Inspired by Scholastica


A Joy Spreader

How would you like to be remembered when you die? How about “one-of-a -kind kindness advocate”? That’s what SuEllen Fried was called when she died this week at age 92. The last thing she did was get out of her bed and go to say goodbye to her prison friends at Lansing Correctional Facility. Her whole life was spent bringing joy to people in pain. One of the most noteworthy things she did was start a program led by the Lansing inmates called Reaching Out from Within, a self-help program. She also co-founded the first Alvin Ailey summer dance camp for urban kids in Kansas City.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

SuEllen Fried was a very gifted, joyful person who reached out to everyone, especially those in pain. And who is more in pain than prisoners and inner city kids? Prisons have a rule that you aren’t supposed to touch prisoners. SuEllen just hugged them, and no one said anything.  She made every child believe they could dance, and they did -- in their own way.

It all started when she was asked to give some Cha Cha lessons at Osawatomie State Hospital. SuEllen spent 17 years there changing the lives of the patients.  She made each person feel recognized and important. She soon became an advocate for the mentally ill and changed how there were treated.  

She just continued to spread joy and kindness wherever she went. She felt every person deserved to be recognized and treated as special. She actually had “Power of Kindness” buttons made that she handed out to anyone she saw doing a good deed and then told them to “pay it forward by passing it on.”

SuEllen always thought of others first wherever she went. She made me realize the importance of kindness and bringing joy to others. I live in a care center, where many people need a kind word or recognition. To those who have dementia, we can take time to listen to or sit with them. To those who have hearing problems, we can give a smile and speak louder. To those who are confined to their beds, we can offer to read to or pray with them. Maybe we could even teach them to dance or sing! 

Barbara Mayer, OSB

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