Vicki Quatmann died unexpectedly June 16 of an apparent heart attack in a small village in the altiplano of Bolivia. Vicki was born in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, and attended grade and high school there. She received a Bachelor's degree from Webster College and a Master's degree in Administration and Organization from Stanford University.

After leaving the House of Studies, Vicki spent 13 years at Loretto Academy in Kansas City as a teacher and Middle School principal. She participated in Loretto's Third World experience in La Paz, Bolivia. Vicki moved to Tennessee where she worked for the group Save our Cumberland Mountains as an organizer and fund-raising consultant. In 2002, Vicki returned to Bolivia where she worked with women in developing craft co-ops and using her skills to teach fund-raising techniques. Vicki was elected to the Executive Committee during the terms of two presidents and served as vice-president of the Community.

Vickie was a multitalented person with boundless energy. A great deal of that energy was spent in the classroom where she was deeply involved with students. She had an impassioned involvement with the physical world and made annual canoe trips through the northern boundary waters; first with her father, and then by herself. She was an excellent craftswoman and taught these skills to others, and she became proficient in music and photography.

But it was the personality of Vicki that most remember an enthusiastic and captivating talker and a perceptive, sympathetic listener who was totally present to those who were with her and was a loyal and loving friend.

You were taken too soon from us, Vicki; we will miss you and value the life you lived with us in Loretto.