I would like to say that although I did not know her well she was an inspiration especially for people like myself who really want to change things but have alot of trouble just getting through a day due to illness. She managed to do alot being ill at the same time. This is the ultimate challange. Many of us in this condition will remember her for this reason and keep going.

- Susan Beck (Canada)

HER DEATH WILL ONLY MAKE MY FIGHTING MORE AGGRESSIVE!

Trust me - Julia's death will NEVER be forgotten, and to me it's a signal to fight harder - as I would die too, if I had to go into a hospital - it scares the guts out of me just thinking of WHAT would happen to me, if I was taken there - Julia's death is my proof to give to any person, who will NOT believe me, when I say: I would die going into a hospital without my mask. When my Dad earlier this year (1997) was in hospital, I went to see him, as it was quite serious - I was there for apx. 15 minutes, of course I had my mask on - BUT I was in bed for 2 days afterwards with a heavy migrane.

G-d bless Julia :-)

- Helle Kongevang (Denmark)

Julia was one of the first people to help me after I was diagnosed with MCS. If it weren't for the information on perfumes and fabric softeners that she provided, I'd never have been able to convince certain family members that my illness was real and not imagined. Julia didn't even know me, but she took the time to talk with me on the phone at length about my illness and my situation with the County mosquito truck spraying malathion down our street. She sent me all kinds of information to help me with this problem, and I am eternally grateful to her for that and for her friendship. I am also very grateful to her for allowing me to include some of her information on my web site - where Julia can now continue to reach out to the world with her powerful voice...

- Jacki B. (Florida)

I will miss her Love and Caring.

This is what I know of Julia.

To me, she has always been an Angel.

Patti Rentz (Florida)

I have been ill for many years due to perfumes and chemicals. I had many treatments for migraine headaches and chronic fatigue/fibromyalgia. Not until lately, in reading some of the information Julia was behind, did I know how to avoid the things which caused MCS. Thank you, Julia, for being there.

Mary Pretlow (NC)

I shall miss Julia very much. She sent my husband and me off on vacation with loving thoughts and not a hint of how precarious her health was. I came home the end of July to that devastating phone call from her partner, Rudi.

I was so fortunate to have worked with Julia in a small capacity on two of her major research projects (Twenty Most Common Chemicals ... and Fabric Softeners = Health Risks); to share her joy when she knew she helped another one struggle out of the abyss of chemical poisoning; to see her put her illness on hold to take an incoming call from someone who was as desparate for help as I had once been. Julia was there for everyone and gave selflessly.

As I travel life's highways, I will always remember the couple of trips Julia and I made to Sacramento to attend Air Resources Board meetings.

While the SF Bay Area tends to be moderate in temperature, the Great Valley is not. I cannot stand the heat, nor the exhaust from other vehicles. Julia could not stand the air conditioner. Neither of us could stand the pesticides used by agribusiness (and/or roadside maintenance). So, we quite naturally came up with the unspoken compromise -- and we never missed a beat with our chatter. (My dad would have described it as, "It sounds like a pet shop in here!")

Julia felt that as I was the driver I should get dibs on AC. As we drove and talked, I notice she began rolling down the window. I turned off the AC and rolled down my window. As we drove further along and talked, I turned on the AC and Julia and I rolled up our windows. After a couple of turns of that, we suddenly realized what we were doing and just broke into hearty laughter. And what a wonderful laugh Julia had.

To you, Jacki, a hearty thank you for making a space available for people's thoughts about Julia. And an even larger thank you for putting Julia's work up on the www. Julia and I shared more than friendship, we shared the belief that people have a right to know! You have tremendously helped Julia get the word out. And because of your efforts, Julia will never be very far away from any of us.

Love,
Barb Wilkie

Julie Kendall was an incredible detective, a very smart woman, and a dear friend. Her efforts against polluters will be missed but not forgotten.

