Sweet Auburn: The Magazine of the Friends of Mount Auburn A Modern Vision for an Historic Cemetery | Page 21

People and Happenings
V olunteer P rofile :
Helen Abrams
By Jennifer J. Johnston, Media & Communications Director
In another life, volunteer docent Helen Abrams
dreams she might have been an arborist. “Trees continually
inspire me and draw me to them in a deep and spiritual way.”
In fact, nearly everything about Mount Auburn inspires
Helen, who has walked the Cemetery grounds nearly every
day since moving to Watertown in 1991: “The beauty of
the landscape in every season. The inspiring stories and
contributions of so many of those buried here - artists,
inventors, explorers, reformers, abolitionists, feminists, and
reformers. The commitment of staff and volunteers to
making the Cemetery a place where people who grieve
can come and be nurtured.” Helen, who recently lost her
mother, Lillie Selwyn at the age of 98, has taken solace
and inspiration from the Cemetery surroundings. She and
Helen will be buried at Halcyon Gardens, surrounded by
redbuds and dogwoods.
Since becoming a volunteer in 2008, Helen has led over
three dozen tours and programs about the Cemetery. Helen
and fellow docent Susan Zawalich (pictured right) have
jointly created over a dozen tours (the “A-Z tours”) since
2011. One of their most popular is
about art and artists, featuring both
art in the landscape as well as the
people buried here who were visual
and performing artists; others focus
on inventors and explorers, symbols
of passage, and women reformers.
In addition to her tours with
Susan, Helen has led numerous
photography walks in all seasons.
A photographer herself, Helen has
exhibited twice at the Watertown and Arlington libraries
and several times at Harvard University’s Holyoke Center.
As a volunteer at the Visitor Center every Friday morn-
ing, Helen is often asked whether Jewish people are buried
at Mount Auburn, which indeed they are. After meeting
with Rabbi Joshua Segal, who created a self-published
walking tour of Jews buried at the Cemetery, Helen created
her own expanded and updated walking tours on the same
theme. “Every time I give a tour, someone will tell me
about another Jewish person whose story is inspiring and
worthy of inclusion in my walks. I love researching these
people's lives and have been touched when I've had the
chance to meet a family member who can add so much
more to our knowledge of those buried here.” Helen is
working with Cemetery staff to put this valuable informa-
tion online.
Helen is very passionate about sharing her love of the
Cemetery with visitors
who have hearing or
mobility issues: “When
I lead tours, I make
sure to speak slowly,
distinctly, and project
forward to make
sure that I am heard.
People have thanked
me for being sensitive
to their limitations. I
also love leading van
tours for seniors and
have experimented
with tours for people
“I love the trees at Auburn Lake for
with limited walking
their diversity and beauty in all seasons.
mobility.”
My Favorites include the Weeping
Katsura that smells of cotton candy
When Helen is
in the fall, the Kentucky Coffee tree,
not at the Cemetery,
whose seeds I carry in my pockets for
she enjoys traveling
good luck, the Bald Cypress's ‘knees’
with her partner of
that remind me of a magical gathering
30 years, Leo Carroll
place for elves, and the Dawn Redwood
(pictured top left with
trees that spread their ancient branches
Helen in Consecration
over the water and reflect golden light
Dell), expanding the
as they change color in late October.”
horizons of her two
grandchildren,
– Helen Abrams
Sarah age 15
and Matt age
18, and birdwatching with staff and friends made
over the years at Mount Auburn Cemetery.
After retiring from a career in health care, she
enrolled in the Brandeis Osher Lifelong Learning
Institute (BOLLI). Her greatest pleasures have been
reading the classics under the guidance of knowl-
edgeable teachers​ and fellow students. This year, she
is thrilled to have been asked to teach a course at
BOLLI about Mount Auburn, which will include a
tour for the students.
2018 Volume 1i | 19