Virginia (Ginny) Lee Crane

Ginny Crane

Virginia (Ginny) Lee Crane, widow of the Rev. John Alexie (Lex) Crane, died of pneumonia on January 23, 2016, just shy of her 93rd birthday. She died peacefully, surrounded by family, following a long life devoted to family, friends, service and travel.

Ginny was born in Elgin, IL on February 7, 1923 to Isaac Newton and Judith Beery Garber. She graduated from Elgin High School and attended Manchester College (Indiana) and Barnard College (NYC). She grew up in the Church of the Brethren, a pacifist faith that fled persecution in Europe and brought her ancestor, Nicholas Beery, to Philadelphia in 1727.

Ginny was married first to Stephen Blickenstaff. They had four children: Claire, Evan, Sarah (died 1953), and Eric. They lived in Falls Church,VA; New York City; Putney, VT; and Pittsburgh, PA; as Steve pursued a career in international education first at the U.S. State Department and later at the Experiment in International Living and the Carnegie Tech Indian Steel Training Program. In 1962, the family moved to India (the place of Steve’s birth and childhood) to continue his education work. They spent nearly five years there living in Ranchi, Bihar and Lucknow, U.P. while the children attended Woodstock boarding school in the Himalayas. In 1968 Ginny and Steve moved to Santa Barbara where Ginny became Executive Secretary of the Unitarian Society of Santa Barbara (USSB). Their marriage ended in divorce.

In 1976 Ginny married Rev. John “Lex” Crane, minister of USSB, and became step-mother to Jack, David (died 2004) and Doug Crane. During their 39 years together, Ginny and Lex lived primarily in Santa Barbara, but also in Santa Monica, San Diego and Santa Paula (CA), Golden (CO), Boston (MA), Yakima and Tacoma (WA), and Chandler (AZ) following Lex’s various church ministries. In each location, Ginny was employed in UU-related administrative positions. In 2002 she and Lex moved to the Valle Verde retirement community.

Wherever Ginny lived, she was an avid volunteer and organizer in many liberal social causes. She cared particularly about ending war, promoting peace and justice, and the rights of minorities, women and children. Among her many activities, she provided housing for Hungarian refugees, and did organizational work for UNICEF. She worked with the League of Women Voters. In every election, she provided well-researched and appreciated voting recommendations for her family and friends. She also served the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, USSB Alliance, and the UU Seasoned Seekers. She and Lex were active in the UU Retired Ministers and Partners Association. They shared their memorable Odyssey with UURMaPA Colleagues in April, 2008 at Vallombrosa Retreat Center in Menlo Park, CA.

Ginny’s adventurous spirit led to a passion for travel. She traveled throughout India as well as Europe, Africa, Southeast Asia, Japan, China, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and Cuba. Ginny loved this life, making friends with people throughout the world, learning about their lives, history and customs and adapting easily to life in so many different communities and cultures. Her open-mindedness, organizing skills, good humor, quick wit, gentleness, and warmth endeared her to all who knew her.

Ginny is survived by her children Claire Beery (William Haigwood), Evan Blickenstaff, and Eric Blickenstaff (Cynthia Kasabian); step-sons Jack Crane, Douglas Crane (Lisa Babashoff), and step-daughters-in-law Betsy Wright and Brenda Crane. She is survived by grandchildren Willow Summer (Lew Summer), Mira Rosenthal (Greg Domber) and Zoë Leverant; John and Alex Blickenstaff; Molly Crane Tooley and Allie Crane Corrigan; Lailani Crane; Alex and Kirra Crane and great-grandchildren Tillie and Lulu Domber as well as a beloved niece and nephews.

In early August, 2015, Ginny lost Lex, the love of her life.

The family is grateful for the loving care of the staff at Valle Verde, especially The Grove, and to Visiting Nurse & Hospice Care for their tender support.

Contributions in Ginny’s memory may be made to the Unitarian Society of Santa Barbara,the UU Retired Minsters and Partners Assn, or the Valle Verde Fund, Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara (P.O. Box 3620, Santa Barbara CA 93130).

