Submitted by catherine Jane Lenard, Aug 11, 2007 00:24

I knew something was up because Stella was promt with her response letter writing.  I met Stella in the gym of her and Alex's upper West Side Manhattan condominium.   We talked and she took to me.  she decided I had a good brain and could learn easily , so she invited me to be a part of  her and Alex's research, reading the biographies of the individuals in the NYLS starting from behaviors at babyhood- crying patterns, play patterns, etc. up till, at the time, it was 1991- starting jobs and families.  We sat in her and Alex's condo overlooking the beautiful cityscape and writing and categorizing personality traits into boxes and measuring them between one and five, then by the time I got married and moved, which was in 1994, we were applying the results to a rough scatter-graph.  I never found the latest book on the final results of the NYLS.  What is the title of that book, and or was it ever finished and published?

Stella and Alex treated me like I was one of their own children.  I don't mean they were all sappy.  They taught me discipline, and through their tenacity of devotion and love for their writing and profession, instilled in me the belief that I could do whatever I set my mind to. They even told me I could.  I learned not to give up when it got really complicated and I felt like crying.  Stella herself had ovecome dyslexia in college to go on to be about the most influential child psychiatrist around. She would take breaks- she was 83 years old- between writings and read a whole book in an hour before returning back to work.  And I learned to love dark chocolate.  Alex kept a stack of about five Lindt bittersweet chocolates in the top drawer of his office.  He offered me some.  I think they helped him think.  Though Stella was sometimes tough, she was dear to me, and I wanted nothing better than to please her and do an excellent job.  We all had lunch together  every  weekday, and Stella even took the time to teach me how to cook.

I regarded Stella as the no-nonsense of the two and Alex was a little softer and slower of personality at that time.  I had great regard and fondness for them.  The last letter I recieved was in 2002 after Stella had been hit by a  car and broke- I don't recall, her shoulder or something.  I wrote back  recently, this year and never heard from her.  I wanted to fill-her in and start-up the correspondence again.

I miss them.  I hope she and Alex will always know that they made a huge impression on my life.  Even when I began to pursue my own line of work, I could always feel the little voice of encouragement in the back of my consciousness.  My profound regards to their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.  I treasure the books they wrote and gave me and especially the self-printed work, Fifty Years Together, where Stella had inscribed, "April 23, 1993,To Cathy, a faithful assistant and friend."

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