Abstract
At the reading of her eulogy, the family and friends who had gathered to honor the memory of Leila P. Marston were surprised, even mildly offended for a moment--the piece was so short, so matter-of-fact, so utterly devoid of eulogizing. Then John, her son, told us who wrote it. Leila did, some time ago, even before she became ill with cancer. John went on to elaborate briefly on two characteristics of his mom: her understatement, at least concerning her own talents and achievements, and her preparedness. (The boy scout motto was hers long before she knew the scouts were using it.)