Tribute to Evelyn Ortner

I always referred to Evelyn as “My Fairy Godmother.” Evelyn “wanded me” more times than I can count during the 40 years that I’ve known her. Evelyn and Everett were directly responsible for my purchasing the brownstone on Berkeley Place — an event that totally transformed my life. (Of course, they had assured me that all the house needed was “a little coat of paint.”)

Evelyn’s power to sprinkle magic fairnly dust was demonstrated shortly after I moved into the brownstone. One of the 1,001 problems facing me as I wrestled with the run-down, chopped-up rooming house was the dining room door. The dining room had been converted into an apartment, and in the process the door’s original etched glass panel had been ripped out and replaced with a thick sheet of plywood.

I was in despair over this door, because at that time no one was making replicas of anything Victorian — certainly not etched glass panels. Then — one Saturday afternoon — Evelyn showed up carrying a beautiful piece of etched glass . . . which fit PERFECTLY into the vacant space in the dining room door. It turned out that Evelyn was working on an interior renovation — and the client no longer wanted that old-fashioned panel of etched glass.

Remembering the poor souls who were struggling with the wreckage of their Berkeley Place brownstone, Evelyn magically made the orphaned piece of glass appear at the precise place where it was desperately needed. This was truly the act of a Fairy Godmother. And it was just the first of many, many blessing that came my way from knowing Evelyn. The amazing thing is that there are hundreds and hundreds of other people with similar stories. Evelyn had an uncanny knack for remembering what people liked and/or needed, and then “wanding” them with their heart’s desire. More than anyone I’ve ever known, Evelyn derived her greatest joy and satisfaction from doing a good deed.

Evelyn had three middle names: Love, Thoughtfulness, and Generosity.