Your profile of Terry Halpern goes a long way in capturing the spirit of this special Virgin Islander. It seems that caring for others is a dominant theme of her career and life. Victims of crime and their families were for many years the beneficiaries of her amazing investigatory and prosecutorial skills. Her zeal and expertise in the courtroom were the stuff of which legends are made, as indeed she is a legend in the legal life of the Virgin Islands.
Now she lends her abilities and special empathy for the downtrodden to guide citizens through the maze of social security benefit law. How fortunate are they to have such a passionate advocate for their just compensation. But Terry's concern for others and her imperative to "do" something to address that concern are not limited just to social security beneficiaries. They extend to just about anyone who is in need.
Terry found out that I was battling cancer with treatment which required that I fly from St. Thomas to Nashville, Tennessee every other week. She then wrote an article for the local V.I. Bar Journal of which she in a contributing editor and solicited the donation of frequent flyer miles to me so that I could continue to receive treatment. As a result of that article, I was gifted with thousands of miles from my brethren of the Bar, enabling me make many trips to Tennessee. It is accurate to say that I am alive and continuing my battle thanks in no small part to the kindness and generosity of Terry and the attorneys who learned of my need because of her.
A truly accurate profile of this special woman should I think include this aspect of her special brand of altruism, and it for this reason that I comment on your fine story.
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