We dedicate this issue of the Journal to our beloved Lila Sapinsley

Transcription

We dedicate this issue of the Journal to our beloved
Lila Sapinsley who gave her all to Laurelmead.
Laurelmead Journal • April 2015 • Page 1
SAMUEL BENDER—VETERINARY PHYSICIAN
Sam was born in Brooklyn
in the days when ethnic enclaves
were the norm. The blending
together of ethnicities, religions
and neighbors came much later.
Sam recommends Henry Roth’s
book “Call It Sleep,” a profound
novel of Jewish immigrant life,
to accurately describe existence
in that era. Sam’s family moved
frequently, and by the time he
reached fifth grade, he had
attended four or five different
schools.
In 1926 Sam moved to
Nassau (Rensselaer County) in
upstate New York near Albany.
There was a marked change
from the paved streets and
sidewalks of Brooklyn to this
rural setting with its unpaved
roads and paths. Sam immedi-
ately began his duties as a farmhand, cultivating the fields and
milking the cows. His new
school was a 4-room schoolhouse where the students were
summoned to class by the tolling
of a bell. There were two
teachers: one for English and
History, and the other for Math
and Geography. Sam will never
forget the Principal’s office
which housed what they termed
a “board of education.” This
was basically a paddle board
used to discipline the students
who had committed infractions.
Sam went on to Martin H.
Glynn High School, which had
the
distinction
of
being
dedicated by Franklin D.
Roosevelt, who was Governor of
New York at the time. It was
during the depression, and Sam
went back to work on the farm.
In the meantime he was searching for a veterinarian school that
he could afford.
The least
expensive was Kansas State
College which offered a one-
year pre-veterinary curriculum
for no tuition, with just an
out-of-state fee of $62. Sam’s
father offered to pay this fee,
which
he
never
did;
however, the registrar waived
the fee and Sam enrolled.
At that time, Kansas was
experiencing the devastating
dust storms that were the result
of a failure to apply dryland
farming methods to prevent
wind erosion. This era came to
be know as the “Dust Bowl” and
the “Dirty Thirties.” Regardless
of these tumultuous times, Sam
was at the beginning of what
would become a lifetime career.
Sam transferred to Cornell
Veterinarian School. During this
time, Shirley, a girlfriend from
Brooklyn, periodically visited
him at his father’s farm with her
parents. They became engaged,
and then married in the month of
May, one month before his
graduation from Cornell in June.
At the time the government
was hiring veterinary college
graduates to become meat
inspectors in Chicago. The poet
Carl Sandburg said of Chicago:
“It is the Hog Butcher for
the World…Stormy, husky,
brawling; City of the Big
Shoulders.” Sam and Shirley
went to Chicago, where he was
employed
as
a
meat
inspector. He and one other
person were in charge of a
conveyor belt that passed 600
hogs a day needing inspection.
He left after six months for a job
as Meat and Milk Inspector in
Tupper Lake in the Adirondacks.
He was required to inspect two
hogs a day instead of 300 for the
same salary. At this time he
opened his own veterinary
practice. Sam had been deferred
from military service but,
because of his job as a milk
inspector, he was deemed
necessary for the war effort.
There being a meager
population at Tupper Lake, Sam
found there was not enough to
do. He heard that they were
searching for a veterinarian, in
Greenwich, NY (where Grandma
Moses was born.) Sam went to
Greenwich, put an ad in the local
paper, and started to build his
practice, which became quite
large. His wife and newborn
baby joined him. Sam became
engrossed in tending to all the
animals of the area, large and
small. Shirley was a big city
girl,
both
culturally
and
educationally. She was also very
petite physically. While Sam
was out tending to the farm
animals, all the chores of the
rural home fell upon her. She
was a good sport about it, but
gradually the situation began to
take its toll, and they made the
decision to move back to the
city.
The Benders found a nice
location for a veterinarian
practice in Riverdale (Bronx).
