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May 28, 2010, Jaki Leverson died.
There is much joy in bed and breakfast, much happiness, laughter, sharing, but there is also grief and pain.
Jaki Leverson was a guest in our homes from 1990 until she could no longer travel from London to the United States in 2008. We kept in touch via e-mail and messages from friends of Jaki’s who travelled to Boston and stayed with us at her recommendation. Even though we realized she was quite ill, we put aside the possibility of not seeing her again and kept her in our prayers.
It is very difficult to say good-bye to someone you’ve known for many years. It is saying goodbye to a very good friend. Twice a year, for two weeks, from 1990 through 2007, we spent many memorable breakfasts with Jaki and sometimes dinner. Some of you who read the blog to keep up with what’s happening in the Bettina Network may remember Jaki. She crossed paths with many guests while she was here and several of you have asked about her over the past couple years.
Jaki shared many stories with us around the breakfast table. One that stands out was the story of her trip to Spain. She was travelling with a group in Youth Hostels. At one hostel, the people weren’t giving them any “respect”. They couldn’t get any information, couldn’t get clean sheets, soap, some parts of the hostel needed a good scrubbing and Jaki tried to get attention to these things for her group, without success. Our breakfast table conversation had been about Germans who take no nonsense and insist on everything being just so – the mythological perfection of the German traveller. Jaki had not been enamored when meeting Germans in her travel who were insistent on perfection, they seemed such a nuisance. But during this trip to Spain, after her many failed attempts, into the hostel came a very matronly, Germanic woman with her group and she took over. Jaki said she was never so glad to see anyone as she was to see this woman from Germany, who in short order had clean sheets on the beds, soap in proper dispensers, workers at the hostel scrubbing everything and order reigning.
Jaki’s big concern, when in Cambridge, was for her mother, whom she worried and talked about. Her experiences from childhood and her current times with her mother were joyful. She expected to take care of her mother through the end of her mother’s life, but fate had it otherwise. She is now survived by her mother. For as long as her mother lives, we are sure Jaki’s spirit will always be close to her. Jaki’s regular routine, almost daily, was the telephone call from her mother – which generally came about breakfast time. The love and concern they had for each other stands out for us as a bond that endures.
Jaki was the long-time Resident Director of the Tufts-in-London and Tufts-in-Oxford programs. She was a scholar in International Politics and History, with a BSc from University College of Wales, Aberystwyth and an M.Litt at Linacre College, University of Oxford. She taught at Oxford, Cambridge and the American Institute for Foreign Study prior to her appointment at Tufts University. She also worked in Israel, Italy and Japan at various points in her career. She was truly a citizen of the world and it showed in her life – her interests, her wisdom, her experience and the way she was able to interact with everyone.
We will miss you Jaki Leverson. May God’s love permeate your new life. You will be remembered at Bettina’s for years to come and I am sure you know there will be Jaki stories told around the breakfast table.
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