By Mary-Justine Lanyon
Editor
Cynthia Siemens Willman was passionate about the earth and loved hiking and exploring new trails. It was on such a hike that she lost her life last year.
Members of the Mountain Sunrise Rotary Club dedicated this bench to the late Cynthia Siemens Willman, who was a fellow Rotarian. (Photo: Mountain Sunrise Rotary Club)
To honor and remember her, members of her Rotary Club – the Mountain Sunrise Rotary Club – dedicated a bench to her memory. The bench surrounds a tree on the grounds of the Twin Peaks Community Center.
At the dedication on April 22, President-Elect Corina Colan said that “we gather not just to dedicate this bench but to honor someone who meant so much to all of us – our friend and fellow Rotarian Cynthia.”
Colan went on to say that “Cynthia embodied the spirit of Rotary in the way she lived with kindness, generosity and a genuine care for others. She gave her time, her energy and her heart to this club and to the community – and she made all of us better for it.”
This bench, Colan added, “might be a simple thing but it represents something lasting: a place to talk, a place to reflect and to remember. In many ways it reflects who Cynthia was – a source of warmth, connection and kindness to all who knew her.
“Cynthia, you are deeply missed and you will always be part of us.”
Father Gary Bradley of St. Richard’s Episcopal Church, where Cynthia had worshipped at the end of her life, noted that his parishioners still talk about her – her kindness and her energy.
“Looking at this bench,” Father Gary said, “people sitting here will be looking out. That says something to me about Cynthia. She was so concerned about others, about the world around her.”
As he blessed the bench, Father Gary said that, in the Episcopal tradition, when they bless an object they are actually blessing the person. “This blessing is for your memories,” he told the Rotarians who had gathered at the bench. “It is also a blessing for her family.
“We give thanks for Cynthia’s focus on life, on others – raising them up, making them a little better. She was anxious to bring people back together.
“We bless this object, realizing it is a symbol of the blessing we received from her.”
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