In memoriam - Juanita Cole

Juanita Cole left her body at night on 15 July 2015 in Denver, USA. She was 81 years old.

Juanita had been introduced to the concept of Auroville by Younghe and Claude Brun when she was working in the USA embassy in Switzerland. Later she was posted to India where she worked as a communications officer for the USA embassy in New Delhi, and then for the USA consulate in Chennai – a position she had negotiated to be closer to Auroville so that she could visit on weekends.

Juanita always had an open house for Aurovilians, in Delhi and well as in Chennai, and was ‘a boundless font of generosity and hospitality’. She finally retired from the State Department in 1991 and joined Auroville. But it would not be a keet hut for her. She felt all should live in beauty, cleanliness and quiet, and started Felicity community on the Utility road where she built a beautiful house. It had a guesthouse for VIP visitors, and became a place for many gatherings, concerts, meetings, and US thanksgiving dinners.

In 2003 Juanita was issued a Leave India notice for reasons which were never disclosed to Auroville. Though many Aurovilians testified on her behalf, eventually she was told she had to go to the USA to get a new Entry Visa and then come back. But her application for a visa was refused everywhere. Juanita was then already suffering from Alzheimers Disease. When she returned to the USA, at the end of August 2004, she was well taken care of by her nieces but she suffered and felt abandoned and was not happy to be there. Mother-Sri Aurobindo-Auroville had been the meaning of her life and its sole aspiration.