Lee Baber – You will be missed — we are so sad and very grateful for her legacy

I can hardly believe it.  I just got word through a kind call from Lisa Durff that Lee Baber passed away last night.  I had missed the conversations on Twitter.

I know Lee from Youth Voices, her great work on edtechtalk, and she was a judge for Flat Classroom this past year.  She skyped me quite a few times this year and I was struck by her kind, helpful personality and attitude.

She truly exemplifies what I want to be: sharing, considerate, hard working, helpful, and always keeping students at the front of mind.

She really took time to walk me through Youth Voices and help me feel like a part of things.

I know that Lisa Parisi is working with some sort of collection to send flowers from edubloggers and when I hear of something planned, I’ll come back here and let you know on this post.

Meanwhile, I visited her facebook page and just had this horrible feeling of sorrow that someone who represents the heart and soul of what many of us are working towards has passed from us.

I hope that we can talk about what to do in her honor on her birthday, August 19th.  Also, is there anyone who has photos that we can collect and help start a voice thread? — That is something that can be passed along to friend and family.  Knowing the legacy of family means so much.

If you have links to photos, I’ll put one together — or let’s make a wiki in her honor (like they did for me a while back) to share her legacy. I’m sure many of us have stories.

To Lee’s Family, if they ever read this, I’d like to say this:

Lee’s influence and work spread far beyond the classroom into the lives of other teachers and other classrooms around the world.  She does leave behind a legacy in those who knew her and many who did not.

The times I talked to Lee, she was truly helpful and an inspiration.  She was an encourager and gave of herself in so many ways.  She was always willing to pitch in on the projects of other teachers and also to help others. I will miss her and many others will as well.

Let us know what we can do in her honor that will be most meaningful to you as a family.

We are so sorry for your grief and know that truly your pain is the greatest of all.  She has left a legacy of excellence, kindness, and goodwill that is an inspiration to us all.

The legacy she leaves is seen in her amazing work, like her presentation at last year’s K12 online conference about How to build communities with Youth.

She has left behind a legacy that will go on teaching us.  Thank you for sharing her with us.  We will be praying for you during this time of sorrow.

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