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In Memoriam
Memorial Service
Sunday, September 29, 2002
Hitchcock Presbyterian Church, Scarsdale, NY
Prelude: "Chorale from Cantata No. 171" -- Bach
Welcome: Ken Swan (who arranged the Memorial Service)
Hymn: "Our God, Our Help in Ages Past"
Inner Renewal -- Some Reflections
by Rev. Allan M. Baldwin
Our Reunion has been a wonderful memory walk, and the
remembering we are doing in this service is just a part, but an important part, of this walk.
In reading over the list of our classmates who have died since those days half-century ago, many great memories surfaced for me. One of these involved Phil Keene,and a light moment we shared during our Senior Year ...
Four of us were to sing at a Nursing Home, I think in White Plains -- Phil, Don Mead, Chuck Whyte and myself. We were dressed up in Hawaiian grass skirts, and one of the numbers we sang was "Sweet Leilani, Heavenly Flower" -- which was something less than sweet after our dubious harmonies. Yet it was a good memory, and the point is that it somehow brought Phil a little closer.
You fellow members of the Class of '52, have your special memories, of course. As each of us remembers, we will do well to give thanks, in our own way, for the gift of these memories, and the friends they represent.
There is another dimension to our Reunion which I'd like to recognize: It is that which has to do with, well, from here on out. The Apostle Paul alludes to the aging process, and what he did about it. He wrote: "Though we are outwardly wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day."
The possibility of inner renewal is what I'd like to reflect on for a moment. For some people, giving attention to inner renewal, can mean a variety of things: a walk in the woods, perhaps -- or an evening spent with friends at the concert -- or a vigorous (or not so vigorous) work-out in the arena of athletic endeavors -- or a special time with a grandchild. For others, of a more religious bent, renewal may be sought: in a re-commitment to living out the teachings of the Torah, or in drawing closer to Christ. However we may seek inner renewal, it makes sense for us to apply ourselves wholeheartedly, since the years ahead will most likely bring great challenges, physically and spiritually.
In a few moments, the names of those who are no longer with us will be read, as part of our way of honoring them today. And we will continue to honor their memory, I believe as we give attention to that inner renewal, with a view to becoming better persons in the coming days of this vapor-like thing we call Life.
May God be with us and help us all.
Tenor Solo -- Eric Moore, soloist
"The Ninety-First Psalm" by James MacDerrid
Reflections from Isaiah by Rev. Rosemary Lawson Peters
Words of comfort, consolation and promise from Old Testament readings -
"Have you not know? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God, the
Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless.
Even youths will faint and be weary,
and the young will fall exhausted;
but those who wait for the Lord
shall renew their strength,
they shall mount up with wings like eagles,
they shall run and not be weary,
they shall walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:28-31)
Our Classmates have renewed their strength ….
"But now, thus says the Lord,
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, o Israel:
Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you; and through the rivers,
They shall not overwhelm you;
When you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.
For I am the Lord your God, the Holy one
of Israel, your Savior.
God has called our classmates by name, etc….. (Isaiah 43:1-3a)
"For you shall go out in joy, and be led
forth in peace; the mountains and the
hills before you shall break forth into
singing, and all the trees of the field
shall clap their hands.
Instead of the thorn shall come up the
Cypress; instead of the brier shall come
Up the myrtle; and it shall be to the
Lord for a memorial, for an everlasting
Sign which shall not be cut off." (Isaiah 55:12-13)
Our classmates have been led far in joy and peace etc. God bless them.
Reading of the Names by Hal Levy
Prayer by Rev. F. Bob Brown
Ever living and ever loving God, in the spring of 1952 our class ventured forth and away, for the most part, from classmates and familiar surroundings into a new world of work, adventure and relationships. Though we were one class, we were all separate individuals with differing dreams and faiths. This weekend we have been granted, by Your grace, the opportunity to reunion -- to renew old friendshis and to re-identify who we are and what we have been doing for the past 50 years.
As separate and distinct individuals, we recognize our differences and our diffeering views of who You are and how we relate to You. You have allowed us that freedom and, I sumit, that though we may be observing different religious traditions, we share a common prayer that You love each of us and value each of us as precious children.
In that spirit we pause during our festivities to thank You for the health and longevity which has allowed us to gather to enjoy each other and this beautiful community. But we also pausse in deep reverence to remember our fellow class mates who are not here with us. Some are unable to attend because of illness, or accident, or busiess commitments, or lack of funds. Others are not with us because they do not feel comfortable in reunioning. Still others are not here because they have passed on. We especially mourn their loss and pray for their loved ones who suffer so much from the sudden separation which accompanies death. May it be Your will, O God, that they will be allowed a new life free from the pain and suffering of this world and in perfect reunion with all other loved ones who left this earth before them.
