April 2026
- Linda Favero
- Apr 29
- 4 min read
3 Musings on Women Ancestors.
During Women’s History Month, I reflected on the important women in my life: friends, colleagues, and family. As we honor the women in our lives today, let us consider the lasting impact of our female ancestors. They represent the living root of humanity — biologically, culturally, spiritually, and emotionally. Honoring them is not simply an act of remembrance; it is an acknowledgment that the world as we know it was built, sustained, and transmitted largely through their hands, voices, and bodies. To know your women ancestors is to know yourself more fully. Three of mine modeled qualities that I admire and inspire me.
1. Unconditional Love
I was fortunate to know my great-grandmother on my maternal side. Grandma Rae Sand embodied unconditional love and held a spirit of gratitude and light as she engaged with the world around her. She was quick to giggle at silly jokes, give a long hug, and sit patiently while listening intently. (She died close to 40 years ago in her 90s).
Ancient and unhurried. She lived long enough to know what truly matters. Just pure, focused presence.
Love without expectation. She didn’t need you to achieve anything, behave perfectly, or be impressive. You were enough simply by existing.
Warmth from accumulated wisdom. Her love carried the weight of generations — she loved children, watched them grow, grieved, celebrated, and endured.
Love that has outlasted. She survived hard seasons, loss, change — and still, she loved. That kind of love had been tested, and it held.
Love that knows it is finite — and gives more because of it. There was a tenderness in her eyes that came from knowing time was precious.
(Both of her sons died before she did).
In short, Grandma Rae’s love in its most distilled, essential form was soft, deep, and completely yours.
2. Elegance
My dad’s sister, Aunt Ann Williams Hendrickson, was an elegant and graceful woman. With her fine bones and translucent skin, she mesmerized me. She had children later in life, so I had many sleepovers with her until she had her own family. In her last days, she gifted me her leather skirts and gold hoop earrings. I love wearing them and feel her presence when I do. (She died 15 years ago at 65).
Effortless in a way that quietly inspires. She walked into a room, and something shifted, because she carried herself like someone who knows exactly who she is.
Expressed in the details. The classic shirt and sweater. The bobbed haircut. The red lipstick with a fresh face. Her elegance lived in small, considered gestures.
Warmth dressed in style. Her elegance was never cold or distant. It was a greeting with a warm smile, as if she’d been waiting to see you for a lifetime.
Window into another way of being. She was my first glimpse of a life lived on one's own terms — a kind of blueprint that quietly says, "You can be this, too."
Timeless rather than trendy. Her elegance didn’t chase fashion — it absorbed it, filtered it, and made it her own.
Aunt Ann’s elegance was grace made intimate — polished enough to admire, warm enough to love, and personal enough to carry with me long after she's left the room.
3. Compassion
My mom, Kathie Sand Williams, led a life full of compassion for others. She was the only white woman at Alex Haley’s lecture on his book, “Malcolm X,” and marched for civil rights. Professionally, she brought interdisciplinary medical support to children in rural communities. Globally, she traveled to Africa and Mongolia to serve children with minimal resources. She came alongside those who were underserved and underrepresented throughout her life. (She died 21 years ago at the age of 60, and I turned 59 this month).
Love that has learned to expand. Having poured herself into caring for her children, she didn’t become depleted — she became more open.
Instinctive and immediate. She saw a struggling stranger and something in her simply responded — before thought, before hesitation.
Rooted in recognition. She looked at another person in pain and saw someone's child. Someone who was once small, vulnerable, and loved.
Given without keeping score. She didn't catalog her kindnesses or wait for gratitude. She gave because it was the natural thing to do.
Steady in the uncomfortable moments. She didn't look away from grief, illness, or hardship. She leaned in and embraced it as part of life.
In essence, Mom’s compassion for others is what happened when a fierce, practiced love outgrows its original boundaries (her children) and decides the whole world is worth caring for.
Let’s reflect on the women who shaped us —ones who revealed something to us. Some gave love unconditionally, unhurried, and freely, regardless of achievement or expectation. Some moved through the world with an effortless elegance and self-possession that quietly whispered you can be this, too. And some let compassion carry them far beyond their own doorstep to those who needed someone to come alongside them. These women are our living roots. Their courage, grace, and love flow through us. Consider this an invitation: Who are the women ancestors you carry with you? What quality did they model that still moves in you today? Honor them — by name, by memory, by becoming a little more of what they showed you was possible.
Updates & Resources
Woman of Influence
I was honored to be recognized with 24 other women at the “Portland Business Journal’s” Women of Influence awards luncheon. I was grateful to be joined by my family, friends, and nominators. If you would like to see my 2-minute speech, you can view it here.
Full-Time Life
Last year, I had the opportunity to share my “full-time life” with Laurie Kelley at her inaugural Full Time Life Salon in an intimate setting of 30 women. If you are curious, the full 40-minute video has been edited and is available for viewing here.
Comments