At Maïc’s 100th birthday, I asked her “you lived 100 years, what was the most important change for you?”. She mentioned “Internet”. I asked, why was the Internet important to her eyes? Because this is how she kept close contact with her loved ones, sharing travels or discussing everyday life on her phone, her tablet…
Born in 1925, she was of a generation sometimes called the silent one. And indeed, she was often low-key. Her father was an administrator in the countryside, and she arrived in Paris in her youth. She studied maths, joining the prestigious “Ecole Normale Supérieure”, which provided her with an income and led her to become a maths teacher. After meeting and marrying Jean Dechoux, she used her income to fund his medical studies. The story goes that, living in a tiny room, she had to cook on the balcony.
Maïc was a teacher, one of those unsung heroes that have educated the masses. Nowadays, this is not a job title that is much acclaimed, unlike say “start-up founder”. But the only reason we have good computer scientists that create start-ups, the only reason we have researchers to build computer science, is because they had great teachers. Maïc was also a mother, a foster mother, a grandmother, a great grandmother. She was kind, humble, tireless, always positive. Her life philosophy was focused on doing the best with what she got.
Maïc never seemed left behind by the transformations of our world. Turning 100-years old, she was as sharp as ever, reading book after book and using her phone, her tablet, her computer. Whenever I hear how technology changes the world, I cannot help thinking of her, a 100-year-old geek. The world went through many transformations during her lifetime. But what she saw in these transformations, in Internet technology, is a way to stay in contact with others, a way to bring more humanity into our lives.
Remembering Nicole Dechoux, May 03rd 1925 - October 22nd 2025
Il restera de toi ce que tu as donné
Au lieu de le garder dans des coffres rouillés…
Ce que tu as donné en d’autres fleurira…
Il restera de toi ce que tu as offert
Entre tes bras ouverts un matin au soleil…
Ce que tu as offert en d’autres revivra…
Il restera de toi un sourire épanoui
Aux bords de tes lèvres comme au bord de ton cœur…
Ce que tu as ouvert en d’autres grandira…
Il restera de toi ce que tu as semé
Que tu as partagé aux mendiants du bonheur…
Ce que tu as semé en d’autres germera…
Adapted from Simone Weil and Michel Scouarnec
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