sweet auburn | 2020 volume ii
Postponing a Memorial Service
By Jennifer Johnston Media & Communications Director
W hen longtime Mount Auburn Friend and Supporter Bill Mann died in January 2020 , his many friends at the Cemetery , including staff and volunteers , were heartbroken . Bill was an amazing person with a great many hobbies and interests , but most of all he was a thoughtful and caring friend . Whenever we had staff and volunteer gettogethers , concerts , or other special events , Bill would always be there at the center aisle or table or pew with a big smile on his face and everyone gathering around him .
We came to know Bill through his equally marvelous wife and partner of many years , Ginny Brady Mann , who started volunteering as a docent at our visitor center in 2007 . We have been fortunate not only to gain a great friend in Ginny , a sunny face on the front lines with Cemetery visitors , who has developed and led tours about Women in Medicine , Celtic Crosses , and Tribute Monuments , but to get to know and love her husband Bill as well .
A group of 20 or so of us , a close-knit mix of volunteers and staff , have gathered for over a decade at potlucks and parties and have always left feeling energized and encouraged . Looking back at photos from these events , there is our tall , bespectacled friend Bill — always smiling and sharing a treat of some kind — a cookie , a brownie , or a piece of cake . If you were good friends with Bill — he would reach out and put his arm around you or give you a big hug hello .
Bill loved socializing with friends . Bill loved skiing and riding his motorcycle . Bill loved travelling . Bill loved music and good food . Bill loved his sons and his grandchildren . Bill loved his cousins , his nieces and nephews . Bill loved Mount Auburn Cemetery . Bill loved Ginny . Bill loved life .
The year 2019 saw Bill facing a series of health setbacks , with Ginny , a retired nurse , always there to battle through the maze of modern medicine . When Bill died in early 2020 , our Cemetery prepared to gather around Ginny , amid memories of Bill , one more time . Ginny became very focused , very busy talking with all of us to organize what was expected to be a large and unforgettable celebration of Bill ’ s life with friends and family from near and far . There would be a grand piano with music played by one of Bill ’ s nephews ; there would be poems ; there would be photos and lots of stories . There would be delicious food — yes , even brownies .
The Memorial Service to Celebrate Bill Mann ’ s Life was to be held on Saturday , March 21 , 2020 , at Mount Auburn Cemetery . Inevitably , and heartbreakingly , these plans were put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic .
Bill Mann ( 1939 – 2020 ) is buried on Mist Path . He is survived by his wife Virginia Brady of Cambridge ; his son Douglas and Roongnapa ( Suryia ) Mann and two grandchildren Chanapa and Taksin Mann of Japan ; his son David Mann of Cambridge ; and many nieces , nephews , and cousins .
We await the day when we can all come together and celebrate his life in person with one another , and with Ginny .
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