Sam began as a meat and poultry
inspector for the City of New
York, but that didn’t last very
long. He, of course, started a
veterinary practice, which grew
steadily. He counted more and
more clients including a number
of celebrities. The renowned big
band drummer and composer,
Gene Krupa, became one of
Sam’s clients. Sam would see
his wire-haired terrier on a
regular basis. Another of his
clients was a good friend of the
Kennedys. He had a spread in
Virginia, which the President
and First Lady used as their getaway when they didn’t go to
Hyannisport.
Their children,
Caroline and John, had been
given a pony by then VP Lyndon
Johnson.
This pony injured
itself on the White House steps.
He was treated, but was not
healing properly. They called
Sam, who sent down a
medication for the pony’s
injured leg. It did the trick, and
the pony healed completely.
The Benders eventually
bought a lovely home in
Yonkers, where they lived from
1946 to 1984. Sam always
concentrated on large animals,
but had his share of house pets
too. He says that country folk
love their animals as animals;
city folk love their animals as
members of the family.
But
whatever kind of love was
expressed, Sam’s kindness and
compassion as well as his
understanding and expertise put
him in great demand.
His
relationship with his clients was
of utmost importance to him.
After
retirement,
the
Benders moved to Smithfield,
RI, to be near their daughter.
Sam spent time developing his
hobbies. One was weaving. He
designed and produced wall
hangings, scarves, pillow covers
and other artistic items made
from fabric.
He also got
involved in making silver
jewelry. He would design it,
then heat the silver, hammer it,
and cast it into a lovely bracelet,
earrings or other piece of
jewelry that women would wear
with pride. When Shirley’s
health began to fail, they decided
that she should move to Epoch,
and Sam came to Laurelmead to
be close. Now alone, he dabbles
in
photography and
has
embarked on an interesting
project involving the restoration
of photographic scenes that
were damaged in a flood. His
two children (the third son
passed away prematurely), and
grandchildren
visit
him
frequently. He also looks back
on 75 wonderful years with his
beautiful wife, Shirley. Sam is
a great asset to Laurelmead, and
(he’ll kill me for saying this)
everyone who meets him loves
him.
— J.D. Ames
J. D. Ames is a frequent contributor to the
Laurelmead Journal. She is pictured here with her
beloved companion, Scheffield.
A Watchmaker’s Epitaph
Here lies in horizontal position
The outside case of
George Routleigh, Watch Maker,
Whose abilities in that line were an honor
To his profession.
Integrity was the Main-spring,
And Prudence the Regulator of all the
Actions of his life.
Human, generous, and liberal,
His hand never stopped
Till he had relieved distress.
So sincerely regulated were his movements,
That he never went wrong
Except when set agoing
By People
Who did not know
His key.
Even then he was easily
Set right again.
He had the art of disposing his time
So well
That his hours glided away
In one continual round
Of pleasure and delight,
Till an unlucky moment put a period to
His existence.
He departed this life,
November, 14th, 1802,
Aged 57:
Wound up
In hopes of being taken in hand
By his Maker,
And of being
Thoroughly cleaned, -- repaired, and set
Agoing
In the world to come.
— Contributed by Martha Sherman
Portraits by Jerry Corwin.
Our own Jerry Corwin just celebrated a very special birthday (his
102nd!). Since Jerry is a respected and accomplished artist, the
festivities included a sampling of his amazing artwork...
Photographs of Jerry’s beloved wife, Phyllis.
Jerry in his home here at Laurelmead.
Sketches that Jerry did during his service in WWII.
ELSA BAER ZOPFI
Switzerland is a country of
towering
mountains,
deep
intertwining Alpine lakes, grassy
valleys dotted with farms and
villages and a few thriving cities
which blend the new with the
old.
If you would visualize a
diminutive figure in the Alps,
enjoying
nature,
climbing,
hiking, running, skiing, skating
and even dancing, you would be
imagining the subject of this
profile, Elsa Zopfi, nee Baer.
The 26 autonomous cantons of
the Swiss Confederation offer
four official languages: French,
German, Italian and Romansh.
Elsa speaks all four of them, as
well as English.
