7 / 36
V
irginia
C
apitol
C
onnections
, S
pring
2016
7
Democratic Party.
Ellen Otto is an oncology nurse.
She administered Couric’s first chemotherapy treatment, in 2000,
and most of the subsequent treatments, and was one of her last
caregivers. Otto is another person whose life was changed by
knowing Couric. She got to know Couric on a deeper level. Here
are some of her memories:
“She had such an inquisitive nature and a remarkable ability to
digest facts and information…We spent much time together during
her long treatments…Emily was always so grateful for the excellent
care she received from her oncologist, Dr. Mike Williams. She was
a wonderful patient…cheerful, kind to and supportive of nurses. She
faced her treatments, her cancer with fortitude and determination.
Her intelligence was evident and she had a lovely sense of humor,
and such a beautiful smile. Her laugh was infectious—sometimes
we would get a case of the giggles! Emily was also very thoughtful
and generous…”
Couric Passes
Away
Couric died on October
18, 2001, at age 54. One of
our high school classmates,
who prefers not to give his
name, described the funeral.
“The Episcopalian funeral
in Charlottesville was so
crowded that I had trouble
finding a place to park. I
arrive late on that day. The
service for her overflowed,
and many of us had to sit
down on the lawn benches.
Loud speakers were set up
outdoors, so we were able to
follow the service.”
“Emily’s death was
tragic to those in the community who knew her, as well as to everyone
in the state who could have gotten to know her,”
said Delegate
say:
“I was only 20 when I began
working for Emily, so naturally I
was cursed with all the certainty
of youth. When my confidence
called for a dose of curiosity and
humility, she would gently redirect
me by saying, ‘just because someone
doesn’t do something exactly the way
you would, doesn’t necessarily make
it wrong.’
Even in mentoring me then (and I
still repeat that as a mantra, probably
twice a week on average) Emily
rejected the idea that leadership is
just telling others what to do. Her
effectiveness came from recognizing
no one person (or party) has all the
answers, and working together is the
best way to reach—if not the perfect
solution—at least practical ones.”
Couric’s personal skills are
described again, by her GA Session
roommate, Ken Plum’s Legislative Aide,
Barbara Shearer:
“Emily had a unique talent for
listening. Her eyes never left yours, her
concentration never wandered, and there
was an empathetic warmth on her face as
she listened to your story. You knew you
had her full attention. At the end of the
day, people just want to be heard, so it is no wonder her constituents
and friends loved her.”
Senator Couric won the respect of her colleagues, on both sides
of the aisle. Senator Richard L. Saslaw was a close friend.
“She had a lot of ability,”
he said,
“She was extraordinarily
bright….Super bright. She got up one time and said she wasn’t going
to vote for a certain license plate. We disagreed, but in retrospect, it
was the right thing to do.”
Couric was re-elected in 1999. Excitement of a run for lieutenant
governor was quickening. It was early in the process, but even the
thought of Couric as governor was being entertained. For a while, she
was virtually unchallenged.
“She would have had a good shot at being governor,”
said
Saslaw.
“People met her and liked her.”
Illness
And then it happened. Pancreatic cancer is one of the meanest
cancers. According to the Mayo Clinic, it often has a poor prognosis,
even when diagnosed early. This type of cancer spreads rapidly, and
at advanced stages, surgical removal is not possible.
And still, we hoped. For some of us, the denial was almost
palpable.
“Emily Couric was a special person in the early days of my career,”
said lobbyist Ken Jessup.
“One of my favorite memories took place
during legislative receptions. My job was to keep her wine glass filled!
I bought her a get-well card. I never gave it to her. Doing so would be
admitting that she was ill, and I just wasn’t prepared for that.”
Couric started treatment and carried on her duties as Senator. Her
beautiful hair thinned and she started wearing a wig. Senator Toddy
Puller remembered it well, and how Couric turned a hardship into a
blessing and a quip. Said Puller:
“She said, ‘I always wanted a chin-
length pageboy. This is always the way I wanted my hair to look.’
“It was kind of auburn, and it looked lovely on her.”
But the wig did not stay in her life. She just ripped it off one
day and went back to natural. In the same way, her illness did
not define her. She lived another year and a half and became a
hardworking, and they say uncomplaining, co-chair of the Virginia
Says observer Robert
Holsworth, a retired
political science professor
at Virginia Commonwealth
University,
“Her untimely
death certainly was
central to what was
probably going to
be a nomination for
lieutenant governor and
she would have been a
strong candidate for the
governorship.”
See
Emily Couric
, continued on page 9