I got a phone call yesterday that my good friend, Mary Hanes, had passed away from ovarian cancer. Mary and her husband Ken were my bosses on a pilot they wrote for USA called "Eden." I was their right-hand person, you could say. They were the best bosses ever because they appreciated everything I did and had no problem telling me. This was a vast difference from my previous job.
I have to say that both Ken and Mary had a lot to do with me feeling better about myself post break up. I realized that I do have valuable qualities I bring to the table, both in business and in life. We were a little family for the five months we worked together. They valued my opinions, asked me to help them out in breaking some stories and always came to me whenever a writer was submitted to us to see what I felt. Our tastes matched and our values matched. It was a perfect match in terms of jobs.
I knew she was sick for a while. But she always forged ahead. In these two weeks since my Dad died, it's been a challenge to keep moving forward. But Mary always did. I knew things were bad when I got an email from Ken offering me condolences regarding my Dad that was signed from the two of them. Whenever we worked together, they would send me separate responses. Since I only heard from Ken, I knew she was too sick to even email me back.
I always admired how affectionate they were together and I assume that was true even before her illness. That was just the type of people they are. I will always think of Mary and her encouragement and generosity. Ken sent me an email today reminding me of how much Mary loved me and was looking forward to us working together again and having a long partnership. Even through his grieving, he's still as giving and generous as ever. That's just yet another way that they continue to inspire me.
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