Pierre HUDELOT
Monday, September 10, 2007
Dear Friends,
Pierre Hudelot died Monday night at 8:00pm French time, as the result of a condition diagnosed in Washington in early April of this year. Having returned to France for a difficult surgery, he was planning on returning to the US at the end of August to officially end his four-year term in Washington.
It was at this time that the Délégation générale planned to organize a small good-bye ceremony to include the presentation of a gift from the network of the Alliance Française and his friends. Fate had other plans.
Because of the gravity of his sickness, Pascal Saura and I remained voluntarily evasive in the face of many questions. We respected until the end the request for discretion made by Pierre when he left Washington on April 18th. Hospitalized on July 14th for a second round of treatment, Pierre was never able to return to his home.
Words cannot express how we feel at this moment. The Alliance Française will always remember Pierre Hudelot as a man who was open, who valued dialogue, and who worked to bring together the diverse actors that make up the American network in a tireless effort to keep our organization true to its values and its mission.
I encourage you to participate in the collection being organized by the Délégation générale in order to honor Pierre. The contributions that are collected will be used to purchase a wreath or given to a charitable group, in accordance with the funeral arrangements that will soon be communicated to us.
Unless otherwise directed by those who have already sent a contribution to the Délégation générale for a farewell gift, these amounts will also be put towards the one of the two aforementioned items.
Please feel free to send us any expressions of sympathy you might want to convey to Pierre’s family. We will make sure they receive them.
Sincerely,
Thierry Lagnau