John Lewis Selover

On any normal day, John Lewis Selover, manager of The Christian Science Publishing Society and vice chairman of the Christian Science Board of Directors, would cast his eye over this editorial space and make certain our thinking was clear and our points well made.

Today, however, that task must fall to others.

Mr. Selover passed away Aug. 1, having left us and our readers enriched by his watchful eye and energetic dedication to the Monitor's founding purpose.

Selover loved journalism and those who practice it. In particular, he revered the many contributions of a New England woman, Mary Baker Eddy, who founded this newspaper in 1908. In 1998 he became manager of the Publishing Society, which oversees this enterprise. His stewardship was marked by many journalism awards, including a Pulitzer, and dramatic expansion of the paper's work on the Internet. He was also a frequent and eloquent contributor to the Monitor's daily religious article.

As important as those achievements are, we are struck principally by a colleague whose guidance was gratefully received because it was so gracefully tendered. He reminded the staff almost daily that even earnest activity of the highest order can, indeed should, also be fun. Joy seemed effortless for this climber of mountains, lover of music, and grandfather of two.

(His family plans a memorial celebration in Boston at the end of August, the date yet to be determined.)