In Memoriam
(Although many of our earlier alumni, faculty and staff have certainly passed away, no assumptions are made here in that regard; only verified deaths are recorded here to ensure that no mistakes are made. Data courtesy of Huntington Public Schools, Jack Abrams, and surviving families, students and friends.)
Woodbury Alumni, Faculty and Staff:
Abrahamson, Edward O. (Sixth Grade Teacher, Woodbury & Jefferson; Principal, Nathan Hale & Flower Hill)
Abrams, Jack (Sixth Grade Teacher, Woodbury; District Science Teacher; Principal, Woodbury & Jefferson)
Ahern, Tommy (Class of '69)
Allen, Alice (Third Grade Teacher)
Baer, Ruth Jarcho (Class of '57)
Baker, Shirley E. (Fourth Grade Teacher)
Baker, William (District Music Teacher)
Belle, Emily (First Grade Teacher)
Blanchard Morrissey, Barbara Mary (Class of ‘61)
Bosch, Warren T. (Class of ‘69)
Brock, Dolores Pauline "Polly" (Class of '61)
Bruno, Lawrence Paul "Larry" (Class of '61)
Burr, Frances (Food Service Manager)
Clark, Kenneth Louis (Class of '74)
Cohen, David Joseph (Class of ‘61)
Corcoran, Betty Schwier (Alumna)
Daniels, Evelyn McDaniel (String Music Teacher)
Fahlbusch, Ruth Semon (Class of '37)
Finley, J. Taylor (Woodbury & Toaz JHS Principal and Superintendent of Schools)
Golino, Nancy (Cafeteria Staff)
Gray, Margaret (Third Grade Teacher)
Gutlove, Gilda Scaglione (Student Teacher, 1948-49 Term)
Henneborn, Marie (Cafeteria Staff)
Hotchkiss, Stuart (Class of '41)
Hyne, Robert C. (Fourth Grade Teacher)
Kutz Piercey, Christine (Class of '61)
Lamberta, Peter (Class of '72)
Leach, Olive (Fourth Grade Teacher)
Lesser, Maggie (Class of '66)
Littman, Aaron (Woodbury, Toaz JHS, Finley JHS & Huntington High School Physical Education Teacher)
MacDougal, Roy (Sixth Grade Teacher)
Matthews, J. Allen (Principal and interim HUFSD Superintendent)
Michaud, Virginia (Teacher's Aide)
Milliken, Ernest (Head Custodian)
Morris, Helen (Fifth Grade Teacher)
Morton, Betty (Second Grade Teacher)
Munson, Nancy K. (Class of '48)
Nicholson, Jimmy (Class of '65)
Nonack, Grace (School Librarian)
Pearlman, Aileen (Class of '64)
Potter, Ruth (Second Grade Teacher)
Pronti, Zoe Sherman (Class of '58)
Read, Gertrude (First and Second Grade Teacher)
Rodland, Steven Magne (Class of '70)
Sanders, Deborah Ann "Debbie" (Class of '61)
Sansiviero, Raymond (Class of '61; USMC)
Santopietro, Daria (Class of '74)
Schneider, Jean E. (First and Third Grade Teacher)
Sherman, Charlotte Tamney (Kindergarten Teacher)
Shoemaker, Linda L. (Woodbury, Flower Hill, Finley JHS, and Huntington High School Music/Band Teacher)
Sitterley, Mary Jane Sloter (Class of '41?; Fifth Grade Teacher and Safety Patrol Advisor)
Sturges, Barbara (School Secretary)
Tarrant, George (Class of '56)
Thompson, Ralph E. (Woodbury & Toaz JHS Physical Education Teacher)
Toaz, Alma Stoddart (District Music Teacher)
Tufano, Paul Anthony (Class of ‘71)
Whitney, John E. "Jack" (Sixth grade teacher, principal)
Wieland, Mary Louise (School Secretary)
In addition, the following non-Woodbury district-wide alumni, faculty and staff deaths are noted:
Acquavella, Addie (HHS '67 graduate)
Ashby, Mary Valentine (Village Green & Jefferson Elementary Schools librarian)
Bailey, Agnes B. (Roosevelt Elementary School principal)
Bartley, Eileen (HHS '67 graduate)
Bromsted, Emory (Toaz JHS special ed. and Toaz JHS & Simpson JHS principal)
Bronstein, Edythe (Flower Hill & Nathan Hale 1st & 2nd grade teacher)
Brooks Barry, Cheryl (HHS ‘67 graduate)
Bruno, Patrick Francis (HHS '67 graduate)
Brush, Jacqueline P. (Finley JHS & HHS English teacher)
Carlsson, Thomas Philip (HHS '67 graduate)
Carney, Mark (Flower Hill, Woodhull & Jefferson Elementary Schools librarian)
Cavalier, Judd (HHS '93 graduate)
Chaffey, Edmund Kilbourne III (HHS '67 graduate)
Champney, Betty C. (HHS English teacher)
Cozzette, Carl L. (Toaz JHS & Simpson JHS teacher & administrator)
Crimmins, Thomas (HHS '67 graduate)
Crowley, Margaret M. (HUFSD social worker)
Cuppernull, Ronald B. (HHS physical education teacher & tennis coach)
Cushman, Robert A. (HHS social studies teacher & principal)
DeGraff, Frank W. (Toaz JHS math teacher & Finley JHS assistant principal)
DeMartino, Ralph (HHS ‘67 graduate)
Duren, Paul Gould (HHS '67 graduate)
Fatigati, Frank Robert (HHS '67 graduate)
Fellows, Edward (Toaz JHS industrial arts teacher)
Finley, James E. (HHS biology & chemistry teacher)
Flad, Jacquelyn A. (Toaz JHS & Flower Hill Elementary School librarian)
Frank, William (Finley JHS science teacher)
Gimpel, Leon (Toaz JHS P. E. & math teacher and assistant principal)
Good, Stephen D. (Huntington & Washington Elementary Schools principal)
Hall, William Robert (HHS '67 graduate)
Hartough, Carol K. (HUFSD school board trustee)
Hilpert, Laurence Robert (HHS '67 graduate)
Hine, Peter Lanman (HHS '67 graduate)
Hippe, Barbara (HHS '67 graduate)
Honohan, Kathleen Barbara (HHS '67 graduate)
Housholder, Andrew (HHS music teacher)
Karolyi, Thomas (Finley JHS, Toaz JHS, & HHS strings music teacher)
