WORLD'S LEADING INTERNSHIP PROGRAM

Beth and I worked on various real estate projects in New York City and formed a wonderful friendship. We embarked upon a mission of visiting new and beautifully designed spaces in New York where we could enjoy a glass of wine together. She shared the beautiful book she was working on... based on her father's prints... and always stories about her family and her next travel adventure. Beth was a smart, creative, and wonderful person.

I am a better person for having known her and the world is a less joyful place without her. May she rest in peace and watch over us and inspire us to do great things.

Beth was and will continue to be a bright, warm, shining light on Nantucket. Her glow continues. Her ability to make those around her feel safe, cared for, and loved is ever present. How remarkable she is to have touched so many so quickly. We have much to learn from her. Thank you Beth for touching me, shine on.

Rarely are you privileged to know someone who emanates such a radiant energy. Beth had that quality - and it was readily apparent through her beaming smile and that twinkle in her eyes. Funny, smart, beautiful - Beth was the embodiment of life's exuberance, of joy and hope, of wonder and accomplishment.

The skies will glow that much brighter now that her star is in the heavens. We miss you, Beth - and thank you for the little piece of heaven you brought us for having known you.

Beth...every once in a while you meet a special person that makes the world a better place. You were that person. You made everyone around you feel special...instantly. When we first meet in Colorado at Eric's University of Dreams program...I remember you telling me at dinner you were ready to "do something different". You said you wanted to sell your business and travel, and explore the world and do art...and in less then three years from meeting you...you did just that. You were one of the rare people in the world that plans a dream and then goes and lives it. It was such a honor to be your friend and money coach. I remember suggesting you join "Strategic Coach"...you not only joined it but took it seriously and in less then a year you were taking six months off a year. You just blew me away with your ability to go make things happen.

Your heart was so big. Everything about you was real.

I remember you coming to my book signing party and being the "bella of the ball".

I wish I could give you a big hug.

I'm hugging you now in heaven--and I hope to see you someday--I know you'll have made a ton of new friends and be ready to introduce me to them.

Your friend, who misses you...

I had the luck to take a non-fiction writers workshop with Beth two years ago. She brought so much passion and creativity into the class, both in her own writing and in her comments on other students' work.

I remember an essay Beth wrote on University of Dreams, brimming with enthusiasm for the project and the friends and inspiration it brought her. She also wrote a proposal for a book on the joys & perils of selling a business, a great idea brought to life by her funny and touching examples. It breaks my heart to think she won't be here to see it through.

As for Beth's big heart, she insisted on printing all copies of her work double-sided so as to save the trees. She also contributed generously to other students' efforts, covering our drafts with insights, encouragement and exclamation points. I am grateful to have met Beth and send love and a big hug to her family.

I was lucky enough to participate in the University of Dreams during the summer of 2002, where I met many extraordinary people, but when I first saw Beth she already stood out. She radiates so much joy and love. Though we had just met we talked like old friends, and she was so interested in my work and life. We shared the excitement of being there; she knew I was excited about my internship and I could tell she was sincerely happy for me.

Beth is so genuine and present she makes you feel good just to be in her presence. May she continue to inspire us.

While it was not Beth's job, she searched and found me an internship with Agenda for Children Tomorrow in New York City through the University of Dreams. She understood my passion for social issues and went out of her way to make sure that I was placed in my dream job. In the few times I met Beth she treated me like she knew me for years. She remembered everything about me, from my passions in life to the insignificant details. What a great impact she has made in my life in such a small amount of time! I will always remember her sparkle that never seemed to fade.

A shining light and inspiration to others with an amazingly infectious smile and a huge loving heart. A close friend for many years. I will miss her dearly. My heart and deepest condolences are with her family and friends.

She will live within us always…

It's taken me a long time to figure out just what to say, but I think I am finally ready: Every time I think of Beth, it still brings tears to my eyes. I met Beth during the summer of 2003 through the University of Dreams NYC program. Beth was such a special part of my summer there. Her dedication, constant interest, and amazing attributes were things that I was in awe of and will miss greatly. She was absolutely one of the most amazing and inspirational people I have ever met! I will never forget the legacy she has left behind not only in the program, but in the lives of everyone she touched.

To the Lochtefeld family: I am deeply sorry for this loss and will keep all of you in my thoughts and prayers.

To Beth: I will think of you often and miss you always. I leave you with this:

Candles of Hope

For you I said a sweet little prayer,

To God in heaven, way up there,

That He might lend a listening ear,

To friends who are indeed so dear.

I lit a candle of hope here today,

And asked God to hear the words I say,

Lord bless those needing this most,

Shelter them with our angelic host.

Let them know that a light is shining

Bring within it a beautiful silver lining

Grant them hope and encourage today,

Please hear oh Lord, my words I pray.

God bless.

Beth has become such an inspiration for all of us at University of Dreams. When I met her back in August, she had an aura about her that was so inviting that I wanted to immediately meet her. She has touched all of us in such a way that we never thought possible. I truly believe that she will be watching over all of us and guiding us through life to allow us to follow our dreams.

