In Memory of Audrey Pollock
November 3, 1938 – August 4, 2022
The dawn broke a little less bright today as the world lost an absolute star.
My Grandma Audrey was an absolute force of a woman. A larger-than-life character—much taller than her 5-foot stature. She commanded respect from everyone, everywhere she went with her posture, cadence, eye contact and ideas.
She was a savvy business woman who founded her own successful dance studio after a semiprofessional career as a dancer and stage performer.
She had an endless thirst for knowledge—her home looks like a Barnes and Noble store and the titles are as myriad as one. As a child it reminded me of the library from “Beauty and the Beast” and I would pretend I was Belle in her office and reading rooms.
She was an avid adventurer—traveling the country—often alone. She showed me that solitude has its own merits. She was a widow on her own for 15 years and I was so inspired by her fortitude and bravery. She often confronted trespassers on her property despite being alone.
Her home is always filled with music—sometimes it creeps outside too, via outdoor speakers. Grandma loved being outdoors—cross country skiing, gardening, hiking, and practicing her photography. She never resigned to aging and developed new hobbies no matter her age. Whatever she set her mind to she was wildly successful—photography competitions, op-eds to newspapers, quitting smoking after 50 years of the habit, mastering dance and gymnastic moves.
She did headstands well into her 70s and hung upside down from a trapeze also. Every day she did muscle building workouts and classical ballet barre stretches.
She loved to gather her family in her home—she hosted dinner or cook outs for every single possible holiday.
She taught me that age is irrelevant, to never stop questioning the world, to have an open mind, to explore, to never stop moving my body, to gather my family around me, to protect my health, to always have music playing in the background, to read until my eyes can’t stay open, stand straight (as if a thread is connected from the top of my head to the ceiling), to defy gravity, to be brave, to be humble, to find the beat and above all…
Keep dancing.