I first met Mrs. Fleming during the late 1970's while working as a food clerk at a Safeway grocery store in Arlington, VA. She was a regular shopper there and became a familiar sight at the store. I discovered that this was a time of crisis in her life, as her husband was then suffering from a life-threatening illness. Mrs. Fleming exhibited an impressive inner strength during what must have been an extremely trying period. That she successfully raised four sons on her own subsequent to her husband's untimely death was quite remarkable. Her sons are now a monument to her fortitude and steely determination.
Mrs. Fleming also had a lighter side that was often manifested in a very disarming wink. NO ONE could wink like her. Indeed, when I've thought of her over the years, she is invariably winking at me in my mind's eye. She was a beautiful woman in every sense of the word.
Herald "Skip" Beale
Centreville, VA
P.S., John, do you still have that battered first edition of "Lee's Lieutenants" I gave you many years ago?