Helen B. Lane

Helen B. Lane, 88, beloved mother, sister, grandmother, and friend to all, passed away suddenly on April 20, 2023.

Helen was born on Feb. 13, 1935, to Virginia DeCamp Beattie and William Douglas Beattie in San Francisco CA. She attended Pomona College, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in biology in 1956. She received a master’s in public health from UC Berkeley in 1960. Helen worked at Scripps Clinic in La Jolla CA, and Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston MA. 

She was very active at First Parish UU in Needham MA, participating in group leadership and fundraising activities. Lately she had been active in Vesper services at the church.

Helen adored gatherings with her mother and sisters to spend time together, where they laughed, told stories, and enjoyed each other’s company. Helen was married to Harry Lee Munsinger (divorced), John Baker (widowed) and UU minister Rev. Edwin Lane (also widowed).

She was preceded in death by her son Dennis Munsinger and her sister Ciele Tewksbury. She is survived by her sisters Genia Simpson and Cynthia Astor, her sons Douglas and David Munsinger, her stepsons Michael and John Lane, seven grandchildren, and twelve great-grandchildren.

A memorial service was held on June 10 at the First Parish in Needham. 

The Rev. Richard D. Leonard

The Rev. Richard “Dick” D. Leonard, who died on November 25, 2022, at the age of 95.

Dick was born on September 24, 1927, in Detroit MI to Richard H. Leonard and Frances J. Leonard. Since early childhood, he had a love for classical music. He began his violin classes at the age of nine, attended the National Music Camp at Interlochen at 14, and was appointed as assistant concertmaster of the National High School Orchestra at 17.

In 1949, Dick received his Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Yale University following which he graduated with his Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary, NY in 1952. After graduation, Dick carried out his ministry within the Congregational-Christian framework (1951–1959).

During these years, he found himself steering away from any creedal approach to religion. This made him explore Unitarianism. Soon he realized that he was more Unitarian in outlook than traditionally Christian. With this new direction, he aimed his ministry at teachers and church school families of the Community Church of New York UU and the wider fellowship in the Unitarian movement.

Rev. Leonard was called to serve the Community Church as a minister of religious education in 1959. His nine years of ministry at the Community Church marked the expansion of a church school and youth groups. He introduced new arts programs for Primaries and Juniors and added new curriculum materials. 

Furthermore, he was involved with the Social Action Committee and served as vice president of the Liberal Religious Education Directors’ Association. In 1965 he marched with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. from Selma to Montgomery AL.

From 1969 to 1977, Rev. Leonard served as a part-time minister of the Flatbush Unitarian Church, in Brooklyn, NY. During those years he conducted services, delivered sermons, officiated weddings and funerals, and performed a large amount of pastoral counseling. Subsequently, in 1979, he was called to the Unitarian Church of All Souls in Manhattan, NY where he would serve until 1997. At All Souls, he chaired their Membership Committee, served as a fundraiser for their special music program, and taught church school. In 1997, he retired from his ministry, whereupon All Souls honored him as minister emeritus.

Rev. Leonard was an inspirational leader who won a place in the hearts of the church members and the community at large. He was Development Director for the Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School, at Walden School, and at the Horace Mann School and provided his services as treasurer of the Metro NY Stevens Scholarship Committee.

He also had several of his writing published including “Call to Selma,” “Ports of Call: Journeys in Ministry,” and “Wet Cement” (3 volumes), a collection of vignettes from his personal and professional life. In 2016 in his apartment near Lincoln Center, he founded “Project 142,” a unique concert series designed to support emerging musical talent of all sorts. Dick hosted 160 concerts during his leadership of Project 142, which continues today under the direction of a longtime associate.

Over his life, he learned to play ten musical instruments and was highly skilled in the violin and piano. In his spare time, Dick enjoyed travel and chess. He and his wife, Polly were avid world travelers and visited over 80 countries during their 46 years together.

