Your Link to Our Celebration Memorial Service, June 9, 2022

 

Dear 1961 Classmates,

It is remarkable how magnificantly three-day Class of 1961 Celebration turned out, given that only 79 of us could come, bringing 39 guests, out of the roughly 800 Class members who received email invitations.  We also reached out to widows, widowers, and those for whom we had mailing addresses.

The Class Memorial Service on Thursday, June 9th was conceived and directed by three clergy from our Class: Doug Lind, Judith Semple Green, and Hank Zoob.  Here is a link to the entire Memorial Service for you to enjoy  https://vimeo.com/733057146/b54e088626

You will hear a wonderful poem written and read by Patricia Cleary Miller.  You will also hear the reading of the names of those 190 Class members who have passed away since June, 2016.  The Readers were:  Tom Bartlett and Laura Haines Belman, David Bisno and Ephron Catlin, Walter Rowland and James Rosenstein, and Barry Simmons and Stephanie Merton Tombrello. 

For the Alumni Choir of 45 singers, the 1961 Radcliffe Choral Society members were Anne Wyatt Brown, Judith Garelick, Connie Pyle, Anne Reynolds Skinner, and Susan Schumacher (widow of Gus), and I was the only 1961 representative for the Harvard Glee Club.  The rest represented classes from 1959 to 2017.  Mark DeVoto, ’61 was our expert organist. 

Just as the Memorial Service helped us understand how transcendence may be possible after this life, the Celebration itself helped those who attended to change from a “Been there, Done that,” attitude to a “More people to meet, More ideas to consider, and More friendships to cultivate” outlook.  We all grew from this experience and owe many thanks to Doug, Judith, and Hank for making this happen.  The Event was truly inspirational, and we hope to see everyone at the next one in 2026.  If anyone would like a link to the entire Celebration, please let Joan Hutchins know (cmptite@gmail.com), and send $148, payable to The Class of 1961 Celebration, to Ms. Joan Hutchins, 145 Green Acres Road, Elizaville, NY  12523.  

Also, please see more Celebration festivities on our Class website at https://1961.classes.harvard.edu/.  This was artfully prepared by Sam Hopkins.

We also owe a great debt of gratitude to our extraordinary Event Planner, Lindsay Otis.  As Celebration Directors, we wish express our joy in putting together this Historic 1961 Gathering of Classmates. 

Very truly yours,