Kelly, Ryan (HHS '02 senior)
King, Barry Alan (HHS '67 graduate)
Kotler, Mark (HHS '67 graduate)
Kroft, Kenneth Jay (HHS '67 graduate)
Levine, Rita Sandra (HHS '67 graduate)
Lockwood, Douglas Walter (HHS '67 graduate)
Loughlin, Donald A. (HHS assistant principal)
Lucey, Joe (HHS football head coach and physical education teacher)
Maier, Nora M. (HUFSD school board member)
Marantz, Clint (HHS English teacher & theater arts advisor)
Marchi, Daniel E. (Toaz JHS & HHS P. E. teacher and football & track coach)
McCune, Enoch "Mac" (HUFSD music teacher)
McNulty, Robert John "Bunky" (HHS '67 graduate)
Meligrana, Mónica Amelia (HHS '67 exchange student from Argentina)
Messbauer, John J. (Toaz JHS and Village Green & Woodhull elementary teacher)
Naughton, Patricia E. (HUFSD reading teacher)
Nickerson, William (Toaz JHS music teacher)
Pence, Amos C. (Toaz JHS founding principal)
Peppler, Gary Bond (HHS '67 graduate)
Pillot, Viloa (Nathan Hale, Lincoln & Village Green Elementary Schools nurse)
Propper, Robert Neil (HHS '67 graduate)
Quintilian, Anthony L. (Flower Hill, Nathan Hale, Toaz JHS & Finley JHS P. E. teacher & principal)
Rasmussen, Roger Thomas (HHS '67 graduate)
Read, Leslie E. (Main Street, Nathan Hale, Washington Elementary principal)
Rocco, Fred J. (Jefferson Elementary School & Toaz JHS head custodian)
Royce, Anne P. (Finley JHS & Simpson JHS math, chemistry & guidance)
Sarrow Dolberg, Shelley (HHS graduate)
Sattely, Paul (HHS '67 graduate)
Schroeder, Stephen Gibbs (HHS '67 graduate)
Sheehan, Gerald Lyle (HHS '67 graduate)
Sherman, James J. (Southdown Elementary School founding principal)
Simpson, Robert L. (HHS higher-math teacher, vice principal & principal)
Smith, Florence (HUFSD attendance supervisor)
Speed, Leslie E. Jr. (Toaz JHS science teacher)
Stamp, Kenneth (HHS foreign languages teacher)
St. Clair, Charles T. (HUFSD school superintendent)
Swaim, Lawrence (HHS math teacher & HUFSD school board president)
Toaz, Robert K. (HHS principal and HUFSD school superintendent)
Travis, Lewis A. (Toaz JHS & Finley JHS science department chairman)
Tribus, Steven C. (HUFSD assistant superintendent)
Usis, Robert Michael (HHS '67 graduate)
Vagts, Christopher (Toaz JHS principal and HUFSD assist. sup. & superintendent)
Valentine, David Jonathan (HHS '67 graduate)
Vandelli, Al (Toaz JHS, Simpson JHS & Finley JHS principal)
Vogel, Patricia (HHS '67 graduate)
Weissberg, Mark Steven (HHS '67 graduate)
Wheeler Pawelczak, Elizabeth Anne (HHS '67 graduate)
Wyeth, Flavia Helen (HHS English and humanities teacher)
(Many of the HHS '67 names are listed courtesy of the HHS Facebook Group and the HHS Heritage Museum.)
(Detailed testimonials are provided by the Huntington Public Schools at http://www.hufsd.edu/community/heritage/her_news.html.)
Edward O. Abrahamson
Retired Huntington School District teacher and principal Edward Abrahamson passed away on November 15, 2016. He was 86.
A graduate of Newtown High School in Elmhurst, Queens, Mr. Abrahamson served as a sergeant in the United States Air Force from 1951-1953. He went on to earn an undergraduate degree in education at SUNY New Paltz in 1957 and a master’s degree in education at Hofstra University in 1960.
Mr. Abrahamson’s career in Huntington kicked off in September 1957 when he was hired to work as a 6th grade classroom teacher by Woodbury Avenue School Principal J. Allen Matthews. When Jefferson Elementary School came online in September 1962, Mr. Abrahamson moved with Mr. Matthews to the new building erected on Oakwood Road.
After 2½ years at Jefferson, the district tapped Mr. Abrahamson to work as a principal beginning in February 1965. He split his time between Nathan Hale School on Bay Avenue and Flower Hill School. Eventually, Nathan Hale School closed and he worked exclusively at Flower Hill as its principal.
After more than 20 years as a Huntington School District principal, Mr. Abrahamson retired at the end of the school year in June 1986. A big party was held on his behalf at the Northport Yacht Club. He spent the next three decades continuing to reside in the area until his recent passing.
“I first met Ed when he became my sixth grade teacher at Jefferson,” recalled Laraine Schirripa, who went on to teach in Huntington for more than three decades. “He was a great teacher and very popular with the students at Jefferson. Everyone wanted to be in his class. It was during my sixth grade year that he was appointed principal at Flower Hill, so he did not finish the year as my teacher. When I graduated college, Ed had me substitute at Flower Hill until a permanent full-time job opened up. I initially went to Washington, but returned to Flower Hill and worked for Ed until his retirement. He was a gem to work for. He ran a nice pleasant school where everyone got along and had fun. He loved the kids. When he came into your room he would sit next to the kids as if he was one of them. He was very supportive.”
