It was very moving and meaningful to attend, yesterday, the celebration of the life of Margaret Juntwait (1957-2015) at the Juilliard School. The event had support and presence from colleagues and friends Margaret had everywhere but, especially at WNYC (New York Public Radio) and the Metropolitan Opera. Eric Owens sang “Deep River” and Susan Graham sang “Ombra Mai Fu” and “La Vie en Rose”. Margaret's husband Jamie Katz and son Gregory Andreacchi spoke beautifully, from the heart, noting that she approached every situation–no matter how thorny–with love. Met GM Peter Gelb spoke, noting her record-breaking 1844 broadcasts, as did on-air colleagues Ira Siff and William Berger, both evoking Margaret's special skills and warmth. Her WNYC colleagues Jo Ann Allen and John Schaefer, gave wonderful accounts of the pre-Met Margaret, who spread joy and lots of humor around the station while also dazzling people with her beautiful voice, prodigious gifts and a work ethic in which no corners were ever cut. While I knew all of these speakers to some degree (and some are very dear to me), I did not know Emma Gordon, an Australian who is 20 years Margaret's junior. They met and became very close in a cancer support group. Emma listed four of the many lessons she learned from Margaret:

• “Be a friend worth dying for”
• “Make the ordinary extraordinary”
• “Look for the beauty in everything and everyone”
• “Don't waste time being perfect.”

These are full of truths and very Margaret and not easy to make real in life. But Margaret Juntwait did.