Begin forwarded message:
From: Mari Crocker <maricrocker@gmail.com> Subject: Remembering Larry Ward and Joy Warner Greene Date: August 19, 2025 at 9:40:48 PM EDT To: oe@lists.wedgeblade.net, ICA Dialogue List <Dialogue@wedgeblade.net> Reply-To: Mari Crocker <maricrocker@gmail.com>
Dear colleagues,
Oh two such vibrant and creative spirits, both of whom Joe and I encountered when we joined the Order in June 1968 were Larry Ward and Joy Warner Greene.
And somehow, at this same week in 2025 we have learned of their passing.
Joy was the embodiment of her name — rejoicing with energy and possibility wherever she was present. Joe and I “adopted” Joy and Herman as our “kids” and when we left for a SEAPAC teaching trek in April 1969, we left our car ( a blue Toyota Corolla) in their care for a year. We loved their combination of disciplined inquiry (Herman) and creative exploration (Joy).
If Joe were here with me today he would join me in celebrating with deep thanks the joyful residue in societal enlivening, occasioned by Joy, one who loved the Mystery, and who has also been deeply loved by God.
Larry was a powerful presence from Day 1. His intellectual prowess and spiritual profundity knocked the sox off most of us. Somehow Larry and Joe and Nadine and I “clicked”, and we often hung out together for theological conversations and dancing. We came to love this family, and were delighted when our sons (Ben and Jon) and their son (Emanuel) met at summer camp, and later on when they all three settled in Boston, MA.
If Joe were here with me today he would applaud Larry’s decision to get sober, and would give abundant thanks for how Larry’s work with Thich Nhat Hahn has invited practices of mindfulness that are now shared around the world.
How blessed we are, colleagues of the Long March, to have lived in the presence of such amazing Saints.
Grace, peace and love,
Marilyn