When Mr. Abrahamson retired from his post, he was succeeded as principal by Anthony Barresi. “He was an outstanding educator and leader,” said Mr. Barresi about his predecessor. “Ed was a great consensus builder who created an exceptional learning environment at Flower Hill.”
Visitation and a funeral service were held at M.A. Connell Funeral Home in Huntington Station. Mr. Abrahamson’s final resting place is Huntington Rural Cemetery on New York Avenue.
http://www.hufsd.edu/articles/2016/november/30d.html
(Courtesy of Huntington Public Schools.)
Jack Abrams
Long-time Huntington Schools educator and founding curator of the Huntington Schools Heritage Museum Jack Abrams died at Las Vegas, Nevada on June 24, 2020 at the age of 89, with his daughter by his side.
Born on October 28, 1930, Mr. Abrams was a 1948 graduate of Andrew Jackson High School in Cambria Heights, Queens, New York. After serving in the U.S. Army Signal Corps in Korea, Mr. Abrams attended and graduated from New Paltz Teacher’s College (NY) with a B.S. in Education.
Mr. Abrams began his career at the Newbridge Road School in North Bellmore, NY before joining the Huntington School District in 1955. He later achieved advanced degrees from Hofstra and Columbia universities.
He launched his 57-year career in Huntington as a sixth grade teacher at Woodbury Avenue Elementary School. From there, he served as the school district’s elementary schools science coordinator, as well as the principal at Nathan Hale, Woodbury, Washington, Village Green, and Woodhull Elementary Schools, and Toaz/Finley’s sixth grade school.
In 1976, Mr. Abrams connected the school district’s sixth graders to the program that annually hosts hundreds of students at Camp Greenkill, at Huguenot, NY, for four days and three nights of hands-on outdoor educational activities.
He also spent a year teaching fifth grade at Sidcup, Bexley, in London, England, through the Fulbright Teacher Exchange Program. Another year was spent as a third grade teacher in Northport while on a sabbatical leave from Huntington.
Mr. Abrams served the last six years of his career as the principal of Jefferson Elementary School before retiring in 1987. In retirement, he continued serving the community by founding and curating the Huntington Schools Heritage Museum, which houses well over 1,500 historic artifacts from its family of schools.
In 2008, the Huntington School Board voted to rename Huntington Intermediate School in honor of Mr. Abrams. The formal dedication took place in September of that year, with about 300 people in attendance.
After 25 years as the Heritage Museum’s first curator, Mr. Abrams retired again in 2012, and enjoyed a winter home in Florida and a summer home in East Northport, NY.
He was predeceased by his wife, Eileen Abrams. He is survived by his two daughters, Kathi Abrams and Jodi Donoher, and his extended family, Anthony, Nicole, Dustin and Jack.
(Content drawn primarily from the article "Jack Abrams Retires from Museum Curator Post", published June 11, 2012 by TheHuntingtonian.com, with updated information courtesy of Newsday on July 2, 2020. Additional details were contributed by Laurie Lucey of Woodbury’s Class of 1971. Ms. Lucey’s mother was a high school classmate of Mr. Abrams.)
Ruth Jarcho Baer
Ruth Baer, 61, of Sunrise, FL and formerly of Huntington, Long Island, NY, passed away peacefully on September 11, 2007.
Mrs. Baer is survived by her beloved husband of 37 years, Charles; loving mother of Mark Baer; and a cherished daughter of Rose Jarcho.
Ruth graduated from Huntington High School in Huntington, Long Island, NY, Class of 1963, and she continued her education by attending secretarial school. After graduation from secretarial school, she worked as a secretary for the local Broward County school system.
She was a devoted member of Tri-Gate Chapter 276 of the Order of Eastern Stars, as well as a member of Mended Hearts Chapter 60, both of Ft. Lauderdale, FL, and a volunteer for many other organizations.
Chapel services will be held on Sunday, September 16, 2007 at 1:00 pm at Star of David Funeral Home, 7701 Bailey Rd., N. Lauderdale, FL. (954) 722-9000.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to Mended Hearts Chapter 60, P.O. Box 17154, Plantation, FL 33318.
(Furnished by the Baer family, via Laurie Lucey '71.)
Shirley E. Baker
Beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, Shirley E. Baker, 99, of Huntington, New York, died at Melville, NY on October 19, 2021.
Shirley was born on January 31, 1922 in Queens, NY. A graduate of Jamaica High School, Shirley joined the United States Navy in 1942 and served as a Wave during World War II until receiving her Honorable Discharge in 1945. She attended Hofstra College in Hempstead, NY and earned Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Education.
A Huntington resident for 67 years, Shirley worked as a 5th grade teacher from 1950 to 1955 at Island Trees School. She then served in the Huntington Union Free School District #3 for 35 years as a 4th grade teacher at Woodbury Avenue School (1955 to 1962) and as a 3rd & 4th grade teacher at Jefferson School (1962 to 1984). In 1972, she was selected as one of America’s Most Outstanding Teachers. After her retirement, she helped with the care of her grandchildren and her mother, and volunteered with her husband, Bill, at Huntington Hospital, and at St. John’s Church in Cold Spring Harbor.
She is survived by her sons, Jeffrey and Chris; her grandchildren, Joshua, Sarah, Colin and Annelise; and her great-grandchildren. A memorial service was held on Friday, October 29, 2021, at St. John’s Church, followed by burial, and a reception at her home.
(Condensed from the obituary published in The Huntingtonian on October 22, 2021; posted there by Nicholas Wieland. Photo courtesy of Jeffrey Reid Baker.)
Kenneth Louis Clark
Kenneth Louis Clark, of Levittown, formerly of Huntington, New York, died suddenly on August 28, 2002, at the age of 40. Devoted father of Kristen Lee and Katherine Mary Clark. Cherished son and stepson of Dr. Elizabeth and Charles E. Eggleton of Smithtown and Roger F. and Kathleen Clark of Melville. Beloved brother of Cynthia Beth and Roger Allen Clark. Kenneth had attended Woodbury Avenue Elementary School in Huntington.
