Yoko Ono's life reflects John Lennon's rich legacy

Yoko Ono's life reflects John Lennon's rich legacy - Yoko Ono, proud of her long history as a feminist, activist, musical radical and avant-garde artist, didn't easily step into the role of John Lennon's torch bearer.

But soon after his murder in 1980, guarding and promoting his legacy became her most passionate commitment, and she has endorsed and overseen many of the Lennon tributes building to Saturday, which would have been his 70th birthday. Illuminating her late husband's memory with philanthropy and peace initiatives felt better than wallowing in his absence, she says.

Ono: "I had to learn to be a partner" to John Lennon.

"I think many women fill the space with work, becoming workaholics," says Ono, 77. "Void is not the word. I still feel his spirit. I missed him so much that doing something for John became a sheer pleasure, even if it became my whole life."

Ono will be in Iceland Saturday to perform and light the Imagine Peace Tower, a stone monument erectedin remembrance of Lennon in 2007.

"Before I met John, it was me, me, me," she says. "When we got together, I had to learn to be a partner. I was putting all my energy into that partnership, encouraging and helping John, and suddenly, he went."

The suicides of two grief-stricken fans days after his death spurred Ono to pledge an annual Lennon bequest. She established a museum in Japan, the Strawberry Fields memorial in Central Park, plus exhibits, tributes, concerts and, most critical to Lennon's image, multiple charities aiding the world's poor and oppressed.

"John and I were deeply connected by those issues," says Ono, who stages annual benefit concerts in Japan. "Every cent goes to building schools in Africa. We've built 90 schools in 10 years, and now we're going to South America and Asia. All these things that started years ago, like the John Lennon Educational Bus, are developing rather than disappearing."

"She's done an incredible job making sure John is an enduring artist of continued relevance," says Beatles historian Martin Lewis. "She was shabbily treated by the Boomer press, but she's revered by younger people."

Wed to Lennon's legacy, Ono never considered remarrying. "I can't do this much if I have to be mother to another guy," she says with a laugh.

She says she's not lonely. "All day, my office is buzzing me. When I'm finally alone, I'm thinking, 'thank you, thank you, thank you.' " ( usatoday.com )