U
PHOTO BY LINDA KLIEWER
ju s t o u t T J a n u a r y 0 , 1 9 9 5 ▼ 3
time to let her go.
Ariel lived her life as a healer. From a
very early age she had an affinity for ani
mals and the ability to listen to them. Her
family lived for part of her childhood on a
farm on the outskirts of Los Angeles. She
used to joke that she was an original “valley
girl.” Her personal menagerie through the
years included sheep, goats, horses, geese,
ducks, chickens, peacocks, dogs and cats.
She studied herbal medicine at an insti
tute in Northern California, incorporating
formal study with what she had learned
from her ancestors. She toured the United
States in the late ’80s teaching workshops;
her goal was to empower women around
their own health care.
After her tour she returned to the Port
land area and did health consultations with
women and animals. That’s how I first met
her: She came to my home to talk to my
animals and then, in later months, helped
me with my own health concerns.
Being an herbalist wasn’t enough for
Ariel; in 1989 she went to the Oregon
Massage School, got her license, and started
a private practice in her home. She contin
ued to empower women around health
through massage, herbs and education.
riel’s dream was to build community
health. When the opportunity pre
sented itself in 1992 for her to work at
Just Out, she pursued the position of editor
and overcame many obstacles and objec
tions to seat herself among our staff. She
felt community health could be achieved
through unity and understanding, and she
wanted to foster that with the printed word.
Over the following years she earned the
respect of those who doubted her and proved
to be a valuable asset to the paper.
She and I butted heads, more often than
not, over editorial policy, word usage, and
the integrity of the paper. She was true to
herself and would not compromise on what
she believed in. We grew to respect each
other’s strengths and differences and the
conflicts abated.
Ariel’s editorials won her praise and
criticism. She spoke her mind and had her
own unique way of looking at the needs of
our community and the wonderful world of
politics that not everyone agreed with. I can
never fill her editorial shoes, but her spirit
remains. Even though she has often been
absent often from the paper during the last
fev' months, due to poor health, the work
she has done here left an indelible mark.
Kelly Bryan, our copy editor, still comes to
me and says, “Ariel always uses this word
instead of that word to describe such and
such”—so Ariel still sometimes overrides
me in the editorial department.
Above: Police Chief
Charles Moose in a
playful moment w ith
Ariel during an
interview;
Left: Ariel signs on
to the partnership
agreement between
the Portland Police
Bureau and the
sexual minorities
community
A
ne of Ariel’s proudest achievements
as editor of Just Out was the work she
did with the Portland Police Bureau’s
sexual minorities roundtable. She helped to
draft the partnership agreement between
the sexual minorities community and the
police. She earned a certificate of merit
from the bureau last November for her
work. Portland Police Chief Charles Moose
O
One of Ariel's proudest achievements as editor of Just Out was the work she
did with the Portland Police Bureau's sexual minorities roundtable. She
helped to draft the partnership agreement between the sexual minorities
community and the police. She earned a certificate of merit from the bureau
last November for her work.
accepted it on her behalf because she was in
the hospital recovering from surgery.
That surgery allowed her to go home for
several weeks and connect with friends
before the final surgery led her off the
planet, on Jan. 3, 1995, at the age of 42. She
left surrounded by the love, light and laugh
ter of her friends.
Dance with the spirits, Ariel, and be
free. I will miss your humor, laughter, heart,
counsel, support, honesty, vision, friend
ship and love and, most of all, you. My
heart is both heavy from your loss and
lightened for having known you.
A celebration to honor A riel
Waterwoman ’s life will take place at 7 pm
on Wednesday, Jan. 11, at the Northwest
Service Center, 1819 NW Everett St. in
Portland. Contributions can be made to the
Ariel Waterwoman Break The Cycle Fund,
in care o f Bradley-Angle House, PO Box
14694, Portland, OR 97214.
Space will be reserved in the next issue of
Just Out for people's remembrances of A riel.
*
Memorials must be in our office by Jan. 11.
You may fax them to 236-/257; or mail to
PO Box 14400, Portland, OR 97214-0400;
or e-mail to JustOut2@aol.com.
TRANSITION
Memorial planned
for children’s doctor
A memorial service is scheduled for Dr. Michael
Robert Leone, a former pediatric nephrologist at
Oregon Health Sciences University. Leone died
Dec. 19, 1994, from complications due to AIDS.
Leone was bom in Houston, Texas. He re
ceived his bachelor’s degree from Notre Dame and
his doctorate in medicine from the University of
Texas Health Science Center. For eight years he
served as associate professor in the Division of
Pediatric Nephrology at OHSU, where he received
the Joseph Bilderback Faculty teaching award in
1985.
Leone is survived by his brothers Edward,
Robert and Ronald o f Houston, Texas; and by his
life companion o f 10 years, Tom Barreto Jr.
A memorial service is set for 4 pm Saturday,
Jan. 7,1995, at the Northwest Service Center, 1819
NW Everett St., in Portland. Riverview Abbey is
handling disposition by cremation. Contributions
in memory of Leone can be made to the Equity
Foundation, PO Box 5696, Portland, OR 97228, to
benefit AIDS education, or to the Doernbechcr
Children’s Hospital Foundation Leone Fund.
* * I