Visitation Friday 2-5 and 7-9 at the A.L Jacobsen Funeral Home Inc., 1380 New York Ave., Huntington Station, NY. Religious Service Friday 8:00pm. Prayer Service Saturday 11:00am followed by burial in the Melville Cemetery plot.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Neurological Institute Research fund, Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center, 710 West 68th Street, New York, NY, 10032.
(Newsday; August 29, 2002)
Ruth Semon Fahlbusch
Ruth Semon Fahlbusch, 91, of Huntington, died peacefully on December 7, 2015. Born on January 1, 1924 at Huntington Hospital, NY, Ruth was the first baby born there that year.
She grew up and resided in Huntington, and worked for the Telephone Company where she managed three switchboards. Ruth also worked in later years for Tunis Huntington Dodge and then for Mr. William Hagerty at Devany Stock Photos.
Ruth was an avid photographer with some of her best shots featured in the Long Islander. She was also an accomplished artist. She reconnected with Ronald L'Hommdieu, the late love of her life, in the late 1990's.
She was the beloved mother to sons John and Bruce Fahlbusch and daughter Anne Marie Sutherland; grandmother to Doug and James Fahlbusch and Jay Thomas Sutherland; mother-in-law to Thomas H. Sutherland; and aunt to Stephen and Peter Nonack.
Such a huge loving part of our lives, she will be missed eternally.
(M. A. Connell Funeral Home obituary.)
Ruth Fahlbusch, Lifelong Resident, Dies at 91
By Andrew Wroblewski
Ruth Semon Fahlbusch, a lifelong Huntington resident known around town for the smile that accompanied her nearly everywhere she traveled, including many parades and events that she loved photographing, died peacefully on Dec. 7. She was 91.
“Everywhere she went, she would spread her smile,” Fahlbusch’s middle child, Bruce, said.
“She always cared about everyone else,” he added, noting that Fahlbusch never let a birthday or special event pass by without sending out a celebratory card. Of course, she had to add her own personal touch to the cards first, Bruce said. “She loved making things.”
Fahlbusch was born on New Year’s Day in 1924 to Anna and John F. Semon.
Not only did she ring in the New Year, but Fahlbusch was the first baby born in Huntington Hospital that year.
She grew up with her family off of Main Street, just west of Huntington village. She attended Woodbury Avenue School, which stood on the corner of Woodbury and Soundview roads from 1923-1987. In 1942, she graduated from Huntington High School, attending classes in what today houses Huntington Town Hall.
“Never, ever, ever did they take a school bus, they walked all the way, rain or shine,” Bruce Fahlbusch said.
These walks often ended in trips to Guckenberger’s, the restaurant that today is Munday’s. Fahlbusch became a regular there and continued that tradition with her children when the restaurant later became Munday’s.
Ann Marie Sutherland, Fahlbusch’s youngest child, recalled the Saturday afternoons when she and her mother would venture there for lunch.
“There are black and white pictures on the wall from when she was little and they used to call it ‘Gucke’s.’ It’s so cool,” Sutherland said.
Photography came to play a big part in Fahlbusch’s life after retirement.
First, she married Leonard Fahlbusch in 1943. The couple had three children before divorcing in the 1970s.
Fahlbusch worked for the telephone company during World War II from 1942-1946, before taking time to raise her family. She returned to work in 1971 with Tunis Huntington Dodge, where she remained for 10 years. In 1981, she started working for William Hagerty at Devany Stock Photos in Huntington. She retired in 1994 due to an illness.
After retirement, Fahlbusch took up photography, an extension of her childhood love for the arts when she was an avid painter and played classical violin.
Fahlbusch took photos at various parades and events around Huntington village. Many of her photographs were featured in Long Islander News’ publications over the last 15 years.
“She would come marching up the stairs, dressed to the nines, with an envelope of freshly printed photos, a huge smile on her face, and kind words about the work we were doing,” said Luann Dallojacono, former editor. “But it wasn't just her passion for photographing precious moments that made us look forward to her visits. She was truly a ray of sunshine, and you always felt warm and peaceful in her presence.”
She added, “We called her a friend of the paper, but she was really a friend to all of us.”
In the 1990s, Fahlbusch reconnected with one of her high school friends, the late Roland L'Hommedieu. The couple spent 20 happy years together as they traveled the world, Bruce and Sutherland said. “The two of them were perfect for each other,” Bruce said.
In addition to her son and daughter, Fahlbusch is also survived by her oldest child John Fahlbusch; three grandchildren; and two nephews.
Visitation was held on Saturday at M.A. Connell Funeral Home in Huntington Station, where “the whole room was packed,” Sutherland said.
“It was just beautiful. She would have been so happy to see that, so many people that cared about and remembered her.”
But Bruce added that his mother said she didn’t want those people to be numbed by sadness, but instead “go out and have dinner or have a party.
“That’s her, always thinking about others. ‘I don’t want you to be sad, go out and have dinner,’ she said. We’re hurting, but we’re grateful and we’re thankful to have had her.”
(The Long Islander, 12/17/15.)
J. Taylor Finley
J. Taylor Finley Left His Mark on the Huntington School District
A school sits majestically on Greenlawn Road in Huntington. Its ageless look is striking to the hundreds of vehicles that have passed it by each day for nearly four decades. Named after one of the Huntington School District's giants, J. Taylor Finley, the school has been a source of pride in the community despite a growing lack of knowledge of who Mr. Finley was and why the building was named in his honor.
Huntington was a very different place when J. Taylor Finley arrived from Upstate New York in 1929 to teach math and physics at the old high school on Main Street, now the site of town hall. A study of his career is a fascinating trip down memory lane.
