She was among the last cohort of Americans to be struck by polio. She limped throughout her life, but never complained of her affliction or let it slow her down. She was a dedicated teacher, a highly productive scholar, a much-sought-after public speaker—and a devoted wife, mother, and grandmother.
And she was courageous—standing up for what she believed was right, quite irrespective of the prevailing orthodoxies in the academy and the broader intellectual world.