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Sarah

Ada meant way more to me than she probably knows, and to this day remains one of the people closest to my heart. I was her intern last summer, and she was the most supportive, inspiring, and intelligent mentor I could have ever hoped to have. She made me feel at home everyday when I came to work, which was important because I did not feel nearly smart enough to fit in at Google. She was also one of the funniest people in the office because, while her jokes were rare, they always had me laughing for far too long. She was the one who believed in me the most to be successful in my chosen career path, and her confidence in me is something that I will carry with me for the rest of my life. I will never forget Ada and the warm, caring person that she is. Thank you for believing in me.
Lots of love,
Sarah

Phil

I have mixed feelings about having met Ada. Nothing against Ada – I enjoyed every conversation I had with her. But I feel like, had she never gotten sick, I never would have met her. She came shortly after she was diagnosed to a support group for people with disabilities. She cried as she said she was becoming paralyzed, the only time I ever saw her cry.
 
I’m sure she had more difficult times in the years after she learned what was happening to her, but I never saw them. She seemed more concerned with getting on with things, even as the things she was getting on with changed, than she was in the sadness that she must have felt for her worsening health.
 
I started seeing her around the Google campus from time to time, and eventually we started talking about her joining the accessibility engineering team. She became a coworker, and then a friend.
 
I’m not sure what led us to be friends. Part of it was probably our shared interests in the problems faced by people with disabilities and our willingness to try just about anything to see if it would work (she for herself, I for my son who uses a wheelchair and has difficulty processing what he sees). As I learned more about her, though, I came to understand what a remarkable person Ada was, though. She told me amusing stories of dealing with hackers attacking YouTube, and once casually mentioned that she had been building an airplane. I love to tinker with projects myself, but I marvel at someone who would take on something as complex as building their own airplane in their spare time. So I like to think we could have been friends under other circumstances as well, although I would’m not sure I’d have held her interest.
 
Ada also wasn’t self-conscious. She didn’t mind me taking pictures or video of the creative solutions she found to remain a productive engineer as her control of her body slipped away. I used her as an example in a couple of talks about people with motor impairments.
 
I recall her commenting that she’d never really thought about one distinction I drew between her and my son. She came to her disability with a large set of well-honed skills, and thus needed to focus “only” on finding clever solutions to keep working. My son, in contrast, needs to learn both how to use the technology and the skills needed to do something with it. I struggled with how to explain that point, feeling like it was something useful to say but also something that Ada might take offense at. But instead she seemed genuinely to appreciate the extra perspective.
 
She wasn’t shy about criticism, though. One of the last times I spoke with her she mentioned a novel I’ve been trying to write about an engineer with disabilities similar to my son’s. She’d given me a lot of praise for the first couple of sections, but frankly told me that the last one wasn’t as good. Ada had a low tolerance for bullshit, another thing I liked about her.
 
I can’t help but wonder what she’d think of this little write up. I’m not particularly happy with it. I clearly lack the literary skill to distill my memories of my friend Ada into an impersonal document without it feeling like a pale shadow of the wonderful person she was. I wonder what she would say about it. Probably something short, funny, and helpful. Maybe she’d suggest that the ending needs work.

Lia

Ada was a guardian of justice and truth. She was always watching for unjust or biased treatment. Not only she would advocate for accessibility but she was a hero for gender equality and the author of one of the most engaged discussions about it at Google (she is the only person I know who was awarded the “I WON MEMEGEN” badge). She would actively call out when she thought someone was misbehaving during a meeting, interrupting a woman or not giving the right credits for an idea. She would help me by giving me specific details about an issue, supporting and empowering me and at the same time keeping it real and letting me know I would have to work a lot harder to successfully fix something I was working on. She was kind, but fierce. I will carry the lessons and duty from her diligent watch forever.
 
 
 
 
Ada was not only a skilled, smart engineer. She was an intellectual with an amazing sense of humor. I would often be surprised by her funny comments about anything. The first time she cut her hair short, she looked exactly like Becky, Juliette Lewis’ character from the movie What’s Eating Gilbert Grape. She told me she read the book in Polish and really liked it and abruptly change the topic to state Johnny Depp was actually a lot cuter when he was younger… I agree.

 
 
Ada was curious, playful and fearless. I remember the day we were testing an eye tracker prototype and she was the first one to volunteer to try it and play a game where she had to fight evil robots to save us all. I know her legacy and hard work will keep saving others, even if she is not around to fight the evil robots anymore.