A memorial service was planned for March 20, at 3 pm, at the Unitarian Society of Santa Barbara.

Notes of remembrance may be sent to Ginny’s daughter, Claire Beery, 4440 Hillview Way, Rohnert Park, CA 94928.

The Rev. Jeanne “Holly” (Millett) Bell

The Reverend Holly Bell—passionate religious educator, inspiring preacher, and lover of nature—died on 22 January 2016 at age 85.

With ordination in 1973, Holly stood in the vanguard of women entering UU ministry during the so-called “second wave” of feminism, and she became an important mentor to a generation of women aspiring to ministry. The Rev. Rachel Tedesco recalls seeing Holly sitting formally on the stage back in the early 1980s as the lone clergywoman among four male ministers: “Her very presence made such a big impression on me that my own ministry seemed like a real possibility.”

Throughout her life Holly actively exercised her social conscience by advocating and demonstrating for fair and equitable treatment of all. She found deep and profound connections to the natural and physical world and was comforted by the idea that at death she would ultimately go back to the universe from which she came.

Jeanne Hollyberry Millett was born on 9 December 1930 to Robert N. and Leonora (Mann) Millett. Her middle name was chosen to mark her birthdate during the Advent season, and “Holly” was how she was nearly universally known. After graduation from Keene (NH) High School at age 16, she earned her B.A. from Smith College in 1951. It was in those college years that she found her passion for the UU church. With a passion for religious education, she served All Souls (now UU) Church of Greenfield, Mass, as DRE (1956-70), before returning to school to earn an M.A. in religious studies in 1973.

Ms. Bell was ordained to the ministry in 1973 by her Greenfield church and the next year was called as minister to Unity Church (UU) of North Easton, Mass, where she served for 25 years and was voted minister emerita on retirement in 1999.

Holly was deeply connected to nature, and enjoyed hiking, camping, canoeing, birdwatching, and gardening. She was a dog lover and an avid reader, and spent many summers at Star Island Family Conference and Rowe Camp. In addition to the outdoors, Holly enjoyed cooking, crafting, and baking. Holly Bell outlived her sister, Cheryl, as well as a son, Marc. She is survived by her children Peter M. Bell, Rebecca H. “Becky” Bell, and Elizabeth M. “Libby” Kellard, and grandchildren, Emily Bell Springett, Christopher H. Bell, Meghan E. Kellard, and Alyssa M. Kellard. She was the spouse of the late Hubert W. Bell and the late Gerald C. Bailey.

A memorial service was scheduled for May 21, 2016, at the Congregational Unitarian Society of Bernardston, Mass. Condolences may be sent to Rebecca Bell, 1603 Tina Lane, Castleton, NY 12033. Memorial donations are encouraged to the UUA by check payable to “Friends of the UUA” and mailed to the UUA, Attention: Gift Processing, 24 Farnsworth Street, Boston, MA 02210.

Paul B. Brody

Paul B. Brody, 90, husband of the Rev. Carol Yagello Brody, died January 19, 2016. They had been married for 65 years.

Paul was born August 1, 1925. He was a 1943 graduate of South High School, Cleveland, OH, Paul attended Denison University. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1943-1946. On his return from service, he graduated from Western Reserve University in Cleveland. A high point in recent years was participating in an Honor Flight to Washington, D.C. in 2010.

He was Sales Manager for A.P. Green Refractories for 35 years and was a long-time member of the American Foundrymen’s Society. He served as Chairman of its Central Ohio Chapter from 1970-72. He was a member of the American Ceramic Society where he held numerous positions throughout the years.

After retirement, Paul spent many happy hours ‘schmoozing’ with all his friends at The McConnell Center, Kroger in Clintonville, favorite Columbus restaurants, Champ Henson’s at the Clintonville Market and visits to past customers. He was a fan of The Ohio State Buckeyes, the Cleveland Indians and UA Golden Bear Baseball. Paul was a proud and devoted husband, father and grandfather. He was a great fellow with a sharp wit, grand sense of humor, friend to many and a man who never, ever, forgot a name or a face. He will be missed.