Born in Brooklyn on April 26, 1905, Mr. Finley attended elementary school in Mountain View, New Jersey and graduated Montclair High School in 1922. He earned his B.S. degree from Lafayette College in 1926, completing 155 credits and went on to obtain a Master of Arts from Columbia University's Teacher's College in 1932. He also studied sociology at New York University and earned twelve credits in administration in 1939 from Teacher's College, where he later studied administration again in 1944.
The 5'9, 200 lb. educator began his career as an algebra and general science teacher at D.A. Harman Junior High School in Hazelton, Pennsylvania in 1926. A year later he moved to Saranac Lake High School in Upstate New York where he taught chemistry, physics and general science courses from 1927-29.
After teaching at Huntington High School for just one year, Mr. Finley was named principal of Woodbury Avenue Elementary School (which is now a condominium complex) for the 1930 school year. In 1939, he became principal of Lincoln Elementary School (now an apartment complex) on East 9th Street in Huntington Station. He worked as principal of both schools until October 15, 1943 when he was named principal of Robert K. Toaz Junior High School (now Touro Law School).
A patient man, Mr. Finley sought the principal's position at Toaz Junior High when the school first opened. "My experience with children of junior high school age has led me to believe that I am capable of gaining and keeping their respect," he wrote on August 10, 1938 in seeking the position. "I feel sure that I can do this job for the best interests of all concerned."
Mr. Howard V. Littell, Saranac Lake's Superintendent of Schools remembered Mr. Finley well from his service in that district more than a decade earlier. "Finley is a good man," Mr. Littell stated in recommending Mr. Finley for the Toaz principal's job.
He didn't land that position, but remained very loyal to the Huntington School District and continued as an elementary school principal and later ascended to the Toaz job that he earlier had coveted.
Mr. Finley stayed on as principal of Toaz through the 1954 school year. At that time he was elevated to assistant superintendent of schools and was named superintendent of schools in 1957, a position he held until his retirement on June 30, 1963.
Married in 1927 to Edith Henrietta Watt of Tamaqua, PA, Mr. Finley and his wife had three children, James, John T. III and Jane. All three were educated in the Huntington School District. During his years in Huntington, Mr. Finley, who was known as Taylor (his actual given first name was John), and his family resided at homes on Chestnut Street, Oakwood Road and Bayberry Drive.
When approached by Huntington Superintendent of Schools Carl V. Warren in May 1954 about the possibility of moving into the central administration, Mr. Finley wrote the chief school officer a detailed three page memorandum dated May 18 concerning his ideas about curriculum and instruction.
"Because I feel, though you may not concur, that, in the main, our curriculum, as it has been functioning, is good, I tend to think in terms of instruction first and curriculum second," Mr. Finley wrote.
"This view may be prompted by the fact that we are opening three new schools with new principals and many new teachers. Nor do I mean to imply that investigation in the area of the curriculum is unimportant. I think it is most important and that there is work to be done at all levels. However, considering the time factor, I believe, that a consideration of instruction is the immediate need—merely putting first things first."
Mr. Finley added: "I, as assistant in charge of instruction, am concerned with improving the setting for learning in particular." He did just that and Huntington became well known as one of the top districts in the state.
As superintendent, Mr. Finley presided over the opening of a new Huntington High School during the 1958 school year, the opening of a renovated R.L. Simpson Junior High School in 1961 and Jefferson Elementary School in 1962.
He was active in the community, too, serving as a founding director of the Walt Whitman Federal Savings Bank, including a term as its president in 1961-'63, an original member of the Huntington YMCA Board of Directors, vice-president of the Huntington Chamber of Commerce, president of the Rotary Club and he helped start the United Fund of Huntington.
After his retirement from the district in June 1963, Mr. Finley and his wife moved to Amcram, New York for seven years and then moved again to Toms River, New Jersey.
The Huntington Board of Education voted December 8, 1964 to officially name the district's new junior high school on Greenlawn Road after Mr. Finley in his honor and in recognition of his 34 years of service to the schools and community. "The Board of Education and all of your friends here in Huntington send their best regards," superintendent Charles T. St. Clair wrote in a December 9 letter to Mr. Finley informing him of the school board's action.
Mrs. Finley passed away in April 1974 and Mr. Finley died October 3, 1975. He is buried in the family plot at Pompton Plains Reform Church Cemetery in New Jersey.
A memorial service was held for him on November 8, 1975 at 2 p.m. in the Old First Presbyterian Church on Main Street across the street from the old Huntington High School, where Mr. Finley's Huntington career began.
Courtesy Huntington Union Free School District (http://www.hufsd.edu/ANNOUNCEMENT_45561.html).
Gilda Vera Scaglione Gutlove
Gilda Vera Gutlove, 88, of Ponce Inlet, Florida, passed away peacefully during the early morning hours of June 23, 2016. After her valiant fight with Breast Cancer, she was called to heaven to be with our heavenly father. Her strong will to live, unwavering faith in God, and the love and prayers of family and friends helped carry her through this difficult time.
Gilda was born on August 14, 1927 in Harlem, the fifth of six children to Ralph and Elvira (commonly known as Sylvia) Scaglione. She will be remembered as a pioneer of her generation, creating her own path, staying focused on earning her college degree in early childhood education at City College of New York and her Master's Degree at Long Island University, and challenging herself to teach in the tough neighborhoods of Harlem in the 1950's.
She is best known for her generous heart and love of her family and friends. She lived a full and rewarding life, raising four beautiful children, in downstate New York, sparing nothing to give them a memorable childhood, traveling from one coast to the next, encouraging them to explore the world and all that it had to offer. Her fondness of the fine arts, dance and political autobiographies were just a few of her passions and interests. She shared her knowledge with her family and friends, engaging her peers in conversation and encouraging their desire to learn.
