Ann Elaine McKannan, February 6, 1950- November 4, 1998
Christmas Day, 1995
Fun memories of REVELcon & other conventions.
It's Ann(e) Squared! Songs we used to sing together at REVELcon.
In memoriam: Accounts of the funeral in Houston.
Obituaries and Funeral Mass Program.
NEW! "How Do You Say Goodbye" by Kris Manning
NEW! Tributes to Elaine at Eclecticon and REVELcon.
NEW! Costuming: One of Elaine's favorite hobbies.
Ann Elaine McKannan was a dear friend of mine who passed away suddenly of ovarian cancer. She was a joyful and enthusiastic person who made my life, and the lives of many people, fuller and happier. This webpage is dedicated to her.
You will see accounts on this webpage that refer to Ann as "Ann," and others that refer to her as "Elaine." I should explain this! She lived in Houston, but lived in Austin for a year while she got her Master's degree in Library and Information Science at the University of Texas at Austin. Austin fandom at that time had three very active people named Ann(e), and it was confusing to add a fourth; rather than adopt the moniker "Ann #4," she decided to go by her middle name, Elaine. Most of us in Austin continued to call her Elaine even after she moved back to Houston, where she was still called Ann, and she cheerfully answered to either name from then on.
Connie's Letter to the Man from U.N.C.L.E. listserv
Written shortly before Ann died, this is a lovely tribute to her.
Date sent: Fri, 30 Oct 1998 18:21:24 -0600
To: Channel_D@uncle.org
From: "Constance L. Crouch"
Subject: [Channel_D] SAD NEWS
Send reply to: Channel_D@uncle.org
Dear Cousins,
Ann Elaine McKannan, a quiet member of this list, known to some
of you
as "Annbit" (for Ann, Bard in Training) is passing away. She's in
the
hospital in Houston with advanced cancer, & the doctor's given her
perhaps 48 hours to live. Leah, my roomie, also a lit member, is at
her
bedside, & if any of you believe in prayers, they both could use
yours.
Elaine is not in any pain, as she is on high doses of morphine, so
those
of you who know her, don't fret about that. She's not one to fish for
sympathy.
What she IS, is one of the most generous, kind & sweet souls
you'd ever
want to meet, a woman who had no children of her own, but as a
librarian
& a member of the Storyteller's Guild, is beloved by many kids.
They've
swamped her room with get well cards, & no-one's quite prepared
to give
them the news that she isn't coming back to enthrall them any
more.
For that matter, I'm not ready to accept it either.
If any of you would like to remember her, give a donation to your
local
library in her name, or teach a child to read, or read to your child.
Or believe in yourself & write. She loved to write, & has published
some fanfic herself. Before she got so sick, she had plans to
publish
many fanfic authors--she really wanted to promote fanfic. Sadly,
that
dream will die with her. But I know she'd encourage those among
you
with the =desire= to write not to put it off, but to GO for it.
You might not have tomorrow.
Connie Crouch
Elaine's Truffle Recipe
as reported by Jackie
Truffles
12 oz chocolate (I recommend chocolate chips, but can be bars of cooking
chocolate. Must be sweetened, either milk chocolate, semi-sweet
chocolate, or bittersweet chocolate. If you use bar, chop coarsely with
a butcher knife, or put through food processor with the steel blade.)
1/3 cup cream (Whipping cream, not whipped. You can use light cream)
1/3 cup liquor, such as brandy, cognac, creme to cacoa, etc. I found the
creme de cacoa, creme de menthe, cherry and raspberry the best. Use the
best quality you can. You only need a 1/2 pint bottle, so it's not
terribly expensive.
powdered chocolate, chopped nuts, unsweetened cocoa, powdered sugar,
dried coconut (as you choose) to roll the chocolates in. I've only found
the ground chocolate through mail order. It's good because anyone who
can eat the truffles can have it -- no problems with allergies.
Heat the chocolate in the microwave on medium for 1 minute, stir, then 1
more minute, then 30 seconds at a time until it's melted. You have to
stir to tell whether it has melted, as you can't tell by sight.
Measure the cream into 1 1-cup pyrex measuring cup. Put into the
microwave on high for 1-2 minutes, watching cartefully. As soon as it
starts to boil, remove and add to melted chocolate. (Cream will boil
over if given any chance, so watch closely.)
Measure liquor of choice in the same measuring cup, and add to
chocolate. Stir mixture until smooth, then refrigerate until cooled,
about 40-60 minutes. You can leave it longer, but you'll have to let it
warm. If the chocolate is too cold, it can't shapre it. If too warm, it
won't hold a shape.
Put coating of your choice into a pie plate, or shallow bowl, or deep
plate. Make sure it covers the bottom by at least 1/4 inch. Drop small
balls of truffle mixture into the coatings (using 2 spoons, one to
push/scrape the chocolate off the other, helps). Roll the chocolate
around until all surfaces are covered, then place onto wax paper sheets.
Depending on what you use, you may have to roll in more coating. I find
that powdered sugar and cocoa require two coats (as does a mixture of
the two), while nuts, powdered chocolate and coconut require only 1. The
finely powdered items are absorbed into the candy, while the others
stick to the surface. When dry and set, cover with colored foil wrappers
(or small pieces of foil, or saran wrap, or put into small cupcake or
candy cups, or candy bags). If you can find them, the foil wrappers are
the easiest.
Summary:
12 oz chocolate
1/3 cup cream
1/4 cup liquor
Melt chocolate, heat cream to boil, combine all three. Cool, roll small
balls in nuts, cocoa, powdered sugar, or gropund chocolate.
They taste much harder and more expensive than they are. They are messy
to make, once you're rolling them. No matter what, I always wind up
doing a lot with my hands. I just can't get it done with spoons.
Jackie
Elaine's 40th Birthday Party
Excerpt from a letter I wrote to my mom & dad in 1990.
Owen and I hosted a birthday party last Thursday for Ann McKannan, a friend of ours who is getting her Master's in Library Science. She is a big G&S; fan and likes science fiction, too, and is a great babysitter. Connie and Leah came, and so did James and Tamara. Emrys [Emrys would have been about three and a half at this time] led us all in singing Happy Birthday and was very proud of himself! We would have invited our friend Kim, but she had outpatient surgery that day (reconstruction after a mastectomy); I called up and asked her husband if she was well enough to come to the phone, and then I held up the phone and everybody yelled, "We love you, Kim!" It was Connie's idea, and Kim really enjoyed it. You can tell we are a really party-hearty crowd; as the evening wore on we broke out the diet Dr. Pepper and listened to Anna Russell's explanation of the Ring of the Niebelung. And there was much rejoicing.
This page created and maintained by Anne Collins Smith