A Fond Farewell to CHS Treasurer Andy Leighton
Thu January 1, 1970
Friends and family gathered at the Hooper-Lee-Nichols House in early April to celebrate Andy Leighton, who has stepped down after nearly three decades of service to the Cambridge Historical Society. Current and former Society presidents, executive directors, council members, staff, and friends thanked Leighton for his countless contributions as a member of the Finance Committee and the Advisory Council, and his twenty years as Treasurer of the Society.
Renny Little, former CHS Executive Director (1987-1998), praised Andy’s many accomplishments and thanked him for all he did to stabilize the Society’s finances and “keep things running on an even keel.”
Addressing the gathering, Andy expressed his gratitude for having had the opportunity to participate in the Society’s operations since 1991, when Peter and Sylvia Winn first recruited him to serve on the Finance Committee. He explained that when he retired from Buckingham Brown and Nichols, his formal involvement with the Society deepened and he became a member of the Governing Council. Andy was elected Treasurer in 1997 and served until 2017. He described his involvement with the Society as “a very enjoyable and enriching period in my life, made possible by this organization and the people I have come to know.” He particularly thanked the eight presidents and seven executive directors “…for the efforts they have put into the Society during my years here. All have brought their own expertise, dedication, and energy to bear on formulating and fulfilling the Society’s mission.”
Andy’s history with the Society goes back even further, having grown up next door to the Hooper-Lee-Nichols House. He remembered playing with his childhood friend Malcolm Frazier, a grandson of the Emerson’s, in the very room where his goodbye party took place. He also noted that in 1976, his wife Phebe, a member of the Plant and Garden Club and a garden designer, created a design for the Hooper Lee Nichols House gardens which was implemented by Charles Eliot, then President of the Society.
Andy’s fellow Council members will miss his wisdom, kindness, humor, and generosity. Although his formal involvement has ended, all hope that he will remain an active member of the CHS community.
April 3, 2019
Andy Leighton, Past Treasurer, Ted Hansen, Past President, and Renny Little, former Executive Director 
Janet Burns and Shelagh Hadley 
Frank Kramer, Councilor, and Christina DeYoung, President 
Marieke Van Damme, Executive Director, and Belinda Clerisme, Treasurer 
Lewis Bushnell, Karen Davis, Andy Leighton, Liz Adams, and Kathy Born 
Heli Meltsner, Councilor, Tod Beaty, Past President, and Heather Amsden 
Annette LaMond, John Born, and Joe Moore 
Andy Leighton 
CHS Executive Directors, past and present: Marieke Van Damme, Gavin Kleespies, Renny Little, Karen Davis, and Lewis Bushnell 
Marieke Van Damme, Executive Director, and Marni Clippinger, Editor 
Frank Kramer and Andy Leighton
Photos by Marissa Kramer Photography