Hutchins School of Liberal Studies

There are no words that will stop the pain. There are no words that will fill in the hole in your hearts. As you feel the pain and reflect on your memories of Jeannine, tuck each memory in your hearts for safekeeping and slowly the pain will soften and the hole will get smaller...filled with all your memories.
- Sue Foley

I am in shock and deep sadness after just now reading about Jeannine's death. Besides feeling the personal loss (she was my advisor), I am sure that Hutchins will never be quite the same again. Jeannine's presense, leadership, ideas, enthusiastic energy, organizational skills, teaching skills, as well as open-hearted ability to be so kind will be greatly missed. I am so saddened.
- Patricia London

I just got the news. ....... Jesus this is soo sad, and so unexpected, I was just thinking about Jeannine yesterday as I contemplate graduation , which by no means will be the same without her. I am absolutely stunned. I honestly felt that she was the heart of Hutchins, or at least the "Lady of Hutchins." I had so much respect for her. NUMB. I am glad her last days were with loved ones.. makes me not want to be at school today. I feel bad that her last days were filled with so much chaos of recent events...call your family and tell em you love em...again, I know I will.
- Elizabeth Anderson

I would like to comment on the tremendous loss of Jeannine Thompson. I, too, am shocked and saddened by her passing so suddenly, or at all for that matter. She was the first Hutchins person that I spoke to when I was getting in to Hutchins. I will miss her positive influence that she blessed the SSU campus with, and her smiling face that I would often get to see while walking to my classes. Hutchins has felt a extreme loss. Being a part of a community such as Hutchins you tend to know everyone that is also a part of Hutchins in one way or another, we all feel the loss. Lets take what we have learned from that recent losses around the nation and come together to celebrate Jeannine's life and all she gave to make Hutchins what it is today. Thank you Jeannie....Thank you... we will miss you dearly.
-Jennifer Nortz

This is worse than bad news. I am sick, crying, and in shock. I don't know how she managed it but in the first ten seconds after I met Jeannine she made me feel like we were old pals and I could count on her for anything. Whenever she met my gaze her smile rekindled the feelings of that first encounter.Then later when I asked for her help she always came through as though helping me was her only task. Thank you so much Jeannine for being you. Good bye. Oh my God I miss you.
- Don Linowski

I only had one contact with Jeannine. That was last semester when she advised me before registration. She made a mistake with one of my classes which would have resulted in me being quite overloaded this semester. When she realized what had happened, she tirelessly emailed the admissions office back and forth in order to straighten it out. She ended up putting me in better shape because of her efforts. I will always remember her as a person who worked for the students and put her best effort into making sure that she did everything she could for them. My heart goes out to her family and friends.
- Lisa Moore

I didn't know Jeannine very well, but every time I saw her or needed her feedback, she treated me like I was the most important person alive. I had Jeannine for the the Forum last fall. I loved watching her lecture. When she spoke she really drew you in. Her spirit was very playful and fun. She had such an extensive background in the arts. I was truly in awe of her. I only regret that I didn't get a chance to do one of her seminars. I had planned to take a core C with her next spring before I graduated. Hutchins will be less wonderful without her amzing presence. The encouragement I felt from her will never be forgotten. I'm glad I got to spend even a little time with her. My condolences go out to her husband and family.
- Mary Greathouse

Dear Faculty, Staff and Students of Hutchins, I was deeply saddened by the news of Jeannine's unexpected death. It is never something that is understandable, and less so when it is someone close to you. Jeannine's dedication to Hutchins was exemplary in the selflessness with which she expended untold effort. In that sense, no matter how long or short her life was, it was a life well lived. This kind of shock makes the fragility of life that much clearer to us, and brings home to us the utmost importance of staying true to one's heart and living a life of dedication and devotion. None of us knows when our last day will be, and to remember life's preciousness, is the gift Jeannine is giving us right now. I am sorry that I will not be able to attend the memorial, as I am on a 4 month retreat and cannot leave it. But my heart and thoughts are with the community in this time of loss, as will be my prayers for Jeannine. I will miss her. She will be missed. In Sympathy,
- Zohra Kalinkowitz

