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The only face to face memory I have of Petra was from April 4 2015 when our families coincided to meet in Orlando Florida. Luis her husband, and I are long time friends since our years at the University of California in a small college town called Davis. That is almost 30 years and since then el Gallego y yo, him and I, have been close friends. The few hours we spent at that restaurant in Orlando showed me and my wife a glitter of the great person in Petra’s presence and demeanor of kindness. I can see why Luis fell in love once he left California en route to Scotland. Back to the few hours at that place in Orlando, those were my only times I got to meet her. What an enjoyable moment. However brief, she had left a mark in my whole family and we will remember her fondly. Rest in peace Petra, you are one of a kind, the type of women who have transformed our world for the better, and in the case of Luis and Dani and Tomás, for a wonderful family. Our love always.
Petra will always have a very special place in my heart. From the first day we met 20-odd years ago until my last bedside visit in December, I have many fond memories of shared family meals, picnics, walks, swapping books and stories of our frustrations and pleasures of life in our adopted country, her plans for surprise parties and excusions (a speciality!), helping each other move house, the birth of her precious boys, trips to the beach, countryside, the airport, shops and latterly to the hospital. Petra had a knack for transforming hte most mundane event into an outing. Warm, generous, sympathetic, funny, talented, creative, hard-working (to say the least) and stubborn to the end. Rest in peace my dear pal.
Dear Petra, from the day I learned you passed away, I am looking for the words to say goodbye, to bridge the “gap” that separates us, to send you my thoughts and everything we did not say, to accompany you on your long journey. Αs long as the memories of our common research path come to my head, all words and thoughts are concentrated in one. Thank you so much, Petra. Maria Konstantinou, Greece.
I feel lucky that i had the chance to meet Petra and collaborate with her. She was a talented scientist and passionate for her work. Her legacy will always live, as Petra was the author of many scientific articles during these years. Moreover, through Life Agromine project, Petra gave to the European scientist the opportunity of collaborate in this technology. As part of this project, I had the chance to work with Petra and witness her leading and organizational skills. For all the colleagues in this project, it will always be unforgettable how she managed in a short time to collect our scientific results and successfully publish a rapidly cited scientific article. Also, I will never forget the visits in Santiago de Compostela, where we had the chance to visit her institute and experiments. Very often I was asking myself, where is she finding all the strength, and in the same time the calm to participate in both meetings and on the field work in May 2019. She never said no to bids for scientific co-operation even and in the days when she was struggling with that severe illness. Among us, she glittered with her scientific knowledge and smile showing a great and pure soul. I will never forget the period between May-November 2019 where we were exchanging emails and messages regarding our joint article about to be published. As we were texting around 12pm the night of 23rd of Nov, she said she will send me a couple of questions on the topic so we could finish the article. Those questions never came...but i will reflect on her thoughts and answer to finish our article. In the end, I feel proud that Petra visited my experiments in Pojska, Albania. In same time i feel lucky that I had the chance to have a skillful colleague and very good friend like Petra. She will always inspire me in life and science. (Aida Bani, Agricultural University of Tirana, Albania)
Petra and I became friends at Stirling university. We started chatting while waiting to go into a biology practical. Petra was warm, funny, kind and had a unique spirit. She was a wonderful friend. The last time we met was after the birth of her son Daniel. I also had my son and we sat together having a picnic in Edinburgh at Princes St gardens. She was so happy to have become a mother and adored her little boy. I will treasure the memories I have of my beautiful friend. I wish we could have had time to make more. Her family are are in my thoughts.
Petra and I attending our Graduation Ball at Stirling University in 1994.
Nos últimos dous ou tres anos sorprendinme a min mesma varias veces pensando en canta sorte tiven en ir aquel venres do 2007 a clase de Carmela, onde nos dixo que había unhas axudas do CSIC para iniciar a estudiantes na carreira de investigación. Chamei correndo a dous amigos e presentámonos no IIAG a coñecer a unha tal Petra Kidd (que tiña por certo un acento moi raro). Dende aquel día, dunha forma ou outra, foime imposible separarme de Petra. E agora vou botala moitísimo de menos. Petra foi un pilar importantísimo na miña vida. Coñecela e traballar con ela permitiume ter unha segunda familia no CSIC de Santiago. Dende que me fun de Santiago case todos os días acudía a ela en Skype para consultarlle algunha dubida do inglés, algunha opinión científica e tamén para comentar moitos cotilleos. Nunca foi solo a miña “xefa”, a súa xenerosidade, amabilidade e alegría solo podían convertela nunha amiga. Estou moi orgullosa de que fose a miña directora de tese e sempre que teño a ocasión digo que traballei con ela. O seu nivel e calidade científicos son recoñecidos en todo o mundo. Estou moi orgullosa de ter aprendido tanto dela e agradecida por todas as experiencias que ela me deu a oportunidade de vivir. Aínda a dia de hoxe moitas veces me sorprendo a min mesma sendo capaz de facer algo que a priori pensaba non saber facer e despois doume conta que o aprendín con ela. Non creo que sexa capaz de reflexar aquí o meu agradecemento a todo o que me deu, non solo no ámbito laboral, que e moitísimo, pero tamén no persoal. Sentinme sempre coidada e acompañada por ela e sei que ata a miña familia lle agradece tanto apoio e cariño que me deu durante todos estes anos. Espero poder seguir traballando duro para que ela tamén este orgullosa.
Tino Quintela
Tino Quintela
Tirei esta foto à Petra na nossa primeira visita à canteira de serpentinas de Bandeira, no ano 2012. Iamos à procura de Noccaea caerulescens (que naquela altura pensavamos que era umha rareza na Galiza), e topamos a moreas no monte antes da canteira. Logo, na canteira, colhimos outras que pensamos que eram Noccaea, mas que resultarom ser Lepidium heterophyllum. Na foto, Petra tem nas maos um desses Lepidium. A parte aérea era minúscula, mas as raízes eram enormes! Petra passou 20 minutos escavando essa raiz, retirando com cuidado pedras e solo, para poder recuperar o máximo possível, e no melhor estado. Ela era assim, trabalhadora e minuciosa. Com raízes fortes que se agarravam ao solo, e braços, e maos, e palavras que agromavam coma flores e serviam de suporte a muitas e muitos. I will miss you a lot, Petra.
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