Obituary for Madeleine J. "Mady" (Kalmar) Harvey
Updates for family and friends:
Mady’s cats – Pablo (m, 11+ years) and Giselle (f, 11+ years) need a home. Please contact me if you are interested in adoption OR can help in the effort.
Camphill – An important community and service. Check it out and contribute in Mady’s memory. https://camphillvillage.org/
Thank you for all of your love, reflections, and support during these challenging days.
All my love,
Ralph
Sally / Jen / Sally / Sarah / Rev. Dr. Cindy / Rebecca / Mike
We encourage you to take the time to copy and paste the following link into your browser to view the YouTube video of Mady being interviewed at the 30th anniversary celebration in November of 2017 of the Acton Commission on Disabilities, which she chaired for several years:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1wNF2N9XeA
Life Story for Madeleine Jeanne Harvey of Acton, MA
Madeleine "Mady" Jeanne Harvey, of Acton, died on March 31st, at Hospice House, Lincoln, MA from end stage renal failure, shortly after her 70th birthday.
Mady was born in New York City on March 15, 1950 to Georg and Vera Kalmar, Jewish refugees from Vienna. Her parents were Holocaust survivors, and this figured prominently in Mady's life. Her parents were artists and Mady proudly displayed many of her father’s paintings in her home. When Mady was 12 years old, the family moved to Camphill Village, Copake in New York and became part of an innovative, international movement to reform society’s approach to engaging people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Established in the US in 1961, families and individuals with and without disabilities live and work together this agrarian community “…to achieve his or her full potential at every stage of life”. “Camphill Village celebrates and honors the uniqueness, dignity, and spiritual integrity of each individual, regardless of outward appearance or disability.”
Mady loved the richness of artistic, musical, farming and social life of Camphill, and maintained loving ties with her many friends in the community throughout the remainder of her life. Her childhood experiences growing up in Camphill catalyzed a lifetime interest in and passion for supporting and advocating for children and adults with intellectual and physical challenges.
Following college graduation, Mady began a career at Harvard University, including time spent in the urban planning and design policy area and then ultimately at the Kennedy School of Government. Her career at Harvard lasted more than thirty years. She held a variety of administrative and management positions, and ultimately served as a senior leader in admissions and program management at the Harvard Kennedy School. Throughout her years at the Kennedy School, Mady mentored many individuals, both as students and colleagues who credited Mady with helping launch their careers. Several students went on to become Members of Congress, judges, diplomats, city mayors, and other government and public service leaders. For many years Mady served on the selection committee for the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Program, a prestigious, highly competitive scholarship for public service oriented graduate study. According to the Washington Post, the Truman Scholarship's "sole aim is to pick out people with potential to become leaders—then provide support to help them realize their aspirations." (Wikipedia)
Upon retirement, Mady was active in the Acton community. She first served as Secretary and in 2015 was elected Chair of the Acton Commission on Disabilities (COD). During her tenure, the COD advocated successfully to improved Town Meeting access and voting for individuals with disabilities by instituting electronic voting; promoted community education on mental health; and assured that disability concerns were included in town policy-formulation and program / service development.
Mady was well known as a lover of all animals, and was particularly devoted to her cats. She also felt a strong kinship with the community on Monhegan Island in Maine, which she visited every summer from the age of two until her final years. She loved music, from attending Woodstock in her youth to playing guitar and singing with family and friends throughout her life. Her network of friends spanned the nation and the globe. Known as someone who would never betray a confidence, she was valued as a confidante and de facto counselor to friends and family alike. Anybody who was once a friend of Mady's remained a friend for life, and she continued to cultivate loving relationships with loved ones despite the distance of miles and years.
Mady was predeceased by her parents, Georg Kalmar, who passed away in November 12, 1994 and Vera Kalmar, who passed away in August 24, 1998, and her former partner Erik Magenheimer, who passed away in November 7, 2013. In keeping with both Mady’s and Erik's generous and selfless nature, Mady derived great comfort in the fact that donation of Erik's organs saved the lives of several people who were the beneficiaries of this gift of life.
Mady is survived by an extended, modern family: her life partner Ralph Edwards of Swampscott and his son, Jon; Bunny and Rich Mooney (sister of deceased partner Eric Magenheimer); and ex-husband Nigel Harvey, his wife Angela, and his adult children Jennifer and Stephen. She is also survived by many loyal and admiring friends, whose lives she touched deeply and who greatly miss her warmth and loyal support.
Due to the State of Emergency regulations on the number of people attending a public event, an online celebration of Mady's life was held Saturday, April 25th, 2020.
In lieu of flowers, please consider donations in Mady’s memory to the Camphill Copake, NY, community, https://camphillvillage.org/get-involved/donate/
To view individual photos please select the "Photos and Videos" near the top of the page.
To view all the photos as a slideshow scroll a bit further down the same page and click on the "Photographic Memories" link. Thank you.
