Author: Moonling

Laughter is always the best medicine.

Gregory, how do you measure the significance of a 44 year friendship? Impossible to quantify. Your giddy laugh and infectious smile have remained alive in me since my 19-yr-old self joined the Blue Heron Bakery so many decades ago. 

You have always been a wise one in my life: you mentored DIY sensibilities while making repairs and doing carpentry projects at that funky bakery building. I learned bread-baking and granola-making tips and tricks–and you taught me double-entry bookkeeping, which comes in handy to those of us who hop and jump through careers and collective enterprises. That crazy baby blue geodesic dome you built on the back of the bakery delivery pickup always made me grin as I traveled around town delivering bread and granola. I can’t find any photos, but it remains vivid in my mind.

Most meaningful was your knack for being in the present moment—always curious and engaged. You modelled warmth as a young father and I remember talking about the joys of kids in our lives… my encounters in collective households. You encouraged me to travel to the Whole Grain Collective Baker’s conference in Buffalo one year, and as Blue Heron got more involved in the collective bakeries cookbook project, the next conference had visiting bakers camping on your land! 

I have loved reconnecting with you when I returned to Olympia recently–in yoga classes, socializing, at the co-op. So much gratitude to you, Gregory. Your laughter and smile remain a true gift that I’ll continue to pass on to those I meet.

Melissa Roberts

A reflection on Gregory

In his writing, Ticking of Time, Gregory pens his final few sentences, “And right there in the middle, between the immense and the tiny, lies the most important and most obvious to us of natures’s tickings, the human heart.  Keeping time in a variable, more human, kind of way, moving faster as we move faster, slower as we calm down, changing with our state of mind.  Perhaps this is the truest measure of time we can ever really hope for, perhaps the only one that really matters in the end.”

He died of a heart attack on March 21, 2025.

What an amazing man, an old soul, a man ahead of his time, with a vast appreciation of our natural world, a true teacher, a humorist to his core, a lover of life, learning, & sharing, and a heart as infinite as the universe.  Gregory, my friend, you left us far too soon . . . go safely and radiantly on your next adventurous journey!  You will be missed until we all meet again . . .

Margaret Jarrett

My Big Brother

When we were growing up, and much like other siblings, our nicknames evolved weirdly.

Greg-Grag-Ragamuffin-Muffin-Muff

Leslie-Lester-Pester-Sapester-Sap

Somehow these names stuck through adulthood and it was common for us to greet each other by Muff or Sap! We always laughed when those names were used. Witness the imaginative poem I received one birthday about 30 years ago, complete with a graphic origin drawing 😂

“There once was an old maple tree

Too old to make syrup was she

So she spit out her tap

A young girl of sap

And everyone knew her as Leslie.”

Gregory was my big brother. We were only three years apart in age and while he pursued his own interests and likewise I did too, there was always a bond between us that lasted our lifetime. There were some gaps while we entered different phases of our lives but we always managed to stay connected in some capacity. After my husband passed away 4 years ago, he stepped up in his own way to look after me, as if it were now his responsibility. No matter how capable and confident I was, I appreciated him acknowledging he cared about me, showing an ongoing interest in my life and sharing more of his with me – he was always someone to laugh with, cry with, celebrate with and help each other remember our common bonds. A connection to our past. Gregory and I shared this connection and his death has left a void in my heart and soul but our memories together will always make me smile and warm my heart.

Gregory was part of the Valley

I am unsure how long I have known Gregory as we met when I was a child and at that point every one is just old to you even though I now realize he was was likely quite young when we met.

Gregory was part of my beloved Independence Valley farm community.

He was there along side Betsie at every potluck, birthday party, game night, dance party, natural disaster/flooding clean up and other events. I grew up playing in his back yard, waving at him on the porch, wandering through his barn, wandering into the house often unannounced just dropping by on a neighbor.  I never thought about where he came from or that one day he would die. He was one with the Valley, ever living, ever there changing with each season.

I remember learning he had a life out side the valley and was dear friends with Debby and Keith ( who lived in Olympia) who were my friends! I Remember finding out as a young adult that Keith and Gregory had been friends for years and that their children were friends. I had known both these people for years and never had a clue. I was shocked but also delighted.

Betsie and Gregory invited me and my friend Cylas to go back packing when I was in my teens. What a blast. I slid down a snow bank twice. I have no clue if I scared my chaperones, looking back that must have been scary but they played it cool. if there are pictures from that time I do not have any. (Bets here: I found one! It’s below.) We hid in our tent from mosquitos playing cards!

My memory’s are so fond of  that time. I remember thinking, “The Valley  grandparents are so cool.” I never told Gregory that I sort of thought of him in this way.

It’s only been in the last two years that I have gone from relating to Gregory almost as if he was part  of the land  and me just a little fuzzy animal also on the land. This came when I invited him to both my wedding and baby shower. We got to be two humans for those last two years.

I was so overjoyed that Gregory came to my wedding. He and Betsie danced so hard, what a young spirit he has.

I did not get to see Gregory at my baby shower because he died right before we had it. Now my baby boy sits in our living room enjoying the beautiful mobile that Gregory and Betsie made for him.

Miss you, thanks for being one of the people who helped raise me in the valley.

River

 

 

Photo from Calliope

From 1973 to 1977 we had a student household on Mix Road called Frog Farm. We had a well worn path through our back field and woods,  and across the Evergreen Parkway and into the field behind Calliope. Greg lived at Calliope for much of that time. I’m not sure how I ended up with this picture. And I don’t remember the names of some of the people in it. But Gregory is in the middle front with Chrissie McFadden on his left. Also, Don Harper and George in the front row.

 

Family memories with Gregory

Gregory, Leslie and Doug became step-sibs to my brothers Ed and Jeff and me when we were all teenagers.  I remember Gregory’s keen wit and good nature as we shared weekends, holidays and the occasional family camping trip.  I’m so glad I finally made it to visit Betsie and Gregory in Rochester last summer along with Leslie and Barbara.  He will be greatly missed.

A couple of Brother memories

My brother Gregory whittled this back in the mid 70’s and gave it to me while I was in college. It’s often been a conversation piece when people notice it sitting on a prominent shelf in my home and ask about it. He always promised that he would add another link or two but time seemed to have gotten away from us as other projects and events took precedence i.e. plumbing repairs, cribbage games, cooking curries, reminiscing … all time well spent and cherished with my brother.

For the past couple of years, we kept up a daily Wordle exchange ritual. He liked to work the puzzle first thing in the morning and share it while I liked to wait until I saw how many tries it took him. At first he was predictable using the same word with lots of vowels for his initial guess. I used that information against him and knew some letters based on his first guess. Some would call it cheating but after I told him what I had been up to he considered it as resourcefulness. Needless to say, he started using different first words after that! He usually made a comment about how well or poor he did that day and whether he thought it was a good or dumb word. It was a nice connection between us to have some daily contact and I truly miss it. I still work the puzzle every day but now it feels empty to not click the Share button with him.