Diana Fairechild, author of JET SMART
http://www.flyana.com

About a month or two before Julia died, I had the good fortune to speak with her. My six-year-old son suffers from MCS and has a terrible time tolerating fragrances. I asked Julia if she would send me information about the chemicals in perfumes and air fresheners. She said she wasn't doing much work any more because she was sick with cancer. We spoke of my son's condition. She broke down and cried and said she would send me some information. I thought about it later and felt quite selfish. Here I was, telling her my problems, while she was sick herself. I thought the negative input probably was not very good for her morale. I wrote her a letter and told her I would be happy to test for a bone marrow transplant if she needed one or that I would campaign for her in my area. She wrote back that she was afraid of the chemicals to treat the cancer and couldn't follow that treatment. Even though Julia told me she had cancer, I didn't realize how far her cancer had progressed. When I read in the CIIN newsletter that Julia had passed away, I felt deep sorrow. I called my son in and told him he had a Guardian Angel in Heaven. We had spoken of her generosity previously. I told him that I knew Julia cared about him before she died and I was quite certain she would look after him now...

- Sue

When I first became injured by chemicals and had those strange undiagnosable symptoms, I was fortunate to be in contact with one of Julia's co-activists and coauthors of her work on perfumes. Due to him and the literature that was sent to me, I realized what my diagnosis was and was able to get help to recover enough to live. I am still in danger with any and every chemical, but I am well enough to send out copies of all of Julia''s work to any and every person who calls me .The approach I usually get is: "I think I need an air purifier, but I don't know what is wrong with me." After people receive copies of her work and other materials, they can only begin to protect themselves from the chemical assaults. Bless all of you and please pass on the words for others . Keep up any work to stop the profiting from poisons.

- Daliya Robson

From the jacket cover of "People Who Make A Difference" - Viking 1995:

"We all know who they are, the people who make a difference. Some have achieved fame as result of success in their chosen fields; others work in relative obscurity, driven by an inner desire to achieve the impossible. Whoever they are, they demonstrate a passion for life, a willingness to risk everything for success, and a deep conviction that what they are doing matters. Without exception, they make a difference to the lives of others."

Julia most certainly did.

With my respect and sympathy to her family and close friends,

Maggie
Listowner - MCS-CI

I really wish I met Julia Kendall. I have to live in car to avoid fumes from lawn mowers/cars because I can only afford places close to poor vehicles/road. I find open places to sleep. I am so sensitive I must be outdoors. Being a healthy, yuppy-looking white male, police sometimes don't understand. I have been detained several times. My family, friends and librarians/community think I'm mental - bad scene. If anyone needs help, I can usually isolate source of pollution. If anyone knows of open-window place to work, or outdoors without fumes, please write. We should start a www discussion group in Julia's name. I have found older grocery store products FULL of petro-chemicals - especially older grains/breads, frozen foods and pasta - probably from daily floor cleaning/wax fumes. Also, all containers (plastic, metal) "leach" into moist foods and drinks. I can sense all of these (and bad air) quickly if anyone needs a "sensor".

Love,
Toby Hoffman

Julia's sharp intelligence and her willingness to use it will be her legacy to us for many years. She helped lay a foundation for the building of a new understanding for which she will always be a pioneering architect. While TV ads and programs almost romanticize "survivors" or "casualties" of modern day illnesses that are epidemic in recent years (such as leukemia, breast cancer, Alzheimer's, asthma, ADD, muscular dystrophy, etc). AND encourage the public to throw more dollars at the very researchers and corporations that make many of the chemicals strongly suspected as the underlying catalyst for these conditions - Julia had the tenacity to ignore the "revolving door" of chemical/medical profiteering to educate us with well researched and straight talk about chemicals and their effects. She always addressed the root of the problem and not just treat the end result as well as how to take action in our communities. This is an unpopular position and I thank her for her tireless efforts in the face of constant opposition. While her work was directed to help the MCS sufferer, I believe it will have much greater influence on the environment and the greater population in time to come as more people become ill and hopefully wake up and recognize that the statistics of these illnesses did not exist prior to the petrochemical & synthetic hormone world we now live in and we are the first experiment as such. I thank Julia for doing all the footwork of compiling the information on fragrances and softeners so that we may take it out of our direct experience and present it concisely to others in a practical way (which she was so good at and is a quality not easily found). And mostly, she really cared about the people she helped and for that she will also be remembered. Rest in peace, dear Julia.

- A Friend