Richard is survived by his daughters: Elizabeth Leonard, and Suzanne Sykora (Karl Walter Sykora); his step-son, Kenneth Mason (Mia Mason); step-daughter, Martha Mason (Bryce Sommerville); as well as grandchildren: Anthony Bellavia, Joseph Bellavia, Anna Mason Woodward, Lizzy Mason, Jennifer Thilo, Katherine Thilo, Pamela Thilo, and their partners, spouses, and children. He was predeceased by his wife Anna Mary “Polly” Leonard, and by his stepdaughter, Helen Louise Bigelow.

A commitment ceremony preceding cremation took place on Monday, November 28, 2022, at Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn. The memorial service will take place at 11 am on Saturday, April 22, 2023, at the Unitarian Church of All Souls, 1157 Lexington Ave., New York, NY 10075.

In lieu of flowers, donations can go to the Unitarian Church of All Souls (address above).

Notes of condolence can be sent to Elizabeth Leonard, 3 Cedar Street, Waterville, ME 04901, and emails to edleonar@colby.edu.

The Rev. Clarence “Pete” J. LaSonde

The Rev. Clarence “Pete” J. LaSonde died on March 29, 2022, at the age of 93.

Pete is survived by his son, Christopher LaSonde; daughters, Mallory LaSonde and the Rev. Andrea LaSonde Anastos; and son-in-law, the Rev. George C. Anastos; as well as three grandchildren and one great-grandson.

A memorial service was held on April 6, 2022, in Marlborough, MA.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Hudson Community Food Pantry, 28 Houghton Street, Hudson, MA 01749. UURMaPA will contribute $50 to the UUMA Endowment Fund in honor of our colleague’s ministry.

Notes of condolences can be sent to the Rev. Andrea LaSonde Anastos, 6842 Pine Arbor Lane South, Cottage Grove, MN 55016.

A more complete obituary will be forthcoming after biographical research has been completed. 

The Rev. Gertrude V. Lindener-Stawski

Gertrude Lindener-Stawski
Gertrude Lindener-Stawski

The Reverend Gertrude Lindener-Stawski—singer, pianist, scholar, and passionate gardener, whose interest in music led her to Unitarian Universalism and eventually to her calling to ministry—died peacefully on 12 June 2020 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, aged 89.

She was a longtime member of the Prairie Group of UU ministers (1974–2003). In retirement, she became known around Columbia, MO, as an “orchid guru.”

Gertrude Vutz was born on 4 April 1931 in Racine, Wisconsin, to Wilhelm and Mathilde Vutz. After a family move, she grew up in Ohio. and at high school graduation was ranked as the top student in the state.

Gertrude Lindener-Stawski
Gertrude Lindener-Stawski

After earning her B.Mus. in piano at Oberlin Conservatory, OH, in 1952, she and her husband Arthur Lindener lived near Montréal, Canada, but divorced in 1961. She became active in the Lakeshore Unitarian Congregation (SE of Montréal), and eventually earned her ministerial degree from Crane Theological School (Medford, MA) in 1968.

After parish settlement at the United Church of Bethel, VT (1968–73), where she was ordained on 27 October 1968, the Rev’d Ms. Lindener moved to the First Unitarian Society of Madison, WI, as Minister of Education (1973–80). She was called to the UU Fellowship [now Church] of Columbia, MO, in 1980, but took early retirement in 1986, having met and married Conrad Stawski during her tenure there. Twenty years later the church elected her minister emerita.

That church’s present minister, the Rev’d Molly Housh Gordon wrote, “Gertrude was a brilliant woman and a scholarly minister… a kind and welcoming colleague… [Her] legacies to our congregation and to Unitarian Universalism are profound.”

Gertrude Lindener-Stawski is survived by daughter Margo Lindener, son Peter Lindener, and stepdaughter Nina Stawski.

