Inverness resident Julie R. Aron, a retired nurse
practitioner and community activist, died at home on Tuesday, Feb.14,
from breast cancer. She was 79.
At the moment of her death, Mrs. Aron was in the company
of her family and her physician, Dr. Molly Bourne, of the West Marin
Medical Center.
In remembrance of Mrs. Aron’s passing, Dr. Bourne
later composed a poem titled, "Housecall, for Wallace Aron."
The deathbed is more for the kin than the dying,
A place to catch up--to embrace--to sink in.
The mattress knows just how much yield can sustain
As we pull alongside where the dying consent.
I’ve seen it enough, the oppressive intentness
Of nebulous neighbors with reeling reproach
For the spouse to "take care" of himself as he’s grieving--
No hint as to how--if anyone knows--
And the closer relations, skilled at distraction,
Squinting their eyes toward the limelight of death
Till the moment arrives when our starlet falls quiet,
Her questions long answered on what lies ahead.
But the part that was different this time in your house,
The part that from other deaths stands separate,
Was the look that you gave when she said she was ready,
The cock of your head to ensure you heard right.
Patient, she was, in repeating this choice,
For she knew, as did you, she must hear it again--
Then down dipped her head to the wince in your eye
And sealed the agreement between two best friends.
There was nothing just then for the doctor to do
But to sink down as deep as the pillows allow,
Bask in the privilege of time standing still--
Tenderly trespassing True Love--for now.
Mrs. Aron’s death on St. Valentine’s Day
was a poignant ending to a successful union with her husband, Wally.
"Julie told me recently that she’s expected our relationship
to last 35 days, not the 35 years that it did," her husband quipped.
Her two previous marriages had ended in divorce.
A West Marin resident since 1997, after her retirement
from Kaiser Permanente, Mrs. Aron fulfilled a dream of moving from the
couple’s South Bay home to Inverness.
Born in El Paso on Oct. 20, 1926, young Juliet Rosenfield’s
family left Texas for Los Angeles so her mother, Estelle Lyons, could
pursue a career in the movies. Her father became founder of the Piggly
Wiggly grocery chain.
Early nurse practitioner
In 1960 she earned a nursing degree from UCLA. She
worked as a nurse in many settings including acute care, public health,
and Head Start preschool programs. Mrs. Aron was one of the first four
nurses chosen by Kaiser Permanente to complete training as a nurse practitioner.
She retired from Kaiser after 29 years of service.
In West Marin she was active in nearly everything
including the Marin Literacy Program and Main Street Moms. She also
volunteered at the Inverness School.
Outspoken, direct and sassy, Mrs. Aron told it like
it was. "She liked to get to the heart of the matter," recalled
friend Eugenia Loyster of Point Reyes Station, who first met Mrs. Aron
on a Thursday afternoon bus trip from Inverness to San Francisco to
attend a matinee performance at the symphony. "I’ll remember
Julie’s eagerness to know what we all thought and why," Ms.
Loyster said.
Liberal politics
Added longtime friend Maidee Moore of Inverness,
whose late husband was a physician at Kaiser, "we were both liberals,
kicking against the powers that be."
Mrs. Aron was predeceased by her sisters, Louise
Rosenfield Bell; and Josephine Rosenfield Davidson.
She is survived by her husband, Wallace Aron of Inverness;
son, Daniel Kempler of Boston; daughters, Candyce Rappaport of Eugene;
and Penelope Silviera of Lemoore, Kings County; brothers, David Rosenfield
of Virginia Beach; and Leon A. Rosenfield of Los Angeles; sisters, Nancy
Lund of Greenville, Plumas County; Mary Louise Johnson of Taos, New
Mexico; and Adele Cannon of Los Angeles; and five grandchildren.
Memorial gathering
Mrs. Aron requested that no memorial services
be scheduled. "She said that if one was held she’d refuse
to come," her husband deadpanned.
In a spirit of compromise, a gathering for family
and friends will be held 1 p.m., Saturday, March 18, at the Inverness
School.
Family members suggest that any memorial contributions
be made to the Inverness Garden Club Scholarship Fund, PO Box 724, Inverness
94937