More Fond Memories of Sho Chandra
So many people wanted to share their memories of Sho Chandra that I’m doing a second roundup of recollections. These come from emails and photos sent to me for this blog and from tweets. There were dozens more recollections on Facebook.
Also since my last blog post on Sho, who died unexpectedly this past week at Dulles airport when getting off a plane, there have been additional obituaries from associations we both belonged to and where she was a very active member.
The Society of Advancing Business Editing and Writing, where Sho was on the board, noted that her legacy includes “many reporters whom Sho helped to train and encourage.” She “was also always there with a friendly greeting or words of support,” said SABEW member Joanna Ossinger, also a Bloomberg journalist. Sho covered the U.S. economy for Bloomberg at the time of her death.
The National Press Club, where Sho was a longtime member, noted in its obituary that she helped edit its daily newsletter. “Sho was brilliant, funny, compassionate, extraordinarily generous, and beloved by all who knew her,” recalled Vineeta Anand, who like me used to work with Sho at Bloomberg. Sho was “very stylish. She laughed about her vast earring collection.”
Several Bloomberg colleagues had series of tweets recalling Sho’s generosity.
Aki Ito recalled that when she was an intern, she read Sho’s economics articles to get up to speed.
“3 years later, I moved to San Francisco to join the US economics team. I flew out to DC in my first week on the job and met Sho. I was nervous. I blurted out that I meticulously studied her stories as an intern and she laughed and hugged me. And we became friends.”
“For the next 4 years, we worked on all kinds of stories together. I learned so much from her — esp. her enthusiasm for economics and the economy. It stemmed from her deep empathy. She saw real people with dreams and disappointments and fears where most of us saw numbers.”
“She always made time for me and she always made time for others. I already miss her.”
Derek Wallbank “loved working with Sho Chandra. More than that, I loved being her friend,” he wrote.
“Sho Chandra had a massive coaching tree. It’s amazing and inspiring to see so many remembrances from verifiable business journalism all stars who Sho mentored. I bet she’d be smiling to see it all.”
“Sho had a heart for mentoring. She believed in reaching out to the next generation. She loved watching young reporters grow. She never gave up on anyone. And she was, in the finest tradition of it, a happy warrior. To know Sho was to love Sho.”
Ken Kopakowski emails that he worked at Bloomberg for almost two decades, during much of the time that Sho was there. He remembered “Sho as the consummate professional. But most of all I will remember her gentleness and kindness. She was one of the most pleasant people I’ve ever met.”
Sho’s neighbor Lynne Feingold emailed that “Sho wrote me on February 2nd just as she was getting ready to leave for India. I had sent her an article I wrote asking for input and although she said she was super busy and had been sick, she wanted to give me constructive feedback before leaving for India. The attention she gave to the article was quite amazing.
“Sho and her family have been neighbors for many years. Sho has always been so kind and I will miss her presence and smile. She was someone who cared deeply — cared about people, ideas, and the world.”
Sho’s funeral is planned for Tuesday. Check Twitter and Facebook for updates and details, including here. Her friends may also organize a memorial service in the future.
