Edith has been a guiding light, inspiration and laughing comrade for decades.  While she is physically gone, her spirit and the influence she’s had on countless humans across the globe will live on forever.

I arrived to Geneva, young, enthusiastic and a bit naive to take up the job as WILPF’s Secretary General. Despite my protestations, Edith met me at the airport, took me to the sublet she’s helped me to find, and fed me. She guided me through my first days in the WILPF office, navigating dozens of cardboard boxes to ship to archives, and helped us get a proper internet connection installed to bring WILPF into its next phase.

She always fed people. Her dining table was always filled with some salad, some bread, some wine and surrounded by the most eclectic individuals.  One day a Cuban human rights defender. The next, a Canadian systems developer. Experts and enthusiasts from all corners of the earth-  the conversation was never dull- if occasionally heated. Another sip, another bite, another way to look at the world-  you never left Edith’s table without your head (and belly) full.

Edith nurtured my passion for nuclear disarmament, my inability to separate it from human rights. She shocked me at one of these dinners by bringing up the Treaty of Ruby Valley-  and recalling the forced displacement of the Western Shoshone to enable U.S. nuclear weapons explosions.  She saw the intersectional movement of justice and peace and human rights and dignity as long as I knew her.

I’ll never forget going together to a reception at the North Korean Ambassador’s residence, and how she managed to keep a straight face when he welcomed us, telling us that “our women are very important! They prepared all of this food”.  She smiled as I made my way to discuss chemical weapons concerns with the Syrian Ambassador across the room, and as we left that evening, regaled me with stories of helping to get human rights defenders into the Palais to make sure they could bring the truth to those in power.

Edith always spoke truth to power, and encouraged everyone in her orbit to do the same. At the same time, we were able to sit in her cool front room and watch the summer olympics athletics, easily dipping in conversation from the amazing athletes to their government’s less than thoughtful policies.

Millions of stories exist about Edith- from her work to bring about the Peace Tents at the World Congresses of Women, to the addresses given to the Special Sessions on Disarmament, to the championing of human rights for all, without question as a foundation for peace. The world is a better place because it had Edith Ballantyne in it.