Chapter 12 - The Letter Goes to the Board
The original letter belonged to my father.
He could have kept it private.
He did not.
He gave a copy to the independent audit committee.
Why?
Because Mother’s observations were relevant evidence.
Not proof of every allegation.
Evidence.
The board’s counsel warned against treating a deceased founder’s letter as infallible.
Memory.
Emotion.
Incomplete data.
Correct.
So they verified.
Bank records confirmed transfers.
Invoices confirmed vendors.
Minutes confirmed lack of authorization.
Mother had been materially accurate.
One part she was wrong about.
She believed $41,000 remained unreconciled.
Records showed $27,000 had already been restored before she wrote.
The remaining $14,000 was restored the next evening.
That did not change the governance problem.
But precision mattered.
We did not turn Eleanor into a saint whose handwriting became law.
She saw a problem.
Documented it.
Intended to act.
May you like
Then died.
The institution had to do the rest eleven years late.