Until recently, Elsa walked
from
Laurelmead
to
the
Boulevard to Seven Stars and
back; she hiked along the banks
of the Seekonk River. She ran
along the corridors of Laurelmead where no one could catch
up to her; she had been known to
cross-country ski in the open
fields in back of Laurelmead;
and she cultivated local flora.
Today she is a beautiful dancer,
which can be attested to by
Laurelmead’s Ron Bruno and
Dave Alves.
Elsa, who spent the first 23
years of her life in Switzerland,
comes from the canton of
Glarus. It is known for its
manufacturing
plants
and
emphasis on industry. The first
textile mills in the country were
established in Glarus. Elsa’s
father founded a window factory
which manufactured windows to
the specifications of the world’s
finest architects. These windows
were mostly marketed in Zurich
which was fast becoming one of
the world’s largest financial
centers.
Skiing in Switzerland was
not popular at the time. Elsa’s
father took advantage of the
situation
and
brought
to
Switzerland Norwegian skiers as
instructors.
He eventually
established the first ski club in
the area. One of the most
promising members was his
daughter, Elsa.
Textile mills were springing up all over the country. Elsa
became friendly with a highly
skilled young textile engineer by
the name of William Zopfi.
They decided to emigrate to the
US, so in 1935 Bill sailed to
Webster, MA, where he could
get employment in a prominent
textile mill there called the
Slater Company. Elsa joined
him, and within 24 hours of her
arrival in the States they
married,
which
was
the
requirement for attaining the
proper immigration papers and,
eventually, citizenship.
Elsa and Bill prospered;
Bill ending up with his own mill.
Following is a poem written by a
friend, Bob Burroughs, on the
occasion
of
their
37th
anniversary (I have quoted only
the portion pertaining to Elsa):
Here’s to Elsa!
Here’s to Bill!
The Belle and Squire of
Kennedy Hill!
Elsa is surprising,
so gentle and sweet,
Yet underneath her skin:
real muscle and meat!
She can climb the high
mountains,
ski with the best,
And start off any minute at
Bill’s slightest behest.
She runs the Zopfi budget,
and keeps track of all their
pelf,
And sometimes carries hay
to the manger by sliding
down herself!
And with all the family
cooking, and housekeeping
beside,
She still has time, to the
Institute and Currier to
ride!
So here’s to a wonderful
couple, one of the very
best we know –
At their 37th Anniversary,
with (we hope) 20 more
years to go.”
(The
reference
to
“Institute” and “Currier” in the
poem refers to the Currier
Institute
Art
Center
in
Manchester, NH, where Elsa
used to spend a lot of time).
Elsa and Bill had three
daughters (now living in
California, New York and Rhode
Island). Over the years Elsa has
travelled to Switzerland many
times to visit the members of her
family who live there. Having
grown up near placid lakes and
spectacular alpine vistas, and
then completely enjoying her
American family lifestyle, Elsa
Zopfi, at the astonishing age of
103, can look back at a
wonderful life in every respect.
We wish her many more happy
years.
— J.D. Ames
Many thanks to Jim, Ron, Marco, and the rest of the kitchen and
dining staff for preparing buffet dinners for the residents during a
this winter’s worst snow storms. They did a fabulous job!
We also extend our gratitude to Maintenance, Housekeeping,
Transportation, Security, and all the other wonderful Laurelmead
employees who took such good care of us during this harsh winter.
A MATTER OF RELATIVITY
It was no real surprise to
learn that, at ages 87 and 89,
Marie Clarke and Banice
Webber recently decided to get
married. It was the culmination
of a beautiful relationship which
had its roots in intersecting years
in Providence, RI. Marie was an
apparel designer and member of
the Rhode Island School of
Design (RISD) faculty and
Banice was
a practicing
physician in Providence.
A New Jersey native,
Marie graduated from Pratt
Institute in 1949. Her first job
was as a designer for Max
Schenk and Brothers in New
York City where she designed
for the “Plus Size” woman. In
1950 she married Joseph H.
Clarke. In 1957 he was offered a
position as Professor in the
Department of Engineering at
Brown University, and they
moved to Providence. Within the
next two years they had two
children and Marie concentrated
on family life.