He is survived by his wife, Carol; children, Jill (Douglas Bryant), John (Kate), Jim (Kim Katz Brody), and Jane (Chris Jay); grandchildren, Maggie Brody Moskal (Brandon), Sam Brody, David Bryant, Matthew Bryant, Lindsie Katz and Jeremy Katz; great-granddaughter, Lucy Moskal; and cousins, Yvonne Lewandowski and Lawrence Kruszewski.

A memorial service was planned for Paul in the early spring. Memorial donations may be made to Honor Flight Columbus (honorflightcolumbus.org) or Columbus Jazz Arts Group. (jazzartsgroup.org). Arrangements by Rutherford-Corbin Funeral Home. To send condolences to the family, please visit www.rutherfordfuneralhomes.com.

Ingeborg Jack

Inge Jack

Ingeborg Jack, 88, widow of the Rev. Homer Jack, passed away peacefully in her sleep at Kendal at Longwood, in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, on Sunday, January 17, 2016.

Inge, as she liked to be called, was born in Stuttgart, Germany, but spent her adult years living in the USA, Belgium, Switzerland, and Thailand. Her early memories are of hikes in the Black Forest, and singing folk songs with her family. Inge had a beautiful voice and was often asked to sing by school and town officials.

Before retiring, Inge worked for UNICEF in New York City. She helped establish two chapters of Amnesty International, and worked tirelessly supporting the work of her late husband, peace and human rights activist, Homer Jack. Upon Homer’s passing, she devoted her time lobbying for children living in war ravaged areas, and trying to eradicate the use of land mines (a cause she worked on with the late Diana, Princess of Wales); she was also concerned about global warming.

She was preceded in death by her husband, the Rev. Homer Jack; her parents, Ernst and Auguste; a twin sister, Majella; a younger sister, Helma; as well as her beloved brother, Herbert. She leaves behind her daughter, Marianne, married to Chris Thatcher; as well as two other daughters, Renate and Sigrid; and five grandchildren, Annemarie (Georg), Mark (Jen), Robert (Karoline), “Mac”, and Jasmine. She also has five great-grandchildren: Sophie, Alastair, Julian, Edward, and Emily. She is survived by a sister, Majella Kolb.

The family of Ingeborg would like to thank the staff at Kendall for welcoming Inge like a family member, for the past ten years, and for the respect and loving care they gave her.

A Celebration of Life was scheduled for Sunday, January 24, 2016 at Kendal at Longwood, Kennett Square, PA.

Arrangements are by the Kuzo & Grieco Funeral Home, Kennett Square, Pa. Online condolences may be made by visiting www.griecocares.com.

The Rev. Marvin Davis Evans

The Reverend Marvin Evans, parish minister and devoted servant of the wider UU movement, died on 9 January 2016 at the age of 90.

Marvin Davis Evans was born on 2 December 1925 to Olaus Bowdoin Evans and Pearl Hutchinson Evans. After high school he joined the U.S. Army, serving in the liberation of Europe. He earned a B.A. from Randolph-Macon College in 1949, and a B.D. from Meadville Lombard in 1963.

After ordination in 1963 by the First Unitarian Church of Richmond (Virginia), the Rev. Evans served the Unitarian Church of Victoria, British Columbia, until 1967. Leaving the settled ministry, he took up a string of interim ministries along with a stint as UUA Director of Church Staff Finances (1978-81), finally retiring as Minister Emeritus to the Bellingham (Wash) Unitarian Fellowship in 1988. During these years, he served many active roles with the UUA and UUMA.

Marvin and his wife, Mary Hood Evans, moved to Seattle in 1967 and were dedicated members of University Unitarian Church for thirty years. After Mary died in 2004, Marvin became active in the Cedars Church (UU) on Bainbridge Island, from 2006 until his death.

