Hello,

As you may know by now, Mom passed away early 2008.

At the 2003 reunion, a group of us initiated a scholarship project in mom's name, as a tribute to her teaching and guidance to her many students. It was a one-time event, and mom was very proud and honored that a scholarship would be created in her name.
Shortly after mom passed away, Dad wanted to see if in lieu of flowers, that money could be donated to the church or to fight cancer. I mentioned the scholarship fund, and as we looked into it, there was a great opportunity to resurrect it and put a scholarship out that would be in Mom's honor again.
At first, we thought another one-time gift would be fine, but as we thought about it, we thought the impact she had garnered a bigger idea: a perpetual fund that would give a scholarship in her name indefinitely.
A perpetual fund requires a balance large enough for the fund to give a scholarship from funds it earns through investments or CD accounts. In the case of an annual $1,000.00 - $2,000.00 scholarship, a fund of $25,000 - $40,000 needs to be in place.
It's easy for me to think this is a worthy cause, because she was my mom and I was with her when she left. But I also know many of you think her impact on your career and lives is as large as it has been on mine. So if you can contribute, please do. If you want to make a statement about it, please do so. If we get enough donations (or pledges to donate over time), then we have a permanent memorial to Mom's leadership and love as a teacher.

My family has teamed up with the Ysleta Education Foundation to start the Rita Harlien Scholarship Fund:

• A minimum of $1,000.00 will be given to a deserving Eastwood High School Speech/Drama student for college.
• The student has to reflect strong participation and success in the Eastwood Speech/Drama program.
• A minimum of $25,000 must be raised to convert the scholarship to a perpetual award.
• Harlien.com will serve as an online memorial to her life as a teacher and friend. Gifts will be recognized, a blog with personal messages will be available
• Ideawire (my company) will match gifts of $500.00 or more, up to $5,000.00.
• Pledges (those where you may want to pledge payment to the fund over time) are acceptable. We ask they be no longer than five years in this initial effort.
  

You can reach me at (210) 710-4491, or by emailing mark@harlien.com if you have any questions about the fund. You can donate online here - be sure to click on the button that says "Endowed Donation - Harlien Forensic Scholarship." You can also send in donations by sending a check or money order to:

Ysleta Education Foundation
Bonny Schulenburg
Executive Director
9600 Sims
El Paso, TX 79925
(be sure to note it is for the Rita Harlien Forensic Scholarship)

Donations are tax-deductible.

Thank you,

Mark Harlien

Mom's service will be on April 19, 2008 at All Saint's Episcopal Church in El Paso, Tx. Please make your plans to attend if you can - there's plenty of advance notice to get airline tickets if you're flying in. Mom would have wanted to accommodate. Details to come...

Services

Because of my younger sister's inability to travel, we will postpone services for Mom until March. Please visit again as we will post details when we know Dawn will be able to attend. Thanks to all for the calls and emails — please use this site as you wish as a forum for and about Mom.

Mom wearing her new Chico's jacket — Christmas 2007

Goodbye Mom.

After fighting cancer for six months, struggling with dementia for seven years, and living with celiac for 10, Mom left us to a better place today at 10:45am. She had slipped into a sleeping coma since Wednesday. Her constant wish was "that it was over;" that "it was taken out." On Wednesday as I sat with her at dinner, she suddenly said out of the blue, "oh, this is so hard — I have to choose between the two of them."

When Mom came back from MD Anderson, San Antonio was overcast, cold and wet. But this morning, there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Hummingbirds, which we don't usually see until March, were out to celebrate the day, as well as other birds singing in the treetops. God bless my mom, and I thank Him for letting me be with her these last six wonderful months. I'll see you soon Mom — we all will. Thank you for your love and hope.

I will post details about her service in the next few days. In lieu of flowers, I ask you to consider donating to a scholarship fund in Mom's name for speech students — I will post more info in it in future postings.

Bad news.

The doctor determined from the tests and mom's current state that it is not advantageous to continue treatment further - the cancer has taken hold too aggressively. Mom and dad plan to stay with us for a couple of weeks or longer. They will eventually go home.

Please continue your prayers. Mom is scared and if you haven't seen or called her, it would be good to do that soon.

Mom gets a visitor over the holidays — Cameron Johnson

Update.

Mom had a great holiday season. But the cancer is making its way back to the stage. She and Dad will be coming back to San Antonio to go to MD Anderson in a week - I encourage anyone interested to visit her either while they are in El Paso or while they are in San Antonio with us. You can email me or call us for arrangements [(210) 710-4491].

Mom is stying

Mom's going home.
Mom has been given the green light by MD Anderson to go home for a while, as much as two months if all goes well and she's happy there. Preliminary tests suggest the cancer is beaten down - body scans next week willl (hopefully) confirm that.

It will be a jolt and challenge for Mom and Dad to go back, so everyone is encouraged to offer and provide help to them. Of notable challenge will be Mom and Dad's diet. Mom must be on a guaranteed gluten-free diet which often requires cooking food from scratch. So if anyone is willing and able to drop by food that is gluten-free, please do so. You can email me if you have any questions about this type of cooking.