Robert Skafte

At your memorial last week they asked us to write you a personal note but today I write you a public one…or at least try to. When I first learned of the murder at Oak Grove Grocery, I knew it could possibly be you. Sometimes after working together at the Overlook Gardens you would be heading out to do some shopping for Oak Grove and needing to walk your beloved dog home first (becoming a slower process lately). Then the news became public that the murder was your murder. It was you.

“A gulf has opened up in our culture between the visibility of evil and intellectual resources available for coping with it.” - Andrew Delbanco

But this is not what I will be remembering. I will remember your beautiful ballet dancing seen in clips of past performances……that was new to me. I will remember your commitment to community both in Stevens Square and Loring Park. But most of all - I will remember the inviting face to garden volunteers and bending over the dirt with hands gently planting and weeding.

You tended beauty for us all to enjoy.