The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
Music a big part of Atwoods lives
Morris and Ann Atwood: Christ Church, Civic Chorale members saying goodbye to city
SHERRILL >> When Morris Atwood visited the First Congregational Church in Wellington, Ohio for the first time back in 1969, he started a life course that included not only decades of songs of praise but also a romance that has lasted to this day.
And now he and wife Ann are about to set out on a new journey into their own next stage of life.
Both of them attended, although separately, Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Ohio. In 1969, Morris was looking for a church where he could join the choir, and maybe even become its director some day. He recalled he peaked inside one of the rooms on his visit to the Wellington church and asked if that was where their choir met.
He received an enthusiastic and invitational “yes” response from the group inside, who were looking to add another strong male voice to their choir. But even more importantly, his future wife Ann was a member there. They met, and were married the following year.
“We met in the choir loft and have been making beautiful music together ever since,” Morris said.
They moved to Oneida in 1971 to be closer to Morris’ parents, who were becoming elderly. Now, Ann has been showing symptoms of Parkinson’s, Morris said, and they feel a warmer climate will be better for both of them. In only a few days, they will move to Cyprus, Calif. to live with their daughter Mary Helen Albrecht and her family, including 16-yearold twins Alex and A.J.
The couple have been actively involved in the lives of many people in the community in their time here. Ann taught music lessons, and counts seeing several of her former students -- including New York State Sen. David Valesky -- still performing today as a cherished memory. She regrets that she is no longer able to play because of her Parkinson‘s symptoms and arthritis, noting this is the first time since she was 5 that she hasn’t been involved in music.
“Being an organist is very athletic -- there’s a lot of reaching with both the arms and the legs,” she explained. “But I’m glad to see some of the ones I’ve worked with still doing it.”
Ann worked with the Oneida Valley National Bank as a teller and then in their records department, and has also played organ in numerous churches throughout the area as well as weddings and funerals. She was a member of the Zonta Club, and a board member with Liberty Resources.
Morris was a music teacher with the Oneida City Schools for eight years beginning in 1971, and went on to work with a variety of other districts, he
They moved to Oneida in 1971 to be closer to Morris’ parents, whowere becoming elderly. Now, Ann has been showing symptoms of Parkinson’s, Morris said, and they feel a warmer climate will be better for both of them. In only a fewdays, they will move to Cyprus, Calif. to live with their daughter Mary Helen Albrecht and her family, including 16-year-old twins Alex and A.J.
said. He was also associate editor of the Oneida Dispatch from 1982 to 1984, and a freelance writer for Eagle newspapers in 1999. Morris is well-known for his work to promote reading locally as a literacy coordinator for Madison County Reads Ahead, teaching scores of area residents how to read over the years.
Both have enjoyed their tenures with the Oneida Area Civic Chorale as well, calling it a boon for the area.
“That is quite a group for a small community like this to have,” Ann said. They have also performed with the Master Works Chorale.
But it might be their work at Christ Church United Methodist that has left them with their most appreciative audience. Among many other duties, both musical and congregational, at the church, Ann was their organist from 1989 to 2003, while Morris was their choir director from 1975 to 2004.
“This church has always supported music, often to the point of having a separate choir director and or- ganist,” Morris said.
Their congregation hosted a special bon voyage service and reception on March 26 to bid adieu to their longtime musical friends, with a special church bulletin for their morning adorned with a colorful photo of the couple in front of palm trees. There, the couple found a large board that showed two maps -- one of their hometown here and one of their new home in California -- with messages to them written in between. They also received a jar with pieces of treasured paper also with personal memories written on them.
Morris said one of the most touching moments of the service, naturally, was in song. They sang “Farewell and Godspeed,” a hymn written a few years ago by their own congregation member Cathy Ziemba with the lyrics “May God go with you on your way / His love surround you every day / His hand in yours will ever stay / MayGod go with you on your way.“Those words really spoke to his heart, he said.
Their Pastor Bob KolvikCampbell offered some touching words of his own for his departing friends, and the congregation they are leaving behind physically yet not emotionally: “Ann and Morris have sought through their leadership in many capacities at Christ Church to live out their growing discipleship in Christ. As they continue to grow in Christ with this move, may we continue to pray for Morris and Ann, and seek to grow as Ann and Morris continue to grow in Christ.”
Morris said he has always been impressed by the way the church members are open to new ideas. “Let’s give it a try” has always been a favorite phrase there when presented with fresh options, and he said he has enjoyed all of the new avenues that openness has brought them over the years.
Both agreed one of the biggest aspects they will miss will be the people of the area, and all of the organizations they were a part of in their many years here in central New York.
Moving in with their daughter has now taken their lives full circle, because just as they moved to Oneida to be closer to Morris’ parents, now it is their own turn to be the older generation of their family.
“We are now the elder ones, moving to be with our daughter and her family,” Morris said, noting they both look forward especially to living close to the twins. “We are definitely looking forward to getting better acquainted with them.”