‘Everyone has a Jay story’: Community honors Jay Lord’s legacy

GREENFIELD — On a frigid Saturday, hundreds of people gathered at the Guiding Star Grange to find warmth in remembering who John “Jay” Garvin Lord Jr. was to them.

Lord, who died on Dec. 20 at the age of 83 after a battle with cancer, was celebrated by around 200 people, with attendees at the Guiding Star Grange remembering their loved one for the impact he had not just on his family members and friends, but on the broader Franklin County community.

“Everyone has a Jay story. We all know our own little piece of Jay,” Apple Sussmann, Lord’s daughter, said about her father before reflecting on the various connections that attendees of Saturday’s celebration of life may have had with him.

Lord was a community staple for his work in Franklin County. His obituary explains how Lord was part of launching the first Greenfield Farmers Market; served as a Green Fields Market board member; founded Citizens Opposed to Land Taking (COLT), which protected the Green River from dam development; and created a Greenfield Community College program to help adults find employment pathways. He cofounded the Greenfield Center School and the Northeast Foundation for Children, where he was a teacher and director.

Of the many hats Lord wore in his community work, the neon orange cap is perhaps one of his most recognizable, representing his role at Just Roots, a Greenfield nonprofit he cofounded that promotes access to locally grown, healthy foods. As guests entered the Guiding Star Grange, they were each offered an orange hat to remember Lord.

Lord also made his mark nationally and internationally. He served with the Peace Corps in Nigeria, teaching English. He also taught English at Eastern High School in Washington D.C. and advised students in creating the student-led Freedom School.

“Regardless of your connection to Jay,” Sussman said, “we all know the playful twinkle in his eyes and his huge, bearded smile, and we’ve all felt the intense power of his attentive listening and care.”

A leader

As part of the event, speakers who worked with Lord in his professional life shed light on his decades of local impact.

Fellow Greenfield Center School cofounders Marlynn Clayton and Chip Wood spoke to their years of collaboration with Lord to bring the idea for a school to life. Clayton recalled the discussions and debates leading up to the school opening its doors in September 1981, sharing that Lord was “totally in his element” in figuring out the financials for the school and using his community connections to further progress.

“He was always ready to shower us with his exuberant, can-do attitude, which kept us all feeling positive,” Clayton recalled.

Wood spoke to the evolution of the Center School and shared the many other ventures Lord took on in forming the nonprofit Northeast Foundation for Children, as well as the publishing house within that organization.

Speaking to his work with Just Roots was Meryl LaTronica, Just Roots’ co-executive director, who shared that Lord was one of the “superheroes” who brought the community farm to life. She shared that while she was not there to see the beginnings of the nonprofit in 2008, she saw the yield from the seeds planted by Lord and others when the farm began.

As part of her remarks, LaTronica shared the history of the neon orange hat that Lord could be seen wearing before the nonprofit was able to purchase other swag, saying this was an employee uniform that she thinks served as a uniting force.

“I have a hunch part of that is that we both love team sports. It doesn’t surprise me that we both found comfort in our orange hats, belonging to a team, playing hard,” she said. “Team Just Roots lost the captain, but we will still suit up and keep playing.”

LaTronica encouraged everyone in attendance to raise their orange hats to Lord, and arms raised across the room, hats spinning in the air.

‘Where are you?’

Lord’s children and grandchildren talked about the love they had for their father, or for “Bonga,” as the grandchildren affectionately called him. Songs led by musician Annie Hassett and other family members filled the room between each speaker.

Sussmann pulled from letters she and her father had written back and forth over the years to capture the essence of who he was. Daughter Emma Ellsworth also read aloud a story, “In Her Words,” written by Ruth Charney, Lord’s widow.

Closing out the celebration of life was Hannah Lord, who candidly shared her struggle in creating a eulogy for her father, but eventually expanded upon her repeated question of “Where are you?” since his death to reflect on his life.

Some of Hannah Lord’s anecdotes included the high regard her father had for actions over words, the struggle he sometimes faced with the material world, the mischievous side of his personality and adoration for his family. She answered her question of “Where are you?” by saying how she will find her father in the waves of Truro on Cape Cod, the garden in Colrain where she grew up and in the wisdom of her son.

To close, she recalled a story that Charney wrote called “Horse.” The story is about Horse and his farm animal friends as they leave an old forest for a new one, but Horse is afraid to cross a river to reach a new forest. However, Horse is able to cross with the encouragement of his fellow farm animals, which Hannah Lord used to explain how the community has supported their family as they navigate a world without Jay Lord.

“We are that horse,” she said. “This community, each of you, are the animals helping us across, and there are not enough words for the gratitude my family feels for your company.”

A full livestream for the celebration of life is available at vimeo.com/event/5633469. In lieu of flowers, the family is recommending donations to Just Roots in Greenfield.