People and Happenings Jim Storey Retires from Board of Trustees
People and Happenings Jim Storey Retires from Board of Trustees
By Lauren Marsh
Jim Storey, who has been a member of Mount Auburn Cemetery’ s Board of Trustees for 32 years, officially retired from the Board this past December. Jim became a Mount Auburn Cemetery Trustee in 1979, the last of those Trustees who inherited a“ family” seat – he succeeded to the seat previously occupied by his father, Charles, since 1932. During his tenure as a Trustee, Jim served as Board Secretary from 1984-2005, and then as Board Chair from 2005-2009. Taking up his father’ s seat was his first introduction to the Cemetery and since then he has seen huge growth and radical changes at Mount Auburn. The era when the Board members treated the Cemetery as if it were their private home was replaced by a new commitment to outreach and education, and this landscape and its story have continued to evolve. The reason Jim stayed through so many decades is simple – he loved it here. He learned on the job what Mount Auburn was and what it did, and he found this to be very satisfying.
“ I’ m very impressed by the continued efforts of the staff and interest by the Board in Mount Auburn, especially in its horticultural aspects. It seems to me that the current Board is carrying on the high standards of prior Boards, and plans for the future development and stewardship of this property are very exciting.”
Board Meetings are Jim’ s fondest memories of Mount Auburn because he was so pleased and impressed by the unanimous natural cooperation and congeniality among the Board members. Jim also recalls the moment when Mount Auburn discovered what it meant to the surrounding community.
“ Mount Auburn changed forever when the Cambridge Historical Commission objected to our planning to replace the deteriorating cast iron fence on Mount Auburn Street with a chain link fence. Until then the Board thought that it alone, with no other interests in mind, could decide what we did around here. We found that we weren’ t like any other private citizen as we thought we were, but a public institution, a community resource, and a national treasure. That surprised us and taught us that we had to look outside the gates. Then when Bill Clendaniel arrived he transformed our whole mindset and created this really wonderful outreach effort, establishing the Friends and successfully persuading the public that there is still room in the Cemetery. I am very impressed by Dave Barnett’ s leadership. He has built on Bill Clendaniel’ s foundation and, even in these times of economic stress, has expanded the Cemetery’ s outreach and put in place an exciting blueprint for Mount Auburn’ s future.”
“ I was very fortunate that Jim was Board Chair when I became President in 2008,” says Dave Barnett.“ He was incredibly supportive and did so much to make the transition very smooth for me. I enjoyed every minute I spent with him. When I think of Jim, I think of a true gentleman with a genuine smile who sincerely cares about his colleagues. Mount Auburn has benefited greatly from Jim’ s many years of service, and we will miss his good-natured personality and wisdom.”
While his duties as a Mount Auburn Trustee have come to an end, Jim will continue to do what he has always done, practice law in the area of mutual funds.
Last year, we were fortunate enough to have a mating pair of Great Horned Owls that hatched a pair of owlets in a Honey Locust tree near the Dell. The owlets drew in large crowds of visitors who all wanted to catch a glimpse. Artist, naturalist, and educator Clare Walker Leslie, who has been birding and drawing at Mount Auburn for more than 30 years, captured the siblings from birth to maturity in her wonderful sketches.
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