Cohousing-L Mailing List: Sad news, UK Cohousing pioneer Sarah Berger died peacefully in her sleep March 23

[Diana Leafe Christian (diana]

Hello,
	Sarah Berger, one of the burning souls of Laughton Lodge Cohousing in  
Lewes, England, and with Mark Westcombe of Forge Bank Cohousing in  
Lancaster, a pioneer in the UK Cohousing Network, was  ill with cancer  
for several years, and on March 23rd died peacefully at home. She and  
Mark attended the International Cohousing Summit and annual Coho/US  
conference in Seattle several years ago, and the next year's Coho/US  
conference in Boston. I liked her very much and felt sad about her  
illness, and now sad we don't have her anymore.
        Here is the announcment on the UK Cohousing Network's website:
http://cohousing.org.uk/news/731/sarah-berger-died-peacefully-23rd-march
	Below is Mark Westcombe's tribute to Sarah last year when she  
resigned from the UK Cohousing Network.
        Diana

        Mark wrote:
	"Sarah Berger, long-time communard of The Community Project at  
Laughton Lodge, Lewes and lifetime activist has been the UK Cohousing  
Network’s public face for many years. She has embraced her role as ‘Ms  
Cohousing UK’ with what I’ve learnt is her customary cavalier attitude  
– much gusto, no-nonsense authority and a certain sassy charm. Sarah  
will of course cringe with the thought and wrap my knuckles for the  
inherent sexism, but the playful Sarah will also delight in the  
mischief and secret pride that she can still turn heads.
	"Sarah initiated the network in summer 2005 to continue the momentum  
that came together at the 1st UK Cohousing Conference in Lancaster  
earlier that spring. She continued to herd the cats that make up the  
board until autumn 2010 when, for reasons of ill health, she chose to  
step down. It has been no mean feat to coordinate the aims and  
activities of so many volunteer board members, often with different  
strategies and opinions, and to leverage a coherent message and  
programme of work from us. She has been quite unique at unifying us  
all. She has also been quite a nag going “on and on and on” by phone,  
email, mobile and text reminding me, at least, of some damned  
commitment that she exhorted from me under duress. I have admired this  
capacity to be quite an obviously charming and successful nag, but  
I’ve yet to manage to emulate it, or indeed defend myself against it.
 	"Sarah has achieved many successes for us, in this slow and tiring  
world of cohousing. She’s won grant bids from the Coop to keep us  
afloat; project work from NESTA to explore Housing Associations’ role  
in cohousing; gained us entry with many chief executives; enticed the  
great and the good to policy events; lobbied government quangos and  
policy makers to recognise cohousing; hosted Grant Shapps at Laughton;  
brought The Americans over, Chuck Durrett and Katie McCammant, on a  
whirlwind 5 event tour of the UK last year; got us into the press; and  
created a bridge with Hanover, now embarked on their first projects.  
She has stayed committed, often in the face of scepticism and great  
setbacks, to bringing best practice to the community and to ensuring  
affordable cohousing had its place. She has done most of this  
unrecognised and unrewarded, and underpaid on those brief occasions  
when there was some paid work.
 	"Sarah has been a dear friend over these six years, quite a tall  
order, challenge of a friend at times. I’ve enjoyed strategising with  
her, sometimes gossiping; working alongside her whilst lobbying,  
possibly at the House of Lords, or otherwise on the dining table;  
enjoying celebratory London pub dinners after our small triumphs; and  
what at times felt like buccaneer trips to the US and Sweden as we  
speed dated and extracted every ounce of possible value from cohousing  
pioneers and peers there – again, generally at personal expense. It  
was fun; it was engaging; and it has been a privilege to work aside  
such a determined visionary with exemplarily social values and zeal.
 	"On behalf of the board Sarah, and all the hopeful and future  
cohousing communards, can I say a huge thank you for your sterling  
work and generosity of spirit towards cohousing; and as a friend  
extend a wrap-around hug to you."
        —Mark Westcombe, UK Cohousing Network Board Member (2005-Current)