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| [in memoriam] 8 March 1999 | On March 8, 1999, a greatly respected colleague and member of the Lantra-L translator's and interpreter's forum, Renate Vincenti, went "nomail" for the last time. The vast majority of us knew her only virtually as R*, and envy those who had the fortune to know her personally. Renate herself hesitated to post a photograph on this gallery, and hence out of respect for her wishes, none appears here. Assembled below, however, are tributes to Renate which appeared on the list, and some of her own postings. |
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Tributes to Renate which appeared on the list I have just heard (from Marinella Fioretto) that Renate Vincenti died at 4 o'clock this morning. She had been ill since late January, though seemed to be making a gradual recovery over the last couple of weeks. Renate's extraordinary wit and vitality often made her seem much younger than she was. She would have been 60 this year. On Lantra, she was merciless with those she felt needed to be tongue-lashed (and at one time or another, that probably included all of us), but she was also an extraordinarily generous and warm-hearted person. I crossed swords with her on occasions, and exchanged Edward Lear and Samuel Johnson on others. Until she was hospitalised, she had been providing great tracts of useful and - as always - wittily written information on Milan for my partner and myself. RIP. (Just a brief update to say that by Renate's own request there will be no ceremonies of any kind, or flowers. Her wishes are being strictly respected.) -- Tim Nicholson I know personal messages to the list are discouraged, but I have to break the rule just this once to say how very sorry I am to hear this. Renate was one of the most individual contributors to this list, and her messages, couched in crisp and flawless English and laced with her own personal brand of humour, were always read with the greatest of pleasure. She will be much missed. -- Roshun Birdy Thank you for telling us the sad news of Renate's passing away. I for one am grateful to Lantra for letting me in on the thoughts and opinions of wonderful colleagues I've never met. Riposa in pace, Renate! -- Paulo Frank Thank you, Tim, for telling us! I missed Renate, and I'd written her privately to see what was going on. Assumed computer problems kept her silent. She was a wonderful person!! I miss her even more, knowing she won't be back! Please tell us to whom and where to send condolences. Dear, dear Renate!!!! -- Jill Timbers Tim, thanks for passing on the news to us. Renate will be - already is - very sadly missed. I'm left owing her a lot. RIP Amen. -- Roger Hughes What a loss to us all. This is a great sadness... I did not even know she had been ailing. Requiescat in pace, R. -- Chris DeSantis Me neither. What a loss. She used to inquire us whenever she heard any bad news from our respective countries (me on several occasions, such as the thunderstorm and harsh frosts in Moscow). I was planning to see her in Italy this summer, but my plans went down the drain in the Russian financial collapse. What a terrible thing is to think that I missed the last chance to meet her in person. R.I.P., dear Renate. You will be fondly remembered. -- Victor Sonkin Oh, Death, you have taken on of our very best! I shall sorely miss dear Renate!! -- Avishay Bidani Yes. As a bit of in-memoriam, I just reread a bunch of private messages she had addressed to me, and she was such a witty, warm and well-defined character on our mailing list during the last few years. Always helping a lot of us, she kept some discipline by occasionally speaking her mind, and she also enjoyed the chat-frays. Coming back from a holiday, I once asked her, what was happening on Lantra, and she said, "Arguments on racism, what else. Wish I had more time :-( " She had intended to come to Vienna just a few months back, too bad I couldn't meet her in a flesh flash. But all the same, I have the feeling I did meet her quite closely several times in this crazy virt-world of ours. And this is why I'm truly sorry that she's no longer there. And with us. But then again, take a look at our reactions: she is! Here's a great motto for all of us that she once sent to me (or to the list, no matter): ":-(. The translation saints (San Termine and Santa Parola, may their names be blessed) are putting in overtime on my behalf." I also remember an exchange I had with her on last year's meteor shower, and we both found ourselves ending up shooting-starless in those nights, which was when I envied her all those *st*r*sks even more so. R*nate, thankx for the star you showed us! -- Werner Richter I will miss Renate for many reasons, among them her humor, passion, capacity to argue reasonably without resorting to personal attack, the sharpness of her mind and her dedication to her profession. Godspeed, r*. -- Ro Nordstrom working has not been easy today; what to say? on my laptop, i thought there were no traces of my good friend r*. but lo, she sent me this when i was in ny last december: On 13/12/1998, at 18.17, you wrote: sl: is that western egg we see on your face? Yep, all over it. Most appropriate URL I ever saw. sl: currently among the eastern eggs... as opposed to an easter egg... having an eggzyting time, I assume hugsies r* she shared smiles, wisdom, sharp retorts - and even hugsies. we'll miss you, r* -- susan larsson So sorry to hear about Renate. Although I'm relatively new to this list, I acknowledged and respected Renate's obviously vital and frequent participation in the goings-on here, and she is also in my thoughts at this time. -- Gary J. Presto The first Lantra obituary, I think, and