After her children had
completed high school, she was
asked to teach a course in
Draping in the Apparel Design
Department at RISD. This led to
a full-time faculty position in the
Apparel Design Department and
her appointment as Professor in
1981. Prior to teaching full time
at RISD, she worked as a
designer for Bancroft Sporting
Goods, famous makers of tennis
rackets, who wanted to start
producing stylish tennis dresses.
Marie also served as Head of
Design for India Imports of RI.
Of her twenty years on the
faculty
at
RISD,
Marie
remembers most fondly the two
she spent in Rome as Chief
Critic of the European Honors
Program.
Modestly,
Marie
claims
that
her
main
qualification was fluency with
the Italian language which she
had acquired during two
sabbaticals spent in Italy with
her husband. Marie was honored
in her retirement as Professor
Emerita.
During her years in
Providence Marie, her husband
and two children often met
socially with Banice, his wife
Sherry and their family.
Banice’s own story began
in Providence where he attended
Henry Barnard School and
Classical High School. His
father was a surgeon, an obvious
model for the son who was one
day to operate at his side.
Because of World War II,
Banice, a medical student, was
drafted and had to leave Brown
University. The army sent him to
Tufts Medical School from
which he graduated in 1947. By
that time, the war was over and
he completed his internship and
residencies in surgery. Although
he did not then serve overseas,
in 1952, as a member of the
army reserve, he was recalled to
serve as a surgeon in the Korean
War. He was assigned to an
evacuation hospital.
Once out of the army,
Banice completed a final year of
surgical training at Roswell Park
Memorial Institute, the New
York State Cancer Hospital in
Buffalo, NY. Subsequently, he
headed back to Providence and
opened his own practice in
general surgery. It lasted for 15
years, during which time he
served on the staffs of both
Miriam and Memorial Hospitals.
In 1970 Banice took a
daring and life-changing step to
launch a new career. He left his
practice of general surgery to
become a fellow in radiation
oncology at Tufts New England
Medical Center. Because of
advances in new hardware and
computer
applications
for
planning and treatment, it was a
time of exciting and rapid
change in the field of radiation.
Commuting
daily
to
Boston, Banice completed his
radiation oncology training in
1974, joined the radiation
oncology staff at Rhode Island
Hospital and became assistant,
then Associate Professor of
Radiation Oncology at Brown
Medical School.
Still looking for new fields
to conquer, Banice left Rhode
Island Hospital in 1978 to open
a private practice in radiation
oncology. Founded by Banice
and named Radiation Oncology
Associates, it continues today
as North Main Radiation
Oncology.
Banice and his wife Sherry
moved to Laurelmead in 1997.
Unfortunately,
her
illness
resulted in death two years later.
Meanwhile,
Marie,
newly
widowed, had had a succession
of three operations for an
infected knee. It was then that
her old friend Banice suggested
that she give up her home and
move into Laurelmead. “First,
come to the beach and I’ll take
care of you,” he said. “And he
did,” Marie interjected, “and we
lived happily ever after.”
Both Marie and Banice
feel fortunate to be at
Laurelmead where they have
been active participants on
committees and the Board. They
feel grateful to have found each
other. Their living room reflects
a previous active life and a
scientific curiosity. A long-time
collector of geological specimens, Banice donated his rock
collection to Roger Williams
Park Museum, but kept some
decorative large pieces that he
bought in his travels. Handsome
quartz crystals and amethyst are
displayed on shelves, with
special attention given to a rare
white selenite which resembles
an artistic rendering of fish tails.
A veteran volunteer for
good causes, Banice once joined
Dr. Elihu Wing and David
Burnham on a trip to the
Dominican Republic. There they
helped run the La Romana
Clinic for sick natives. Now,
faithfully each week, Banice
goes to the Paul Cuffee school to
tutor young children and to read
to them, smiling, perhaps in
recognition of the fairy tale’s
ending “…and they lived
happily ever after.”
— Martha Sherman
THREE CHEERS FOR DR. LEWIS LIPSITT who received
the “President’s Award for Excellence in Faculty Governance” from
Brown University on March 3, 2015. Judging by the letter that Lew
received from the Nominating Committee (read below), he certainly has
an outstanding record of service to be proud of. Congratulations Lew!
