Jamie Mohr

As a childhood friend of Jamie's I wish I could join you at MVCC for your October 9 Celebration of Life event, but the distance between Colorado and New Jersey and my occupational responsibilities as a professor prevent me from attending. I do wish to offer some thoughts about my family's appreciation for Jamie. My mother (Jane Pollock) and Jean Mohr were close friends, and when my family moved, in the late 60s, to Atlanta, Georgia, so that my father could become a civil rights lawyer, Jamie inherited my younger sister Mary's horse Dandy Jamie was approximately the age of my younger brother Craig, and they attended Western State about the same time, both sharing a bewonderment with the outdoors. Because of that mutual love of nature, I sent Kerry, Penny, and Mike a eulogy I wrote in 1972 on the occasion of my younger brother Craig's death, at age 24, while returning to his Peace Corps post in Ecuador, envisioning his "rejoining" the mountains he loved so much. I also sent them a poem about my family's love of a rocky promontory on the north side of Kinnikinic Hill in Mt. Vernon, where we (the children) grew up, and where sister Mary and I scattered our parents' ashes in October, 2017. Since returning to the area, Penny has visited the outcropping, a place we call "Lion Rock", several times and has shared her appreciation of the location and view. I am thrilled that Penny has chosen to share those experiences with me. I have already communicated my empathy and sadness over the loss of Jamie to Kerry, Penny, and Mike, and now I do the same on this platform. I have indelible, nostalgic memories of Jamie as a coltish, frisky teenager at the Mt. Vernon swimming pool where I worked in the summers as a lifeguard and swimming instructor (along with, at one point, Kerry). She was so energetic and vibrant! Jamie was a warm, loving woman, and we are all fortunate to have been graced by her presence. Mike and Sadie and your extended families are in my heart and in my prayers. With deepest sympathy, John