Mary Lightbody
— 25th — (1999) Bill Clinton
LIFE tends to go by while I'm too busy to enjoy it, and I still have not mastered the art of saying "no." My professional career has been challenging and rewarding, and I look forward to completing the Ph.D. so I'll have more "free" time! Urban education is every bit the challenge you would expect it to be, but I have found some excellent teachers and outstanding students within the Columbus Schools. I am encouraged that the reform effort with which I am currently affiliated is making a difference. I find that I adore teaching science, which is quite a surprise for a former Chinese language scholar and East Asian Studies Department graduate! Rick and I married before I graduated, yet still delight in each other's company and have had a delightful twenty-five years. We managed thirteen years of home hemo-dialysis treatments for Rick between 1980 and 1993, but since then have been enjoying the results of the remarkable medical procedure called a kidney transplant. We remember and honor the anonymous family who made the operation possible through organ donation, and have been grateful for the love and support of our family and friends all these years. Rick's health is better than it has been, and he continues to work full-time.
We live on a small farm outside Columbus, and have been breeding horses, raising chickens, and gardening on and off since we got here. Come visit anytime!
— 40th — (2014) Barack Obama
Those halcyon undergraduate days seem so long ago; classmates have scattered, and yet we remain tethered to a place in the past with fond memories (mostly) and few regrets (hopefully). Long lives and happiness to all.
My life changed significantly since Rick died in 2009, but I still live in the same house we bought in 1988 when we moved back to Ohio so our children could grow up knowing their grandparents. I remain single, and have learned to live with memories. I have been planting a new young tree every year in October so the Rick Noss Memorial Forest is gradually getting bigger, both in the size of the trees and in the number of them. I still do most of the farm work myself, still ride, and enjoy the peace and quiet that I still find at home.
I decided to retire from my teaching position at The Ohio State University at Newark at the end of this semester, so my last day on the faculty will be May 31, while I am in Boston enjoying the Jordan J reunion. This will give me more time for my work as a state representative. I do have to run for re-election for a third term in the Ohio House of Representatives, and am well into that effort, with a General Election on November 8. (I would be glad to accept financial contributions to support the effort.) I thoroughly enjoy the work and hope to serve for a third and a fourth term, at which point I will retire, and anticipate that I will then spend time working without pay for local environmental and social justice groups.