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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Jimm,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I heard through his adopted sister April (Aunt
Josetta's daughter) that he had colon cancer, which, unfortunately was not
caught early. I hadn't been in touch with Tom for some time but kept up on
news about him through Sister April.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Some of the good memories I have of Tom exemplify
his thoughtfulness. The first year or so that I was around the Poncas in
Oklahoma (1994 or 1995), I was invited to attend the Hethushka dance. I
didn't know at the time that my being invited meant that I would be given
something. I heard my name called out by the M. C. (Abe Conklin at the
time), and I was given a blanket! Tom had provided the blanket for his
friend Jimmy Duncan, who was joining the Hethushka Society, to give away.
They had decided to give it to me to encourage me in my work of studying the
Ponca language. I remember thinking that it really does pay to be a
linguist!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Another time, I was visiting Tom and his family at
their home in Tulsa, and, as is the Ponca custom when someone visits for
the first time, he gave me a gift--a copy of the set of sixteen tapes that had
been produced during the project conducted by anthropologist William Leap in the
1970's and Uncle Parrish William's sister Martha Grass, among others.
These tapes, with the accompanying booklet The Ponca World (which I
photocopied from Bob Rankin's copy), are no longer available, and my copy
was a copy Tom had had professionally made of his set.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Tom also filled me in on aspects of Ponca culture
and society. He encouraged me to put on a dinner for the Ponca
elders, because he thought that that would be an appropriate gesture, and
much later I followed his advice by sponsoring a dinner in conjunction with
the Ponca Language Arts Council, Ponca Tribe of Oklahoma, where, at Uncle
Parrish's suggestion, we invited Barbara Warner (a Ponca and Oklahoma
Commisioner of Indian Affairs) to be the guest speaker. The
dinner was a success, I think, as evidenced by the fact that several elders
stood up and talked, a couple of them even addressing the group at length
in Ponca. Sadly, most of those elders are now thiNge...thiNgai (are
gone).</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Kathy</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=jgoodtracks@gmail.com href="mailto:jgoodtracks@gmail.com">Jimm
GoodTracks</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=siouan@lists.Colorado.EDU
href="mailto:siouan@lists.Colorado.EDU">siouan@lists.Colorado.EDU</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Monday, March 22, 2010 7:15
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: sad news</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#800080 size=5>Kathy:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#800080 size=5>I am uncertain if I knew him personally,
however his name is quite familiar. Whatever did he pass on from as I
see he was only 51yoa.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#800080 size=5>Jimm</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=kdshea@aol.com href="mailto:kdshea@aol.com">Kathleen Shea</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=siouan@lists.Colorado.EDU
href="mailto:siouan@lists.Colorado.EDU">siouan@lists.Colorado.EDU</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Monday, March 22, 2010 6:01
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> sad news</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I'm am sorry to report that Siouan list member
Tom Leonard passed away on Saturday, March 22. He was a longtime
member of the Native American Church (Ponca Chapter) and an avid student of
the Ponca and Osage languages. He was also a longtime friend, and I've
always known him to be helpful and generous with his time, knowledge, and
sharing materials. His adopted Ponca family will honor his wish to be
buried next to his adopted mother, Josetta Rush, in the Ponca Indian
Cemetery. The funeral will be Tuesday, March 23, at the Ponca Indian
Baptist Church. A full obituary can be read in today's Ponca City
News at <A
href="http://www.poncacitynews.com">www.poncacitynews.com</A>.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Kathy
Shea</FONT></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>