 |
From friends of Dr. Stewart:
I first heard Felicia Stewart at the ARHP conference 2004 at Washington. I had come to attend this conference from a very far off country. Hearing her vibrant voice addressing women's health issues gave one a feeling that the cause is similar whichever part of the world we came from and if the zeal among the health care providers continued, we would definitely make a difference to their lives.
Malabika Roy, MD
ARHP member
ICMR, New Delhi, India
Submitted on: Tue 4/18/2006 5:07 PM |
Felicia was an incredible role-model for me. She was so real, down to earth, practical and approachable. She was always coming up with practical solutions to make the world a little better for women. I realized if I could be more free-spirited like Felicia and let go of worrying about barriers, or how the world would never change, I could help make the world a better place too. Her humor and wit will always be missed.
Emily M. Godfrey MD, MPH
ARHP Board of Directors
University of Illinois-Chicago
Submitted on: 4/18/06 3:47 PM |
I first met Felicia Stewart at a national meeting over a decade ago. I was thrilled to be standing in the ladies room talking to such an important person! Her achievements were an inspiration to a young woman just starting out in the field of reproductive health. From one-on-one conversations to major policy initiatives, watching her bring her unique wisdom and humor to a discussion, the latest crisis or a new initiative was an incredible learning experience. She was a wonderful mentor to so many of my generation. She touched our lives and our careers in countless ways. I will miss her wry commentary, her advice, and her smile.
Kathy Rogers, MPH
Reproductive Health Consultant & ARHP member
Submitted on: Tuesday 04/18/06 1:08 PM |
I first met Felicia as the Abortion Access Project was launching its work with Advanced Practice Clinicians. I flew to San Francisco to meet her, thrilled to have an appointment but a bit intimidated by her reputation as an eminent physician and researcher. We went downstairs for coffee, and while perusing the menu choices for "Grande, Extra Tall, Extra Grande", Felicia turned to me and said, "Do you think the people who market coffee sizes are the same ones who market condoms - both assume no one will buy a small?" That ended my being intimidated, and was the beginning of a relationship in which Felicia inspired me, encouraged me - and continued to delight me with her wonderful wit. I will miss her greatly.
Susan Yanow
The Abortion Access Project
Submitted on: Tue 04/18/06 12:57 PM |
Felicia Stewart was my best friend and closest professional colleague for more than 20 years. Together, we published thirty journal articles and books. We talked by email or phone nearly every day. What made her so special? She was an original and creative thinker, intellectually curious and scrupulously honest, absolutely fearless, an inspirational leader, an effective activist, a gifted writer, a terrific speaker, and a skilled clinician. She loved to laugh, and she was not afraid to cry. She performed abortions from the beginning, at a time hardly anyone else did, and she continued to do so throughout her professional life. She was an articulate spokesperson for reproductive health and reproductive rights. She inspired a generation of young women clinicians, researchers, and activists to strive to be like her. Above all else, she was very wise.
She was an incredibly loyal friend to many and especially to me. She was always there for me, in times of joy and in times of sorrow. I have fine, clear memories of dozens of shared meals, ranging from our annual pilgrimage to Chez Panisse, to surprise birthday parties for her in fabulous restaurants in San Francisco, to eating reindeer in freezing Helsinki in December (where we had gone so that she could get a Mirena IUD for hormone replacement therapy long before it was available here).
Did she have faults? To my knowledge she had two. She saw conspiracies where the rest of us saw none (usually involving Republicans, religious fanatics, or pharmaceutical companies), though perhaps she in fact had better vision than we. And she was incapable of sticking to her allotted time when making a presentation at our Contraceptive Technology conferences; now I regret she was not given more time as I realize that she simply had so much to say and too little time to say it. To those of us who knew her, Felicia Stewart was larger than life. Like many others, I loved her fiercely and miss her terribly. My only comfort is the knowledge that Felicia will live on in the book Contraceptive Technology, in the minds and memories of her many colleagues, and in the lives of her two extraordinarily wonderful children Kathryn and Matthew.
James Trussell, PhD
Director, Office of Population Research
Princeton University
Submitted on: Tuesday 4/18/06 11:46 AM |
Felicia’s wonderful laugh will be my best memory. Like her, it was honest and open and joyous. She was a true visionary, but one with a sense of proportion and humor that made her an incredibly effective leader.
Lee Lee Doyle, PhD
Chair, ARHP Board of Directors
Little Rock, AR
Submitted on: Tuesday 04/18/06 11:22 AM |
Felicia is irreplaceable, but we must continue to realize her vision and her energy and her caring for women's health. She may have suffered fools gladly, but she never made us feel like we were one of those fools. We were her confidants in the fight against the "short-sighted people" who have too much control in the world these days.
I recall her guilelessly asking an audience of college health professionals when we would begin to offer medication abortion in our college health services. We should be capable of providing this needed service that could reasonably fit within our scope of practice and Felicia refused to be immobilized by the inertia and fear of upsetting campus authorities that gripped her listeners.
You will be greatly missed, Dr. F. Stewart!
Scott Spear, MD
Past Member, ARHP Board of Directors
Madison, WI
Submitted on: Tuesday 4/18/06 11:50 AM |
I only had the pleasure of hearing Felicia speak formally. I'll never forget what a tremendous comfort her words were at the California Family Planning Council meeting in March 2003 in Anaheim—Felicia was the keynote speaker the morning after the U.S. invaded Iraq on March 19—everyone was clearly upset about the events from the night before, many were weeping. Felicia's opening remarks, her measured words and moral convictions touched everyone in the room. While she did eventually proceed with her talk on new birth control methods as planned, she performed an extraordinary feat by first addressing the world-changing event that was foremost on audience members' minds, then gradually helping us to focus on the important reproductive health issues about which she felt so passionately and spoke so authoritatively. I often think of Felicia's words that morning when I read the horrific news out of Iraq.
Karen Canova
Washington, DC
Submitted on: Tue 04/18/06 9:17 AM |
Felicia introduced me to sushi decades ago, long before it became a staple of the American diet. In her gracious way she had invited me to her home when we were serving on some kind of task force together. I have associated that "pow" combination of ginger, wasabi, and soy sauce with her ever since.
Felicia was always ahead of the curve, a leader with the courage to envision new ways of delivering reproductive health services to women while upholding the greatest rigor in her research. Because of her passion, American women have much greater access to emergency contraception. Because of her leadership, Title X was sustained and protected during difficult political times. Because of her commitment to women's health, accurate information about contraception was consistently disseminated. Because of Felicia's life, millions of women and families have healthier, happier lives.
Gloria Feldt
Former President, Planned Parenthood Federation of America
Submitted on: Tue 04/18/05 7:16 AM |
I first met Felicia when I began the cervical cap study in 1981. She was my mentor and such a wonderful proponant of all methods of birth control and loved the cervical cap. Over the years we shared our strories of the development and eventual approval of the device. It is with great sadness and fond memories that I remember this very special lady, and all that she contributed to women's health over many years. She will be sadly missed, my best wishes to her family and close friends.
Liz Summerhayes, RN, NP, CNM
Los Gatos, CA
Submitted on: Tue 4/18/2006 9:27 AM |
|
|
|