Michał

Ada była moją pierwszą dziewczyną, a ja, o ile wiem, jej pierwszym chłopakiem. Byliśmy razem w najlepszej klasie najlepszego liceum w Lublinie.
Spędzaliśmy razem wiele czasu zarówno w szkole jak i poza nią, zapatrzeni, zauroczeni, odkrywający siebie nawzajem. Kiedy była ładna pogoda spacerowaliśmy Lubelskim Krakowskim Przedmieściem trzymając się za ręce, patrząc sobie w oczy i rozmawiając o setkach różnych rzeczy. Kiedy pogoda nie dopisywała bawiliśmy się lampami próżniowymi i polaryzatorami udostępnionymi jako pomoce dydaktyczne na korytarzu gmachu Starej Fizyki UMCS. Razem wgryzaliśmy się w informatykę. Pewnego dnia założyliśmy się o to, kto napisze w asemblerze mikroprocesora 6502 bardziej optymalny program stawiający punkt na ekranie komputera. Kto wygrał? Oboje. Jeden program był krótszy (mniej bajtów), a drugi szybszy (mniej cykli procesora)…
Zastanawiałem się, czy potrafię wskazać jakąkolwiek wadę Ady, albo sytuację, w której podejmowane przez nią decyzje nie były idealne. Nie potrafię.
Kiedy ją poznałem, Ada była przerażoną kaczuszką oglądającą się wciąż za siebie i wypatrującą, czy ktoś jej nie śledzi. Miałem przywilej obserwować jej przemianę we wspaniałą, pewną siebie kobietę. Myślę, że w dużym stopniu wzajemnie się ukształtowaliśmy. Ja w każdym razie bardzo wiele zawdzięczam Adzie z tego, jaki jestem teraz.

Dionne

Dear Miro & Anna,
I first met Ada in the CHE Mother’s Circle Yahoo group online.  

I lived in Augusta, GA at that time and was hoping to find some 
people to connect with when I moved to Duluth a few months later.
She graciously offered to come pick me up for the first circle I was 
able to go to and we became fast friends as she told me about things
I’d need to settle in to living here.  
 
I think it was about a year or maybe two later when I decided to do a 
DNA test to trace my ancestral mothers back to Africa.  I’m sure you 
are well aware of the challenges facing African Americans in finding 
our ancestors.  For this circle, I asked everyone to bring pictures or 
special items from their mothers and grandmothers as far back as they 
could go and I wanted to hear their stories with the ending being the 
opening and reading of the test results.  
 
As part of that circle, I taught everyone how to do different simple 
African styled head wraps.  I’ve attached the picture of Ada wearing 
one of the wraps.  It’s only a small picture at this time as I moved the 
file onto one of our external hard drives.  If I find a better file I’ll send it along.
 
During the sharing of Grandmother stories, one thing that Ada said during her 
sharing was so powerful that it has stuck with me all these years later.  She 
said she thought it was very important to try and remember whom we came 
from no matter how painful it was. Things and people that are remembered can 
then be healed.  
 
When my own mother died in 2009 it was those words that came back
to me and gave me some comfort in the weeks and months of relearning to 
live again.  
 
I didn’t get to spend a whole lot of time with her while you lived in Duluth due to 
her work schedule, but the tea parties at my place and pierogi making at hers are 
among my favorite and most treasured memories of time spent with her.
 
What I also want you to know is how proud I am to call Ada my friend.
She was so brave to get on a plane with a small suitcase to come to America
and years later go after her dream of working at Google.  I was truly
excited for her when she got the job as if it the good fortune had been my own. 
 
I loved how she lit up when she talked about her garden and both of you.
I loved her generous heart when I told her my daughter Josephine was going to 
Japan.  Her money gift helped Josephine have a great time there and she was able to 
bring back a little gift of stationary for Anna and postcards from the places she visited
while there.  
 
Upon hearing the news of Ada’s passing, I shared with some of the other women 
from the Mother’s Circle that knew her and invited them to share their memories 
as well.  
 
Julia wrote: “I didn’t know her very well as I only got to sit in circle with her a few times
but I remember how listening to her to understand her meaning through her accent made
me slow down and really take in the words she was saying.  That’s something that I now 
try to do with everyone.”
 
Roxanne wrote “While I only knew Ada briefly, her passion to her convictions was memorable.  
How committed she was to growing things, clean food, being a part of a community, and her daughter 
all touched me.Memories of her and her words have run through my mind periodically since I met her. 
I’m glad to have known her. I hope that her daughter grows up with that same passion of convictions, 
generous nature, and calm assuredness of who she is. Blessed Be.”
 
Well that’s all I wanted to share right now.  I hope this helps you both on your healing journey.
May you be surrounded by love and deep peace today and always.
 