Mady’s cats – Pablo (m, 11+ years) and Giselle (f, 11+ years) need a home. Please contact me if you are interested in adoption OR can help in the effort.
Camphill – An important community and service. Check it out and contribute in Mady’s memory. https://camphillvillage.org/
Thank you for all of your love, reflections, and support during these challenging days.
All my love,
Ralph
Sally / Jen / Sally / Sarah / Rev. Dr. Cindy / Rebecca / Mike
We encourage you to take the time to copy and paste the following link into your browser to view the YouTube video of Mady being interviewed at the 30th anniversary celebration in November of 2017 of the Acton Commission on Disabilities, which she chaired for several years:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1wNF2N9XeA
Life Story for Madeleine Jeanne Harvey of Acton, MA
Madeleine "Mady" Jeanne Harvey, of Acton, died on March 31st, at Hospice House, Lincoln, MA from end stage renal failure, shortly after her 70th birthday.
Mady was born in New York City on March 15, 1950 to Georg and Vera Kalmar, Jewish refugees from Vienna. Her parents were Holocaust survivors, and this figured prominently in Mady's life. Her parents were artists and Mady proudly displayed many of her father’s paintings in her home. When Mady was 12 years old, the family moved to Camphill Village, Copake in New York and became part of an innovative, international movement to reform society’s approach to engaging people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Established in the US in 1961, families and individuals with and without disabilities live and work together this agrarian community “…to achieve his or her full potential at every stage of life”. “Camphill Village celebrates and honors the uniqueness, dignity, and spiritual integrity of each individual, regardless of outward appearance or disability.”
Mady loved the richness of artistic, musical, farming and social life of Camphill, and maintained loving ties with her many friends in the community throughout the remainder of her life. Her childhood experiences growing up in Camphill catalyzed a lifetime interest in and passion for supporting and advocating for children and adults with intellectual and physical challenges.
Following college graduation, Mady began a career at Harvard University, including time spent in the urban planning and design policy area and then ultimately at the Kennedy School of Government. Her career at Harvard lasted more than thirty years. She held a variety of administrative and management positions, and ultimately served as a senior leader in admissions and program management at the Harvard Kennedy School. Throughout her years at the Kennedy School, Mady mentored many individuals, both as students and colleagues who credited Mady with helping launch their careers. Several students went on to become Members of Congress, judges, diplomats, city mayors, and other government and public service leaders. For many years Mady served on the selection committee for the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Program, a prestigious, highly competitive scholarship for public service oriented graduate study. According to the Washington Post, the Truman Scholarship's "sole aim is to pick out people with potential to become leaders—then provide support to help them realize their aspirations." (Wikipedia)
Upon retirement, Mady was active in the Acton community. She first served as Secretary and in 2015 was elected Chair of the Acton Commission on Disabilities (COD). During her tenure, the COD advocated successfully to improved Town Meeting access and voting for individuals with disabilities by instituting electronic voting; promoted community education on mental health; and assured that disability concerns were included in town policy-formulation and program / service development.
Mady was well known as a lover of all animals, and was particularly devoted to her cats. She also felt a strong kinship with the community on Monhegan Island in Maine, which she visited every summer from the age of two until her final years. She loved music, from attending Woodstock in her youth to playing guitar and singing with family and friends throughout her life. Her network of friends spanned the nation and the globe. Known as someone who would never betray a confidence, she was valued as a confidante and de facto counselor to friends and family alike. Anybody who was once a friend of Mady's remained a friend for life, and she continued to cultivate loving relationships with loved ones despite the distance of miles and years.
Mady was predeceased by her parents, Georg Kalmar, who passed away in November 12, 1994 and Vera Kalmar, who passed away in August 24, 1998, and her former partner Erik Magenheimer, who passed away in November 7, 2013. In keeping with both Mady’s and Erik's generous and selfless nature, Mady derived great comfort in the fact that donation of Erik's organs saved the lives of several people who were the beneficiaries of this gift of life.
Mady is survived by an extended, modern family: her life partner Ralph Edwards of Swampscott and his son, Jon; Bunny and Rich Mooney (sister of deceased partner Eric Magenheimer); and ex-husband Nigel Harvey, his wife Angela, and his adult children Jennifer and Stephen. She is also survived by many loyal and admiring friends, whose lives she touched deeply and who greatly miss her warmth and loyal support.
Due to the State of Emergency regulations on the number of people attending a public event, an online celebration of Mady's life was held Saturday, April 25th, 2020.
In lieu of flowers, please consider donations in Mady’s memory to the Camphill Copake, NY, community, https://camphillvillage.org/get-involved/donate/
To view individual photos please select the "Photos and Videos" near the top of the page.
To view all the photos as a slideshow scroll a bit further down the same page and click on the "Photographic Memories" link. Thank you.