The Oswego Years (Sure Laughs)

THE OSWEGO YEARS (1975-1978)

Picture yourself in 1975! "Piano man", "Dark side of the moon" , "Close to the edge" were all popular tunes on the radio. Marc, commonly known as “Bear” to friends wore his overalls, big fro and everlasting smile. Actually, it"s hard to remember Marc without that big smile on his face! First he lived in the all guys dorm (onieda) and then the coed dorm, Onondaga! Marc, Sande and Cliff were the Few sophomores living with the juniors and seniors! We shared the best of times on the 4th floor of Onondaga! We all had many laughs! The Sande haar fan club, Evan screwing in the light bulb, watching sat. nite live, playing foos ball, raiding the vending machines, the formal, concerts, "81", Ann,Cliff, Mindy and Marc becoming everlasting friends,and the boys Florida trip! Murray the tennis ball was born! We shared such wonderful memories and here are some pictures of those years.
Ann and cliff

Thinking of Marc - Jack (& Andy) Cohen

Thinking of Marc
The definition of premature
Adj. – occurring, coming, or done too soon; a premature announcement.

I never thought that I would prematurely be writing thoughts or memories about losing one of our closest friends Marc Elkan.

A little over a half of year has passed and during this time I cannot think of a day going by where I do not think of Marc. I have wanted to write these words or thoughts sooner, but how does one write about losing one of his closest friends. Marc was not just a friend he was part of our family. Our friendship started through our children and our relationship prospered over the years as our families have grown to future generations. Over the years we have shared many happy times as well as we have always been there for each other in times of sorrow. Marc, I have to say your loss has been one of the hardest to handle but as always we will be there to support Mindy and the kids. As I started at the beginning of this note how do you write about losing a close friend, it is hard. I have a lot more to write about the thoughts and memories of Marc they are on my mind but the words are not flowing on paper at this time.

Love,

Jack and Andy

Tavormina Family Comments

Just wanted to drop a note to say Vin and I are thinking of you and Marc today on your Anniversary. I know it has to be hard but with the love of all your family and friends god will get you thru this day. Marc was special and I know he is looking down upon all of you today giving you extra strength and blessings. You can look back at the last 30 plus years you had with Marc and think what a blessing he was to you and your family and what both of you did accomplish in those years, that it would far exceed anyone's expecitations and many people in their lifetime cannot share the love you and Marc had with each other, family and friends. Marc has left all of you a solid foundation of what a true family is and has implanted many roots and values that all of you will remember forever and live out in your everyday lives. I know he has left a lasting impression to The Tavormina Family that we will cherish for the rest of our lives. There was never a day I saw Marc have an unkind word for anyone (that truly is a special person) and he was always cutting up and enjoying life to its fullest with all his friends and family. Both of you are great examples of what a Wife and Mom and Husband and Dad are to be and many people never get to celebrate the Many Many Happy Anniversary's your and Marc did. So I pray for all of you on this day and hope god gives all of you the strength and courage today and thru out the year. Love,Eileen

Memories from the 'hood - Lynn Hirsch

Special thanks to Lynn Hirsch for sharing:

Carriage Lakes....Neighbors first but friends forever!

When Glenn and I moved to Roswell in December, 1991, the very first people we realized would be more than neighbors were the Elkans. We quickly became friends, carpooling buddies, surrogate parents for each others children, holiday guests at each other's homes, vacation roomies and family by choice!

There are too many memories of Marc to mention all here but several things stick out in my mind that showcase the kind of friend that Marc was. Years ago, Glenn and I were out of town when Neil had a car accident and was taken by ambulance to the hospital. It was Marc who Neil requested to be with him. Marc entered the scene and took charge, never leaving Neil's side even through the night when he was released. It gave us peace of mind to know that Marc was with him until we could get there. Marc never said no when he was needed.

Similarly, it was Marc who took me to the hospital when Glenn had an emergency procedure at 3 AM after his heart attack. I called and he was there to pick me up within minutes while Mindy came down to stay with Seth. Anyone can be a friend in good times when life is fun and easy but it takes a special kind of person to provide help and support when times are difficult.