A memorial service will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations are encouraged to the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America, 322 Eighth Avenue, 16th Floor, New York, NY 10001.

Notes of condolences may be sent to Margo Londoner at 5908 Pine Hill Crescent, Halifax, NS Canada B3H 1E5.

Ruth Helen Langhinrichs

Ruth Langhinrichs

Ruth Helen Langhinrichs, widow of Reverend Richard Alan Langhinrichs, died peacefully on 16 April 2019. Born 30 October 1922 in Chicago, Illinois to the late Susan Smith and Roy Imler, Ruth was the first in her family to graduate from college, receiving her Bachelor of Science in English from Northwestern University in 1944.

Upon graduation, Ruth set out for New York City. She was successful as a writer and editor, working for several magazines. Eventually, she moved to Philadelphia to become an Associate Editor of the Ladies Home Journal. Here she wrote a teen-focused advice column called “Dear Gay Head” that had an estimated 6 million readers in the 1950s.

Ruth was a poet, published author, and playwright. She wrote and produced, “Mermaids in the Basement,” “The Heart of the Limberlost,” “A Night on Walden Pond,” and “Feathers.” At the time of her death, she was working on her memoir, titled An Intricate Life: Almost One Hundred Years in the Making.

After coming to Fort Wayne, Indiana in 1965 with her husband and two daughters, Ruth worked tirelessly to promote art, music, movies, drama, and writing. She worked both as an Instructor of English on the Purdue Campus and as a writing consultant at the Writing Center. For many years she was on the editorial board of The Windless Orchard and City Limits. She was also a founding member of Cinema Center, the Fort Wayne Women’s Bureau, Great Women of Sunday Afternoon, and Sisters over Seventy.

Ruth was also a feminist and advocate for all women. She was a board member for the Women’s Center, and she was a proud delegate to the International Women’s Conference in Beijing, China. She served as the Mayor’s representative to the Area III Council on Aging. She participated actively on many other boards and never shied away from new challenges. She enrolled and graduated from clown school when she was in her 70s, bringing “Lottie” to life. Her lifelong interests included art, mental health, philosophy, religion, and women’s issues. Poetry, cinema, theatre, drawing, and contemporary literature were among her favorite pastimes.

Additionally, she has been deeply engaged with Unitarian Universalism for more than 50 years, and she regularly attended and served the UU Congregation of Fort Wayne in many capacities.

Ruth was the mother of two daughters, Julie (Ben) Langhinrichs of Cleveland, Ohio and Jenny (Marty) Langhinrichsen-Rohling of Mobile, Ala. She was blessed with six grandchildren, Her surviving friends, biological family, and family-by-choice members were abundant and essential to the full life she led.

Memorial gifts may be made to the UU Congregation of Fort Wayne, the Fort Wayne Cinema Center, or to the Women’s Center.

Nick Livingston

Nick Livingston

Nick Livingston — architect, artist, pianist, writer of novels, screenplays and poetry, and spouse of Reverend Ellen D. Livingston — died peacefully on New Year’s Day 2019 at Oak Park Manor in Claremont, California. He was 87 years old.

Nick was born in 1931 in Aurora, Illinois to Olga and Burt Livingston. He graduated from Ripon College in Wisconsin with a degree in history, then served in the US Army at the end of the Korean War. After receiving his architectural degree from the University of Illinois, he worked in Africa, Texas, and the Chicago suburbs, designing residential and commercial buildings.

He met his wife, then Ellen Harvell Dohner, in Park Forest, Illinois, where she was serving as lead minister to the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the South Suburbs. They met when he played the piano for services at that congregation and would bring his band for social events.

At the time the congregation had to rent space for their services. Mr. Livingston offered to design and build a modern cedar-framed building on land the church owned in the woods in Park Forest. He not only volunteered his services but followed through on helping to raise money for the project. Three years after the dedication of the new building, he and Ellen became engaged. They were wed in 1982 at the new church building which offered views of the forest through the large windows Mr. Livingston had designed.

