George Faculty Village and have the coffee hour looking at his newest books spread out on the coffee table and talking. A few enthusiasts were allowed to go down into the basement where the whole floor area was taken up by his collection of trains. When it was time for the students to take themselves off for lunch the serious business began—sherry for the grown-ups! And always good conversation. My acquaintance with George ended, in a thisworld sense, at his memorial service held in St. Paul’s Episcopal Church down near the lake, where George had been an associate priest after retiring from Mills. The place was packed, including a Methodist bishop, an Episcopal bishop, a Roman representative—was it John Cummings, not yet bishop, who looked after the Catholic students at Mills and was much liked? There was a rabbi, and there was Harry Bridges. The Reverend Derby-Betts, then rector of St. Paul’s, had certainly gone all out. And the mood set by him was festive. We celebrated George as he would have liked, almost hilariously. Then we ended with the Eucharist and left feeling that we had in some way managed to be a cloud of witnesses for and to the life of a man who had selflessly served God and made a difference in many people’s lives. A good man, but not, thank God, a perfect one (“He’s awfully full of himself,” said my visiting mother disapprovingly, and he was. But looked at from another angle he was a humble man.) Now there is an effort spearheaded by Sally Matthews Buchanan, ’64, to provide a permanent memorial of the Hedleys for the benefit of all students. The Rev. Dr. George and Helen Hedley Fund will be used to bring significant speakers to the College. I am sure a lot of alumnae will want to send a contribution, in addition to their Annual Fund contribution, earmarked for the Hedley Fund. Mail it to the Office of Institutional Advancement, but don’t forget to write to the Quarterly! I am looking forward to reading more personal reminiscences of him.
COURTESY OF MILLS COLLEGE ARCHIVES, F. W. OLIN LIBRARY
Born and raised in England, Roussel Sargent received her BA, MA, and PhD from the University of London. While attending an international summer school at Stratford-upon-Avon, she met Mills students and faculty, and she was invited to teach at Mills for one year. “Once they got me here they couldn’t move me,” she says. Dr. Sargent taught in the English department from 1958–1985. M I L L S Q U A R T E R LY W I N T E R 2 0 0 2
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