Thanks to Felipe Hinojosa for the affectionate tribute to Neftali Torres (November). This was the first I knew of his passing. Neftali was gentle, kind and well-liked by all. I saw Neftali a lot in the early ’70s while he and wife Gracie led Lawndale Mennonite Church in a largely Mexican-American part of Chicago. While Neftali filled the pastoral role, Gracie became the public face of the Lawndale choir, a significant catalyst in the cultural evolution of Mennonite church music at that historic moment.
Arlen J. Hershberger, Denver
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