Dear friends and neighbors,
It's hard to imagine that one year ago today my friend, former boss, and mentor Alice Wolf departed this world. At the time of her passing, I was too devastated and overcome with grief to share or post anything other than to inform the community she had passed. I was grateful that for the three weeks she arrived home to say her goodbyes, I was able to spend quality time with her, sharing our mutual gratitude for the relationship we treasured with each other for over 35 years. I still find myself wanting to talk with her about current events, neighborhood news, and state politics. We found ourselves almost always at the same conclusion for the big policy debates and the seemingly small neighborhood community issues. Most importantly, Alice and I became family over the years and I cherished her thoughts, advice, and wisdom when it came to the hardest job I have ever loved, and that is parenting. If you are reading this email, it's because you loved, cared about, and miss Alice, too.
I spent the morning with one of her two sons, Eric, and her husband Bob — endearingly also known by and embraced by himself, Mr. Alice Wolf. She is still sorely missed by her family, my family and I know many of you. Soon after her passing her family held a small service for friends and family to say goodbye. I was honored to be one of the people Alice asked to give her eulogy alongside her beautiful family and deeply cherished friends. I was asked at the time by some to share the eulogy I had given. Truthfully, I was overwhelmed, so I just had to process her death and didn't respond to the requests. With the support of her family, I am sharing it with you today, and you can read it here.
I want to also share that the Cambridge Community Foundation has established a program that was endowed by Alice when she left office that will help provide further education and training for early education providers. I also will continue to provide a link to the Massachusetts Advocates for Children, an organization she continued to work for, advise, and support.
If you are still reading this, then you already know we can truly honor her life's work by ensuring we stand up and challenge injustice, advocate for families in need of shelter, and embrace and support immigrants. We can continue our fight for the LGBTQ+ community, and work to tackle the root causes of poverty while providing people who are in poverty the support they need to survive poverty and creating paths to transition out of poverty.
I am truly grateful to be part of a community of people who have loved and supported Alice as much as I do. Sending you a hug.
Marjorie
It was lovely to spend time with my former chief of staff, who also worked as Alice's chief of staff, reminiscing about Alice. Thanks for the beautiful flowers, Kathleen!
