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Difficult as it is to believe, we have been a widow for eleven years this week. And yet it seems as if our late husband Jerry just died yesterday. The memory of it remains most vivid in our mind. We suppose there is much that we don’t remember about July 20, 1999. But we do remember just how much that day changed our life forever. We lost not only our spouse of 28 years, but also our best friend.
At the time we could not believe the world would go on without him. And yet it has. And while there are still many people in the area who no doubt remember him mostfondly, there are also people in the area now who never knew him. And because that is true, we were most pleased that Jerry was chosen to be a notable of Christ Church as part of the church’s bicentennial celebration. On Sunday, July 4, he became, an important figure in the congregation’s history, a part of the Christ Church Wall of Fame.
Church historian David Svahn wrote and presented the following tribute to Jerry during the Sunday services on July 4:
Gerald Bernard Ellsworth (1946 - 1999) Educator, thespian, and historian, native son Jerry Ellsworth occupied a unique position in the history of this church and community. With ancestral ties to Cooperstown area settlers of the late 18th century, Jerry was a third generation Christ Church parishioner. His grandfather had served as vestryman and warden and his father as vestryman. Following in their footsteps Jerry served as acolyte, later as vestryman and warden, the position he occupied at his death.
Outspoken and never shy about expressing his views on church issues, his voice alone, booming ``AMEN’’ throughout the service, became a fixture. He applied his appreciation for history and his theatrical skills in presentations about the many historic facets of Christ Church leaving invaluable records for future generations.
In the village Jerry was active in many organizations including Otsego Lodge No. 138, Free and Accepted Masons, Otsego Chapter No.26, Royal Arch Masons and the Lions Club of Cooperstown. He also served on the Cooperstown Central School Board, the Village of Cooperstown Library Board and headed the CCS Alumni Association.
He was particularly drawn to youth, assisting the 4Cs in bringing Santa Claus to Cooperstown, and generously tutoring students. He was noted for his walking history tours of the village laced with humorous tales. With his wife he wrote a newspaper column about the comings and goings of Cooperstown. Jerry was devoted to theater and plied his considerable skills as teacher, director and actor throughout his life. He was noted too for his idiosyncrasies; the most endearing one was his penchant for wearing shorts in all seasons.
He once laughingly observed that, not having a conventional job, when asked ``What do you do?’’ he had to answer ``I don’t DO anything.’’ Of course this civic-minded churchman did everything and he did it with humor, enthusiasm and skill. Christ Church has recognized this rare man with a rare honor _ a stained glass window in the chapel.
We thank David for his kind words. And we thank our son Christopher, his wife Annie, and our granddaughter Abby for being here with us to attend the eight o’clock service. And we can’t help but think how much Jerry would have enjoyed the fact that little Abby, at five and a half months, choose to suck on her toes during the sermon. Somehow we suspect that Jerry would not have been able to keep a straight face. But then, neither could we.
And, as we pondered the kind remarks that were made about Jerry, we could not help but remember the editorial that ran in this very paper at the time of his death. It read: Well done, Jerry It was fitting (and entirely predictable) that mourners occupied every seat and most of the standing room in the church where Jerry Ellsworth’s life was celebrated last Friday. Jerry, after all, brought the community together in life; in death, it was no different.
There are the enduring images: shorts in any season, the walking sticks carried with aplomb, and the booming voice. But if that were all, the memories would be of a lovable eccentric. And that image would miss Jerry’s true contributions to the hometown he loved and nurtured.
Here at The Town Crier we are proud of the weekly column Jerry and his wife Cathe wrote.
The column, ``In The Otsego Hills,’’ (and its Freeman’s Journal predecessor ``Where Nature Smiles’’) did something that is all too missing in modern-day journalism. It celebrated the everyday comings and goings of a small town. It stopped and smelled the roses, and in doing so it gave us all a better sense of what life in this special community is about. The sense of history, the appreciation for community, the celebration of values and the thread of neighborly connection these columns brought helped Cooperstown stay in touch with itself. And it reminded those who have left what was enduring about the village and its people. We hope Cathe will continue the column; the community needs it.
Jerry’s dedication to education is legendary. At the time of his death, he was the longest serving member of the Cooperstown school board. He took Cooperstown’s reputation for high educational quality seriously and worked to sustain it. And he was deeply and personally involved in encouraging young people to pursue their dreams and stretch their talents.
So much can be said of Jerry’s desire to maintain Cooperstown as an idyllic place to live.
He’d point out flaws, though usually with a generous dose of humor. Mostly, though, he led by example.
At his request, Friday’s service had no eulogy or homily. Jerry didn’t need it; he let his life’s work and his life’s conduct speak for him. And, though it was cut much too short, it spoke as loudly as his booming voice.
The final stanza of the memorial service’s recessional hymn was a fitting summation of the way Jerry lived his life, and why it touched so many people. Of the everyday saints, the hymn said:
``They lived not only in ages past, there are hundreds of thousands still, the world is bright with the joyous saints who love to do Jesus’ will.
You can meet them in school, or in lanes, or at sea, in church or in trains, or at tea, for the saints of God are just folk like me, and I mean to be one too.’’
PLEASE NOTE: Comments regarding this column may be made by mail at 105 Pioneer Street, Cooperstown, NY 13326, by telephone at 607-547-8124 or by email at cellsworth1@stny.rr.com.
