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DR JOSEPH WHEELWRIGHT, a past president of the International Association of Analytical Psychology, writes:
ALICE MAURER-POLISZCHZUK is gone. Her death is a painful reminder that mortality is not an abstraction. Those of us who are old live near to death. For ourselves there is homework to do—the endless pulling back of projections on persons, places and things. And, too, the task of coming to terms with our past, with history and even evolution. But there is no homework we can do to fill the void left by the death of one we love. There is no replacement, no restitution—just loss and the recurrent pain of unexpected reminders.
Many people in the Jungian world have been only marginally aware of Alice and the central rôle she has played for the I.A.A.P. since its inception. It is really wrong to call what she did a rôle; actually she gave herself to this work body and soul. Those of you who heard Dr Adler and myself pay tribute to her at the end of each congress may have thought it was a pro forma courtesy. But, in fact, our remarks were the simple truth, and understated at that.
It was Alice alone who provided continuity from 1956 when Dr Moody and Dr Adler—among others—founded the I.A.A.P. up to Dr Guggenbühl's accession to the presidency last September. She carried a storehouse of facts in her head, and threads emanated from her in all directions. Often she initiated new things, such as the International Directory, for instance, and wrote all our letters and answered the question that had no answers.
For me, there was the privilege and pleasure of being her friend. She was loyal and affectionate and, at times, challenging. She took the measure of all of us that she supported and sustained. Not least helpful was that rara avis in the Jungian world, a superb sensation function. Nor have I ever known anyone more responsible nor more dependable. She had a good critical mind that I found invaluable, not being too well endowed myself in this respect.
Alice's sense of responsib