Paula J. Kmetz passed away on July 31, 2020 after a courageous, prolonged struggle with Parkinson's Disease. Born on December 10th, 1950, Polly grew up in western Massachusetts and graduated from Wilbraham High School in 1968. Can it be nearly 50 years since Polly graced us at Earlham with her infectious laughter, her love of Romance language and culture, her quest for meaningful living, and her gifted singing voice?
After graduating from Earlham in 1972 with a BA in French, Polly taught for two years at Barnesville Friends School. At that time she converted to Quakerism and immersed herself in her faith's calling to social justice activism and to its communal spiritual life. Polly moved to Montreal, Canada, where she took a position teaching junior high school French to English speaking students. After several years she left teaching for a position in Canadian Social Services. In the mid eighties, Polly returned to Massachusetts and realized a lifetime dream of studying music, earning a BA in Voice Performance from the New England Conservatory of Music.
Soon thereafter, Polly's career shifted when she began her work in the college textbook industry, first as an Editorial Assistant for D.C. Heath, in Lexington, Massachusetts and then as Project Editor at Holt, Rinehart and Winston in New York City. As Project Editor, Polly found herself at the very heart of the book publishing process, a complex and schedule-driven role which drew heavily upon her literary and linguistic acumen. While in New York, Polly met Roger Rohm, the love of her life.
They soon moved to the Boston area, so Polly could begin her new position as Senior Project Editor for Houghton Mifflin. In that capacity she was entrusted with overseeing many of their division-critical, complex bestsellers in the fields of accounting, economics and business administration. In April 1989, Polly and Roger were married in Cambridge, Massachusetts, under the care of the Beacon Hill Monthly Meeting.
In 1994, the lure of the Southwest drew Polly and Roger to Phoenix, Arizona, where after first working in the Arizona State Department of Archaeology, she became Managing Editor and Director of Editorial Services for The Coriolis Group. Polly excelled in her expanded leadership role, and in 2001, she founded her own Freelance Production Service.
Polly was actively involved in her Quaker communities, serving on numerous committees and also serving as clerk of Beacon Hill Monthly Meeting. Along life's way, she also found time to teach yoga and to take advantage of her certification in scuba diving.
We'll miss you, Polly, mais ta joie de vivre et ton don pour la chanson firent du feu dans notre coeurs, une inspiration durable! You gathered sticks, kindled a fire, and left it burning.
Sent by Phoenix MM to WF