The last time I saw Beth was in the Nantucket airport. I was engrossed in reading trashy magazines as she bounced into the little shop telling the woman behind the counter that she had forgotten her book. "I'm so bummed," she joked. She started looking at the books they had to offer, and I just sort of watched her, knowing that she hadn't seen me yet. She made little silly comments about the books she picked up and then put back down. She seemed giddy and extroverted and I was feeling quiet. Finally, I said, "Hi Beth," she looked up from the floor where she was reading a book leaf. She jumped up to greet me with a wide and generous smile. We exchanged updates about how things were going, island life, and travel plans. Her plane was called, and before she walked out she said, "Hey, thanks for sayin' somethin'." I watched her mouth form those words, all the while in a smile. Perfect teeth and shiny eyes. The image of her, and those words echoed in my mind for days after that. "Thanks for sayin' somthin'." There was the moment that I had been watching her when she was unaware of being observed by a friend, and the moment that she thanked me for reaching out and connecting. She reminded me to do the things that are sweeter, and that life is more beautiful when we reach out, connect and share with others. Beth shined divine and luminous light to people everywhere she went and I feel honored and blessed to have known her.

In Loving Memory of Beth Lochtefeld

bright red boots

bright smile

bright

 

light

joyful ember of our being

seeking sister

of our dearest clutch

 

loving lover

sweet surrender

divine provender

of life sublime

 

happy host

joyful embrace

sweet kiss

celebrating life eternal

I had the privilege to meet Beth in Silicon Valley, CA for The University of Dreams class of 2003. She shared her experiences with me and gave me insight on how to live a more wholesome and fulfilling life. The one thing unique to Beth is that she carried so much energy and appeared to have a special glow. It was as if every day was the best day of her life. We will miss you, but you will not be forgotten.

It was my honor to have met Beth. We first spoke in California for the University of Dreams Program in 2003. My first impression was that she was very friendly, smart, and caring. My second meeting with her at Santa Cruz beach confirmed my thoughts. We talked as if we were friends all our lives. In talking about life's lessons, she voluntarily offered to be my mentor. This event touched me to this very day.

Your thoughts and memories will live in everyone's heart and soul till the day we meet in heaven.

Take care my friend.

I never had the privilege of meeting Beth, however, she had a large role in getting me my internship this past summer. I was one of the first theater internship requests for the UofDreams, and Eric told me that he had a cousin in NYC who knew about the theater world over there. Little did I know that this wonderful person was Beth, and because of her and Eric, I had one of the best experiences of my life. She reached beyond simply knowing people - Beth touched people with whom she had never spoken. I will always be grateful for her and, like everyone else who was touched by her heart, I will continue to use her as an example of how to live life: with laughter, love, and to it's fullest!

Because of Eric, and the dreams he shared with Beth, I had the honor of knowing this amazing woman. Because of Beth, and the dreams she shared with Eric, many, many, many young men and women have been touched by the vision, passion, and intellect of Beth, and others in the Lochtefeld family. Because of who she impacted, Beth will always be with us, always impact our lives, and inspire others to transform dreams into realities.

Most personally, I am so very proud that so many of the Nadler family have had the opportunity to meet and learn from members of the Lochtefeld family. On behalf of my daughter Jordan, my brother Larry, and my sister Joann, our thoughts and prayers.

Never a day goes by that I do not think about Beth. My thoughts have been especially intense over the weekend of her birthday. I think it is fantastic that the family have celebrated her birthday by looking back at her 40th birthday celebration. It looked like quite a bash! I would not expect anything less from Beth. As I am typing this message I am looking at a fridge magnet that Beth gave to me on one of my trips to New York, it reads. "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you've imagined." Thoreau. I guess that summed up Beth. I notice that Beth's "Dream Book" is to be published. I remember her showing me the etchings when she first had the idea and she was very excited about it. It will be great to see it come to fruition. Is there any further news on when this will be and how I can obtain a copy?

To Beth's family: I want you to know that you are all in my thoughts and I am grateful as I am sure all Beth's friends are of keeping her memory alive with this wonderful web site.

Love to you all.

"Thinking of you and smiling"

I haven't written about Beth until now, felt I could only fall short of the eloquence that's already been expressed, but as her birthday passes it seems fitting to pull some of her facets together in my mind.

Beth was perfect sunsets and good wine, long meals and soaring music. She was meaty talk well into a sunny morning or late into a stormy night about what makes a good life. She was freshly baked pies and that decadent artichoke dip that brought her family fame on the west coast. She was news from abroad and a great pair of shoes, a pat on the back and always game for the next stop on the journey. She was complex too, and in her search I felt her longing, but I hold on to her curiosity and open heart.

I admired some bracelets she was wearing one Thanksgiving, and she took off half and put them on my wrist. I treasure these thin bits of stretchy metal now, as they're touchstones for all of Beth's qualities, and when I wear one, I wonder about things like what makes a good life and what stop is next on my journey. These are my questions now, my birthday presents from Beth and in thinking about them, and I can't help but feel sad and grateful and game.

