Songaia Co-founder Fred Lanphear passed away on Thursday, 9/9 | <– Date –> <– Thread –> |
From: Craig Ragland (craigraglandgmail.com) | |
Date: Tue, 14 Sep 2010 18:12:06 -0700 (PDT) |
Fred Lanphear, one of the founders of Songaia Cohousing Community (35 people in 15 homes on 10.6 acres near Seattle), passed away on Thursday night. As Fred passed, he was surrounded by his loving family, including all of his children and most of his grandchildren (including two via Skype). Earlier in the evening, some of his Songaia neighbors were able to sing with and for him. We sang four of his favorite songs; Simple Gifts, Harambe, Song of the Soul, and Amazing Grace. This combination of family and community was a testament to Fred's way of being in the world. After he passed, Songaia members had a wonderful chance to grieve and celebrate his life on Friday. After private time with him and his family, most of the community gathered in the afternoon to sing and tell stories. One of our other founders, Stan Crow, passed away unexpectedly in November of 2009. Stan's passing was quite a shock and extremely difficult. Fred's passing was expected, which has made it easier as we each develop our sense of closure. Fred's passing was expected because he lived with ALS for 3.5 years. He faced this devastating disease with grace and good spirit. His open-hearted, community-based approach to ALS had huge impact on the people around him. Shortly after his diagnosis, he invited Songaia members to be part of his final adventure. He was very clear about not asking us to help him, but we were invited to participate in his journey to the degree that it felt right. During the course of the disease, increasing levels of personal care was provided by his community and family, with supplementary professional support. Also during this 3.5 years, Fred participated in a 10-week Aging in Community study group at Songaia and helped our community become more comfortable facing the challenges of dealing with mortality in a good way. Many in the Intentional Communities and Cohousing movement came to know Fred well because of his tireless volunteer work on a national and regional level. Fred was an active board member of the Fellowship for Intentional Communities (FIC). He also, along with Rob Sandelin and others, founded the Northwest Intentional Communities Association (NICA), which has hosted regular community gatherings in the Pacific Northwest since 1992. Fred attended and presented at National Cohousing Conferences. He presented in 2006 and 2008, and was the recipient of a lifetime achievement award from the FIC in 2009 at the Seattle Conference. In anticipation of his passing, Fred and I made about 35 video recordings in which he shared his appreciations of each member of the Songaia Community. We did this before his communication became more challenged. Over the last few days, I've been sharing these 2-4 min videos privately with each member. This experience has proven quite moving for some as they heard Fred share about how much and the ways he treasured their relationships. This has perhaps had the most impact on our children, as they learn about loosing people they love. I'd urge others to consider doing something like this if its appropriate within your community. Cohousing can support deep connections with others of all ages. Living with elders has become very important to me over the last 18 years and I look forward to growing into one myself (I'm currently 52 - and would love to reach elderhood by age 60 or so). On a personal level, in addition to being my dear friend, Fred was perhaps my most important role model. It was his energy at Songaia and in the broader communities movement that inspired me to retire from Microsoft in 2005 and to focus my life energy on growing community - both through the expansion of Songaia Cohousing Community and through non-profit work with NICA, the FIC and Coho/US. Sharing our life energy to grow community seems an important way that we can contribute to humanity and the planet. Craig Ragland Songaia Member NICA Volunteer FIC Volunteer Coho/US Exec Dir
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Songaia Co-founder Fred Lanphear passed away on Thursday, 9/9 Craig Ragland, September 14 2010
- Re: Songaia Co-founder Fred Lanphear passed away on Thursday, 9/9 Ann Zabaldo, September 14 2010
- Re: Songaia Co-founder Fred Lanphear passed away on Thursday, 9/9 Nancy Baumeister, September 14 2010
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