Sweet Auburn: The Magazine of the Friends of Mount Auburn Commemoration at Mount Auburn | Page 20

Ann Roosevelt —Environmentalist, Lover of Mount Auburn—
Elected Chair of the Cemetery’s Board of Trustees
Ann M. Roosevelt of Cambridge was e lecte d
Ann (Conlon) grew up in the neighborhood of the
Chair of the Board of Trustees of Mount Auburn Cem-
Cemetery, a few minutes walk away on Lexington Avenue.
etery on January 27. To that position she brings a native
Even as a child, she enjoyed Mount Auburn, when, accom-
Cantabrigian’s love and knowledge of Mount Auburn, as
panied by her parents, and, eventually alone, she could stroll
well as the passion of a seasoned environmentalist. Ann has
through “just to appreciate the beauty.” Decades later, she
served on the Cemetery’s Board of Trustees since 1988.
was asked to be a Cemetery Trustee through then-Trustee
“Mount Auburn is truly a treasure,” she says. “To have this
Herbert (Herb) Pratt: “Herb was with me on the Board of
place almost in my
the Environmental League of Massachusetts and knew I
back yard is wonder-
was an environmentalist who appreciated Mount Auburn.”
ful. To be able to help
She was “very enthused” to join the Board and has re-
lead it is a tremen-
mained so ever since.
dous opportunity.”
Ann is married to James (Jim) Roosevelt, President and
As Chair, she will
CEO of Tufts Health Plan. She met Jim when both were
mentor President
undergraduates at Harvard. She “literally bumped into
Dave Barnett (as
him” during a student civil rights march in the St. Patrick’s
former Chair Jim
Day Parade in South Boston. Talking to her roommate to
Storey mentored Bill
her right—and justifiably fearful of the occasional stone
Clendaniel), ensure
or tomato lobbed by a sometimes-hostile crowd—Ann
various committees
collided with Jim’s back when the march slowed but she
are running smoothly,
didn’t. Later, as the Harvard students’ ranks thinned when
and fundraise. Ann is
academic commitments pulled them away, Ann found her-
Mount Auburn’s first
self marching next to Jim. They began dating and wed soon
female Chair and was
after graduating from college.
also the Cemetery’s
The Roosevelts have three
first female Trustee.
daughters. Kathleen, 30, earned
Ann has a long history of concern for cher-
both a B.A. and a master’s
“Mount Auburn is truly
ished landscapes. She was an assistant science
degree in epidemiology from
advisor for Senator Edward Kennedy, working
Columbia University. She works
a treasure,” she says.
in Washington D.C., for the Office of Tech-
in the Boston laboratory of
nology Assessment, evaluating science grants
“To have this place
the Massachusetts Department
to receive federal funding. Later, she headed
of Public Health and lives in
the national office of Friends of the Earth in
almost in my back yard
Cambridge with her husband,
Washington. “Their mission is to preserve the
Jeffrey Walker. Tracy, 26, gradu-
planet,” Ann says. “They began as an offshoot of
is wonderful. To be able
ated from Brown University and
the Sierra Club, and were very focused on lob-
got a master’s degree from the
to help lead it is a
bying. I was their chief lobbyist, doing energy
London School of Economics,
lobbying, testifying before the Senate about the
and lives in the British capital,
tremendous opportunity.” working for Ralph Appelbaum
energy crisis and writing environmental legisla-
tion. When Ann moved to Boston, she opened
Associates, the museum design-
the organization’s New England office.
ers responsible for the Clinton
Today, Ann also serves as President of the Cambridge
presidential library; she does history research for the firm.
Water Board, and is on the board of the Environmental
Maura, 24, a Harvard alumna, plans to be a writer and is
League of Massachusetts. In addition, she is a founder of
waitressing in Brooklyn. Jim Roosevelt is a grandson of
the Massachusetts League of Environmental Voters, the
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
“first successful state-level environmental PAC,” and she
“Becoming Chair of the Board of Trustees just as Dave
owns a real estate business in Cambridge called Roco
Barnett assumes Mount Auburn’s Presidency is a fantastic
Realty.
opportunity—and honor,” Ann says. “I couldn’t be more
thrilled or proud.”
