TO:  Family and Friends

Perhaps you have heard about the Governor of Massachusetts’ new COVID rules, but if not…. well, they seriously buggered up our plans for the ALS Walk-a-Thon scheduled for Saturday, October 3.  The new rule is a limit of no more than 50 people for an outdoor event.  We had more like 100 people hoping to attend this fundraiser, celebration, and walk for Phyl’s ALS team, Phyl-in-Tropics in October.  Frankly, I was getting nervous about this event and the new rules made our decision for us.  

So…..  Jake, Brian, Jeremy, and I have decided to push the Walk-a-Thon event to Sunday, June 13.  This is close to Phyl’s yahrzeit (the one-year anniversary of her passing in Judaism).  We will still have it at Look Park in Northampton, and if the world is safe again, it will be a nice way to remember Phyl and raise some money for ALS research and patient care.  You will be invited to visit her gravesite at this time as well.  So….. 

….if you were planning on joining us for the walk on October 3, please mark your calendars for June 13 and I’ll keep you posted! 

Also….  with sincere apologies to our friends and families from states outside of New York and New England, the Governor is mandating a 14-day quarantine for anyone traveling from outside this area.  This will impact some of you who planned on attending the Celebration of Life on Friday, October 2.  I feel badly about this, but my sons and I agree that we need to comply with the COVID restrictions.  If anyone got sick, we’d feel terrible.  So…

…if you planned on joining us in October and traveling from outside of New York or the New England states, please accept our apologies and change your plans.  Of course, I do hope you can join us in June!  

Finally,…. because of this change, we are trying to move the Celebration of Life (with no more than masked 50 people) from Friday to Saturday, October 3.   More on that later…

This is a difficult time for everyone.  I hope you will forgive us for the changing plans.  Phyl wanted “a big party” and we will do our best in June!   But we felt that placing her ashes in the ground this fall was important.  We feel her loss every day….   

In grief and gratitude…. 

John Gerber 

AND A REQUEST TO ALL OF PHYL’S FRIENDS AND FAMILY….

…please send a short videotape from your phone to be included in a video for Phyl’s grandchildren to John at jgerber@umass.edu, or use Dropbox at https://www.dropbox.com/home/Memories_of_Phyl.

Please state your name and your relationship to Phyl (for the grandkids) and then a brief memory. 

Thanks…..