Dear all,
When I arrived in the Bay Area from Paris, on November 8, 2005, Carole was the second fellow French citizen whom I met, right the same day than Jean-Claude Viollier, on his advice.
I will never forget Carole’s immediate warm welcome and her ease to make you feel part of the community, engage and her friendly tone and demeanor. She immediately proposed to help me and my family with whatever we needed, professional or personal, and put me in touch with many folks afterwards. We partnered well over the years for the Life Sciences Speaker Series at the Chamber. She is also the one who made me join and stay over the years. Carole’s smile, positive spirit, can-do attitude, human and personal touch are some of the few things that I am sure I will always remember, within many others.
Last weekend, far from imagining what was going on, I was actually thinking about her and sending her a thankful message, because she had posted a great historical TV series about WW2 and the Alsaciens’ divide on Facebook, which my daughter, her grandmother and my mother and I enjoyed watching together.
See, that is Carole. She was thousands of miles away and suffering a lot, but man, she still was finding the energy and strength to foster happiness, bond and connections for others.
I got deeply sad and very angry at life, when I learned about Carole yesterday, after Marie-Alice Dibon called me to share the news.
But then, I remembered that Carole was and will always be a fighter, such a great soul and spirit, and that this is what I have to focus on.
Wherever she might be, even if it for sure has been a very difficult, painful, sad "passage", I am sure she now continues to walk there with her contagious smile and bringing in Life with and around her.
Rest in peace, Carole. I will miss you and hope our paths cross again.
Thomas.