In Memoriam, David T. McLaughlin

Yesterday, Dartmouth held a memorial service for David T. McLaughlin, who served as its president from 1981 to 1987. I never had the pleasure of meeting him. It was during his administration that the Rockefeller Center was founded, and he was instrumental in supporting it during its early years.

On the program was a poem, adapted from "Remember Me" by David Harkins:

You can shed tears that he is gone
Or you can smile because he lived
You can close your eyes and pray that he'll come back
Or you can open your eyes and see all that he's left
Your heart can be empty because you can't see him
Or you can be full of love you shared
You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday
Or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday
You can remember him only that he is gone
Or you can cherish his memory and let it live on
You can cry and close your mind, be empty and turn your back
Or you can do what he'd want and smile, open your eyes, love and go on

I thought it was a wonderful way to honor someone. Here is a link to The Dartmouth's coverage of the event, which summarizes the many contributions he made to Dartmouth, the American Red Cross, the Aspen Institute, and others.