The following is the letter
Lew received informing him of
the good news:
Dear Professor Lipsitt:
On behalf of the Committee on
Nominations and the Faculty
Executive Committee, it is my
great pleasure and honor to
inform you that you have been
selected to receive this year’s
President’s Award for Excellence
in Faculty Governance. The
Awards Subcommittee of the
Committee on Nominations
noted your service on the Prizes
& Premiums Committee, the
Awards & Benefits Committee,
the Graduate Council, the
Library Committee, the Advisory
Committee
on
Honorary
Degrees which you co-chaired,
the Nominations Committee, the
Faculty Committee for the
Campaign (08-10), and your
second term on the Advisory
Committee
on
Honorary
Degrees. What an impressive
record of service to Brown’s
Faculty, students and administration! Your dedication and
your
accomplishments
are
greatly appreciated by our entire
university community. These
awards will be announced at the
next Faculty Meeting on March
3rd. I hope you can attend to
receive your award and enjoy
the applause.
Thank you and congratulations.
Bill Simmons
Chair, Nominations Committee
RHODE ISLAND SETS RECORD FOR
SNOW FALL…
This past February Rhode Island had a record amount of
snowfall topping off at 31.8 inches in just 28 days. That’s
nearly 2 feet more than the usual February snowfall!
From December through February we set another record
with a total of 58.3 inches of snow. Whew! Aren’t you
glad that spring is finally here?
IN THE BLACKSTONE
LIBRARY
A word of warning: I
picked these two books to talk
about, not because they are
pleasant reads, but because the
main characters in each moved
me and challenged me to think
about how I see the world.
Neither of them is difficult and
the subject matter of both is, I
believe, timely.
***
Matthew Thomas’s We Are
Not Ourselves is in some ways
an old-fashioned family saga. At
times while I was reading it, I
felt there was just too much of it.
The book, however, has stayed
with me because of the depth
and strength of the main
character, a woman I can’t
forget. This is Eileen Tumulty,
born in Queens in 1941 into an
Irish-American family just one
generation away from the old
country. Determined to escape
her background and make a
better life for herself, Eileen
graduates from college and gets
a degree in nursing. Then she
falls in love with Ed Leary. He’s
a sensitive man, a research
scientist who specializes in the
brain, and unlike the rough Irish
men with whom she has grown
up.
The two marry, and
although they will always love
each other deeply, their goals are
different. Ed wants only to work,
and turns down better job offers
to stay with his students at a
community college because, he
believes, they need his help the
most. He thinks that “even
minimal indulgences were best
lived without.” Eileen, on the
other hand, longs to move up in
the world and to have nice
things. She wants to escape the
neighborhood of her childhood.
The conflict between Ed
and Eileen is embodied in a
scene in which they take a trip to
Fifth Avenue to see the
Christmas windows. Ed is
repelled by the excess of the
displays, but not Eileen: “It
would be lovely,” she thinks,
“not to have to make every
decision in life, to be part of a
spectacle brought out once a
year for the safest of seasons.”
The irony is that it’s Eileen who
believes that life is what you
make of it. And it is she who
makes the big decisions in their
life.
The couple has one child,
Connell. A few years after his
birth, Eileen takes a nursing job
at a hospital in Bronxville, the
sort of community where she
would most like to live. But first
she realizes her goal of owning a
house in Queens, even if to carry
it they have to rent out the
second floor. But not too long
after this—Connell is in high
school—Ed, at 51, develops
early onset Alzheimer’s. From
then on it is Eileen who carries
the burden of the household, and
indeed she does, even embarking
on the insane purchase of a
rundown house in her beloved
Bronxville.
The last third of the novel
details the cruel course of Ed’s
illness and Eileen’s heroic
measures to maintain a degree of
sanity and order in their lives.
There are long, and I found
distracting,
sections
about
Connell and his efforts to deal
with his father’s decline. I was
always impatient to get back to
Eileen because she is such a
compelling character and the
depth of her struggle to keep Ed
going is so beautifully depicted.
