N1VH - Mary E Lau SK October 15, 2014

My Sincere Condolences.

Got this sad news via email.

Former ARRL Staff Member Mary Lau, N1VH (SK)

Former ARRL Headquarters staff member Mary E. Lau, N1VH (ex-N7IAL),
of Newington, Connecticut, died October 15. She was 61 and had been
suffering from ALS. Lau worked in several League Headquarters
departments from 1985 until her retirement in 2005, including Field
and Educational Services (F&ES), where she was projects supervisor
and secretary of the ARRL Foundation, then a part of the FES
Department, assisting young Amateur Radio operators to secure
college scholarships and administering the prestigious Goldfarb
Memorial Scholarship. Lau headed the Field and Educational Services
support team that produced the "Leap into Amateur Radio" brochure
aimed at elementary schoolers. She also contributed technical
assistance in the preparation of the Active Club Primer. She edited
the "At the Foundation" column for QST while she was the Foundation
secretary.

"Mary loved radio, was a hard worker, creative at finding solutions,
would bull-dog things she believed in, was quite enthusiastic about
learning new things, empathetic to anyone who came to her, super
organized, happy to be at ARRL Headquarters, and was - overall a
'glass is half full' type of person," said former ARRL Field and
Educational Services Manager Rosalie White, K1STO.

Lau was named the 2000 Herb S. Brier, W9AD Instructor of the Year,
co-sponsored by ARRL and the Lake County Amateur Radio Club.

A native of Los Angeles, she also spent some time in the Pacific
Northwest, where she became licensed as N7IAL. She met her husband
Zack, W1VT, at ARRL Headquarters, and she enjoyed many fun operating
activities over the years.

"As a person with a rare, progressive neurological disorder, Mary
had compassion for all those living with disabilities and human
rights for all," her obituary said. "She participated in non-violent
direct action and advocacy efforts with many groups at the local,
state, and federal levels."

In addition to her husband, survivors include three sisters.

A celebration of Life Ceremony will be held Thursday, October 23, at
1 PM at Newington Memorial in the town center. For more
information, contact Zack Lau at, zlau@arrl.org .
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