Help us, the living, to be mindful of the shortness of our days that we may carry on the unfinished work of making this world a better place to live and so when at last our life ends, we may be remembered for our loving contributions to family, community, nation and world and a credit to You.
We give thanks to our fellow classmates who have labored over so many months to arrange this reunion. We give thanks for the chance to be graduates of Scarsdale High School and to have been allowed to grow up in this community.
We ask that You continue to bless us as we travel back to ourhomes and resume our lives sharing with others the love You have offered to us. Amen
Hymn: "O Beautiful for Spacious Skies"
Benediction -- by Michael Grunebaum
FORWARD (from the 1952 Bandersnatch)
""Life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday." We know that the Scarsdale we have loved will change as the years pass. A new era will broaden our concepts into world-consciousness, even as our modern buildings and super-markets will be replaced by the ultra-modern buildings and super-super-markets of the new generation.
"But must we forget the Scarsdale from which we optimistically embarked upon a new adventure? Must we forget the town that gave us schools that we can always remember with pride? Must we forget the cop on the corner, the lovely residential streets covered with clean white snow, the daily rush in the morning to put tardy fathers on early trains, the last minute jaunt to the Post Office to mail that special letter, the annual caroling on the Village Green, the daily social gatherings in one of our favorite haunts? No, we needn't forget these things; we, the Class of 1952, will carry these memories with us in our Bandy."
And now, some 50 years later at this time and place, we re-kindle these memories especially the memories of those of us that did not reach this season.
(Mike then read in Hebrew --
the translation of which follows:)
Blessed is the Eternal God, Ruler of the universe, for giving us life, for sustaining us, and for enabling us to reach this season, this Reunion. May God bless us and keep us. May God's presence shine upon us and be gracious to us. May God favor us and grant us health, happiness and peace while we are apart and until we meet again. May this be God's will.
Benediction by Pastor Paul Hull
Would you please join me in prayer?
Almighty God, as we bow before You, we thank You so very much for this wonderful, fun-filled four days in which we have been blessed to be with some of the most important people in our whole lives. We miss those who could not be with us - we rejoice in those present.
What better way, Heavenly Father, to close this service and our reunion than with your blessing from the New Testament - 'The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost be with you all.' Amen.
Postlude: "Allegro" by Mendelssohn --
Dr. John T.King, organist
Class Members who are no longer with us ~
*Allard, Lee
*Andrews, Loring Beal, Jr.
Apple, John
Bair, Stephen
Berlet, Elizabeth Jane (Mrs. Warren Hallermeier)
Berry, Joan
Brantley, Mary (Mrs. Walter Trautwein)
Brown, David Edward
Browne, Robert E.
Buchman, Anne (Mrs. Newman)
Carswell, Jean E. (Mrs. Windsor B. Murley)
Conner, Barbara Ann (Mrs. Lee Alhborn)
Cook, Betty Ann (Mrs. Charles McIntire)
Degnan, Joseph Francis
DeVoto, Richard
Dunn, Edward Wesley, Jr.
Easton, Adrienne M. (Mrs. Renven Snyderman)
Ernst, Douglas
Everett, Monte
Fitzpatrick, Patricia
Follis, Cecilia Anne
Geisman, Jane H. (Mrs. Gilbert Chevalier)
Gilheany, Rose Margaret (Mrs. Leo Cuccias)
Gunzenhauser, Maida (Mrs. Raymond Wagoner)
*Hellmann, June (Mrs. Robert Moore)
Hohl, Rosalie (Mrs. Wallace)
Hurd, Sally B. Mrs. Robert Brown)
*Jiranek, Jerry (Henry Heald)
Keane, Philip T.
Knapp, Donald C.
Lawson, Jon
*McAfee, William
McDonald, Eleanor
McPherson, M. Heather
Mikus, Kenneth
Millard, Miriam
*Pennybacker, Kenneth
Richter, Anthony B
Richter, Barbara (Mrs. Ridnell)
Rollhaus, Philip E., Jr.
Schmitt, Carolyn (Mrs. John McCarron)
Seigel, Ellen L.
Small, Marilyn (Mrs. Donald Anderson)
Smith, Deborah (Mrs. Joseph Jones)
Richardson/Spaulding, William
Smith, Richard Franklyn
Spillane, John E.
Trimble, Thomas N.
Von Estorff, Eckard
Walrath, Ashley (Mrs. Robert Kiebitz)
Woessner, Claude
Zolotorofe, Joel
To the Search Committee's best knowledge, this list is correct as of March,2007. If anyone is listed in error, please alert us immediately. If you know of a former classmate who should be remembered here, please e-mail or write Barbara Bodden.
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