National Adult Literacy Database

March 2, 1998

This week, we have a touching letter written by Edward Walker, from Kelowna, British Columbia. Edward wrote this very moving eulogy to his friend and tutor, who passed away March 12, 1996. Edward participates in Project Literacy Kelowna Society's one-to-one adult basic literacy tutoring program.

My Farewell to Jilean Rayner

by Edward Walker

You were a person who took me away from the negative world of not knowing how to read.

You made me believe that no matter how young or old, you can learn to read. And it just doesn't matter what people think.

There's a little bit of handicap in all of us. Just like the doctor can't fix a car, neither can the mechanic fix a heart. We are all equal and nobody is laughing about what you can't do.

You are a person who will live in my memory forever. I thank you with all my heart for what you've done for my self-esteem. May you rest in peace, Jilean.

From your student and friend, Edward Walker

[This story was taken with permission, from a compilation of stories by the participants of Project Literacy Kelowna Society's one-to-one adult basic literacy tutoring program, entitled Our Words III, p.