She would like for you to know that it is, "Time for me to go now, l won't say good bye; look for me in rainbows, way up in the sky. In the morning sunrise when the entire world is new, just look for me and love me, as you know I love you. Her memory lives on through her loving husband, Norman Gutlove; her children, Lisa, David, Bruce and Amanda; 13 grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Published in Daytona Beach News-Journal on Jul. 2, 2016.
(https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/news-journalonline/obituary.aspx?pid=180528509)
(Gilda was a student-teacher at Woodbury for the term 1948-49. Courtesy of her daughter, Lisa Moore.)
July 30, 2020
Good afternoon, Terry,
I found your request for submissions for photos about Woodbury Avenue Elementary School while I was researching some pictures in my parents' collection. They passed away recently and I have been going through their albums for the family. While neither myself nor my siblings attended Woodbury, my mother in fact spent the September 1948 thru June 1949 school year there as a student teacher. Her name then was Gilda Scaglione. Her married name was Gilda Gutlove, and although both of my parents were from The Bronx, they moved to Huntington Station when they started a family, and then to Huntington Village a few years later. As kids, my sibs and I went to Flower Hill Elementary, J. Taylor Finley Junior High, then Huntington High School. We drove past Woodbury Avenue Elementary many times, and I remember my mother telling me about having taught there fresh out of college (City College of NY, now City University). It wasn't until today, however, that I found the attached photo. I believe the blue ink on the picture indicates her classroom. It might be worth noting that my mother taught at Birchwood Elementary (South Huntington) for many years until her retirement.
Following are some recollections of mine concerning her teaching career:
- She was teaching in Harlem when she became pregnant and was told she needed to resign -- pregnant teachers were considered 'improper' back then. This would have been in early 1957, so that postdates her time at Woodbury.
- She stayed home raising her family when they were young, but went back to substitute teaching in Huntington and South Huntington school districts once we were in school.
- She took a full-time temporary position with Birchwood Elementary in South Huntington around 1968, mid-year, when a teacher left for sabbatical (if I remember correctly). This was a 6th grade position.
- At the end of the school year, she was offered a permanent position, which she accepted.
- She preferred to teach what she referred to as 'upper elementary,' i.e., 4th thru 6th grades, although at Birchwood she at times taught 3rd grade as well.
- I believe she retired from teaching at the end of the 1985 - 1986 school year and moved to Florida.
Please feel free to use the picture on your website if you wish. Best of luck to you.
Sincerely,
Lisa V. Moore
Stuart Evan Hotchkiss
Stuart Hotchkiss entered into rest at Williamson, New York on Sunday, January 10, 2016, at the age of 86.
Stu was born in Brooklyn, NY and lived on Long Island for many years. In 1944, the family moved to Millburn, NJ, where he met Anne at high school. He graduated from Lafayette College as a Mechanical Engineer. He worked for the United States Navy before enlisting and serving our country from 1955 to 1958 as a Lieutenant. He worked on catapults and arresting gears for planes on aircraft carriers. He married Anne in 1954 and then began working at the Philadelphia Naval Base, Magnavox in Illinois, and RCA Labs in Princeton, NJ. Stu and Anne then moved to Rochester to work at Xerox. He was active in the Pultneyville Players, and President of the Pultneyville Historical Society. After a few moves to Dallas, Texas and Los Angeles, California, he returned back to New York and eventually retired from Xerox. He loved to repair antique clocks and bind antiquarian books. Stu was very proud of his 1948 Lincoln Continental, which he had owned since 1964.
Stu is survived by his beloved wife of 61 years, Anne Hotchkiss; his son, David (Delila) Hotchkiss, of Atlanta, GA; his daughters, Diane (Patrick) Burns, of Sodus Point, NY, and Judy Leistman, of Sodus, NY; his sister in law, Jane Nalwalk, of Reading, MA; his grandsons, Joshua La Bouve, Micah, Philip, and Andrew Hotchkiss; and his cousins, David Noble, Phyllis Schwartz, Alice Hidy, Irma Davis, and Diane Noble. He was predeceased by his daughter, Laura Hotchkiss Hefley.
Calling hours were held on Thursday, January 21, 2016, from 4pm to 7pm at Young Funeral Home, Williamson, NY. A memorial service was held on Saturday, May 7, 2016, at 2pm, at the Holy Cross Anglican Church, 615 Bay Road, Webster, NY. Private burial in Lake View Cemetery at the convenience of the family.
In lieu of flowers, donations in loving memory of Stu can be made to the Holy Cross Anglican Church, or to the Williamson Come-Unity Center, 4170 Ridge Road, Willliamson, NY 14589.
Online condolences can be expressed at www.youngfuneralhomeny.com.
http://www.youngfuneralhomeny.com/notices/Stuart-Hotchkiss
Robert C. Hyne
Dr. Robert C. Hyne, of Huntington, died on March 19, 2015 at the age of 82. He was survived by his wife, Ruth Ann; his daughters, Kim (Rick) Borkus, and Dawn (Paul) Locascio; his grandchildren, Nick Borkus and Dayna (Anthony) Rojas; and his great-grandchildren, Sophia, Rowen and Phoenix Rojas.
He was a graduate of Huntington High School, Stony Brook Preparatory, and Maryville College, and he attended McCormick Theological Seminary. He received advanced degrees: a master's from New Paltz, a second master's in special education, a professional degree and a doctorate from Hofstra University.
Dr. Hyne was born on November 2, 1932. He served in the U.S. Army as a chaplain’s assistant and medic. Dr. Hyne taught for 27 years in the Northport and Huntington School Districts, including as a fourth grade teacher at Woodbury Avenue Elementary School in Huntington. He also taught a doctoral program at Hofstra University.
Bob lived a life of contribution and service. He served on a town community committee to establish group homes for special needs children. He served ten years on the Harborfields School District Board of Education and was President for several years. He served on the Board of the Visiting Nurse Association and participated in establishing the Hospice House in East Northport. He worked with his wife Ruth Ann at Douglas Elliman Real Estate since his retirement from education.
