May 21, 2024
A Lasting Tribute
Gendler Peace Circle to debut this fallThe gifts that Rabbi Everett Gendler P’83, ’86, gave Andover have now come full circle.
The school’s first Jewish chaplain nurtured the campus community across three decades—and today those alumni who knew and loved him are establishing a permanent memorial to the beloved Academy icon.
A “peace circle” is being built, embracing the ethos of this guiding member of the philosophy and religious studies department—and mentor to countless students from 1977 to 1995. According to daughter Tamar Szabó Gendler ’83, he was “deep down, an ecumenical practitioner of religion,” one who organized a Hebrew table at lunch while also teaching non-Western religions and advising the then Muslim Student Union.
“Rabbi Gendler may have been diminutive in stature, but he was a tower of compassion, integrity, and intellect,” says Jana Paley ’81. “Now we are carving Everett’s spirit into stone and ensuring that his memory will remain a blessing to all who knew him and that his life force will inspire future generations.” Paley is spearheading the fundraising initiative with Joe Tatelbaum ’78.
Here with the students, there was a sense both of being distinctive and yet fully harmonious with the variety that was campus. ...Those memories have enriched my life.
”Placed in the pine grove to the west of Cochran Chapel, and echoing the beauty of the surrounding Great Wall, the Gendler Peace Circle will be a space for contemplation and learning. Notably, the circle will incorporate stones from the Gendler farm in western Massachusetts as part of this lasting tribute.
The date for the fall dedication will be announced in the coming months, forever honoring the champion of civil rights and non-violence who passed away in 2022.
To show your support, please visit andover.edu/gendler.
Categories: Philanthropy
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