[December 11, 1995, Waterside Cemetery, Marblehead]

We are gathered together here today to honor the life and spirit of Margaret Rohde , who passed away peacefully at the age of 75 on December 6, 1995, at her home in Marblehead where she lived for over 40 years.

She was born in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, on July 25, 1920. Her father was in the US Consular Service and the family spent many of the following years until the outbreak of World War II living in Paris. There she studied music at the École Normale de Musique and the Paris Conservatory until her studies were cut short by the German occupation of Paris early in the war.

Following the arrival of her family in this country, she met and married Erwin Rohde on March 28, 1942, in Swampscott, Mass. Her subsequent years were spent in the Boston area in various teaching and administrative roles in the field of music. She was on the faculty of the Longy School of Music for over 40 years; there she developed the solfège program and served as acting director for a short time. She also taught at New England Conservatory and MIT, and at Tanglewood where she taught solfège to the conductor and singer fellows at the Berkshire Summer Music Festival.

Mrs. Rohde was a longtime resident of Marblehead where she was active in community affairs. She participated in school and scouting activities when the children were young and was also a member of the League of Women Voters and local garden clubs. Most recently, she was active in the Northeast Bonsai Society and various national genealogical societies.

She is survived by her husband of 53 years, Erwin C. Rohde, three children: Katherine Sullivan of Farmington, Maine, Kirsten Rohde of Seattle, Washington, and Carl F. Rohde of Boulder, Colorado, and three grandchildren and a great grandson.

These are some of the memories we, her children, have of or Mom that we treasure.

We grew up with music all around us. Mom was always practicing the piano, rehearsing with other musicians, playing tapes and records, or listening to classical music on the radio. In the morning, we were greeted to the sounds of birdsongs played by Robert J. Lurtsema on WGBH. I can recall her singing “Oh, what a beautiful morning” in the kitchen on a sunny day, and the yellow canary she kept there. Kirsten remembers doing homework and Mom asking whether the music was too loud and her saying, “No, I love it!” Her tastes in music were broad and she even listened to the Beatles to see what the fuss was all about. She experimented with electronic music and even tried her hand at tape-splicing (a 1950’s fad!) I remember her listening to a beautiful recording of a soprano sing “Bachianas Brazilieras” and tears coming to her eyes. One time she and my Dad went to New York and enjoyed a performance by Sarah Vaughn. On Saturdays, we all went to Longy for lessons and the traditional Saturday morning assembly. From Mom, we have all inherited a love for music of all kinds.

We grew up surrounded not only by music but also with plants and flowers arrangements, weaving and handicrafts, and lots of good cooking. The inside of the house was full of her artistic touches and reflected her eye for form and color. Outside, she enjoyed spending long hours transforming the surroundings into a landscape of ornamental trees and shrubs and flowering plants of all kinds. She had an appreciation for natural beauty and her curiosity about the natural world extended to backyard astronomy and also to growing beautifully colored crystals in the refrigerator. We are grateful for all the varieties of interests she inspired in us- art, mythology, French and European languages and cultures.

Mom loved being outdoors and was an avid sailor and even took up downhill skiing. And later in life, when her travels took her back to the scenes of her youth in France, she also cruised the fjords of Norway, explored Greek islands, and toured Bonsai gardens in Japan with Erwin. We always enjoyed hearing about their adventures and sat through many slide shows!

Wherever she went, Mom touched everyone she met with her friendly outgoing spirit and her curiosity about their lives. She loved cooking for dinner parties and having out of town guests. We were always amazed by the number of people she kept in touch with, and, later in life, she had a network of family and friends across the country that she kept up a lively correspondence with in her genealogical research. She discovered many fascinating details about the lives of her relatives, and always looked forward to sharing her latest findings with us.

Mom, we are all grateful for the many ways you have touched and influenced us. You have showed us how to live a happy, energetic, and useful life. Whenever we cook a special meal, coax the houseplants to bloom, take up crafts on a quiet evening, admire snow settling on tree branches outside, identify a new bird at the feeder, and return with increasing appreciation to the music we heard when we were growing up, we are following in paths you pointed out. From you, we have gained a rich sense of where we came from, a curiosity about the world around us, and an appreciation of beauty. We miss our presence in our lives, but you will live forever in our hearts.

Margaret Rohde’s greatest love and passion was always for music. It transcends ordinary words and national boundaries. As a teacher, she was enthusiastic, inspiring, and exacting, as only a musician can be. She was admired by her colleagues and beloved by her students. It is in the language of music, not words, that we feel that we can best honor and remember her. At this point, we would like to listen to a piece of music that expresses what we feel. The piece we have chosen is based on a Greek legend, composed by the French composer Claude Debussy, and played by the Montreal Symphony and Chorus. (”Les Sirens”)