His son David wrote: “Beyond family and a love of books and sailing, the Unitarian Church was very much in the center of my father’s life. He greatly enjoyed the service he gave to the church, who in return have been very supportive of him in his ‘radiant twilight years.’”

The Cedars UU Church hosted a memorial service on 13 February 2016. Condolences may be sent to the family at: David Evans & Alexis Johanson, P.O. Box 377, Keyport, WA 98345.

Ann Marie Haggerty MacPherson

Ann MacPherson

Ann Marie Haggerty MacPherson, 89, wife of the Rev. Dr. Robert H. MacPherson, died at Trinity View Retirement Center, Arden, North Carolina on December 29. 2015.

She was born June 12, 1926 to Alice Lang and Dr. George Dewey Haggerty, in Cleveland, Ohio. Educated in the Cleveland schools, she enrolled in the College of Wooster, Wooster, Ohio and was graduated in the Class of 1947. She won an MA in literature and composition from Western Reserve University, Cleveland, in 1948. She taught four years at Rocky River, Ohio High School.

Ann was married July 1949 to the Rev. Dr. Robert H. MacPherson. They had two children, Robert Owen MacPherson, deceased 2005, and Ralph Lang MacPherson, Fairview, NC. There are five grandchildren and three great grandchildren.

Mrs. MacPherson earned teaching certificates in Ohio, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Florida and North Carolina. She taught in all these states. She was on the faculty of AC Reynolds Middle School for seventeen years. She is a member of the NC Retired Teachers and of the National Education Association. Her interest in art led her to be a docent at the Asheville Art Museum. With her husband, she joined the Unitarian Universalist Church, Asheville, now Unitarian Universalist Congregation, in 1971. She served on various committees and was Co-Chair of the Building Dedication in October 1972.

A memorial service was planned for. Sunday, January 10, 2015 at Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Asheville.

Notes of condolence may be sent to the Rev. Robert MacPherson, 2533 Hendersonville Road, #309, Arden NC 28704-9580.

Robert Louis Campbell

Robert Louis Campbell, 85, husband of the Rev. Mary Louise DeWolf, died December 19, 2015 at home in Crystal River, FL, with hospice care. He was born in Port Jervis, NY, the only child of Louis and Elizabeth Strauser Campbell.

He graduated from high school in Poughkeepsie, NY where he ran track and played football. After attending Brown University in Providence, RI for one year, he transferred to Boston University. At BU he was House Manager of the Alpha Chapter of Lambda Chi Alpha, ran track, was a sprinter, and graduated with a BA in Latin American Regional Studies.

He then enlisted in the Marine Corps Officers Candidate School and graduated as a second lieutenant. He was stationed four years as the first platoon leader in an infantry company at Marine Corps Air Station, Kaneohe Bay, HI. He served as the base provost marshal (the equivalent of a county sheriff), defense counsel and trial counsel for special court martial cases, and was responsible for monitoring civilian activities on the base. He was a reconnaissance officer for the First Marine Brigade. As an extra activity, he put together eight-man football contests.

Upon returning home, Bob was hired by Kemper Insurance and became the district manager of the Boston area and the owner of Mutual General Insurance Agency, a brokerage outlet for New England. Bob then joined the E. A. Stevens Insurance Agency as a salesperson specializing in retail and wholesale lumber dealers insurance. During these years he continued serving in the Marine Corps Reserve and retired from the Marines as a major.

Bob moved to Citrus County, Florida in 1991 and continued working for a short while with Baxley Insurance Company. He and his late wife, Nancy Eaton Vent, were charter members of Nature Coast Unitarian Universalists in Lecanto in 1998.
He met Mary Louise in 2000 through the Unitarian Church. She was studying for the UU ministry then and shared a book on grieving with Bob when his wife, Nancy, died.

Bob enjoyed playing golf at Seven Rivers Golf and Country Club in Crystal River, and volunteering with the Citrus County Democratic Party. He is survived by his second wife, Mary Louise DeWolf, whom he married in 2000. Bob is also survived by his son Gifford Campbell, his daughter-in-law, Michele, in Salem, MA; grandson Erric Emerson in Philadelphia; granddaughter, Julie Partington, and great grandchildren, Haven and Harmony Partington, in Maybrook, NY.