Four years after they were married Ellen accepted the call of Monte Vista Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Montclair, California. In August 1986, they moved to California. The Livingstons soon fell in love with the state and have lived here ever since.

Nick transferred his architectural license to California and worked as a freelancer and builder in the inland valley until he retired in 2012. He designed many additions and improvements at the congregation, and served as its maintenance person. As the church’s programs expanded, he designed and built a classroom wing dedicated to and named after him, Livingston Hall.

He was a true Renaissance man, with many talents and accomplishments.

Nick often played the piano for church worship services and social events. He enjoyed playing favorite songs, while friends sang. Sometimes he was accompanied by other musicians with stringed instruments and drums.

As a painter, he had several shows over the years, both in the Chicago area and in California, where his work was shown at the dA Center for the Arts in Pomona, galleries in Laguna Beach, at the Monte Vista Unitarian Universalist Congregation, and most recently at Claremont Village Green. All of his works were painted in California and Mexico, where he was inspired by nature’s variety of gorgeous landscapes.

Four years ago he published a novel, Stained Glass Warrior. In it he portrays a young artist from the Chicago inner city who is drafted into the army, and his struggles to survive injuries sustained on the battlefield in World War II. The protagonist developed artistic projects to encourage alternatives to a culture of war.

Although he served in the US Army during the Korean War as a teacher of enlisted men in Germany, he was a man of peace and was passionate about civil rights and the founding tenets of our democratic republic.

The Livingstons enjoyed traveling and had three places they considered their spiritual homes: Cambria, California; San Miguel de Allende, Mexico; and Ms. Livingston’s birthplace, Boston. They especially enjoyed Hispanic people, culture and places, and traveled to Mexico often.

His family shared that even with his many accomplishments, it was his love of life and people that was his most outstanding gift. A friend said “Nick knew how to have fun, not take life too seriously. He made me and others around him feel important. To him, all of us were. He made me a better person for having known him.”

He leaves behind his wife, the Reverend Ellen Livingston; three stepchildren, Markus and Luke Dohner, and Katherine Dohner Acenas; five grandchildren; his niece Karen Jenneke, her brother David Jenneke, his wife Sandy and their son, Nickolas. Messages of condolence can be sent to Ellen Livingston, Apt 9A, 630 W Bonita Ave. Claremont CA 91711.

Ruth Elizabeth Lawrence

Ruth Lawrence

Ruth Lawrence

Ruth Elizabeth Lawrence, age 76 died July 30, 2017, in Morrisville, VT. She was the widow of the Reverend Thomas Ahlburn.

Ruth grew up in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, and attended Connecticut College, where she majored in English. She was hired by the Providence Public Library as a children’s librarian and earned her Masters in Library Science. She remained a librarian throughout her professional life, mostly in the Woonsocket, Rhode Island school system. She and her husband collected a personal library of over 10,000 titles, which included religion, poetry, biblical archeology, zoology, and astronomy. They read every book.

While living in Rhode Island, they spent their summers in Vermont, where they bought some land and built a cabin. They spent two months every summer there for 20 years. They loved the peaceful life, grew a lot of their food, cooked on a 2-burner Coleman stove, hauled water, and used kerosene lanterns.

Ruth’s home was filled with animals in need, many of which were brought in by her elementary school. Over the years, she cared for a three-legged dog, goats, a squirrel, geese, a starling, a blue jay and an ancient box turtle named Gino.

Tom and Ruth retired to Greensboro in 2000. After Tom died in 2002, Ruth invented a new life for herself in Greensboro. She was active with the Greensboro Free Library and her many new friends became a family. She moved to the Craftsbury Community Care Center several years ago, and was happy there.

Ruth is survived by her stepdaughters, Heather Emerick and Megan Ahlburn, her son-in-law, Donny Emerick and her grandchildren Winnie, Charlotte and Phoebe Emerick. She is also survived by her sisters Marjorie Seabury and Virginia Buttrum and their children.

