People and Happenings
Volunteer Profile : Pam Pinsky
The Lynch Foundation in the amounts of $ 30,000 each , we have received another $ 30,000 from the Harold Whitworth Pierce Charitable Trust and $ 5,000 from the Richard Saltonstall Charitable Trust . Mount Auburn has until May 2011 to match the original MCFF grant ( see page 21 for more details on this special project ).
People and Happenings
Awards Granted for Greenhouse Initiative
Progress towards the Greenhouse Initiative has resulted in $ 20,000 grants from both the Edwin S . Webster Foundation and the Stanley Smith Horticultural Trust , as well as $ 7,500 from the Roy A . Hunt Foundation designated for the rainwater cistern that will help us in achieving LEED ( Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design ) Platinum Certification .
Volunteer Profile : Pam Pinsky
Joining Worlds Together
by Jessica Bussmann , Education & Volunteer Coordinator
Above : Pam participating in a tour of the cut-flower gardens .
Left : Pam attending Jennifer Johnston ’ s photography exhibit at the Watertown Free Public Library .
In a short 16-month time span Pam Pinsky made a lasting impact on Mount Auburn ; her varied interests of history , art , and nature culminated together in this special place , and it seemed to be the ideal volunteer opportunity . After completing docent training in August 2009 , she shared her enthusiasm for the Cemetery
Pam Pinksy during a weekly shift in the Visitors Center and also while out in the Watertown community . Everywhere she went she encouraged people to visit Mount Auburn , always stunned when she met a local person who had never set foot inside the gate despite passing by every day for years .
She even persuaded her friend and former co-worker , Nancy McLellan , to become a docent . McLellan says of her friend ,“ When Pam was passionate about something , it was infectious . You knew all about it and wanted to be a part of it .”
During the spring migration Pam could be found on bird walks several times a week , and although she was undergoing chemotherapy for her cancer , it never diminished her spirit on those early mornings of searching for warblers . One of her legacies at Mount Auburn will be the ten years of spring migration sightings that she indexed .
Pam grew up in West Hartford , Conn ., but she devoted her attention to her adopted home of Watertown . She was the common denominator and connector among many Watertown institutions ; she volunteered at the Watertown Free Public Library , the Historical Society of Watertown , the Arsenal Center for the Arts , and as a founding member of the Shakespeare Reading Group . Through her varied contributions — leading walking tours , cataloging the collections of the Historical Society , indexing the Watertown town records , working in the gift shop of the Arsenal Center , helping at public programs , and serving as an election warden – she fostered so many meaningful connections within the community . Joining all of her worlds together , Pam made an effort to make each institution aware of the others .
Marilynne Roach , President of the Historical Society of Watertown , says of Pam ,“ Pam ’ s volunteering activities were so various that many of her friends in one organization often weren ’ t aware of how much she was doing with the other groups .... It seems that her volunteering at Mount Auburn Cemetery brought most of her interests together in one setting : history , art , horticulture , nature — you name it .”
On January 14 , Pam died after a 20-year battle with cancer . Many who were fortunate enough to have made her acquaintance may never have known she was ill — she kept busy , upbeat , and strong . Pam also loved to spend time in her garden , scoping out yard sales , reading , and her family describes her as the “ glue ” that held them all together . She will be remembered throughout the community for her strength , service , and joyful nature .
Pam is now interred in Spruce Knoll , a section of Mount Auburn designed to look like a secluded forest and one of the more distinct “ neighborhoods ” here since those interred share communal plaque space . Though Pam will be missed by all those whose lives she touched , she has forever become a part of the community that she loved so well .
Spring / Summer 2011 | 17