09/20/2024
There are a handful of people that I have crossed paths with in my life that I refer to as “giants”. My giants are people who have qualities that I aspire to cultivate within myself. They are people who have altered or changed my views on life or how I operate in the world by their example. I call them my giants because they give me something to look up to that’s much bigger than I.
Patricia Rose Manning quickly became one of my giants when I had to take an intro Botany class that I thought was a waste of my time… because obviously at 19 years old I already knew more than what I could be taught in Botany 101. She saw that although I participated and made my grades, I wasn’t particularly inspired by my assignments. So, after class she asked me several questions about how I had the experience that I already had and “what she could teach me that make me appear a *tad more* interested in being in her class?”.
At first, I thought that I had offended her and started to apologize… but I looked up at her- garden trowel in one hand and the other hand planted on her hip, smirking at me- and she said “let’s go to my greenhouse, I have some plants I want to show you”.
That semester I spent as much time as I could observing her and soaking up everything she said like a sponge.
The only thing that might be more impressive than her knowledge and experience would be her general character and the way she operated in the world even in the valleys.
It’s been 16 years since I took your Botany 101 class that I thought I was too good for and I can still remember our chats like it was yesterday. I am grateful to you and will forever look up to you, Professor Manning.
View Patricia Rose Manning's obituary, send flowers, find service dates, and sign the guestbook.