For Jeannine and the 911 Victims:
"Sack of dung,
Food for worms -"
We begin to rot within the hour.
And just like that,
Our friend has died;
Just like that,
The bomb exploded;
Just like that,
The stroke befell her;
Just like that,
Your or I,
The sweet children,
The brother, sister,
Mother, dad.
We grieve, then acknowledge:
Better than some deaths,
Worse than others --
for us, the survivors -
for now.
That is why I walk the woods,
Wrestle with the kids,
Kiss your belly and breasts,
Dance and sing.
That is why we eat
And drink the wine
And talk together . . .
To cheer each other on.
- Rob Weiner, Oct. 1, 2001

Please forward my sorrow and shock to the Hutchins faculty and staff at the passing of Jeannine Thompson, whom I always found wonderful to work with. I know the faculty, students, and staff will miss her deeply. And I will miss working with her as Provost, a job she handled with both passion and reason. Her death is a great loss to Hutchins, A&H,and to SSU.
- William Babula, Dean

I and other alumni are devastated by the loss of our beloved former professor. I am distraught to be so far from Hutchins at such a tragic time, because participation in healing events like the gatherings this week is impossible. If anyone can film the service, please make it available to me and other long-distance former students. I don't know who the alumni coordinator is, but if someone is gathering comments--newspapers, campus, etc.-- I would be very grateful for copies. Hutchins will always be family to me, and my heart goes out to our school. As others have said, I was in awe of Jeannine. Every encounter--in seminars, field trips, advisory meetings--left me feeling energized, if not a little overwhelming, like suddenly there were a million possibilities in the world, and she believed I could do all of them. Oh, what a gaping hole we have without her intelligence, enthusiasm, expertise, and love! - Elizabeth Neal, Class of 2000

Jeannine,
summer's blooms blow into winter once more,
speaking of things that have gone long before.
maybe when our childhood was young, we were free,
but now we are moved into ways we can't see. caught up in a game of daring, and chance,
moving in step though we don't know the dance
impressed with ideals thoughts and ways,
a moulded creature we live our days we are but the flashes of sun on the sea,
nothing will change for all we may be,
a shortlived bloom, some melting snow.
why we live and die, we cannot know. you are the ripples of wind on the pastures green,
you are what flowers to lovers mean.
gone in body, but not in mind,
a spark of light kindled in humankind.
- b e n . k l o c e k

I am profoundly saddened to hear of of Jeannine's death. Of my many friends in the Hutchins School community, Jeannine was, and remained in many ways, the first. It was my great fortune to register for her LIBS 302 class back in January 1996. She introduced me to this great community of learners. She not only showed me the ropes and taught me the inimitable Hutchins School philosophy of scholarship, she more importantly affirmed my contributions and validated my return to higher learning. Jeannine was so amazing - the way she would sit back and listen to an hour or two of what might have initially seemed to be fumbling, stumbling attempts at seminar dialogue, and then she would step in with an off the top of her head, very succinct summary of the dialogue - managing to retrace the discussion's thread and include every single participant's contributions! I was very fortunate to be in that 302 section with her; she modeled the ideal of Hutchins School learning, a model I strove to recreate for the duration of my time in the school. Jeannine had the remarkable ability to discern every student's intellectual interests, and remember them semesters or years later. I am saddened for her husband and her colleagues, but most of all for those students who never got, and now never will get the chance to know her. Jeannine, Fare Ye Well!!!
- Steven Sofranko

Send my prayers and deepest sympathies to Jeannine's family, friends, students, and fellow educators. I did not know Jeannine, however; her spirit and influence are evident to me in every corner of the Hutchins community. I had a dream last night that we we're all children, and God smiled as we talked and played, in the purest light one can imagine, all possibilities were renewed in God's gentle embrace.
- Dave Gerbic

