by John Osborn ·
Friday, May 8, 2026
John Lee thanks the audience for the Citizen of Note award given to him and his brother Jim at Town Meeting, May 2. Both men grew up in Harvard and are lifelong community volunteers. (Photo by Lisa Aciukewicz)
Jim and John Lee, brothers who grew up in Harvard and whose decades of volunteer service have made them among the most familiar and trusted figures in town, were named Harvard’s 2025 Citizens of Note at Town Meeting on May 2. Select Board member Eve Wittenberg read the tribute before a crowd gathered in the Cronin Auditorium at the Bromfield School.
The honorees are chosen each year by Harvard’s five-member Select Board, whose citation appears in the Town of Harvard 2025 Annual Report. So intertwined are the brothers’ contributions that the report treats them largely as one, noting that their many overlapping endeavors have often led to their “being unintentionally conflated—or simply regarded as a single entity—even though everyone in town knows them and knows their individuality.”
Over the years, the citation observes, Jim and John have served on nearly every town body focused on land, conservation, and community stewardship, including the Park and Recreation Commission, Conservation Commission, Open Space Committee, Transportation Advisory Committee, Cemetery Commission, Community Preservation Committee, and War Monument Restoration Committee. Both have served as trustees of the Harvard Conservation Trust, and were instrumental in establishing Harvard Park, and continue to advocate to this day for recreational opportunities for residents.
The report describes them as known for their “tact, collaborative spirit, and steady, thoughtful guidance,” and as the people often sought out first when wisdom and diplomacy are needed.
John Lee is also known around town for his gentle mastiffs; his dog Walden, the report notes, has become a welcome presence at Town Hall and community events. The two brothers, and perhaps Walden, will be honored with a place in this year’s Fourth of July parade.
“We speak for the entire town in expressing our profound gratitude for their decades of service, their steady presence, and their unwavering commitment to this community,” Wittenberg said Saturday, reading from the board’s citation. “We are better for them having chosen to make their lives here.”
John Lee was present to receive the citation and a bouquet, as well as a standing ovation.