A memorial service for Bob was held at Nature Coast Unitarian Universalists, 7633 N. Florida Ave., Citrus Springs on , January 6, 2016.

Notes of remembrance may go to Mary Louise DeWolf, 936 Pompano Ave., Crystal River, FL 34429.

Ann Carol Shelley

Anne C Shelley

Ann Carol Shelley, the widow of the Reverend Harold K. Shelley, died peacefully Nov. 8, 2015. She was 84.

She was born in Teaneck, N.J., Dec. 11, 1930. She was a leader in Girl Scouts, an officer in the PTA, a teacher in Sunday school and a full-time housewife in New Jersey.

After her first husband, Stanley U. Britten died. She moved to Haverhill Corner NH in 1967. In 1968, she married Rev. Harold K. Shelley, who was minister of the Keene Unitarian-Universalist Church.

Carol attended Keene State College, graduating in 1973 with a bachelor’s degree in science and in 1983, a master’s degree in education. She was the first in her family to graduate college.

Carol was a special education teacher for 13 years at the Marlborough School, and then went on to be the special education coordinator for the Monadnock Regional School District.

She was active in the Keene Unitarian-Universalist Church, the Keene Senior Center, Friends of the Thorne Art Gallery, American Association of University Women, Cheshire Retired Teachers Association, N.H. Retired Educators Association and a member of NOW.

When Harold left Keene and began serving interim ministries in Florida, she was still employed and remained in Marlborough where she became a member of the Friends of the Frost Free Library, voter checklist supervisor and voter registrar.

Survivors include her daughter, Denise P. Hood and her husband, Steven; a son, John S. Shelley and his wife, Linda; a sister, Ellen Knatz; a stepson, Greg Shelley and his wife, Cathy; seven grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren.

For those who wish, the family requests that donations be made in Mrs. Shelley’s memory to Patient Care Needs of Hospice, in care of Home Healthcare Hospice and Community Services, P.O. Box 564, Keene 03431-0564.

Marilyn Blitzstein Hromatko

Marilyn Blitzstein Hromatko, 68, wife of the Rev. Dr. Wesley V. Hromatko, died of cancer Oct. 31, 2015 at Morningside Heights Care Center in Marshall, MN. She was born to Leland and Ellinore Blitzstein in Chicago on Dec. 17, 1946. She attended Bradwell Elementary and graduated from South Shore High in 1965. The city of Chicago gave her a citizenship award. Some of her most enjoyable experiences were at Camp Pinewood, MI.

Following graduation, she studied at Roosevelt University, then at Northern Illinois University, where she earned her bachelor’s degree. At NIU she had poetry — some in Latin — published in the literary journal Towers.

Marilyn received a master’s degree in English two years later, then studied at Kent State where she was a resident assistant during the campus disturbance there. Her role, as part of the residence hall team, was to help restore calm. Marilyn held a variety of jobs; her favorite was working at a summer camp in the Rockies. Marilyn loved the outdoors.

She enjoyed selling lamps, records, and books at Carson, Pirie Scott, & Company, where her grandmother, Emma Solomon, worked. She was a Girl Scout executive in the Chicago area and later was a YWCA program director. Marilyn then studied at Meadville Lombard Theological School and the University of Chicago. She met the Rev. Dr. Wesley Hromatko, while he was serving First Unitarian Church of Hobart, IN. They were married September 17, 1978.

Religion interested her but preaching didn’t. She taught church school and was involved with the Central Midwest District religious education library. Marilyn was one of the organizers of the Tri-State UU Gathering. Toward the end of her life she returned to studying Biblical language. She was widely read in many subjects. She helped edit a physics book Conceptual Physics by Paul Hewitt. She was also an amateur radio operator and she had a great interest in the natural sciences.

