Sophia D'Antoine

[Dave Aitel via Dailydave <dailydave () lists aitelfoundation org>]

On Monday, I and 400 other people, including many on this mailing list,
attended Sophia's funeral in a huge church in the upper east side of NYC.
Although I grew up in a Jewish household, I am not religious, and the last
time I went to a church was also with Sophia, in Jerusalem, where we
wandered through various landmarks until we ended up at the Church of the
Holy Sepulcher, one of the holiest sites for Christianity.

We waited in a line of fellow pilgrims, the room lit only by echos and dim
lamps to touch the Stone of Anointment, where Jesus's body was said to have
been prepared for burial. The rock was wet, from some unknown source
below.  We each knelt and touched it briefly, respectfully. The concept of
prayer is foreign to me, but I spoke to myself for a moment with my hand on
the slick rock, and tried to feel.

Afterwards, Sophia said to me, "You can't expect  to _feel_ anything.",
something I've often pondered since that moment.

Sophia had many friends, and for many people, Sophia was one of their
closest friends. No one person can own her memory, but like many others,
the moments I had with her were important to me. Now that she's gone, these
moments are what we have left.

The community that came to NYC to support Sophia's family, and each other,
was just as stunned as I am. When not sharing memories about Sophia, we
talked about exploits, and large language models. I saw people I hadn't
seen for over a decade, or people I knew, but had no idea knew Sophia. Some
people traveled from across the entire globe to say goodbye. The community
was all on the same path, and the many photos of Sophia laid out on the
reception tables were like a shattered mirror portal into her life.

Woven into the fabric of who she was, was Sophia's work, and her desire to
do what was necessary to get the work done. She did not start a company to
get rich. She lived a life of quiet professionalism and when global events
moved, she was often part of that fell force that moved them. The shape of
the world is a part of her legacy, but even more so I see her legacy as an
example that you can live a life of sacrifice and integrity. You can be
there for people.  You can make it look effortless.

This week the Host gathered around a silence folding endlessly upon
itself.  I feel privileged to have known her, to have shared the time we
shared. I know those of you reading this who were also a part of her life
feel the same.

Rest in Peace, Sophia. We miss you.

-dave

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