Near the end of the novel, during
one of her visits to Ed’s nursing
home when he hardly knows her,
she thinks to herself, “This was
life: you went down with the
ship. Who wasn’t to say that
wasn’t a love story?” Who
indeed?
Station Eleven, by Emily
St. John Mandel, imagines the
world in the aftermath of a flu
pandemic that wipes away much
of “civilized” life as we know it.
Paradoxically, although this is a
“dystopia,” the novel manages to
convey a strong love of this
world, so strong that at moments
it brought tears to my eyes.
The novel opens in Toronto, during a performance of King
Lear just hours before the pandemic begins. The role of the
king is played by Arthur Leander, an actor who will have a
major role in the novel, even
though he dies on stage that
night. With him on stage when
he collapses is Kirsten, a child
actress who will be the central
figure in the book.
One review complained
that the world after the pandemic
is
not
portrayed
as
“apocalyptic,”
enough;
I
disagree. Generally speaking,
there is no order. There is no
transportation, no communication, no government, no
commerce.
Survivors
are
reduced to living or wandering
in small groups, making do as
best they can. We meet Kirsten
again as a young woman who
has thrown in her lot with a
group called the “Travel
Symphony,” a collection of
artists, musicians and actors who
put
on
performances
of
Shakespeare, reminiscent of
traveling players in medieval
times. Their motto, borrowed
from “Star Wars,” is “Survival is
insufficient,” which could well
be the theme of the novel, except
that to some extent, survival
turns out to be sufficient.
It’s clear that Mandel sets
the novel up this way, not so
much to show us what the world
could look like after a disaster,
but to isolate her characters to
make their relationships and
emotions clearer. Moreover, the
novel moves between the past
and the present, the characters as
they were in their former life and
as they are now. There turn out
to be myriad connections, some
recognized, some not, between
them, in both the past and the
present, so that we see the two
worlds
“civilized”
and
“uncivilized” side by side.
There is even a prophet in
the novel, a Jim Jones-like
figure, who is out to get Kristen,
although in the end he fails.
Again, the connections between
the two of them go deeper than
even they imagine. It’s in this
weaving of past and present that
Mandel builds the emotional
impact of this novel, which I
found
considerable.
The
characters’ longing for their lost
world and their attempt to
rebuild
their
lives
are
encapsulated in a community
that begins again amidst the
ruins of a major airport; one of
its features is a “Museum of
Civilization,” filled with bits and
pieces of what used to be.
of the world in tatters manages
to suggest a deep love of THIS
world, our world. At the very
end, one of the characters
imagines that somewhere “there
are ships setting out” again. He
likes “the thought of ships
moving over the water, toward
another world just out of sight.”
So yes, there is hope.
— Rosemary Colt
Again, Mandel’s depiction
PROFESSOR EMERITA OF BIOLOGY,
ANNETTE W. COLEMAN & PROFESSOR EMERITUS OF
BIOLOGY, JOHN R. COLEMAN
The
Department
of
Molecular Biology, Cell Biology
and Biochemistry at Brown
University, where both Dr.
Annette and Dr. John Coleman
were professors, is the largest
on-campus department in the
Division of Biology and
Medicine. It offers a wide range
of undergraduate and graduate
courses that form the core of
modern experimental biology.
The faculty offers training in
genetics, biochemistry, developmental biology, cellular biology,
molecular biology, genomics,
proteomics and related subjects.
The
distinguished
faculty,
well-represented on editorial and
professional
boards
and
societies, directs undergraduate,
graduate and postdoctoral work
in the Department.
Dr. Annette Coleman’s
training in biological research
included cell differentiation in
cell cultures of vertebrate muscle
and extensive work in both plant
and algal cell biology. She has
taught courses in subjects
ranging from birds to bacteria,
and her classes were from
freshman to graduate level. She
has this to say about her work,
Most recently my laboratory has
examined the nature, quantity
and mode of distribution of DNA
genomes of mitochondria and
plastids. The second area of
laboratory concentration concerns the species problem, how
separate species evolve. The
work
examines
particular
species and genera of the
volvocales, freshwater green
algae and abalones, and the
analysis
includes
mating
compatibility, chromosome number and DNA relatedness as
determined by sequencing.
