AMHERST — Whether it was overseeing Town Meeting as its moderator, being part of the South Congregational Church or leading tours at the Emily Dickinson Museum, Harrison Gregg was a part of the community for many years.
“In my mind, he was a true public servant,” said Jim Pistrang, who succeeded Gregg as town moderator five years ago. “He truly believed that all citizens should have a voice in their town government.”
Gregg, 76, died Monday after a battle with Parkinson’s disease. Service and funeral arrangements have not yet been announced.
Beginning in 1994, Gregg presided over 19 annual Town Meetings before announcing at the last session of fall Town Meeting in 2012 that he would not seek re-election.
Lewis Mainzer, a Town Meeting member in Precinct 10, said Gregg was a guide for democracy in Amherst and was every inch a gentleman.
“His good name will last in Amherst’s history,” Mainzer said.
Pistrang said Gregg was his mentor, noting that he appreciated Gregg being scrupulously nonpartisan in his approach, trying to find a balance in calling on people to speak and never casting a vote.
Gregg’s death comes just days after Amherst voters agreed to change government to a 13-member Town Council that will replace the 240-member Town Meeting and five-member Select Board. But the debate on the new town charter has created divisions, which Precinct 7 Town Meeting member Richard Morse said can be overcome through Gregg’s example.
“His humble, graceful service as moderator was a constant reminder to the town of our desire to be good to each other,” Morse said.
Finance Committee Chairwoman Marylou Theilman said anyone who can hold the moderator position as long as Gregg did has to be an extraordinary person.
“He was well respected and totally enjoyed the challenging role of moderator, which he carried out with impartiality and dignity,” Theilman said.
Gregg served as president of the Massachusetts Moderators Association and gave an address in 2001 that expressed his feelings about Amherst’s government.
“I love the ideal of participatory democracy, the right to speak one’s mind, the right to petition one’s government for redress of grievances or simply to bring forward a good idea that might benefit the community as a whole,” he said at that time. “I love the reality of everyone in town, or at least those who care to do so, coming together to talk things out and share responsibility for the actions that will be taken in their name.”
Gregg worked for many years at Amherst College, retiring in 2010 as its associate registrar. Earlier, he was a project manager in the college’s administrative computer center.
He leaves his wife, Nancy, and children Leah and Evan.
Before he was town moderator, Gregg was moderator at the South Congregational Church.
The Rev. Vanessa Cardinale said Gregg was a thoughtful and dedicated member of the church and was on the search committee when she was called to be its pastor.
“His insight and humor were always appreciated within the community,” Cardinale said.
Retired teacher Bruce Penniman, who first met Gregg in 1971 when they were graduate students in English at the University of Massachusetts, said both families became part of South Church because of its longtime pastor Arnold Kenseth. Gregg, he said, appreciated that Kenseth was a poet whose sermons often included references to Dostoevsky and Melville.
Penniman and Gregg worked to put on events at the church.
“Harrison and I served together on the Arts Committee, which sponsored poetry readings, concerts, art shows and other activities,” Penniman said.
Morse said Gregg had a deep love for music. “I know from personal experience that he was a beloved member of the South Church choir,” Morse said.
As a guide at the Emily Dickinson Museum, Gregg led visitors on tours of the property, and also often led readings and discussions of her poetry.