A letter from a former high school teacher...

From: "Hidden"
Sent: Mon 4/16/2007 6:15 PM
To: Joanne Cacciatore
Subject: Re: ABC news story

Hello Joanne,
It was nice to see your story on the news. I must admit it was not an easy story to hear. My sister was born still many years ago. I have her death certificate. Shortly before my mother died, she asked me to locate where her daughter was buried. It took awhile to find that out...eventually, I did find out where my sister is buried.

Writing this is painful...it is a chapter in my life that has impacted me in so many ways, so many memories are surfacing. I so anticipated having a baby sister when my grandparents were taking me to the hospital to see my mom. What they didn't tell me was that my sister was dead. They stayed quiet as they drove me back home when I asked where she was.

I never grieved for her until many years later. There is a certainly psychology that went with my sister's death. My mom was different, it changed her, and she treated me differently (over protection amongst other things). ..I will say that when I finally found my sister's grave, my mom had already died, so she never did find her whereabouts. Ironically, though, she is buried within sight of my mom's grave.

My sister's grave is amongst many unmarked childrens' graves in that cemetery. Perhaps, your story is a message that the timing is right to have her marker placed on the grave.
It was nice to see you on the screen...you are doing wonderful things. It is important to see.

"Name removed"

This was one of my favorites teachers in 1982. He was always special in a way I could not have described back then- he was compassionate and kind- he was patient with us all (and our biology class could certainly be disruptive). Yet, he had a heart for his students, a caring about him, that was beyond any other teacher I'd ever known. But now I understand why.

"The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen."

- Elisabeth Kubler-Ross