In memoriam: Gene Gollogly, member of the Brighter Green board of directors

It is with considerable sadness that we announce that Brighter Green board member Eugene (Gene) Gollogly passed away suddenly earlier this month, aged 70, of a heart attack in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. A publisher, convener, world traveler, great walker, and someone of immense curiosity, energy, and conviction, Gene had served as secretary/treasurer of the board for several years.

He was a dedicated board member, always prepared with questions, insights, a multitude of ideas, along with astute recommendations. Gene was deeply supportive of Brighter Green’s mission and work and was also a gentle, but persistent, gadfly. He’d urge us to look ahead to our next set of goals and encourage us to do more, while also reflecting on what we’d already done well. Our last board meeting was in December 2020 and, during it, Gene used one of his favorite phrases—he invariably did. “You’re going in the right direction,” he’d said in his distinctive mid-Atlantic accent, a mélange of northern England where he was born and raised, and lower Manhattan, where he’d lived for many years. Sometimes he’d say it a few times during a meeting, with a varied opening phrase, such as, “Mia, I’m telling you…you’re going in the right direction.”

We hope we are, and if so, it’s in no small measure due to Gene. We’ll miss him deeply. You can read more about his life, those he leaves behind, and how to honor his memory here. (Photo: Gene with Martin, the neighborhood visiting cat, both in characteristic postures. Photo by Emily Lavieri-Scull, Brighter Green program coordinator and publishing associate at Lantern Publishing & Media.)