Pam McLemore

Continuing our series "Getting to Know Our Neighbors," we want to introduce you to Pam McLemore who has lived in the Esplanade since 2021 when Pam and her husband, Cal, moved from a “workman’s cottage, a darling little house” in north Cambridge. (Before that—until 2006-- they lived for many years in Brookline.)  It was in Cambridge that together they took care of their Japanese Garden, something they both loved. Although Cal had suffered a stroke in 2015, he was able to manage physically but his ability to communicate was compromised, suffering from severe aphasia. During the pandemic, Cal’s condition worsened and he began to show signs of memory loss. Pam knew they needed to move to a place with less upkeep, on one floor, and, as she noted, “I wanted us to keep our quality of life—our way of living.”

After looking for a while, Pam found the Esplanade and she knew that it was perfect. Unfortunately, Cal’s condition worsened and he died in May of this year. This was Pam’s first Christmas without him and it’s been hard. As they often did, she went to Geneva, Switzerland, to enjoy a family Christmas with her sister’s family and her son, Kurt, who lives and works in advertising in Sweden. Her daughter, Jameela, a nurse whose career was focused in research in drug studies, lives in North Carolina with her family.

All her life, Pam has been a “citizen of the world.” And she writes, “Diversity has been a part of my life since I was 5 years old and moved with my family from California to Saudi Arabia.  That was my home for 13 years interspersed with school in Switzerland and travels around the world.   I have lived in the US for most of the past 50 years, but still feel a great pull to other countries and other nationalities.  I seem to relate to immigrants perhaps because that is how I felt when I returned to the US for university.  It was difficult being a stranger in my own country.”  Pam’s first husband was in the Air Force and they and their two children lived in Georgia, North Carolina, California, Oklahoma, and, finally, Houston where, after her divorce, she met and married Cal who was an oil executive with Aramco. In Houston she began her international-focused banking career. She and Cal lived in London, Stockholm, and, then, Boston, “the first time ever that we chose our own destination!” She retired in 2006 shortly after they moved from Brookline to Cambridge.

Pam leads an active life, giving to others, and always looking for ways to improve the world! In fact, she, along with the Composting Committee, have established composting program in the Esplanade. She is also working on getting textile recycling started here. In fact, earlier in Cambridge, and “as a result of being injured by a cyclist and being the caretaker of Cal, she became active advocating for Pedestrian Safety so that we can safely age in place… Pam was pivotal in getting Somerville City government to implement a Memorial bench program. She was also active in “Staying Put,” a group of Cambridge and Somerville seniors engaged in learning about and “influencing public policy on issues that affect seniors.” It is no surprise, then, that she has also become the lead member of the Esplanade’s Aging in Place (AIP) Group —looking for ways to get others involved. After she was accepted into the Social Science Club of Newton, Pam took the opportunity to research and write a paper on Aphasia that she hopes to present at one of the future AIP meetings.

A wonderful experience for Pam this year was meeting an Esplanade neighbor, Sissela Bok.  They discovered that they had graduated from the same school in Switzerland! It is The International School of Geneva, celebrating its 100-year anniversary this year, an international school with 130 nationalities, 80 home languages, and an international environment with unrivaled diversity. Pam reports that the international high school had “a very deep impact” on her—"I was shocked when I returned to the US for college—hearing 2 words that I had never heard in high school—’discrimination’ and ‘prejudice’.” They just weren’t a part of Pam’s vocabulary. Her heart, as she says, “is in many places.” Meeting Sissela added to her appreciation of her own life and its richness.

Pam loves life at the Esplanade and in Cambridge, a city that she thinks of as international. With her incredible energy, she will continue to be involved in activities and try to get others to participate. She hopes that the Esplanade community will grow and she will work on that. She said that she loves to have people visit her and “just come for a cup of coffee or glass of wine”!  So, when you see Pam, say “hi” and, if you want to get involved building community at the Esplanade, let her know! 

--Jane Hilburt-Davis