"Light of Day", Dedicated to Jeannine Thompson
Don't give up,
You've to the whole world at your feet.
You see with the insight of the Creator;
You're potential is not limited with defeat:
You're a winner;
Like the Light of Day,
Your beam sent to inspire us all.
- Loreen Theveny

Jeannine,
Thank you for all your support in my transition from CSUB to SSU! I admire your talent as an educator as well as the Provost of Hutchins. What I learned in your Post-Modern Art course will be of value in my life as well as my future as an educator. Your door was always open, its sad to see it dark today. You will be missed terribly.
- Wendy Ragusa, Hutchins Student

Dear Jeannine,
Thank you. Thank you for your brilliance, intelligence, beautiful smile, vibrant talks, personality, and many, many more things. I know I was definitely not your best student, but I want you to know how much I appreciate your gifts of knowledge. I learned more about art from you in one semester than in years of art classes.

You inspired me to look at art in different ways than I had ever seen. You taught me to want the quest of knowledge. My words cannot express how much I appreciate your guidance and light. Thank you for everything. You are truely a shining star and a guiding light. I hope that you left in a peaceful place, a comfortable moment, and are satisfied with your time on this earth. I am certainly much obliged to your time. With love, gratefullness, friendship and peace.
- Megan Anne Johnson

Jeannine,
Thank you for your beautiful presence in our lives. I did not meet you but once. Your life has impacted me in many ways. As your beauty continues to unfold as a ripple continues in a pond I thank you again.
- Love, Jennifer

Dearest Jeannine,
My first class on my first day in the Hutchins program at SSU was your LIBS 302 class. You made me feel comfortable and welcome. I felt a warmth from you and it meant the world to me. Over the course of the class I looked to you as a shelter and a mentor. You were like the mother bird sheltering me under your wing. No matter how insecure I feld I always know that I could always come to you. I loved that you organized a field trip to the SFMOMA. Hearing your comments helped me to see the art work in a new light. When I first met you, you seemed conservative and reserved. How wrong I was. You were a great thinker with revolutionary ideas and liberal opinions. I miss you so much, my college experience is different now. I hope you are at peace. My reverence and affection.
- Charity

Jeannine,
I just wanted to thank you again for all the help you gave me when we discovered the glitches in my evaluation. You saved me! I still have the emails you sent me. I think I'll hang onto them awhile longer. Rest in peace - your legacy will live on!
- Lisa Moore

True beauty may lie within but you found a way to share yours will all of us.
Thank you!

Jeannine,
You loved the students. I thought for sure that you were younger than 60 and that you would outlive your cat. You affected my life so much. I have never felt so much a part of a community. And you were my advocate - like a rock - with all these little problems and silly things w/students you stood behind me and believed I was so competent. And you were so enthusiastic and alive and young. You were Hutchins. You kept us in check. You were fun and excited that I chose to live in the city. You were excited about my project and you kept asking about Rob and talking about hiking and skiing and travelling and art. You wore leather pants and brought great salads to parties. You gave hugs and put on lipstick and stood up to the Dean.

Tell the faculty that my heart is really with them.
Tell them how important it is, what they are doing with the Hutchins program.
Tell them I have total faith in them.
- Lu Mattson

Die Neunte Elegie ...Aber weil Heirsein viel ist, und weil uns scheinbar
alles das Hiesige bracht, dieses Schwindende, das
seltsam uns angeht. Uns, die Schwindensten.
Ein Mal jedes, nur ein Mal. Ein Mal und nichtmehr.
Und wir auch ein Mal. Nie wieder. Aber dieses
ein Mal gewesen zu sein, wenn auch nur ein Mal:
irdisch gewesen zu sein, scheint nicht widerrufbar. Rainer Maria Rilke ---1925
- Contributed by Robert Coleman-Senghor

