The Odyssey of Our Church Elders

Ruth Leason has been a member of the Unitarian Church of Staten Island for over 55 years. A native Staten Islander, she and her family has been very active in the church throughout the years. Ruth is a retired Kindergarten teacher and during former Economist for the National War Labor Board in Washington DC during World War II. Her oldest son died almost 47 years ago from acute emphatic leukemia; Eric, her middle child, lives in New Jersey; and her youngest son, Randy, is currently a Trustee of the church. Ruth has a great sense of humor and is a vibrant and faithful member of our church family. ** We appologize for only being able to record the first 14 minutes of this presentation.

Del Eberhardt is a lifelong peace activist and has been a member of the Staten Island Unitarian Church since 1972. He has served on social concerns, pastoral relations, and music committees, and as a Trustee. Before coming to Staten Island, he served as minister for the Unitarian Fellowship in Fairbanks, AK and was also a minister-at-large for the region, corresponding with Unitarians in much of rural Alaska. After coming to the New York area, Del studied at the Alfred Adler Institute, worked as a psychotherapist at South Beach Psychiatric Center and in private practice, and later served on the Board of Directors at the Adler Institute. Del has a daughter living in England and a son and granddaughter in California. A second daughter died in 2001. He lives with his wife of 26 years, Mary. ** We appologize for only being able to record the first 30 minutes of this presentation.

An introduction to the Odyssey program at the Unitarian Church of Staten Island: an oral history project, digitally capturing the memories of the church elders.