Friday, September 14, 2007

Goodbye Eva Shaderovsky

Last night, before I went to bed, I checked my email one last time. There was an email that caught my eye.

Subject: Eva Shaderowfsky

It was an email from Eva's son, clearly and kindly contacting people in Eva's email in box to tell us she died yesterday morning of lung cancer.

I cried. I am crying again as I write this, because Eva was a woman who gave so many gifts to the world. I met her in 1997, introduce by Sue Boettcher. Sue and Eva had facilitated and hosted countless chats on AOL in the early years, and had started their own online community, Women2Women.

It was Eva and Sue who taught me about how to take chat from a rapid fire exchange of asci to a place of genuine human connection. They taught a workshop I sponsored on Chat Facilitation. Eva had a gentle way of deeply listening in text, of responding just enough. She never dominated or made you feel rushed or crowded.

In her stewardship and facilitation at Women2Women that skill spilled into asynchronous discussion boards.

But her art was not all in words. She was also a visual artist whose art adorned W2W, a kaleidoscopic view of the world at once exciting and peaceful.

That was Eva.

I had not been in contact with Eva the past few years. This is a common side effect of online relationships, especially when we build more than we can manage; to stay in enough contact. I didn't even know Eva was ill.

Eva brought a lot of light in this world. She was luminescent. Her flame will continue to burn in all of us she touched.

Goodbye, Eva.


5 Comments:

Blogger Cathy said...

I had met Eva around 1999 on Women2Women, and remember her gentle guidance on the site, as well as the beautiful art she posted. I had heard she was ill, and am very sorry to hear of her passing.

3:30 PM  
Blogger Cliff Figallo said...

I, too, worked with Eva. She was one of my facilitators in an online community I managed for Electric Minds in 1997. My wife, Nancy Rhine, introduced me to her. She was an early participant on Women's Wire in 1994. Always sweet to talk to, she had long struggled with health issues.

10:28 AM  
Blogger nancy rhine said...

I met Eva through Women's Wire in 1992. I asked her to be one of our founding members and hosts. She blew me away with her ability to draw out extraordinary stories from "ordinary" women from around the globe and feature the stories in an online format. I suggested she call her online program "Evenings with Eva" which delighted her and she kept that title for years.

Eva was just a sheer honor to work with and a teacher to so many of us. She could always be counted on to be a good and wise friend even tho' she struggled with her own illnesses at times. What an advocate for women! What a pioneer and amazing artist spirit!

I am so sorry to hear about her passing. I will miss her. I count myself very blessed to have been able to be her friend and to have had the fun of working with her to infiltrate "the system" and create spaces online that honored the intelligence and spirit of women. We designed the first women's "channel" on AOL in support of the (at that time) 7 million female members. Not sure what AOL quite thought of us at times ;) but we designed, launched and managed a groundbreaking (if we did say so ourselves heh!) program area. So many stories from those times...

Rest in peace, dear sweet strong gentle artist warrior woman Eva.
Thank you for your abiding friendship. I will miss you.

Love,
Nancy

8:08 PM  
Anonymous Sue Boettcher said...

Eva was a mentor, a friend, a teacher, a business partner. A writer, an artist - an incredibly talented woman.

She - and her wisdom - will be missed.

Thanks to my spam filter, I just found out today, although I knew she had been very ill.

Thanks, Nancy R, for letting me know.

8:55 PM  
Anonymous Sue said...

Thank you for bringing such nice posts. Your blog is always fascinating to read.

2:01 AM  

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