I am so sorry that I never told Jeannine how important she was to me. Jeannine is the sort of person with the kind of values that brought me to this exciting and unique university in 1972 and she exemplified the reasons I stayed so long. We car pooled together from Berkeley, sometimes just the two of us. We shared stories and music, and tips on clothes and relationships and.whatever, on the long rides. She showed me that being a professor and an administrator could be a really, really interesting thing to do at a time (as a first-generation college student) I thought my options were pretty limited. She didn't know it, but she was a secret but tremendous role model for many, many women on this campus. I don't have a funny story to share, but I want to say how much FUN it was to work with a colleague such as Jeannine. She embodies the values that are important to me and represents the spirit of how I like to remember SSU. I miss her already.
- Linda Lipps

Moments in Life.
There are moments in life, when you miss someone so much, that you want to pick them, from your dreams and hug them. Dream what you want to dream.
Go where you want to go.
Be what you want to be.
Because you have only one life, and one chance to do all the things you want to do. May you have enough happiness to make you sweet.
Enough trials to make you strong, Enough sorrow to keep you human.
Enough hope to make you happy.
Always put yourself in others' shoes.
If you feel that it hurts you, it probably hurts the other person, too.
The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; They just make the most of everything, that comes along their way.
Happiness lives for those who cry, those who hurt, have searched, and those who tried.
For only they can appreciate the importance of people, who have touched their lives.
Love begins with a smile, grows with a kiss, and ends with a tear.
The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past.
You can't go on, well in life, until you let go of your past failures,and heartaches. When you were born, you were crying, and everyone around you was smiling.
Live your life, so, that when you die, you're the one who is smiling, and everyone around you, is crying.
Please send this message on to those people who mean something to you.
To those who have touched your life, in one way, or another.
To those who make you smile when you really need it.
To those that make you see the brighter side of things, when you are really down, and to those you want to tell, how much their friendship and love are appreciated. And, if you don't forward this . . . . . don't worry about it.
Nothing bad will happen to you.
You will just miss out on the opportunity to brighten someone's day.
Elizabeth Anderson

In Memory 10/5/01 A great lady gone-
So sudden... She walked with dignity; With joy she shared her works of art - of life. Shall we paint a picture? Our brushes fashioned from eyelashes dipped in wells of tears - each stroke shaped by memory and placed with care? Aloha Jeannine. Walk in beauty, Jeannine. Colleague, Sister Friend. Aloha, a hui hou - till we meet again
Great lady gone ahead.
- Susan v.d.H. Barnes

Hello Debora, I have been meaning to reply to your message and express my surprise and sadness of Jeannine's passing. She was my Senior Synthesis professor my last semester in Hutchins. She did challenge me do go beyond what I really wanted to do on my senior project, which I did on the nature photographer, Eliot Porter. However, I love his work and am grateful that Jeannine shared her knowledge of him with me! I had no knowledge of this photographer before meeting Jeannine. I was unable to attend the service for her on Friday, but I can relate to the stories that you mentioned in your e-mail that were shared about her. I'm sorry that she is no longer here with us. I can't help but think, in the wake of her death (at such a young age) and the recent tragedy in New York, that we never know how much time we have, so we need to strive to live our lives to the fullest on a daily basis and be grateful for the time we have been given to spend....
- Former student Patience in a note to Debora Hammond

Goodbye for now Jeannine,
Thank you for all your experience, wisdom, patience, time & love. You will be greatly missed. Who will I email with all my countless questions.
As always,
- Valarie

Jeannine,
Thank you so much for your time when you helped me with my papers for graduation. I am sorry I did not have or take the opportunity to have a class of yours or get to know you better. Your zest for life has spoken to me & I can see how you have touched so many lives. Your memory will live on. I will plant 2 bulbs in a garden at my house. This will be the start of my garden - one I have envisioned & not acted on. May I in your memory take action in this life I have with sincere gratitude. May your spirit continue to soar and inspire all those around you now.
- AJF

