Comings and Goings
Inevitably, along the way, there have been losses which still sadden us from time to time. Let’s face it, Life is evanescent. But our lives have been enriched immeasurably and we are buoyed by the countless fond memories by our acquaintance and connections with each of these friends and loved ones:
Dot Camper - Carol’s Mom, as she approached 90. Dot was the kindest, gentlest, most loving person imaginable - but she was also very smart and she was no push-over. Her smile and twinkling eyes were infectious and never-ending. And she was the best telephone conversationalist ever!
Ryan Waldheger - Our nephew who courageously confronted leukemia from his teens well into his 20s, always embracing his love of sports - as a gifted sports journalist and as a life-long fan of the Cleveland Indians and soccer in particular, serving as Director of Sports Information for The Major Indoor Soccer League. Becca, Ryan’s wife, his Mom Pat, his Dad Ron, and sister Tessa were always at his side. The Ryan Waldheger Memorial Research Foundation carries on Ryan’s goal of promoting improved cancer care for adolescents and young adults.
Arthur Helton - who enlisted John to work with him in The Lawyers’ Committee for International Human Rights to secure the asylum rights of Imane Phelisna, a Haitian refugee and boat person who had been washed up on the shores of Key Biscayne. Arthur was a noted expert on refugee and humanitarian issues and international law. His life was taken while he was in Iraq at a meeting at the United Nations headquarters there - on a mission of peace.
Herb Kronish - who with wife Doris founded and nurtured the law firm Kronish Lieb Weiner & Hellman which John called home for 22 years.
Beverly Woroner - John’s beloved and very talented Administrative Assistant at his law firm Kronish Lieb. Mother, sister, colleague, friend - Bev celebrated Life daily! Bev ran interference for John every day and kept him from running off the rails on more than one occasion. Bev was a Brooklyn gal all the way. She was as intelligent as any college grad and had particularly enviable street smarts. Bev made sure her daughter Jessica achieved a BA and a Masters degree before joining the ranks of NYC teachers. Bev’s two favorite venues were Montauk in summer and Dock’s Oyster Bar in Manhattan where we would often share “lobstah” as Bev sipped an Absolute Vodka on the rocks - with a slice of lime. Bev’s legacy, and her love of learning and reading, live on in the Bev Woroner Scholarship which is awarded each year to a student in the college prep program of Legal Outreach in New York City.
Robert Sheridan - Bob was a college classmate of John’s at Oberlin. John remembers Bob in those days as an ominous guard in the play “Marat/Sade.” Bob mellowed over the years and would share very dry martinis with us whenever he was in New York. Bob’s wife Jenny, also an Oberlin classmate, is a fan of our fine-feathered friends (with a penchant for owls) and a competitor on the pickleball courts. She recently became Grandma Jenny to Mackenzie Sheridan.
Myah Sue Knecht - our grandniece. There’s no rhyme or reason, and certainly no justice, when cancer randomly takes a young, vivacious child. Myah Sue’s passing calls on each of us to honor her memory to do what we can to support the likes of the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation, the Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation, St. Jude’s Hospital, The Make a Wish Foundation, Alex’s Lemondade Stand, or another institution you favor.
Bob Diehl - Murray the K may have been the 5th Beatle, but “Bobos” was the Sixth Hartje Boy. Bob’s Hartje Family ties were cemented when he - and the whole Hartje family - survived a 26-hour marathon drive from Springfield to Colorado - barely -
with all 8 Hartjes and Carol - and pooch Mickey too - 10 folks crammed into an 8-passenger Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser station wagon! What were we thinking?! Obviously we weren’t. Bob’s wife Sue nurtured and cared for Bob 24/7 after he experienced a disabling stroke.
Robbie Evans - A native son of New Orleans who was fluent in both Portuguese and kindness. He swept my law school classmate Barbara off her feet and spirited her away from NYC to NOLA. Rob’s signature dish, cooked for us one New Year’s Eve, was giant shrimps - with heads on for extra flavor and presentation - in a delicious, garlic-infused sauce. We regret that we never shared fried oysters with Robbie and Barb at Casamento’s. But we’ll always treasure the memory of charging around Litchfield County, CT in search of creme de cacao which Robbie then blended with macerated avocado in an improbable but delicious Brazilian concoction!
Barbara Leventhal-Stern - A very talented painter and print maker and dear friend since she and John met in junior high school. Barb and I even went steady for a single night in 8th grade - until Barb lost my ID bracelet. Or so she said! Barb was my first “girl” friend - a friendship cemented in history class in 10th grade, which extended over 50 years, surviving periodic hiatuses as we moved in different directions - Barb hooked up with Mike Stern and eventually settled in California while Carol and I became New Yorkers - first in Buffalo in 1971 and then in NYC since 1978. But our paths continued to cross despite the miles in between. Along the way, we’ve collected a number of Barb’s striking woodcuts and other evocative prints. Her painting “Everything’s Up In the Air,” featured on our 2020 card, captures the chaos of both 9/11 and the COVID-19 pandemic, with the solidity and comfort of The Bear - Barb’s affectionate nickname for her Dad - in the forefront…
Mike Stern, Barb’s husband, graduated from his radical student days at Columbia University and achieved both PhD and JD degrees - does that make him “Doctor Doctor Stern” ?! He survived years of practice in a Silicon Valley law firm and, more recently, produced an award-winning film “General Magic” - a documentary about “the most influential Silicon Valley company no one has ever heard of “ - a company that failed - and its very talented tech team, which originated social media, e-commerce, eBay, and emojis, and which first shipped the smartphone in 1994. Steve Jobs didn’t unveil the iPhone until January 9, 2007. Think about that.
Eve Thew - Our neighbor on Ashpohtag Road in Norfolk, CT and at the top of the list of dearest friends, together with husband John who skillfully fashioned marvelous weathervanes into his 90s. Eve was the kindest, gentlest, most welcoming sweetheart you could imagine. She seemed like a pixie, but she hugged like a gentle giant. You just didn’t want to let go. But she was also tough as nails. As a teen, a “friend” shot her in the legs with a BB gun. Eve didn’t flinch then - and never did along Life’s way. I would pick up fabric on West 40th St in NYC for Eve who would magically transform pieces of cloth into the most amazing aprons you could imagine - spinning straw into gold. That’s just what Eve did so naturally and effortlessly - every day, for everyone.
As we remember these wonderful folks and the joy they brought us, be guided every day by Jimmy Durante’s tuneful lyrics at the end of “Sleepless in Seattle”: