A native Rhode Islander, after graduating from the University of Rhode Island, College of Nursing, Joyce Stamp Lilly spent several years traveling and living in Europe. In 1982, she was an RN at Butler Hospital in Providence when Ralph arrived bringing the new science of Behavioral Neurology. It was almost love at first sight, followed by 9 years in Rhode Island, during which time she attended Boston University School of Law.
Moving with Ralph to Houston, Texas in 1991, Joyce summoned her adaptability powers, bought cowboy boots and a Suburban, and she and Ralph shared 30 wonderful years as Texans in Houston and Washington On the Brazos where she was active in community events. She has been a plaintiff attorney and now represents nurses under investigation by state Boards of Nursing.
Joyce returned to Providence in 2023; she lives with her Westie, Franki, and her two cats, within a mile of where her life with Ralph began. Their lives were graced with good karma, fortuity and serendipity, for which she is, and Ralph was, forever grateful.
Diane F. Kramer retired from the counseling and psychology departments of Austin Community College in 2008 and began writing personal essays, family histories, and fiction. As a volunteer with the Brenham Animal Shelter, she wrote a weekly column on animal welfare for The Brenham Banner Press. Her writing has also appeared in Alamo Bay Press anthologies and blogs Peace through Pie and Drash Pit. She currently writes website copy and press releases for Brenham Lifetime Learning and the Read of Washington County. She lives with her husband and their rescue dog and cat in rural Texas.
A neurologist for over half a century, Ralph B. Lilly, MD had a passion for learning and teaching. A traumatic brain injury in 1980 shifted his focus from general neurology to behavioral neurology, the study of how brain injury affects behavior. After completing a fellowship in neurobehavior at the University of California, Los Angeles, he served as a clinical assistant professor with the Brown University Program in Medicine in Providence, Rhode Island, consulting with psychiatrists looking for possible neurological causes for their patients’ psychiatric symptoms. In Texas, he joined what is now Nexus Health Systems and became a clinical assistant professor at The University of Texas in Houston. Lilly focused his life’s work on treating brain injury survivors and counseling their families, whoo were victims in their own right. He saw these “healers” as instrumental in guiding the injured loved one to a “new life.” He practiced in Arizona, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Texas, and wherever he was called to help. Before his death in 2021, Lilly lived in Washington, Texas, with his wife, Joyce, three dogs, six cats, and two horses.
For more information, or to order books, please visit: https://www.brazosbookstore.com/event/person-joyce-stamp-lilly-and-diane-f-kramer-second-lives