Jeannine,
Pages of your notes
That I am only
Beginning to understand
Thank you for your
Patience, passion and your
never compromising.
- NL

Cara Jeannine,
Grazie mille per futti! Sei una bellissima rajazza e professora e amica. Tu per sempere nel mia cuore.
Tutti amore,
- Annora

Ah Jeannine,
I cannot believe you are gone. You were so vibrant, so full of gusto. Actually you are not gone though - you live on in my heart. I learned so much from you.
Thank you.

I just wanted to write in honor of Jeannine Thompson. Jeannine was my first professor at SSU. She always challenged her students to achieve their best and expand their learning. I still think about existentialism, how our environment & values effect our culture/community. Most of all I admired her caring & dedication to her students.
- Paula Kerns

Remember her strength & powerful impact and mirror her great essence. That is how we will survive this grief.
- Jamie McCleary - 2nd year Hutchins student

Jeannine was on of the finest professors I have ever had the pleasure to work with. I will miss her & sympathize with those close to her.
- Ollie Meland

Words are but ink scratched out on paper or faint sounds lost in the wind but memories are everlasting.
- Jason Barlow

Remember - under the grief and fear is love. I can relate as I have lost my father recently. My deepest sympathy.

- Kelly Hutton

I found out only this week about our mutual loss of Jeannine Thompson, as I'm not on campus this semester, to my great regret. If Hutchins had a motherhearted curiousmischievous grin that formed its center, Jeannine was it. This is simply to say that she held both the powerful intellectual construct that was the Hutchins ideal, and the humanist, loving (and fun-loving) philosophy that stood behind it in perfect balance within her small frame. Because of that, there is a hole now at Rachel Carson Hall, no less palpable than if someone had come in the night and surgically removed a building or two, or if a chemical accident had altered the mixture of the air. I will forever remember Jeannine fascinated at a videotape I lent her of a David Hockney lecture about Chinese scrolls, or our animated discussion about the editing techniques of Alfred Hitchcock, her engagement in a talk I gave the students on how African-Americans were portrayed in early prime time television, or her involvement in a class discussion of a Don DeLillo short story. She gobbled up everything, and made you want to, too. Is there anything better a teacher can model for her students? It's a cliche (but true) that we have a few good teachers in our lives, and they make all the difference. I was blessed with two or three of them myself. I know Jeannine will have been that teacher for a good many of her students, and for this the gates of heaven have already opened wide to her. But she will also have been that teacher for this fellow-teacher, and for that I am grateful, and for that she will not be forgotten, and will always be loved.
- Kenn Rabin, Adjunct Faculty

Dear Hutchins' Faculty & Ronny,
I just wanted to write in honor of Jeannine Thompson. Jeannine was my first professor at SSU. She always challenged her students to achieve their best and expand their learning. I still think about existentialism and how our environment & values effect our culture & community. Most of all I admired her caring and dedication to her students.
- Paula Kerns

Jeannine, You taught me. That was your goal and you did it. You taught me to see-- literally, physically -- in some really amazing, new, powerful ways. Ways I'm grateful to have to pass onto my daughter, that make me feel better about being alive, fuller, more interested, more involved. You taught me to think and speak and ask and wonder, and to do all that without too much fear but with generous measures of humility and humor. You took me seriously, which has helped me do that same. I haven't talked with you in 5, 6 years, but our conversations have been continuing and will do so. With gratitude, love, and of course a good laugh, Curt Kearney.