Dr.
John
Coleman’s
research career involved the
regulation of gene expression in
cells differentiating in vitro,
especially skeletal muscle. His
teaching at Brown involved
embryology and developmental
biology at all levels. Recent
research
endeavors
have
concerned (a) functional organization of the nucleus of differentiating cells; (b) patterns of gene
expression that lead to cell type
specification in the developing
chicken embryo; and (c) the
roles of cell signaling molecules
in the forming mouse placenta.
The lives and careers of
both professors moved steadily
eastward.
John grew up in
Portland, Oregon, but moved to
Minneapolis when his mother
married a Northwest Airlines
pilot, and he graduated from the
University
of
Minnesota.
Annette hailed from Iowa,
moving to New York City where
she attended and graduated from
Barnard College. After graduation they each went to Indiana
University to do postgraduate
work, John in zoology and
Annette in botany. They met
and fell in love.
After two years at Indiana,
John moved to Johns Hopkins in
Baltimore to finish his PhD.
They both realized that they did
not want to be apart, so after
Annette finished her PhD at
Indiana, they married and set up
household in Baltimore. John
finished his PhD and they
welcomed their first child at
about the same time. Then it
was on to post doctorate work at
the University of Connecticut for
further
research
training.
Annette was at home with their
baby, but soon was tapped by the
head
of
John’s
research
laboratory to work part-time
taking care of muscle cells in
culture. She actually worked
exactly 1/3 of full time to get
around nepotism rules. Working
together at the University of
Connecticut shaped their careers
for the next decade.
Their next move was to
Brown University where they
both taught. John was made
head of a research lab, and
Annette worked in the lab as a
research associate who could
actually direct the entire lab. By
coming to Brown they had
achieved their goal of working
together while pursuing their
careers. At the same time they
were very much involved in
raising their family, which now
consisted of three children.
Annette found herself working
half-time in the lab, while spending the rest of the time raising
her family. They lived close
enough to the Brown campus so
they could walk to their lab. The
financing for the lab came from
grants, in particular the National
Institutes of Health. They both
realized how important it was to
keep the grant money coming,
and they acted accordingly by
balancing their home life with
their lab work.
One criterion for becoming
a full professor at Brown is that
you establish an international
reputation in your field. John
has won competitive fellowships
from the National Cancer
Institute, the National Institute
for Child Health and Human
Development, and the Fogarty
International Center of the
National Institutes of Health.
The Fogarty sent the family to
Stockholm, Sweden, where they
again both worked in the same
lab while their three children
attended public schools and
learned to speak Swedish like
natives.
Upon returning to
Brown, John went back to the
lab that had been established for
him there, and Annette, who had
been
appointed
to
an
independent faculty position at
Brown, started her own lab on
plants and algae.
Annette subsequently won
a
prestigious
Guggenheim
Fellowship which took them and
their daughter to Australia (their
sons had flown the nest). While
there, she worked in the CSIRO,
an important national research
organization in Australia. John
worked in the Biochemistry
Department at the University of
Adelaide.
Drs. John and Annette both
retired in 2003 as full professors.
They both retain offices at
Brown, and use them with some
frequency. John has an active
association with two lab groups
at Brown, and Annette is
involved with a botany group
and attends their meetings.
Annette has been active at
Laurelmead on the Building and
Grounds Committee. She has
organized walks to identify the
different trees on the Laurelmead grounds, and supervised
labeling them as a means of
identification. When there is a
question relating to botany,
Annette Coleman is the authority
from whom to seek advice.
John is an active bicyclist
and tennis player. He can be
seen on many occasions riding
on the Boulevard or to his office
with his dog, Little, in his
basket. He is currently on the
Health & Fitness Committee,
and is the vice chair of the
Budget & Finance Committee.
He was a founding member of
two ad hoc committees: the
Committee on Admission and
Retention (CAR), and the
Committee on Elections (COE).
Also, he was just elected to the
Laurelmead Board of Directors.
