“Lady Elaine” Bortnick, who brought “tagua nuts” to Kabeyun’s swim program, passed away in July. Elaine was well-known at Kabeyun beginning in 1996, when she and her husband lived just outside the camp gate. For almost two decades, Elaine loved working with the youngest campers on the swim dock, where her gentle manner encouraged many reluctant swimmers into the water. It was Elaine who first awarded tagua nut necklaces to campers after their long-distance swim. In addition to teaching swimming at Kabeyun and Camp Alton, Elaine was a dental hygienist and for many years worked alongside her husband in a family dental practice.

Lee Levin, who treasured Kabeyun as a former camper, intern, and counselor, passed away in June. Lee lived with his wife, son, daughter, and a menagerie of pets in Salem, MA, where he served for a time as the rabbi at Temple Shalom and volunteered with Meals on Wheels and other outreach organizations. At Kabeyun, Lee was devoted to hiking and photography. Always curious, Lee enjoyed learning to play musical instruments. He earned degrees at Bowdoin College, the University of Massachusetts Amherst, the Rabbinical School at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York, and Salem State University School of Social Work.

Larry Logemann, Kabeyun’s woodshop counselor for the past 17 years, died in November. Larry was a fourth-generation woodworker who delighted in spending time with Kabeyun campers and helping them bring their creative ideas to life. He liked to say, “If they can dream it up, I can help them figure out how to build it!” Larry had twinkling eyes, an easy laugh, a calm demeanor, and an exceptional safety record in the woodshop. He often said he felt younger at the end of each summer, thanks to the campers and their joyful energy. Larry grew up in Illinois and graduated from DeVry University. He spent 35 years working in radio and TV before teaching electronics at the high school, college, and high school level, then running a country store and an online woodworking business. He lived in Mirror Lake, NH, with Barbara, his wife of 57 years.

“Larry was one of the kindest, most patient teachers I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing. There are countless moments of genuine joy in a Kabeyun summer, but few stood out quite like Larry in the dining hall sharing a masterpiece that a camper had spent weeks completing in the shop.” – Duncan Millar