Bob was an avid sailor. He loved photography and reading. He will be missed for his wit and sense of humor, his animal advocacy, his generosity of heart and his guidance.
Visitation was at 2:00 to 4:00 PM and 7:00 to 9:00 PM on Sunday, March 22, 2015, and at 4:00 to 6:00 PM on Monday, March 23rd, at A. L. Jacobsen Funeral Home, 1380 New York, Avenue, Huntington Station, New York, followed by a service at 6:00 PM on March 23rd. Inurnment took place on March 24th at Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Center Moriches, NY.
Peter Lamberta
In memory of Pete Lamberta, 1960-1994, the best friend I ever had.
-- Dan Laukaitis, Class of '72
Aaron Littman
May 15, 2017
One of Huntington High School’s greatest coaches ever passed away suddenly last week. Aaron Littman, who taught physical education over parts of five decades and won three Suffolk titles and the 1975 Long Island championship as head coach of the Blue Devil boys’ lacrosse team was 79 years old.
A member of Huntington High School’s Class of 1955, Coach Littman went on to earn undergraduate and graduate degrees at Cortland State University. He began his teaching career in the Huntington School District on September 1, 1959 and worked at Lincoln, Roosevelt and Woodbury Avenue elementary schools, Robert K. Toaz and J. Taylor Finley junior high schools and Huntington High School before retiring on July 1, 1991.
His commitment to Huntington and its students was evident when two years into his career, Coach Littman took a leave of absence to enlist in the US Marines to prevent being drafted for an even longer period of time.
Coach Littman began his Huntington lacrosse coaching career with the 1962 Blue Devil junior varsity. He became head coach in 1969. In 10 seasons at the helm of the varsity, he finished first or second every year and amassed a record of 133-52.
Born and raised in Huntington, Coach Littman lived in Northport for the last 48 years of his life. Following his coaching career, he worked as a commercial lobster fisherman, staking out ground in the Long Island Sound. He loved life on the water and seemed to have a perpetual tan long before the advent of tanning beds and salons.
A powerful looking man, Coach Littman possessed a deep voice and what appeared to be boundless energy. He commanded his classes and teams with confidence and ease. He didn’t like any nonsense. He was respected and admired by his faculty and coaching staff colleagues.
Some of his most memorable teams included the 1971 squad that went 19-1 and won the Suffolk championship. His 1973 team recorded a 17-3 mark and again won the county crown.
The 1975 Long Island championship team was somewhat of a surprise. The Blue Devils defeated Brentwood Ross (10-5) and Half Hollow Hills (7-6) in the county tournament before upsetting defending Long Island champion Ward Melville in the Section XI finals, 10-9. Huntington went on to topple highly regarded Manhasset in the Long Island finals at Hofstra, 9-4.
That 1975 season was magical. Huntington struggled to put together a 10-6 record during the regular season, but it all came together for the Blue Devils in the playoffs. In the county finals against highly favored Ward Melville, Kurt Sohn repeatedly won the faceoff and attackman Rich McGuire scored seven goals.
McGuire outmaneuvered the defense play after play, getting behind it and taking passes from Sohn, Ken Calligar and Dan Millner in the crease and converting them into what looked like easy goals. McGuire’s amazing performance earned him the Eric Schmidt Memorial Award as the game’s outstanding player.
Coach Littman’s game plan against Ward Melville was brilliant. “We took all our plays and threw them out,” he told Newsday after the game. “We found out that the opposition knew our plays better than we did.” What won Huntington the game was what came to be known as the “spontaneous” play.
Sohn would win the faceoff and then the Blue Devils would pass the ball around until McGuire would break free directly in front of the net, get a pass and fire it into the goal. “We’re a spontaneous team,” Millner told Newsday. “We don’t practice plays. Whatever happens, happens.”
Coach Littman admitted he was just as shocked as anyone by the Blue Devils’ post-season run after suffering six regular season losses. “We’re very surprised we ended up this far,” he told Newsday. “Our opposition seemed so strong early in the season. These kids just made themselves as the season went along.” Huntington won its last 11 games and finished with a 14-6 record.
A crowd estimated at 7,000 turned out for the Long Island championship game against Manhasset on Wednesday, June 4, 1975 at 8 p.m. at Hofstra. The Blue Devils were outshot 13-2 in the first period alone. But Coach Littman rallied his troops. Bruce Pomper scored three goals and Millner and McGuire tallied two goals each. Dave Wood and Bob Garry also scored for Huntington in the game. It was the first Long Island title for the Blue Devils since 1965.
The 1975 season exemplified Coach Littman’s never give up philosophy. Huntington lost its first four games of the season, including a 16-1 wipeout at the hands of Maryland’s Gilman High School. “When we lost those first four games, my wife told me maybe it’s a rebuilding year,” Coach Littman told Newsday after the win over Manhasset. “But I couldn’t accept it. I could see in certain instances that the kids were capable of doing something. I don’t think they knew how good they were themselves.”
A familiar face around Northport, Coach Littman ran in road races for decades. It seemed as if he would always be on or near the water. He regularly ran into many former players and teaching and coaching friends in area restaurants.
Survivors include Coach Littman’s wife of 54 years, Bobbi, children Steven (Sharon), Cheryl (Brett Klopp) and Marc (Juliane) and seven grandchildren. He is also survived by his two sisters, Flora Lee Cohen and Roberta Nelson and three nieces.
A graveside service was held at Northport Rural Cemetery in Northport on Sunday. Those wishing to honor Coach Littman’s memory with a donation are encouraged to support the Louis J. Acompora Memorial Foundation or the Cow Harbor Warriors.
(Reproduced by permission of Huntington Public Schools.)
Barbara Mary (Blanchard) Morrissey
Barbara (Blanchard) Morrissey, age 71, of New Haven, CT, passed away on May 31, 2020 at 4:00 in the afternoon. After a long struggle with cancer, Barbara died at home with her daughter Katherine and husband William at her side.
