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