Memorial contributions may be sent to the Craftsbury Community Care Center, 1784 E. Craftsbury Road, Craftsbury, VT 05827, or the Greensboro Free Library, 53 E. Craftsbury Road, Greensboro, VT 05841.

The Rev. Edwin “Ed” A. Lane

Ed Lane

Ed Lane

The Reverend Edwin “Ed” A. Lane—dedicated parish minister, bold and passionate activist for truth and social justice, supporter and volunteer for humanitarian causes, and devoted servant of liberal religion—died in hospice care on July 19, 2017, in Columbus, Ohio, at the age of 89.

The Rev. Mr. Lane was socially active throughout his life in a multitude of causes, ranging from civil rights to the environment. He protested against the Vietnam War and joined many of his colleagues in the 1965 Selma march. He actively supported women’s rights, abortion rights, and same sex marriage, and fought for income equality and environmental protections. His piece on gun control legislation won the Skinner Award for “Most Significant Sermon of Social Concern” in 1967. Twice he travelled to Africa to build houses with Habitat for Humanity. “Life is a gift of grace,” Ed Lane once wrote, “not something we have earned. We have a responsibility to use it with wisdom and to share it with love.”

Edwin A. Lane, born to Lester and Vera Lewis Lane on June 19, 1928, grew up on a hog farm in Kingman, Ohio. After graduation from Kingman High School in 1944 in a class of eight students, he went on to earn a B.A. from Wilmington College in 1951. Raised in the Methodist church, Ed pursued ministerial study at Drew University Divinity School but found and embraced Unitarianism while there, took his divinity degree in 1954, and was ordained on 12 May 1957 by the Church of the Unity (now UU Church of Winchendon, Mass) while serving his first ministry. He accepted a call as the first minister to the UU Church in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, and in nine years there (1958-67) he helped the small fellowship grow into a thriving church with over 400 members, twelve acres of land, and four congregational buildings. The Rev. Mr. Lane went on to settlements at UU churches in Westport, CT (1967-78?), Cambridge, MA (1978-87), an interim year in Bellingham, WA, and a final call to First Parish Waltham, MA (1987), where he was named Minister Emeritus on retiring in 1996.

Mr. Lane gave broad service to the wider UU movement. He chaired the editorial board of the Register Leader (now UU World) from 1957 to 1963 and sat on the board of Beacon Press for ten years (1962-72). It was during his term as chair of that board (1969-71) that the momentous decision was made for Beacon Press to publish the classified Pentagon Papers in 1971, detailing the United States’ involvement in the Vietnam War. During the subsequent controversy and lawsuit, his telephone was found to have been tapped. Other roles included membership on the Ministerial Fellowship Committee (1965-1969), Ministerial Consultant to the UU Service Committee (1961-1964), and leadership in the Massachusetts Bay Chapter of the UUMA.

Ed Lane

Ed Lane

Ed Lane wrote many articles for Church Management and edited the magazine from 1955 to 1957. As a public minister, his submissions of “letters to the editor” often appeared in The New York Times and The Boston Globe. Dedicated to the end, his final letter was published in the Times on 17 July 2017, just two days before his death.\

In retirement, as an active member of First Parish in Needham, MA, Ed often served as a guest preacher and congregational volunteer in adult religious education and on issues of social and racial justice. There he also became a model layperson, where his wildly popular homemade bread, key lime pie, and cheese pennies brought in many dollars for church fundraisers. In his spare time, Mr. Lane enjoyed acting, woodworking, bicycling, and hiking.

In their own obituary for Ed, family members recalled both his professional and personal character: “[Ed] was known as a caring, intelligent, wise, kind, loving minister with a great laugh and sense of humor. His sermons were memorable and thought-provoking. He helped nurture churches in their growth, and served as a cheerleader to those that needed it. … To his family he stands as a patient, loving, intelligent, kind, thoughtful, amazing and huggable husband, father, brother, uncle.”

