The Senior Celebrants

Two 99-year-olds—Frances Pass Addelson ’30, of Brookline, Massachusetts, and George Barner ’29, Ed ’32, L ’33, of Kennebunk, Maine—the oldest...

Two 99-year-olds—Frances Pass Addelson ’30, of Brookline, Massachusetts, and George Barner ’29, Ed ’32, L ’33, of Kennebunk, Maine—the oldest graduates present on Commencement day, were saluted during the afternoon ceremony by HAA president Jonathan L.S. Byrnes. He noted also that 106-year-old Albert H. Gordon ’23, M.B.A. ’25, LL.D. ’77, of New York City, had hoped to come celebrate his eighty-fifth reunion, but was unable to attend.

Photographs by Stu Rosner

George Barner

Photographs by Jim Harrison

Frances Pass Addelson

According to University records, the oldest alumni, apart from Gordon, include: Walter J. Seward, J.D. ’24, 111, of West Orange, New Jersey; Marion Coppelman Epstein ’24, 105, of Boston; M. Louise Macnair ’25, 105, of Cambridge; Halford J. Pope ’25, M.B.A. ’27, 104, of Hilton Head Island, South Carolina; Edward Gipstein ’27, 103, of New London, Connecticut; Marjorie B. Walden ’26, 102, of Needham, Massachusetts; Rose Depoyan ’26, Ed.M. ’38, 101, of Brockton, Massachusetts, and Edith M. Van Saun ’29, 101, of Sykesville, Maryland.

Related topics

You might also like

A History of Harvard Magazine

Harvard’s independent alumni magazine—at 127 years old 

Your Views on Conservatism on Campus, Doxxing, and More

Readers write in about international students at Harvard, the September-October cover, and changes at the Chan School of Public Health.

A New Prescription for Youth Mental Health

Kenyan entrepreneur Tom Osborn ’20 reimagines care for a global crisis.

Most popular

Harvard Revamps Controversial Public Health School Center

The health and human rights center had drawn attention for its Palestine-related program.

Harvard Students, Alumna Named Rhodes and Marshall Scholars

Nine Rhodes and five Marshall scholars will study in the U.K. in 2026.

Explore More From Current Issue

Three book covers displayed on a light background, featuring titles and authors.

Books with Harvard Authors Winter 2025

From aphorisms to art heists to democracy’s necessary conditions 

Students in purple jackets seated on chairs, facing away in a grassy area.

A New Prescription for Youth Mental Health

Kenyan entrepreneur Tom Osborn ’20 reimagines care for a global crisis.

Six women interact in a theatrical setting, one seated and being comforted by others.

A (Truly) Naked Take on Second-Wave Feminism

Playwright Bess Wohl’s Liberation opens on Broadway.