Blessings,
Dionne

Nurse Tatiana

I remember the first day we met, Ada was sure that I got scared and will not come back. She was wrong and we had a good laugh about it a couple of weeks later. There are many reasons why I stayed and loved taking care of Ada.

 I saw a brave woman who refused to give up her fight with ALS. She used to say “I will kick ALS ass” and she fought a great battle. Even during some of the toughest days she did not let ALS take over. Ada’s intelligent and innovative mind created helpful tools to make her feel more comfortable. During the good days, we went outside to enjoy some fresh air and talked about nature, life and travel. 
She had a kind heart and a good sense of humor. Ada cared about people who cared for her by reminding us to do certain things differently so we wouldn’t get hurt. I remember she used to joke and make up names for different positions we adjusted her body for comfort: “frog”, “ballerina”, “Buddha”, the “classic tree” pose…Soon I learned to predict what Ada needed and every time I did something before she asked me for it, she would smile and think that I read her mind. It was nice to see her smile every day.
 
Most of all, Aldona was a great mother. She was involved in her daughter’s life the best she could. Every day I took care of Ada, she asked Anna about her day or plan a surprise for her. Just to make her daughter smile. Anna would come lie down next to her mom and they spent evenings together talking, watching videos and laughing. I could see it in Aldona’s eyes – so much love  and how proud she was of her daughter.
 
I feel honored that I got to know and care for Aldona. A strong, but tiny, woman with a big heart. A great inspiration and a wonderful person. I will forever cherish all the happy memories we had together. May she Rest In Peace.
 
Nurse Tatiana.

Marcin Kapusta

Adę poznałem na studiach, było to ponad ćwierć wieku temu, w 1991 roku. Tak się złożyło, że trafiliśmy do tej samej grupy dzięki czemu widywaliśmy się bardzo często. Bardzo szybko “zakolegowaliśmy” się, pamiętam, że już po kilku dniach Ada pożyczyła mi całą swoją kolekcję programów na PC. Ja byłem zupełnie “zielony” w obsłudze komputerów, natomiast Ada już wtedy miała spore doświadczenie i dużo się od Niej uczyłem. Zaczęliśmy się też spotykać poza uczelnią, Ada od czasu do czasu odwiedzała mnie u mnie w domu. Oczywiście wtedy albo siedzieliśmy przy komputerze, albo graliśmy w gry.
 
Ada zawsze starała się mnie zmotywować do rozwoju i po prostu, po koleżeńsku, opiekowała się mną. Pamiętam, że z Mirkiem pożyczyli mi modem, żebym mógł z domu mieć kontakt ze światem. Wiem że trudno to sobie wyobrazić, ale wtedy nie było jeszcze internetu i korzystało się z tzw. BBSów. Jeden z takich BBSów prowadził Mirek z Adą i to było moje pierwsze źródło wiadomości.
 
Potem pod koniec studiów, Ada załatwiła mi moją pierwszą pracę. Był to pełen spontan, zupełnie w stylu Ady. Pewnego razu, wieczorem zadzwoniła do mnie i powiedziała: “jutro idę na spotkanie w sprawie pracy, może pójdziesz ze mną?”. Wahałem się, bo nie wiedziałem czy dam sobie radę, ale Ada mnie przekonała no i udało się. Przez jakieś pół roku pracowaliśmy w tej samej firmie.
 
Później nasze kontakty trochę się rozluźniły, ponieważ Ada z Mirkiem wyjechali do Stanów, ale kontakt mailowy pozostał. Niestety już bardzo rzadko widywaliśmy się, ale jak Ada była w Polsce to mnie czasami odwiedzała. I nadal starała mi się pomóc. Jeszcze zanim dowiedziała się o swojej chorobie to podsyłała mi linki do różnych programów ułatwiających pracę z komputerem.
 
Pamiętam jak kiedyś zapytałem Ady co lubi robić, to odpowiedziała mi “grzebać w ogródku i pomagać ludziom”. Niestety straszna choroba odebrała jej możliwość pracy w ogródku, ale Ada pozostała sobą i dalej jak tylko mogła to mi pomagała. Jak już dowiedziała się że jest chora to próbowała za wszelką cenę pozostać aktywna. Testowała różne gadżety ułatwiające pracę z komputerem i jak tylko stwierdziła, że coś może mi się przydać to mi to podsyłała. Do tej pory do obsługi komputera używam przycisków, które mi przysłała.
 
Zawsze kiedy odchodzi nasz bliski to jest to przykre, ale kiedy odchodzi dobry człowiek to jest to podwójnie przykre. Ada była właśnie takim dobrym człowiekiem, po prostu moim przyjacielem. Mam nadzieję, że w innym czasie i innym miejscu jeszcze się spotkamy…
 
Marcin Kapusta