The Len Lesser Report

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WHEN YOU LOSE A FRIEND YOU LOSE A PART OF YOURSELF

The downtown YMCA has lost a wonderful women, Joanne Kirkpatrick who passed away to-day, Wednesday August 15th.

I wager that the vast majority of the members knew her simply as Joanne who gave of her time to teach Yoga.
She was the epitome of a very gracious beautiful woman whose presence seemed to touch every one she came into contact with. To take one of her classes was an invitation to forget your worries for ninety minutes every Wednesday and Friday in Studio B.

Many people talk the talk : For Joanne Yoga was part and parcel of her life style which she lived to the fullest. Her devoted students admired her.

She was the ultimate teacher giving of herself to her students to help them to understand the relationship of body and mind to be able to find their special way to an inner peace. The outside world with all of the travails and emphasizes on material matters seemed to disappear as soon as you entered the studio. The very essence of deadlines and the troubles of the world seemed to evaporate with the calming voice of Joanne.

Joanne was a very tall women who enjoyed fashion and good taste; she was the epitome of a run-way model who could have been on the front cover of Vogue modeling the latest fashions.

I choose to remember the sight of a smiling Joanne leaving the Y after her classes: an awesome pair of sunglasses, a beautiful scarf thrown over her shoulder and an invitation for all to have an awesome day.

The attainment of true Yoga is the liberation from the material world to find inner peace with the supreme being. Joanne is now at peace enjoying her unlimited time teaching the angels yoga.

The sages teach us that when you lose a child you lose the future, when you lose a spouse you lose the present, when you lose a parent you lose the past and when you lose a friend you lose part of yourself, With the passing of Joanne we are left mourning the loss of a fine women whose life was far too short.

Len Lesser