Tributes | ModeShift

Alli Gerkman, Lawyer Who Worked To Reform Legal System, Buried In Michigan

by Keith SchneiderSeptember 5, 2019May 4, 20203

OLD MISSION PENINSULA, MI — On a sun-bright day, with a breeze that stirred leaves and a hawk that wheeled overhead, family and friends paid their respects and laid Alli Gerkman to rest yesterday. In a graceful ceremony of poetry, letters, love, and song, about 50 people gathered in a small cemetery here to honor a life cut short by cancer, but filled with Alli’s courage, and distinctive spirit, her humor and splendid judgment. Alli’s …

Gina Lopez, Philippines Environment Secretary Who Closed Polluting Mines, Is Dead

by Keith SchneiderAugust 19, 2019August 19, 20191

Only the good die young. I learned today that Gina Lopez, the former Philippines environment secretary, died today of brain cancer at the age of 65. Two years ago, on assignment for Mongabay and China Dialogue, I spent several weeks with Gina in the Philippines as she fought to preserve her position in the face of reckless opposition from that country’s mining industry. She’d ordered most of the country’s open pit mines shut down because …

Steve Sawyer, A Titan of Environmental Activism

by Keith SchneiderAugust 2, 2019August 19, 20192

Steve Sawyer, one of the great environmental activists and strategists of our era, died July 31 from cancer. It came as a shock. Steve was a classmate at Haverford College, a friend for 45 years, and a heroic figure to me in our shared allegiance to safeguard Mother Earth. Though his years were too short, what he accomplished in 63 has few peers. He was an important figure in stirring attention to the Earth’s deteriorating …

Marian Gyr, Benzonia’s Grand Lady, Lived 97 Storied Years

by Keith SchneiderMarch 11, 2019August 19, 201910

BENZONIA, MI — For a long while, many years in fact, Marian Gyr disdained the mobility afforded by motorized vehicles. She walked. Everywhere. Even in the blowing snow and drifts of winter. Everybody I know here in our little village, on a rise close to Lake Michigan, has a Marian Gyr walking story. She was well into her 80s, with two reconstructed hips, and still walking far from where she slept. How many times — …

Dennis Pace Loved His Life in Benzie County

by Keith SchneiderOctober 24, 2017August 19, 20195

I looked back in my photo archive to find a picture of Dennis Pace, my dear friend who died last week. I found I’d photographed Dennis solely in the winter while we skied or skated. Strange since Dennis and I spent a lot of time together during every other season, as well. He was a bike rider, a soccer and basketball and tennis player. We ran the Sleeping Bear dune trails and sailed on Crystal …

Farewell To My Dear Friend Andy Feinman

by Keith SchneiderMay 14, 2017September 22, 202210

Andrew Feinman, my dear friend, died on May 11 at the age of 61 following a long struggle with prostate cancer. It amazes me to write that sentence. Itâ€™s confounding. Andy Feinman is life to me. His life. Mine. His birthday in April followed mine by five days. Our lives tied together for 56 years. All that trust and knowing. His big heart and fabulous big brass section laugh. His distinctive mix of stubbornness and …

LeBron James’ Letter Is Celebration of Superb Writing

by Keith SchneiderJuly 15, 2014January 7, 20211

Four years ago, when he both challenged the self-effacing values of his Midwestern roots and embraced the youthful self-absorption of his generation, LeBron James announced his departure from Cleveland in a nationally televised broadcast viewed by millions. I was in a diner in Antrim County, Michigan watching the interview while hydrating with a cool beer after a 60-mile summer bike ride. On Friday James explained his return to Northeast Ohio, his intent to finish his …

Martin Herbert Schneider — A Fabulous Life

by Keith SchneiderDecember 18, 2013August 19, 20196

The mortality files of the city of New York, the city that he loved and where he of spent most of his life, will formally record that Martin Herbert Schneider was born on March 30, 1924 and died on December 13, 2013. Those are the statistical facts. But what actually happened is that Martin died two days earlier. He stood on the corner of 59th Street and Madison Avenue, ready to board the bus. A …

Jack Kevorkian Dies — Without Assist; The NYT Obit

by Keith SchneiderJune 5, 2011August 19, 20190

Jack Kevorkian met death on Friday without any assist. Three years ago I wrote his advance obituary for the New York Times, which published it on the front page on Saturday. Kevorkian was an odd and immodest man of scant talent who became a signpost of his time principally by being an untiring zealot. He lived alone. He had no other responsibilities other than himself. That made it possible for Kevorkian to focus such uncompromising …

Ted Bruce’s Life Honored in Benzie County

by Keith SchneiderMay 6, 2011September 4, 20193

Late on Sunday, the day I planned to write this tribute to Ted Bruce, the nation learned that Navy Seals killed Osama Bin Laden in a daring midnight raid in Pakistan.Â It was a rare moment, the first time in my life that death presented itself in such fickle and unexpected garb. One moment I’m saddened by the illogical death of a 60-year-old friend who I’ve known for 21 years as the generous and hard-working …