"Dear Jeannie, Raphael, Sabina, family members and distinguished Guests:

It's a privilege and an honor for me to be allowed to say a few words in tribute to Werner Seligmann. Werner, himself, would undoubtedly look at me with a tilt of his head and a look of disbelief: "What's the fuss, what's so special", he would say, "I've has a wonderful life with my wife, children. and my profession: but it's nothing out of the ordinary."

Here I will suggest that Werner's life was anything but ordinary when we gauge a life by the impact it's had on others.

Much of Werner's youth was spent in a fight for survival. This story itself speaks volumes but it is a topic that Werner never spoke about. He was born in Osnabrueck, Germany, not too far away from the Dutch border. His family abounded in musicians: his father was a professional violinist as were two of his uncles. Werner himself tried his own hand at playing an instrument, but his father insisted that he learn a "REAL Profession". And so it happened that he developed an interest in architecture even as a young teenager. In fact, he began his studies in the city of Muenster, and a lifelong passion was kindled.

In 1949, he was 19 years old and left Germany as a Displaced Person on a U.S. Army troop ship bound for New York harbor. From there, he came to Groton, New York, a village just outside of Cortland. His uncle, a physician, had settled in Groton during the years America was bereft of doctors who were away serving in the armed forces. So it was that Werner reached this country on Thanksgiving Day 1949 - one year short of 50 years ago this past week. Shortly after, he enrolled in the School of Architecture at Cornell University, and it was here that the Seligmann legend began - when he assumed the role of teacher and motivator among his classmates. This love of teaching was the core and the essence of Werner.

My personal connection to Werner and Jeannie goes back to my childhood. I grew up in Homer a small southern tier village that Jeannie would label a suburb of Cortland. My roots were also based in Germany and as fate will have it, we both returned to Europe in the late '50's. Jeannie and Werner lived in Zurich while I was in Basel and I remember exchanging visits during that time. Looking back over the years, I remember that Werner had a lifelong passion for music, especially chamber music and opera. And, fittingly, this ardor was transmitted to his son, Raphael. Raphael doesn't really remember me but we first met in the living room of his grandfather Lieberman's home in Cortland. The year must have been 1963 when I dropped by to see Jeannie and Werner and found young Raphael sitting on the floor listening to the record player. Not really knowing how to begin a conversation with such a young child, I self-consciously asked him his preference of music. No hesitation on Raphael's part when he answered "Opera". It's not everyday that I find myself discussing favorite operatic arias with a 3 year old but I went ahead anyway and started to hum.. (Ia ci darem Ia Mano). Well, Raphael, I asked in a very patronizing tone of voice: do you happen to know where the florios aria comes from? He didn't hesitate, looking at me with disbelief for asking such an obvious question, he answered,: "Don Giovanni". This story is absolutely true and I remember looking at this young cherub on the floor with absolute wonderment.

Finally, I'd like to share an insight given by a former Brandeis Professor named Morrie Schwartz: he spoke to a sportswriter named Mitch Albom, who subsequently published a series of conversations he had with Mr. Schwartz in a best selling book called "Tuesday's with Morrie". Morrie Schwartz was a wise man as was Werner and somehow I can hear them speak in a very similar way.

And I quote:

It's natural to die. .the fact that we make such a big hullabaloo over it is all because we don't see ourselves a part of nature. We think that because we're human we're something above nature. .We're not. Everything that gets born, dies. .and there's the payoff. Here is how we are different from the plants and animals.. You live on in the hearts of everyone you have touched and nurtured.. and (I would add, taught).

Death ends a life.. not a relationship."