I was out of the country at the time of the memorial and could not share in the grief of my brothers and sisters. It is nice to read of the joys and sorrows of my fellow students and alumni, and to feel some of the grieving that is still waiting to get out. This site is a wonderful place to share our grief and fond memories of a woman who had such a tremendous impact on our lives. Her input and the insights she guided me to are some of my fondest memories from my Hutchins education. I will dearly miss her. It was bad enough being away from the school as an alumni; I already cherished every memory of her. Her passing must have left a heavy impact at the school, but lets take this transformative energy and use it to continue on our respective paths and make her proud.
- Alex Rollin

The way I look back on Hutchins is with a proprietary sense that somehow, that time, that richness *belonged* to me especially. I think this is how each of us takes Hutchins into our own being. In this same manner, I felt that Jeannine *belonged* to me as special mentor, teacher, friend. And it was through her ability to make me feel as though I belonged, that I blossomed and have never been the same. I imagine that thousands of other students feel exactly as if Jeannine was the most perfect teacher designed for them too.
- Jordan E. Rosenfeld , Hutchins Grad, class of '97

I can honestley say that I would not be who I am today without having met Jeannine Thompson. Few people are that affecting. It is horrible that she is gone.
- Jonny Lieberman

As a Hutchins alumna, I want to say how deeply saddened I am by the passing of Jeannine Thompson. I have been unsuccessful at joining the list serv so I thought I would put my thoughts here. I remember the first time I met Jeannine. It was at my transfer orientation. I liked her immediately. I was excited to learn that she would be my advisor. Whenever I had a problem that I thought was beyond repair, Jeannine fixed it. She was a source of encouragement. Most importantly, she believed in me. I would like to express my sincere condolences to her family, to the faculty, and to the students. The world has lost a great professor, mentor, and friend.
- By Cindy Novello, on 10/1/01.

I think everyone can agree that this has been a tough month. After hearing that Jeannine passed away it seems that the world has gotten a little darker. Right now it seems that my sorrow know no bounds and is on the verge of swallowing me whole. It would be an understatement to say that Jeannine inspired me. She touched my life in such a way, a positive way that anything I achieve in the future will be not only to my credit but to her’s as well. It was in her seminar that an average kid from nowhere speical developed his love of knowledge and understanding. It was in her seminar that I discovered that my intellect ran deeper and stronger than I initially thought. Through her encouragement and friendship she empowered me in some strange way that I no longer felt intimidated by the world and its problems. It was in her seminar were I took the first steps of bettering myself and hopefully the world as well. I had this strange fantasy of one day after about 5 or 10 years of returning to SSU as a success by every measure. I would then personally express to her my heartfelt appreciation and gratitude for her guidance. This is what I find most depressing, I will no longer have that opportunity to show my respect and appreciation. There are only a couple of people in your life that actually touch your soul and show your true potential, now that I have lost her I don’t really know how to react. I can only hope that I can find my way without her guidance and friendship. Regardless of what happens I will always carry her memory and her good spirit in my heart.
- By James D., on 10/8/01.

It seems as if the hits just keep on coming. Jeannine was my advisor for all five years I was a Hutchins student, and as it seems she did for many people, she took it upon herself to make sure I did well and succeeded at what I had set my mind to. If it wasn't for Jeannine sitting me down and straightening me out, I wouldn't be who I am today. God bless Jeannine, her family, her loved ones, and anyone that was ever touched by her light. I urge everyone to contribute what they can to the scholarship fund being set up in her name. She would have wanted us to continue her hard work at the Hutchins School. By Stephanie Jones, on 10/1/01.I remember my first semester in Hutchins. As a freshman I found the course work to be very difficult. Without Jeannine I probably would have walked away from Hutchins and missed out on one of the best experiences of my life. She taught me so much, and helped me find things that inspired me. I am now a high school art teacher, every day when I get up in front of my students I hope that I can inspire them in the same way that she inspired me. I feel as if I have lost a very close friend. I wish I could have said goodbye.
- By Gena Mazzeo, on 10/3/01.

Remembering Professor Jeannine Thompson Thoughts, Poems, Reflections

Remembering Professor Jeannine Thompson
Thoughts, Poems, Reflections