Margaret C. Handy, the retiring assistant to the Senior Tutor at Dudley House, was honored twice yesterday for her more than 25 years of service, first by the Undergraduate Council and then by Dudley residents.

The council gave Handy its Lifetime Service Award. An award for service is usually given annually in conjunction with the Levenson award for teaching, but this is the first time the council has given an award for lifetime service.

"We like to recognize people at Harvard who make life a little nicer," Erica A. Farmer '01 said. "We made a special award for her."

Farmer and Paul A. Gusmorino '01, who are members of the Student Affairs Committee, presented a plaque to Handy during Sunday brunch at the Dudley Co-op on Sacramento Street.

After the council presentation, Dudley residents led Handy outside to the front yard of the second house on Mass. Ave., where they had planted a sapling tree in her honor.

"I like it. I love it!" exclaimed Handy when she saw the Green Mountain sugar maple. "It's my very own tree!"

The students also plan to make a sign to go inside the house that explains Handy's contribution to Dudley.

Handy has been helping students at the Co-op for nearly three decades, students said. As assistant to the Allston Burr Senior Tutor, she manages the office and all student affairs.

"She is truly one of the most amazing employees at Harvard," said Ana Morrel-Samuels '00, co-president of the Co-op. "When I'm on vacation, I'll call just to hear Margaret's message."

Dudley residents said they will miss Handy's advocacy for undergraduates.

"She will fight tooth and nail for you," Morrel-Samuels said. "Should anything go wrong, I know to take it to Margaret Handy, and she'll take care of it."

For many students, Handy was a maternal figure as well as an administrator, offering motherly advice and insight.

Jackie R. Soohen '00, a Co-op resident for three years, said that Handy "goes above and beyond for everybody."

Handy said she will miss the students tremendously, saying, "I like young people."

She said the decision to plant a maturing tree was, to her "the best memory, best gift that anyone could honor me with because it's something living."

Indeed, the students had planned a much larger party for Handy, but she discovered the plan and asked to have it cancelled.

"She's so humble," a Dudley resident said.

Originally, alums from all over the country were planning to fly to Cambridge for a large gathering in Handy's honor. Co-op students have also received donations of money and presents for Handy from former residents.

"She is Dudley House," said Kristin Scheible, the Assistant Senior Tutor and a graduate student in religion. "She is also one of the reasons I'm here."

"Handy really fought for the undergraduates to have an alternative to the Houses," Scheible added, "and she has encouraged Dudley's self-sufficiency."

Handy plans to spend more time exploring the world of opera, she said.

"The human voice is the most amazing instrument," Handy said. "My husband and I will now have more time to enjoy opera all around the world."

"It'll be less huggy and friendly when she's gone," Senta H. Burton '01 said. "[But] she'll still be around in spirit and we'll still see her now and then."