18 | Sweet Auburn
New Horticulture and Family Centers
are Planned for Mount Auburn
Mount Auburn Cemete ry is beg inning a
comprehensive planning process to add a multi-dimensional
complex of new facilities and new burial space in the area
near our existing greenhouses off of Grove Street in Water-
town. This area, called the Meadow Extension, will ultimately
be occupied by new Horticulture and Family Centers, which
will enable Mount Auburn to better fulfill its mission while
relieving the pressure on existing facilities that are outdated,
need supplementing, or cannot provide adequate space for
our expanding services. The Horticulture and Family Cen-
ters—the first new major facilities at Mount Auburn since
the 19th century—will enhance the Cemetery’s horticulture
program; offer new venues where families can hold funerals
and memorial services; and move and modernize other func-
tions. Mount Auburn has chosen William Rawn Associates,
Inc., of Boston, as the architects for this expansive project.
The Family Center will be constructed around a garden
courtyard, and oriented toward a water feature and views of
Washington Tower. The neighboring Horticulture Center
and greenhouses will be state-of-the-art structures, taking
full advantage of advances in green and sustainable technology.
Landscape design, key to integrating the Centers with the
rest of the Cemetery, will be done by Reed/Hilderbrand,
Inc., of Watertown, MA, collaborating with the Rawn team.
The plan for the
landscaping allows
for a significant
increase in new
burial space in a
large ( ¾-acre),
welcoming wooded
area threaded with
winding paths.
The vision for
these new centers
was first conceived
The design team for the Horticulture and Family
as part of Mount
Centers (l to r): Architects Bill Rawn and Sam
Auburn’s Master
Lasky, and landscape architect Doug Reed
Plan II process in
2001. The Cem-
etery began planning in earnest for the Horticulture and
Family Centers in 2007, with Rawn Associates chosen as
the architects for the project in July 2008.
Currently in early design schematics and pending appro-
priate permitting by the town of Watertown and approval
by the Board of Trustees at various critical decision points,
the project is to be completed in phases to accommodate
the progress of a successful fundraising capital campaign.
Groundbreaking for the project is now estimated to take
place in late 2011, with completion estimated in 2014.
The Horticulture
Center will include new
greenhouses to raise
flowers for family lots
and ornamental purposes,
as well as an area where
staff can propagate and
cultivate specific variet-
ies of trees and shrubs
desired for long-term
landscape and collections
enhancement purposes.
The Family Center will
contain Cemetery Ser-
vices offices and a large
family room capable of
hosting 40 people, which
can be used by either staff
or families for a variety
of purposes, such as for
conferences or memorial
gatherings. Smaller rooms
will be available for more
intimate meetings with
families to plan memorial
(Above, from top to bottom)
services or burials or to
Architects’ early site model of the pro-
purchase burial space.
posed new facilities (Courtesy of William
The first phase of the
Rawn Associates)
project will be the con-
Mount Auburn Trustee Peter Shaffer
struction of the Horticul-
(second from left), Chair of the Meadow
ture Center, starting with
Extension Planning Committee, with
design team members
the production green-
houses. Horticulture has
Trustees, key staff, and the design team
confer on initial site plans, January 2009
played a dominant role in
the Cemetery’s 177-year
history: Mount Auburn was founded by members of the
Massachusetts Horticultural Society and is renowned for the
quality of its horticulture and the dedication and profession-
alism of its horticulture staff. Many people first experience
Mount Auburn through interacting with staff in its green-
houses, and the greenhouses have been in need of upgrading
for some time. Constructed nearly 40 years ago in 1971, the
existing greenhouses are not energy-efficient. The technol-
ogy regarding heating, cooling, and water collection has
vastly improved since they were built, and we want to utilize
these new technologies to be more green and sustainable. In
addition, the boilers in the greenhouse complex are very old
and in need of replacement. The automated climate control
system and rolling benches that will maximize the available
space and make plant production easier and more efficient
will also be welcome components of the new greenhouses.
Spring 2009 | 19