Service of Remembrance Honors Alumni
Elmira, NY (09/24/2020) — On Mountain Day, September 23, the annual Service of Remembrance honored and remembered more than 45 loyal alumni who passed away this past year.
The annual event, hosted by the Office of Alumni Relations, featured photos and memories of each alumni and concluded with the alma mater. This year, due to COVID-19 restrictions, the ceremony was streamed via Facebook Live.
Immediately following the service in Peterson Chapel, iris bulbs were planted around the Cowles Hall portico, in memory of each alumni.
"Cowles Hall, the original building of Elmira College, was built on Prospect Hill in a field of irises. Since that founding in 1855, the iris has been recognized as the traditional flower of Elmira College," noted Ellen Himmelreich '17, director of alumni relations. "The Service of Remembrance and the Iris Planting ceremony began in 1989 as an initiative of the Class of 1990 as a way to remember and honor alumni who have passed away."
Those honored this year included:
- Mary Traskos Sheehan '41
- Celestine McLaughlin Welch '43
- Rose-Marie Campbell Bender '43
- Grace Evangiles Jenkins '45
- Josephine Lyman Wigsten '46
- Kathryn Carr Almon '48
- Elizabeth Wison Powell '49
- Charlotte Stearns '50
- Lorraine Maass Neilson '50
- Ruth Lee Cohen Silver '51
- Marjorie Groesbech Dorman '52
- Mechtilde Wehner Lesniak '52
- Joan Kinney Fenner '54
- Jacqueline Joanes Marschke '54
- Donna Albertson Cole '56
- Lucille Garvin Luciano '57
- Sarah Clemence Hardy '58
- Janet Lepper Tyrol '58
- Roberta Fendrick Wegryn '60
- Ronnie Kursch Klein '60
- Anna Stickell Krebs '60
- Carol Edminster Bechberger '61
- Katherine Rogers Mason '61
- Laura Greene Boehlecke '62
- Jewell Gasper Holden '62
- Judith Jaynes Shepherd '62
- Gainor Roberts '63
- Susan Shurts Ebersole '64
- Drexel Suor Andrews '64
- Marilyn Stedge Filippetti '65
- Anne Vail Booth '66
- Joan Howell Phillips '66
- Susan Holmes '67
- Valerie Pulson Zottoli '67
- Carol White '67
- Sandra Jacobs Rose '67
- Mary Green La Forge '67
- Lynn Takats Leavitt '68
- Geraldine Smith Dooley '75
- Mark DeVore '75
- Alberta Griffin Callihan '76
- David Taylor '77
- Sandra Deschino '78
- Donald Avery '80
- Llewelyn Saunders '80
- John Andrade '87
- Kathryn Keeney '91
- Wendy Mantsch Knepper '97
Media Attachments
The Service of Remembrance is held annually on Mountain Day. Immediately following the service in Peterson Chapel, iris bulbs are planted around the Cowles Hall portico, in memory of each alumni.