In Illinois, Marilyn visited Abraham Lincoln sites museums and the homes of architect Frank Lloyd Wright, and author Ernest Hemingway. She was a member of the Chicago Art Institute and active in Independent Voters of Illinois. Sometimes she would meet Wesley at Chagall’s “American Windows.” While the Hromatkos lived in New England, they visited many historic sites, such as Robert Frost’s home in Derry, N.H.; the Freedom Trail with Old Ironsides, Plymouth, MA, Starr Island, Strawberry Bank, and Mystic Seaport, home of the last wooden whaler. They also visited the House of Seven Gables, Longellow’s birthplace and Cambridge home, Herman Melville’s farm, William Cullen Bryant’s farm, President Adams’ boyhood home and farm, and Concord where Emerson, Louisa May Alcott, and Henry David Thoreau lived. Marilyn loved the woods by Walden Pond. In high school she kept a picture of Walden in her room.

She came to the farm at Lake Wilson in 1990 when she and Wesley decided that they should stay to help his parents, A.J. and Maybelle Hromatko. The farm became home for her. She was active in the Grange there. She said it was the longest time that she had stayed in any one place. They went to Illinois to visit and help her mother several times. She is survived by her husband; her sisters Rabbi Ann Folb, Arlington, VA; Bonniejean (Mike Gualandi) Gualandi, Arizona City, AZ; her niece Leah and nephew Joshua; and brother Alan (Ellen) Learner, Tyler,TX; and a number or cousins.

Services were held Nov. 4 at Chandler Funeral Home, Chandler, MN. Interment will be at Mount Pisgah Cemetery in Hanska, MN, at a later date.

Notes of remembrance may go to Wesley Hromatko at 752 121st St., Lake Wilson, MN 56151.

The Rev. Rosemarie Carnarius

The Rev. Rosemarie Carnarius, whose life was defined early on by a fierce devotion to human justice and political freedom, died on 10 October 2015, aged 76.

Rosemarie was born in Leipzig, Germany, on 27 November 1938 to Karl Schnabel and Hilda Gertrud Barth. After escaping to West Germany at age 17, she met and married Roderick Carnarius, with whom she relocated to the U.S. in 1960. As she was happily raising their two children, she became active in the UU congregation of Trenton, New Jersey. She used her spare time to read voraciously in history, philosophy, and world religions and to work with the elderly in a Quaker nursing home. All these, she wrote, “gave me many opportunities to see more compassionately into the heart of humanity.”

In 1984, divorced and with her children grown, Rosemarie turned her eyes to the American Southwest, whose special beauty had long captured her imagination. In the Tucson UU church she served as the DRE for two and a half years. She entered Starr King School for the Ministry, earning her M.Div. in 1991.

Ms. Carnarius was ordained by the Unitarian Church of the Monterey Peninsula (Carmel, Calif.) in 1992. She briefly served UU churches in Wyoming and New Mexico before complications from hip surgery curtailed her ministerial activity. Meanwhile, she had met Aston Bloom, who would become her soulmate and life partner for nearly twenty years. They moved back to Tucson and at her old church, Rosemarie served as Minister in Association (1999-2002) and was able to assume limited professional work.

Rosemarie is remembered by Aston as “constantly thinking of others, even when she was dying.” Aston recalled a moment when Rosemarie, just two weeks before her death, noticed that Aston hadn’t been eating well and sat her down to prepare a week’s worth of sample menus. Aston mused, “She never realized how special she was… I was her caregiver, and she was mine.”

Besides her long-time life partner, Aston Bloom, Rosemarie is survived by her sister Karin, children Michael and Patricia, five grandchildren, multiple nephews, nieces, and other relatives in Germany as wIl as dear friends in both the United States and abroad.

A memorial service was conducted by the Rev. Diane Dowgiert on November 21, 2015, at the UU Church of Tucson. Memorial donations are encouraged to ANERA (American Near East Refugee Aid), 1111 14th St. NW, #400, Washington, DC 22225. Condolences may be sent to Ms. Aston Bloom, 88 S. London Station Road, Tucson, AZ 85748.