should rejoice in their lives.
They set a standard for every citizen of Portsmouth, and nothing I could say about Christmas could measure up to what they showed us by example. by CNB