The Remembrance Project

A 2014 series, profiling the lives of those among us.

The Remembrance Project: Ralph McPhee

Writer Elissa Ely remembers Ralph McPhee -- a man who grew up in a series of state hospitals, but eventually found his independence and a family.

The Remembrance Project

02:27Jun 7, 2016

Terry Savage (Courtesy Gabriella Snyder Stelmack)

The Remembrance Project: Terry Savage

Writer Elissa Ely remembers Terry Savage, a woman whose medical and psychiatric conditions were never fully understood, but who lived life cheerfully forward and left a lasting impact on those...

The Remembrance Project

03:36May 31, 2016

Gunther Hoos with his wife, Barbara. (Courtesy Barbara Hoos)

The Remembrance Project: Gunther Hoos

Writer Elissa Ely remembers Gunther Hoos, a film professor who wanted to make film-making accessible and affordable for all.

The Remembrance Project

03:17May 24, 2016

The Remembrance Project: Pamela Sampson

Writer Elissa Ely remembers Pamela Sampson -- a children's book author with a big imagination and a small protagonist.

The Remembrance Project

03:03May 17, 2016

The Remembrance Project: Harold Dondis

Harold Dondis practiced law in Boston for 70 years, but he played the game of chess for 80. His fellow club members will never forget when Harold defeated Bobby Fischer,...

The Remembrance Project

03:02May 3, 2016

Louise Finocchio (Courtesy Karen Finocchio Lubeck)

The Remembrance Project: Louise Finocchio

Louise "Lulu" Finocchio defied the odds in everything she did -- from her trailblazing career as one of the only female buyers for Filene's, to becoming "Miraculous Patient #11" after...

The Remembrance Project

03:57Apr 26, 2016

Yves Dalvet with his sister, Maeic (Courtesy Gabrielle Dalvet)

The Remembrance Project: Yves Dalvet

Yves Francois Dalvet began his adventurous, and rather mysterious, life in the town of Laval, France. He joined the Resistance against the Nazis, became a priest, and, eventually, a language...

The Remembrance Project

03:34Apr 19, 2016

Diane Weinstein (Courtesy Rachel Weinstein)

The Remembrance Project: Diane 'Bibi' Weinstein

Listening closely was a life philosophy for Diane "Bibi" Weinstein, who spent 34 years counseling students at Harvard’s Bureau of Study Council. She always took care of others first, even...

The Remembrance Project

03:04Apr 12, 2016

The Remembrance Project: David Gross

Writer Elissa Ely remembers David Gross, an expert of computer code who contributed to the creation of compact discs and MP3s -- all with a clever sense of humor. He...

The Remembrance Project

03:13Apr 5, 2016

Catherine Malatesta rings a bell at Brigham & Women's Hospital to signify the completion of radiation treatment. (Courtesy Jennifer Goodwin)

The Remembrance Project: Catherine Malatesta

"I got this. God had a plan for me. We're going to figure this out," Catherine Malatesta told her parents after being diagnosed with stage IV cancer as a high...

The Remembrance Project

03:14Mar 29, 2016

Ibrahima Camara (Courtesy Damon Weinstein)

The Remembrance Project: Ibrahima Camara

"It was like he brought Africa to America and he brought America to Africa," Damon Weinstein recalls of his teacher, the Senegalese drum master Ibrahima Camara. Ibrahima wove the cultures...

The Remembrance Project

02:56Mar 22, 2016

Jirina Schumann (Courtesy Edie Ravenelle)

The Remembrance Project: Jirina Schumann

Jirina Schweizerova and Reinhold Schumann made for an unlikely couple when they met in Pilsen, Czechoslovakia, in the summer of 1945. Jirina spoke no English; Reinhold spoke no Czech. Jirina...

The Remembrance Project

03:22Mar 15, 2016

Tich Don Truong in 2012. (Courtesy Tien Truong)

The Remembrance Project: Tich Don Truong

Tich Don Truong was only 14 when he left China on a cargo ship. From there, he went from Vietnam, to Malaysia, to Texas -- and finally, to Massachusetts, where...

The Remembrance Project

02:49Mar 8, 2016

The Remembrance Project: Kate Guillette

Kate Guillette was a photographer who specialized in the happiness of others. "It doesn't have to be a perfect photo, it just has to bring a memory to mind or...

The Remembrance Project

02:26Feb 23, 2016

The Remembrance Project: Jeffrey Jampel

"You know, just be a mensch!," Jake Jampel recalls his father, Jeffrey, saying. Jeffrey Jampel reveled in excess, whether it was his love of Klezmer music, or Freud, or bing...

The Remembrance Project

02:40Feb 16, 2016

Dohrn Zachai (Courtesy American Craft Council)

The Remembrance Project: Dohrn Zachai

Dohrn Zachai created textural tapestries, 10 to 15 feet across. Museums sought her work, art schools sought her teaching. But success became too commercial, too compromising. And so, she moved...

The Remembrance Project

03:00Feb 2, 2016

Peter Walsh with his family at the firehouse (Courtesy Katie & Maggie Walsh)

The Remembrance Project: Peter Walsh

When Peter Walsh’s daughters were young, he would visit their Sunday school class in his firefighter’s uniform, crawling around on the floor to let the kids practice getting his attention...

The Remembrance Project

02:37Jan 26, 2016

Michael Jovanovic in 2007. (Courtesy Sasha Lekic)

The Remembrance Project: Michael Jovanovic

"His idea was to help others," remembers a friend of Michael Jovanovic. "And his specialty was to help others that no one else wanted to help." Michael Jovanovic died last...

The Remembrance Project

02:55Jan 19, 2016

Bryan Bernfeld (Courtesy Mary-Kathleen O’Connell)

The Remembrance Project: Bryan Bernfeld

When Bryan Bernfeld's cancer was discovered, the actor challenged it the same way he challenged everything -- as an intelligent contrarian. When auditions in New York were cut short by...

The Remembrance Project

02:58Jan 12, 2016

Frank Soldo (Courtesy Robert van de Graaff)

The Remembrance Project: Frank Soldo

Charisma is the first word that comes to mind when describing the late rower, performer, and philanthropy specialist, Frank Soldo. He died last August of a cancer so rare that...

The Remembrance Project

02:42Jan 5, 2016

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The Remembrance Project: Ralph McPhee

The Remembrance Project: Terry Savage

The Remembrance Project: Gunther Hoos

The Remembrance Project: Pamela Sampson

The Remembrance Project: Harold Dondis

The Remembrance Project: Louise Finocchio

The Remembrance Project: Yves Dalvet

The Remembrance Project: Diane 'Bibi' Weinstein

The Remembrance Project: David Gross

The Remembrance Project: Catherine Malatesta

The Remembrance Project: Ibrahima Camara

The Remembrance Project: Jirina Schumann

The Remembrance Project: Tich Don Truong

The Remembrance Project: Kate Guillette

The Remembrance Project: Jeffrey Jampel

The Remembrance Project: Dohrn Zachai

The Remembrance Project: Peter Walsh

The Remembrance Project: Michael Jovanovic

The Remembrance Project: Bryan Bernfeld

The Remembrance Project: Frank Soldo