Edwin Lane is survived by his wife of 28 years, Helen, two sons, four grandchildren, three great-grandchildren, and one great-great grandchild.

Memorial donations are encouraged to First Parish in Needham, 23 Dedham Ave, Needham, MA 02492.

A memorial service was held on Saturday, September 30, 2017, at First Parish Needham.

Notes of condolence may be sent to HelenBLane@gmail.com and to 66 Hastings St. Apt 106, Wellesley, MA 02481.

 

The Rev. Sandra Gillogly Lee

The Rev. Sandra Gillogly Lee died on June 23, 2017 at the age of 74.

She is survived by spouse Don Bell and sister Marsha Green.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to NARAL Pro-Choice America, or to the charity of one’s own choosing.

A memorial service will take place on Tuesday, October 31, 2017 in Grand Junction, CO, at a venue still to be determined.

Notes of condolence can be sent to Don Bell at 315 Ouray Ave, Grand Junction, CO 81501 and at DonWayneBell@gmail.com.

The Rev. David V. Leonard

The Rev. David V. Leonard, 71, died on January 28, 2013. Rev. Leonard was born in Rutland, VT on January 8, 1942 to Katheryn (Campbell) and Richard Leonard. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Illinois Wesleyan University in 1963. He then went on to attain a Bachelor of Divinity from Chicago Theological Seminary in 1967.

Ordained by the United Methodist Church in Trivoli, IL in June, 1967, Rev. Leonard eventually decided to make a change and, in 1975, he left the Methodist Church to begin a life as a Unitarian Universalist. He immediately took steps to become a Unitarian Universalist minister, and was called to his first position at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Smithton, PA from 1977-1984. He then went on to serve to First Unitarian Church of Lynchburg, VA from 1984-1992; the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Youngstown, OH from 1992-2002; the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Binghamton, NY from 2002-2003; and the First Unitarian Society of Plainfield, NJ from 2003-2008.

His wife, Linda, shared,

“David Leonard was an intensely private person who was happiest either chasing trains (in order to photograph a locomotive), or walking a trail in the woods. Classical music, the deep night sky, and a win by the Detroit Tigers or Chicago Cubs also moved him deeply. So did the affection of his cats, from the illegal seminary fur brother, to the orange and black companions on the hospice hospital bed.”

Hating ceremony, David much preferred jeans to a suit. Clergy and lay people alike sometimes wondered if he really was a minister since he only wore his “uniform” when absolutely necessary.

As a person most comfortable by himself, David was uneasy with many of the tasks and expectations of the parish minister. Over the years, he learned to wear two hats: the minister’s hat and the rail fan/photographer hat. He was an excellent photographer and good at keeping his own counsel. He was also superlative at counseling others and preaching on Sunday morning.

He read theology, philosophy, science (especially paleontology), and thrillers, with Tony Hillerman and Sue Grafton being two of his favorite authors. He also liked children’s books.

He was a good father. He loved his children, his animals, the natural world, and, of course, his trains. He had a wry, Mark Twain-Ambrose Bierce sense of humor that could find the ridiculous in almost any situation. He was politically green but not without snide remarks.

In Emerson’s sense, David Leonard leaves the world a better place.

Rev. Leonard is survived by his wife, Linda Wiltz; daughter, Elisabeth Anne Leonard and her husband, Adam Hill; son Marc Leonard; brother, Richard Leonard; sister, Lucy Hill; and grandchildren, Benjamin Sage and Jaden Liana.

Notes of condolence may be sent to Linda Wiltz at 16 Genesee Ave., Binghamton, NY 13903.

He would be pleased if, in lieu of flowers, donations might be made to: any Railroad Club, the Animal Rescue League (www.animalleague.org), or the Humane Society (www.humanesociety.org).