Love to my east coast clan. How very lucky I am to be a member of this extended tribe.

This is a posting to mark Beth's birthday.

Vinny and Durell wanted to share recollections of Beth's English friends. We've written in the third person so that the "I"s and "we"s won't be too confusing. But we think this may be more than one message. So you may want to go in reverse! On Friday 8th April, Nick and Durell celebrated the 10th anniversary of their ceremony of commitment to each other, undertaken on a hillside overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, accompanied by dear friends Kevin and Jeff. So, having like Charles and Camilla, put off the celebration until the weekend, they watched the video of that holiday. Within minutes, there was Beth's face, for of course she had come to LA to celebrate her own 35th birthday, to meet Nick, and to join the party before the trip to SF. It was the first time Nick had met Beth and he was bowled over by her. That night there was a sumptuous meal with a splendid birthday cake, but beforehand we wrote magnetic fridge poetry - it's a shame our technical skills aren't up to posting here the footage of Beth making poetry out of the words that she picked up by chance, rather as she did with the random choices of life. It was a lovely holiday, visiting familiar sites in California which were new to Nick and at the end of which he was as firm a friend as the rest of us. As all those who read this site know, of course, that was how Beth worked: we were all her firm friends. Durell had met her first in the late 80s on one of his frequent trips to the US to see Kevin. He soon learnt that Beth only had to enter a room with one other person in it to start a party. But she also had a great flair for throwing parties, not just on the scale of her magnificent 40th which Peter has been reminding us of, but like the surprise party she and Durell gave to bid Kevin farewell from New York on the roof of her building on the very night that Saddam Hussain first invaded Kuwait. It was the first time she sent Durell out to buy Veuve Clicquot, but by no means the last. On that trip she met our friend Jean who was working in New York for a while and they became great friends too. Jean remarked to us recently that she had some wonderful pictures of her 35th birthday party in Old Hampshire, to which Beth had come of course, but there were hardly any of Beth, for it was she who had taken them. As we look back through our own albums we see how often this was true. Beth, we know, brought great light to many lives. But in a deeper way she also traded in friendship. At simple levels, this involved putting herself out for people, as when she flew Durell out to New York to celebrate Kevin's birthday one year because she thought that would cheer Kevin up, or when she made her apartment available to Nick's work colleagues when it turned out that their hotel reservations had been inadvertently cancelled. At another level, she never met someone she forgot, and would always ask after friends like Henrietta or Harriette whenever she called and would ask if we could all meet up when she visited. And without being pushy she offered herself as a friend to anyone who thought it would be interesting to see where it went, as she did with Becky, Jean and Cindy. And she knew who it would be beneficial or interesting to put together with whom, with little gatherings that allowed those of us from one part of her life to meet with people from another. Once when Durell was unaccountably but unutterably depressed, she scooped him off to Glimmerglass for a fantastic time with a lovely group of people it was impossible not to be happy with and sent him back to England with a smile on his face and in his heart. This website has introduced some of her friends in England to the rest of you. But she was a friend to the whole of the Barnes Imthurn family to such an extent that she was really a part of it, being with us for more family festivals than anyone else who was not related by blood rather than choice. She was with our parents and our sister Debbie just days before our nieces Hilary and Jennifer were born. She holidayed in France with both of us when Vinny and Chris's daughter Celeste was a toddler, and coped with the maternal hysteria when the baby fell from something of a height, but happily seemed none the worse for wear. Beth was with us for more than one New Year's celebration, for significant birthdays like Durell's fabulous 40th which ended with a glorious skinny dip, for our parents' birthdays (no skinny dipping on those occasions), for weddings, or just for fun dinners or cocktail parties we held simply because she was there. Beth was with us too for our father's funeral - when he died, she just came over to see what she could do. As we gathered at the family home, people remarked on the framed effervescent poems Beth had sent after a couple of her visits. We knew those poems where not quite as impromptu as they seemed: the words she spoke on our parents' doorstep before our assembled friends had the same poetry in spite of the solemnity of the occasion. Beth was with us whatever the celebration, bringing love and joy in equal measure, and a case of Veuve Clicquot! Her last visit to the UK saw her baking a cake with Nick for our nephew George's birthday, sharing a takeaway Indian meal with Nick, Durell and our sister Dodie (whose first Indian takeaway it was) and splashing with us in the hot tub as we reminisced about Daddy, whose ashes we were due to inter the next day. It was quite a task to be the only person outside the family who moved with us from Daddy's interment on Saturday to his Granddaughter's christening on Sunday. Beth adeptly managed the mood, helping Vinny and Chris prepare "the little misses", as she called their daughters Celeste and Karma for the christening of their youngest, Asta, to whom she stood Godmother at the ceremony. That bond with Asta and her future was going to recognize her place in our family as the Fairy Godmother to us all.