John’s professional field, developmental biology, is the parent
discipline of stem cell research.
He gives a presentation on stem
cells, their biology and medical
relevance circa annually at Laurelmead. His next presentation,
Diseases in a Dish – How Stem
Cell Biology Is Being Translated
into Clinical Medicine, will be
on May 14th in the Odeon. Each
year Annette and John host a
Winter Solstice Party, for which
they keep the wine and the
conversation flowing.
They
cordially invite everyone to
attend the next celebration.
— J.D. Ames
******
GOVERNANCE AT
LAURELMEAD
According to the dictionary
the word governance means “the
way a city, company, etc., is
controlled by the people who run
it,” or “establishment of policies
and continuous monitoring by
members of the governing
body.” Other definitions are “the
rules, practices, and processes by
which an organization is directed
and
controlled,”
or
“the
mechanisms an organization
uses to ensure that its
constituents
follow
its
established
processes
or
policies.”
Several years ago I wrote
an article on the structure of the
government at Laurelmead.
Since we have a large number of
new residents I thought I would
write another article about the
governance here. No one reads
the By-Laws for entertainment,
and I have heard a number of
erroneous interpretations at
dinner, in the Great Room or in
the gym. Since I had to
familiarize myself with the
By-Laws when I was Board
President, I would like to share
some thoughts with you.
As
you
all
know,
Laurelmead is a cooperative
independent-living community.
As a cooperative residence for
seniors, it is unique in Rhode
Island. We are not only residents
here, but also shareholders/
owners who manage the facility.
We are run by an elected Board
of Directors (BOD). The major
duty of the BOD is to
determine and set policy. In
addition the BOD engages
professional management to take
care of the day-to-day operations
on a contract basis. The BOD
also approves, enforces, and
monitors the performance of any
contracts for the management of
Laurelmead. It decides whether
to renew, revoke, or modify such
contracts.
Among
the
other
responsibilities listed in the
By-Laws, the BOD is to
establish and/or review an
operating budget for the
cooperative to be administered
by the professional staff at
Laurelmead. In other words, “the
business of the cooperative is to
be managed by the BOD who
may exercise all the powers of
the cooperative.”
The President of the
Cooperative
is
the
chief
executive of the Cooperative and
subject to the control of the
directors, has general charge and
supervision of the affairs of the
Cooperative. The President sees
that orders and resolutions are
carried out, and makes all
decisions and performs all acts
necessary to the conduct of the
Cooperative between meetings
of the Cooperative.
The six committees at
Laurelmead are advisory in
nature. They were formed by the
BOD to advise or present new
ideas to the BOD. Section 14 in
article II of the By-Laws states
that, “the BOD in its discretion,
designates such standing or
advisory committees as it may
choose. Each committee shall
consist of one or more of the
BOD Directors and such other
persons as the Board may
determine.” The BOD is not
required to act on all the
suggestions presented by the
committees, nor is it required
that all actions of the BOD come
through a committee. However,
many of the actions of the BOD
that have changed Laurelmead
significantly over the past 20
years have been channeled by
residents through a committee to
the BOD.
Laurelmead is a model of
democracy in action. I am
grateful to the founders for
writing such a thoughtful
instrument to structure our
governance. The By-Laws,
which are the basis of the
structure of our organization are
well thought out, beautifully
written, and allow us to exist in
order and harmony.
Residents who wish to see
the By-Laws may read the copy
posted in the library, or they can
ask Lucinda in the front office
for a copy of them.
— Phyllis Brown
Phyllis has been a
resident of Laurelmead
since 2002. She was BOD
President for 3 years, and
served on the BOD for a
total of 6 years.
Oh! How we are all looking forward to the warm, sunny days of spring.
The winter of 2015 has been brutal. February was the coldest on record.
We had close to 3 feet of snow in just 28 days! The Seekonk River was
partly frozen, as was a large part of Narragansett Bay.
Little icebergs float to the sea as the rivers thaw.
Now it’s time to get your
gardens ready for their
blossoms!

We dedicate this issue of the Journal to our beloved Lila Sapinsley

Transcription

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