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| The Hon. Craig Henrici, ESQ. |
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| Gregory E. Sterling, Dean, Yale Divinity School |
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| Solomon |
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| Thornton Wilder, author and Hamden resident, now buried in Mt. Carmel Burying Ground |
Yale Divinity School
Yale University
Dear Dean Sterling,
I
like that idea very much. Especially if you do it in memory of my
mother.
It
is a lovely little cemetery, and the plot is a hundred yards from creator of
the most famous cemetery in American literature, the author of Our Town, Thornton Wilder.
I know, because I used to maintain that plot for his sister
I
have also had an acceptance from the former Mayor of Hamden, The Hon.
Craig Henrici, who just reminded me that I was his Sunday School teacher and so
was my mother !
So
like Solomon, I am going to split the plots between you. One to you in
memory of my mother and one to Craig in memory of my mother (there may even be
a third remaining plot but I cannot recall.).
Like
everything I do, I will announce it on my blog.
I
am tremendously heartened after four rejections that you and Craig have
had the guts to associate yourselves with two pariahs, Mr. Tsarnaev and the Yale
divinity grad who offered to bury him !
Many
thanks,
Paul
Paul
D. Keane
M.A.,
M.Div., M.Ed.
cc:
The
Hon. Craig Henrici, ESQ.
Harry
B. Adams, Chaplain Emeritus. Yale
University
The
Rev. David House, Mt.
Carmel
The
Rev. Marion Visel, First Unitarian Society of New Haven
Mr.
Curt Leng, Assistant to Mayor Jackson, Hamden
Ms.
Judi Kozak, President, Hamden
On
Thu, Jul 11, 2013 at 6:18 PM, Sterling
Dear Paul,
Thank you for your note and your very generous offer. I
have done some checking to see if I could accept your offer. Technically, I
cannot since property must go through the central office for approval. I could
forward this to them and let them consider it, but I am guessing that they will
stipulate that Yale have the right to sell the plots if it is given to Yale.
I have a counter proposal to make. What if I could
identify an emeritus faculty member who is in need of a burial plot for himself
and his spouse or herself and her spouse. Would you be willing to consider
donating it to them? I have not asked anyone, but would be happy to speak with
Harry Adams and solicit his help in finding someone if the idea has any appeal
to you. It might be hard to find someone whose parent was a US US
This is only an idea. I greatly appreciate your generosity
and want to honor it. Does the idea have any appeal to you?
Sincerely,
Greg Sterling
Gregory E. Sterling
The Reverend Henry L. Slack Dean
The Lillian Claus Professor of New Testament
From: Paul Keane
Date: Wednesday, July 10, 2013 1:50 PM
To: Greg Sterling
Subject: Gift of Burial Plots in Mt. Carmel Burying Ground
Date: Wednesday, July 10, 2013 1:50 PM
To: Greg Sterling
Subject: Gift of Burial Plots in Mt. Carmel Burying Ground
Dear Dean Sterling,
I would like to offer Yale
Divinity School
a gift in memory of my mother, Barbara W. Keane, of Mt.
Carmel , who named me after Divinity School
The gift is the remaining two plots in my family's
cemetery holdings in Mt. Carmel Burying Ground, which I would ask the
recipient to hold until a needy family presents themselves,
hopefully a family of a U.
S.
I should think a student group at the Divinity School
You and I originally discussed this gift by phone
ten weeks ago when i offered one of the plots to the Tsarnaev family
whose late son was an alleged Boston bombing suspect in need of a place
of burial.
It was not a happy phone call that day.
Perhaps you and I could reverse that here.
Since then I have offered the gift of the remaining plots
to four possible recipients, and it has been refused all four times.
It
is instructive that in this time of economic recession one can't
seem to give a gift worth at least a thousand dollars away to
· the Mayor of Hamden
· the President of Hamden
· the Mount Carmel Congregational Church
· the First Unitarian
Church of New Haven
all
of whom / which have refused my offer.
Perhaps
it has more to do with the publicity surrounding the giver than to the gift.
I
draw your attention to the following post and videos on my blog. Link
As far as I can tell, acceptance of the gift would entail
zero work on your part, merely keeping an eye out for needy recipients,
preferably the families of U.S.
For me, the one vital component of the gift is that it be
accepted in memory of my mother and that the recipient organization have some
history in my mother's life.
I hope to hear that you have chosen not to become
the fifth recipient who flees the taint of this gift's origin.
Sincerely,
Paul D. Keane,
M.Div. '80
M.A., M.Ed.
PS I am forwarding a copy of this letter to
the former Mayor of Hamden, my childhood friend, Craig Henrici, who has
monitored all four of my previous offers and their refusals. I am also
forwarding a copy to Harry Adams, who has been my mentor for almost forty
years, and to the four previous decliners of the gift.
cc:
Harry B. Adams, Chaplain Emeritus, Yale University
The Hon. Craig Henrici
Mr. Leng for Mayor Jackson
Ms. Kozak, President Legislative Council
Rev. House
Rev. Visel
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