leonardcohenforum.com

Dear Friends,

There will be a memorial service for Arlene Dick in Toronto in April (date TBA). We thought it might be appropriate for members of the Forum to do a couple of things to honour Arlene and let her family know what she meant to us.

First, we would like to purchase a flower arrangement for the memorial service. If you would like to contribute financially to this, please write to Sharon Erde (sharon.erde@gmail.com) or Jarkko (ja@nebula.fi) to make arrangements.

Second, we would like to plant a tree(s) in the Jerusalem forest in her memory. As Sharon explains:

In Jewish Tradition, tree represents life. It's a Jewish custom to plant a tree for a newborn to wish him/her longevity or in the memory of a deceased, to leave something living behind them.

For each tree(s) planted, a certificate is produced and one can choose the wording they wish to be printed on it.

Arlene was hoping to return to Israel for a visit, so by planting a tree, we will not only commemorate her, we will also be able to grant her "a permanent visit" in the place she loved so much.

(Important note: anyone can plant a tree in Israel for everyone, regardless of faith or location.)

If you would like to contribute financially to this, please write to Sharon Erde (sharon.erde@gmail.com) to make arrangements.

Third, we would like to gather all the kind words, memories and condolences written on the Forum into a book to be presented to her family in Toronto. We will use the same card program used for Leonard's birthday card. We will copy what is written on the Forum in the thread "Sad news: Arlene Dick has passed away" (viewtopic.php?f=3&t=33607). Please edit your post if you so desire. If you don't want your post included write Marie (megan2c2b@aol.com). If you would like to add a condolence to the card but don't want to post it on the Forum, send it to Marie (megan2c2b@aol.com).

Within the book, we would like to include your photos of Arlene. If you have one or two, please send them to Marie (megan2c2b@aol.com). Marie has written to several people on Facebook who posted photos requesting permission to add them to the book, including Dino and Sharon Robinson.

Please complete your changes/submissions no later than April 1. After this date, we'll use the messages as they appear in the Forum thread cited above.

Lastly, we'd like to write a short message to Arlene's family from the Forum family letting them know that Arlene was a loved and valued member of our community. We would include it on the first page of the book. We'd appreciate it if someone would volunteer to take the lead on this, post a draft and let Forum members work on it within a Forum thread.

If you have any other ideas, please post them in this thread.

Thank you,

Jarkko, Sharon & Marie

Thank you Marie, Jarkko and Sharon for planning and organizing this. It is a such a beautiful way to honour Arlene.
Leslie

A wonderfully affirming idea !

May I suggest adding some words in the book that reflect on Arlene's leading participation in the Forum as a common spiritual gathering place 'for a decent intention' , a cover of the "Schecheyanu" , a Jewish blessing which speaks of G-d's " keeping us, protecting us and bringing us to this place"

I think she would like that.

Leonard from Montreal

Thank you Sharon, Jarkko and Marie for organising this. The tree(s) will be a wonderful tribute to Arlene. I was actually thinking to myself over the weekend about the card idea and glad there will be one.

Thank you for doing this. The tree and the book are lovely ideas, Arlene would so appreciate this.

Many thanks to Sharon, Jarkko, and Marie for the wonderful ideas of a way to remember Arlene. The sentiments expressed in the card will be something her family can cherish; and the tree will be a lasting memory in her name...

Diana

Ah Marie, Jarkko and Sharon, what truly thoughtful ideas!

Firstly, thank you, but I don’t want to edit either of my posts. They reflect how I felt at the time and I’m happy for them to stay that way.

And secondly, if I may put forward a suggestion regarding your last item -

I don’t mean to impose upon anyone but I wonder if it could be at all possible for Leonard to write a few opening words to be included in the “short” message to Arlene’s family from us. I know it’s probably meant to be from only forum members but it would be something Arlene would absolutely adore.

Another thought is to have two opening pages – the first one a few words from Leonard and the second one from the forum family. There is no pressure intended for Leonard to accommodate this request, but I felt an urge to suggest it.

Bev,

Your suggestion is excellent and hopefully, perhaps, maybe, Leonard might possibly do that. It would be so emotionally touching. But, that is, of course, not our domain.

Such a beautiful request though.

Diana xoxo

Many thanks for organizing these wonderful tributes Marie, Sharon, and Jarkko. Well worthy recognitions from us to Arlene and her family.

What a great idea - I was hoping that her family might get to read what was written on the condolence thread about her, and now they will have a permanent reminder of it. I hope it will bring them comfort to see how much she was valued here.

Beautiful!
Thank you for organising every thing.
Even if they are sad moments , it's nice to be part of a true comunity.

I think it's a beautiful idea to plant a tree for dear Arlene in Israel for her, just beautiful and also hope that somehow she will know from the flowers at Toronto how much we all appreciated her lively presence amongst our very special 'tribe ' of people here .I am so pleased that she attended one of the LA rehearsals ..remember the photo of her on the black couch..and yet she had the tact and grace to leave after half of it ...a true lady. Also loved the spark in her eyes and how she loved our Leonard..thank goodness he did tour again to give her such joy.
My condolences to her family , I know how hard it is for you .
We will always remember her ,
Tina Horkan.

These are all such very thoughtful and appropriate tributes. Thank you all for coming up with the ideas and for your work on these projects!

So beautiful the idea.
Thank you Sharon, Jarkko and Marie for organising this. The tree
will be a wonderful tribute to Arlene. We will always remeber her.
Marina

I've only just seen this thread, and am relieved that the deadline is April 1. Thank you, Marie, Jarkko, and Sharon [in whichever order they are due] for thinking of and organizing this. In my mind, you have selected the best possible ideas. Will return to the thread soon and will contact someone regarding my donation.


~ Lizzy