Saturday, June 4, 2022
In July 1976, Leigh and Jane Lydecker - with their children Kitsy, Mark and Leigh III - welcomed me into their home for a whole year. I was an exchange student from France, had never visited the US before, and spoke mediocre English with a Franco-British accent at best. Jane and Leigh were wonderful hosts: so welcoming, generous, patient and understanding. They became “my American parents”. And they both had a great sense of humour; we laughed a lot together! I have so many heartwarming memories of my year spent in Oakland, interspersed with great holidays and weekends in Long Lake. After that memorable and formative year, Jane, Leigh and I always stayed in touch (some visits, lots of cards, and several phone calls every year), and I have loved talking and laughing with Jane on the phone during the past 45 years.
I still can’t believe they are gone. I will always remember their generosity of spirit and the positive influence they both had on my life, as a teenager when I lived with them and their family, and throughout my entire adult life, even at a distance.
I loved Jane and Leigh dearly.
Kitsy, Mark, Leigh III, Eddy and Karlee: I am thinking of you, and of the entire Lydecker clan, and wish I could be with you in person during this most difficult time. Love, Carole B.F.