very well-written. I was surprised to learn her age -- the virtual presence seemed more like a teen to me. Well, let me add my me too to your message. -- Rene von Rentzell Renate pour moi n'avait pas de visage Je n'ai jamais vu la couleur de ses yeux Et je ne savais pas quel était son âge Mais je sais qu'aujourd'hui elle est avec Dieu I never had the chance to see Renate's face I never saw the color of her eyes And though I didn't know how old she was I know today she dwells with God, amidst the skies (Liberal translation) -- Robert Paquin I haven't read Lantra for the past three days and just found out the news. I wondered where she was lately. Her last messages came in early January. And now this sad news. I think she was a straightforward and sincere person. She was a part of Lantra and she'll be missed by all of us. -- Alex Ushakov Since I am in the list only since the beginning of February, didn't I get the honor to read messages from Renate and get to know her even just a little bit. As I understand from the reaction of my fellow Lantra-members, she was one of a kind with great intelligence, wickedness and a big heart. I am sorry for this great loss, and my condolences to her family, her friends and my fellow Lantra-members who did have the pleasure of knowing her. That she may Rest In Peace. Another star in the sky twinkles yet again. -- Helen Turin I can't obituarize, I'm still digesting the fact that this virtual community of ours involves sharing real loss. I'm sorry r* is no longer among us, and I'd hate to miss any of the rest of you. -- Tony Crawford Cara R*, today I've shed tears. To me, you have been one of the most important members of our community. Always friendly and well-tempered, but critical and astute at the same time. Young in mind and attitude. I'll certainly miss you. Keep an eye on us, please. -- Michael Röhrig Although I did not know Renate personally, I always enjoyed her witty but very friendly and helpful comments to this list and will miss her greatly. She will be greatly missed. -- Eva Stabenow Eine solche Nachricht macht sprachlos, vor allem wenn sie so plötzlich kommt. -- Hans-Peter Heubach J'ai appris la nouvelle hier et bien que je ne connaissais pas beaucoup Renate, son départ me touche beaucoup. J'offre mes condoléances à sa famille. Repose en paix Renate. -- Line Potvin Lantra and the world has lost a great soul and friend. To some Renate was a personal friend and to the rest of us a virtual friend, but a real friend nonetheless. May she rest in peace. -- Esther Marcus She was one of the first three people to greet me on Lantra, exactly 8 months ago. One of those who made me smile when I needed it. I hope someone is making you laugh now. -- Katja Benevol Gabrielcic Didn't know her much, not sure I read a lot of her messages, but I respect any individual who is known for their quick wit, is over 55 and still works in translation. I hope you have fulfilled your mission here, Renate. I hope you have found peace and light. -- Verônica Meyer I remember Renate with warmth and gratitude for her contributions to the list. -- Christel Nyman My sincere condolences to her family and to those lantrans who were more virtual closely to her. -- Maria Josefina Ramos (Jose from la Reina del Plata) I think that our kind of work (freelance translators working at home) is a great advantage for Nairì. She will stay with us all day. No need of baby-sitters. Renate wrote: Congrats, Gassia! But (groan) you shouldn't have said that! r-) Addio r* -- Gassia Manoukian What sad news I got when reading the archives after being away for a couple of days. R* with her fantastic sense of humour, her great intelligence, always with a pertinent and witty comment to the absurdities she often was the first one to discover, inside and outside of the list. She would still have had so many years to give to her work, her family, and to us, her friends on the list. But now she's gone, and I miss her so much. -- Helge Niska "Sörj inte över att hon är död, utan gläds över att hon har levat" I didn't pay attention to all the messages of last month since I had a lot of work. I did not know who Renate was, but it seems to me that she was loved by all of you. So, as Josefina Ramos said: " I send you now my sincere condolences to her family and to those lantrans who were more virtual closely to her". -- Patricia Mazzucco Posts to the List from Renate Date: Sat, 2 Jan 1999 12:49:47 +0100 The EC says euro in Italian should be lower case and the same for both singular and plural. L'Accademia della Crusca, instead, says it should be upper case and take a plural -i. I'd say it's unlikely that people will say "euri", while the currency itself will most probably be uppercased or lowercased with the same fine consistency as prevails with all other currencies. So long as it spells money ... r* Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1999 20:51:10 +0100 Virii hurts my ii. Like hippopotamii oh me o mii r.* Date: Mon, 11 Jan 1999 15:42:47 +0100 So if I were a wicked hacker, I'd set up a pretty web page with lots of alleged BO sniffers/cleansers/killers with fancy names and lots of people would download them and install them with their own little hands and I'd chortle up my sleeve and foul their HDs. I mean to say, how can one trust all those nice free anti-BO programs to be bona fide? r.* Date: Wed, 13 Jan 1999 05:53:14 +0100 Dear Uni Deg. Progs. attached please find $800. May I have a BA, MA, MBA and PhD in Medicine by return? I need to operate on someone quite urgently. Thanx in advance. K. Iller-Virii Do you know what you get if you pour boiling water down a rabbit hole? ...hot cross bunnies r.tee-hee-hee | |
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