Marc's caring nature was apparent to all as was his great sense of humor and warm and nurturing ways. When I close my eyes, I can still see Marc's smile! His love of playing practical jokes and his selfless attitude were two other things that endeared Marc to all. I miss him.

I learned recently about the mitzvot that Marc performed quietly.....taking food to the food bank and his regular donations of blood to the Red Cross just to name two. I am inspired by him.....I think that is why I have begun cooking and taking meals to the Ronald McDonald House at Emory. I found that a rewarding thing to do and one that is so easy for me but is helpful to the families staying at that incredible facility. If anyone would like to join me to provide frozen meals for the Casserole Club, just let me know....we can do it together in honor of Marc and his love of performing mitzvot.

I have celebrated many anniversaries with Marc and Mindy and I wondered how I could acknowledge it this year. I am grateful to have been given this opportunity to reflect about Marc and to let Mindy know that I love her and that our friendship has meant so very much to us over the years.

With respect and love,
Lynn Hirsch

Memories from the 'hood

A special thanks to Glenn Hirsch for sharing his memories

TOPIC: The Marc Dictionary
"Pulling a Marc" (n, v) - taking something small and using your resources to make it better
Example from Glenn: I thought the other day, and told my family, that I was thinking of "pulling a Marc." By way of explanation, I remember Marc telling me one day that he had gone to see a movie. After watching whatever he went to see, being at a mult-plex he decided to take advantage of his admission ticket and just make it a double feature by wandering in to see a different movie there. So this phrase to me means that if you have good logistics, you can make any outing to the movies a double feature if you have the desire.

A STORY FROM GLENN:
One of the hopes that I had when we moved from Pennsylvania was that we would have the kind of neighbors that I had when I grew up. Then it was quite common to wander over to someone's house at almost any time and unannounced. The street we lived on in Pennsylvania, it seemed that everyone preferred to keep to themselves, which seemed foreign to me. It did not take long to recognize that my hope was realized when we moved to Carriage Lakes. There were kids in the cul-de-sac and adults frequently outside and interacting. The ring leader in all of this seemed to be Marc. His interest in others and that constant smile were so appreciated. He could always be relied upon whenever there was a need, no matter time of day. You could always tell when Marc would be on his way, either by his distinctive taste in apparel ( how about that tye-died Yugoslavian Olympic shirt?) or his characteristic gait (the waddle he had because of his bow-leggedness.) Marc was a true friend in all senses of the word and will be loved and missed forever.

Mitzvah Tracker

Dear Friends and Family;

This Thursday, February fifth will mark the 31st wedding anniversary of our parents. As you all are aware this year's anniversary will be quite different from past years as our beloved father of blessed memory is no longer in this world. So we ask how can such an occasion be celebrated, or should we celebrate at all?

Not only is the bond of marriage eternal, it transcends time and space itself. So not only is it our parents anniversary in this world, but it is being celebrated in the heavens by our father's soul as well. So now the question is begged how can we celebrate and connect with the next world?

Chassidic teachings reveal that a marriage is a union of two souls, on a mission to bring more Godliness, holiness, and goodness into the world. This can be accomplished several ways; one is by creating others that can also bring Godliness into the world (i.e. children, grandchildren, and so on), another is by the mitzvahs the couple preformed together and as individuals, and thirdly is by inspiring others to elevate this world by brining more Holiness into it.

So together as loved ones of our Dad and Mom we can all celebrate together in a very special and unique way, including Dad, by embarking on an extra mitzvah on Thursday in honor of their anniversary, as well as an elevation of the soul of our dearly missed father. The act of a mitzvah allows for us to join together the two worlds with G-d himself. The mitzvah you choose can be something small or something large. It can be putting on teffilin on Thursday morning, or committing to light Shabbos candles on Friday night, giving extra tzdeka (charity), calling loved ones just to say I love you, or countless others. While you are performing the mitzvah please have in mind our parent's names. And for those who are able please post you extra mitzvah at www.marcthemountainman.com/ , our family blog so Mindy can see all of the mitzvahs/gifts done in their honor. Thank you all for you love and support, and may we only know of happy times, Scott & Devorah ElkanMichelle and Ben Needle Please foward this to anyone else who you can think of.

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