My admiration for Ili has three strands at least.
As a professional woman she made life better for many people in Maryland and far beyond. Her values and talents offer such a great example of how public administration and legislation can be principled and compassionate.
As a mother - well, two amazing daughters are evidence of her brilliance at that.
And as a warm hearted human she welcomed not only Jonny but great carloads of Lowndes and Applewhite visitors, let me bang on (Dan can explain) without complaining, and guided Lesley and me around the Pentagon Mall buying industrial quantities of food and drink for a party before an Alpine Lake wedding feast. She always had time for questions and good advice on where to buy shoes, Amish bread or Iranian food.
There is nothing inevitable about finding so much in common with the parents of our son's wives; but they made great choices and part of the dividend was the chance to get to know Ili. We miss her.
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