Ned Rousmaniere (July 22, 1954–July 21, 2024) was a friend.
He was also a Wonderlust board member. He played the role of the Legislator in Our House, our play about Minnesota State government; and he championed the work that we do listening and creating in community to, first, everyone he worked with at the state capitol and then anyone he thought would listen.
He did this even before he became a friend because he had devoted his life to certain values that he saw represented at Wonderlust–meeting people where they are; deep listening; compassion for everyone everywhere no matter who they are or what they may have done in the past; and play. He also taught us that a person can live their life saying yes to everything, that they can always react with kindness, that being present and curious with everyone is not a burden but a reward.
Ned passed away on July 21, 2024 the day before his 70th birthday–gone way too soon.
We will continue to miss him profoundly. As his partner Kate said about him, delight was Ned’s default state. But he was not naive about the world. He understood that people are messy, systems are flawed, human endeavors don’t always come out as we wish, and he showed up with curiosity and delight to all that complexity anyway. He was brilliant, inventive, and thoughtful. He was engaged in hard work. He was a truly good man, a great father, a valuable colleague and a lot of fun to be around.
He was also, for us, unconditionally enthusiastic about the work that Wonderlust does.
Alan and Leah confided in Ned often, about personnel issues sometimes, more often running crazy ideas by him about how to make more art more accessible, or exciting, or something, or just solve some rehearsal problem, and he would consider it–really consider it–before responding. We didn’t realize until recently, when we look back on those conversations, that his first response was always “Yeah!” Sometimes “Yeah! That sounds right.” Or “Yeah! That’s really interesting!” Or just “Yeah! Yeah, yeah!” But always “Yes.” Followed by great questions.
As artists, we almost cannot express how powerful and empowering was both the specificity of his thoughtfulness and his unconditional enthusiasm.
Everyone should have someone like Ned in their corner! Or be like Ned for someone!
That’s why we are creating the Ned Rousmaniere Commissioning and Mentoring Fund. We want to memorialize, preserve, and encourage the Legacy of our friend.
The Ned Fund is based on Ned’s values:
Everyone is interesting.
Everyone should be heard, deeply.
Everyone is creative, and everyone’s creativity can be greeted with the unconditional enthusiasm it deserves.
We will use The Ned Fund to create more opportunities for people in our project communities to express their experiences through their own transformative art.
If you would like to contribute to The Ned Rousmaniere Commissioning and Mentoring Fund, you can make a note with your donation here or reach out to us directly to talk further. We would be happy to connect and talk more about Ned.
We miss you so much, Friend.
More about Ned from his obituary written by his wife Kate Stanley:
Edmund Bourne Rousmaniere died July 21, 2024, one day before his 70th birthday. His pancreatic cancer diagnosis in February broke every heart and moved Ned to cherish every day. His final months included an emergency wedding, his last May Day parade, a Shakespeare marathon, a trip to Montana, a ride on the Borealis train to Chicago, a sail on Bde Maka Ska, and many, many sunset walks across the Franklin Avenue Bridge with loved ones. The family chronicled his journey on Caring Bridge at bit.ly/nedrous.
Raised in Oyster Bay, NY, Ned left the East Coast for the University of Minnesota, where he earned his MSW in 1984. Revered as a psychotherapist and facilitator, Ned spent most of his social-work career as a mental-health consultant for the State of Minnesota.
Ned lived with delight as his default setting. He loved coaching youth soccer, listening to music, sailing his Snark (“an 11-foot beer cooler with a mast”), biking, gardening, dancing, and rejoicing. He was a fan of NRBQ, baseball, multigenerational living, the north woods, curiosity, and root beer floats. He had deep connection to his community and was the best listener we knew.
Ned was preceded in death by his parents, Jim and Jessie, and his brother Jim Jr. He is survived by daughter Isabel Rousmaniere, wife Kate Stanley, stepdaughters Eleanor Rose (Tony Patton) and Martha Rose (Greg Hegseth), brothers John (Leah), Peter (Ruth), David (Marie), Joe (Chia-Li), Arthur (Jennifer), sister Kate (John), and sister-in-law Sharon. He is also survived by first wife Wendy Morris and a multitude of devoted friends and extended family members. A celebration of his beautiful life will be held at 2 PM, Sunday, August 25, First Unitarian Society of Mpls, 900 Mt Curve Ave. Donations in Ned’s memory may be made to Mpls South High School arts programs (southhighfoundation.org) or to Wonderlust Productions (wlproductions.org).
Published on July 28, 2024