To the Editor:

Cokie Roberts, journalist and ABC television and NPR radio anchor and commentator, died of cancer this week after a legendary career. It is also as an exemplary human being and loving family member that we, and many others living in Princeton and Mercer County, will remember her and deeply mourn her death.

The two of us knew Cokie best as the sister of Barbara Boggs Sigmund, who served as mayor of the Borough of Princeton from 1983-1990. As she was dying of cancer, at 51, Barbara wrote a volume of poetry, An Unfinished Life, that included a poem about her sister reprinted below. She noted that it was written at Jefferson Hospital in Philadelphia, November 9, 1989. Its title, “Cokie in the Hospital.”

She called herself
My “private duty sister,”
And so she was,
Day and, most especially,
Terror-bearing night.
She will always appear
As a vision,
Her glorious almond-shaped eyes
Shut in a beautiful arc,
Guarding me even
In her glancing sleep.

Like us, we hope others will find comfort knowing that the two sisters are at peace, free of suffering, having left lasting legacies that will better the world.

Anne Reeves
Olden Lane

Susie Wilson
Constitution Hill West