Barbara was born on May 9, 1949 in White Plains, NY. Barbara came from a family of artists and architects. Her father, Joseph Blanchard, was an artist and graphic designer. Her mother, Helen Blanchard, was also an artist. Her grandfather, Harry Allen, and her uncle, Bruce Allen, were architects with York and Sawyer in New York. Barbara grew up in Huntington, Long Island, where she enjoyed horseback riding and Cold Spring Harbor. She attended Woodbury Avenue and Flower Hill Elementary Schools.
She graduated from Huntington High School and earned her B.F.A. at the Syracuse University School of Art. Barbara also took courses at the Rhode Island School of Design. In the New Haven area, Barbara initially balanced her time between working as an artist, at Cutlers Record Shop, Whitlock’s Book Store, and being a new mother. Later, Barbara became a kitchen and bathroom designer, earned her CKD certification, and worked for several area design companies, including Raymar and Common Vision. Barbara also worked as a case assistant with Connecticut Community Care.
A talented artist and singer, Barbara loved art, dance, music, and theater. She greatly appreciated the New Haven, Hartford, Boston, and New York areas for their arts. Barbara was a member of local folk music groups, participated in Scottish contra dance, and loved to sing and to write music. Barbara was deeply religious and very active within Saints Aedan and Brendan Parish in New Haven.
She is survived by her husband William, daughter Katherine Morrissey, sister Kathleen Blanchard, and brother Pierre Blanchard, as well as her half-siblings Lisa Blanchard Pattenden, Joseph Blanchard, and Tim Blanchard.
Friends are invited to attend her Mass of Christian Burial to be celebrated at 9:00 A.M., Saturday June 13, 2020, at Saints Aedan and Brendan Parish, 112 Fountain St., New Haven, CT. Following Mass, interment will take place at Evergreen Cemetery, New Haven, CT. Arrangements are in care of Beecher & Bennett Funeral Home, 2300 Whitney Ave, Hamden, CT. In lieu of flowers, Barbara requested that donations be made to the Connecticut Food Bank or Connecticut Community Care.
(Courtesy of Katherine Morrissey and Beecher & Bennett Funeral Home.)
https://beecherandbennett.com/obits/barbara-mary-morrissey/
Nancy K. Munson
Nancy K. Munson (June 22, 1936 - May 3, 2009), of Huntington, Long Island, daughter of the late Howard H. Munson and the late Edna May Keenan Munson, is survived by her brother, H. Lee Munson and sister-in-law, Sandra J. Sammis Munson, of Greenlawn, LI. She was a prominent attorney and civic leader in Huntington. She belonged to the First Church of Christ, Scientist, Huntington. She was one of the earliest women graduates of Brooklyn Law School in 1967.
Born and raised in Huntington, she attended Woodbury Avenue Grade School, Toaz Junior High, and graduated from Huntington High School in 1954. While in high school, she played clarinet with the high school band. She entered banking before completing her undergraduate studies at Hofstra University. Always a leader and active in the community, she was, at her death, president of the Brooklyn Home for Aged Men, and served on the boards of the Huntington Fire Department scholarship and benefit funds; she was also the attorney for the Huntington Fire Department. She served on the boards of the Huntington Rural Cemetery, St. Francis Hospital in Roslyn, and the Thomas A. Munson Foundation and its scholarship fund.
As an attorney, she was admitted to the bars of the State of NY, the US District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of NY, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and the United States Supreme Court. Her practice focused largely on estates and real estate, both residential and commercial, and elder law and estate planning. She held strong principles regarding the protection of individual property rights. Her pro bono avocation was in religious corporations law in which she helped any number of Long Island churches to incorporate, dissolve or dispose of property.
She founded the Munson Law Firm in Huntington, having succeeded, in turn, to the practices of the late Merritt Weidner, former Huntington Town Attorney, and Robert Anderson of Northport and New York City. She was a member of the American, New York State, Suffolk County and Brooklyn Bar Associations, and The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies. She was a member of the Soroptimists, the DAR, and a life member of the National Rifle Association. She was engaged to the late Myron Rodgers, of Greenlawn, at the time of his death.
She will be best remembered for her many good deeds. She helped people in many different ways without any thought of repayment or how she would benefit from the helping. Her goods works helped not only charitable organizations, but also numerous individuals by giving them what they needed, from money to getting them cars. One time she attended a church that needed new steeple bells. Before she left the church they had a check for the bells. She was a wonderful cook. She was not too proud to get her hands dirty by painting a house or the bottom of a boat, or digging a trench. She loved the water and her summer home where she would ride her jet ski and her miniature tug boat. She loved dogs and doted on her dog, Buddy.
Visitation on Thursday and Friday, 2-5 and 7-9 pm, at the A.L. Jacobsen Funeral Home, Inc., 1380 New York Avenue, Huntington Station. Firematic Services Friday 8pm. Religious Service Saturday 10am at the funeral home. Burial to follow at Nassau Knolls Cemetery, Port Washington. For more information, please visit www.jacobsenfuneral.com. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the League for Animal Protection of Huntington, St. Francis Hospital, Kent Animal Shelter, or the Huntington Fire Department.
(Published in Newsday on May 7, 2009)
http://www.memorialsolutions.com/sitemaker/sites/ALJaco1/obit.cgi?user=nancy-munson
Aileen Pearlman
Tanna Moontaro (Aileen Pearlman), 1952 - 2015
It is with pained hearts that we announce the death of our dear, dear Tanna Moontaro (Aileen Pearlman) - artist, musician, singer, writer, and psychological consultant - on February 17, 2015. Mentor and life teacher to many, she will be remembered for her creative, childlike, free spirit and sense of adventure, spontaneous wit, joy, enormous heart, wisdom and intelligence, beautiful smile, honest and direct communication, compassion, enormous empathy, active listening and generosity.
Tanna was a costume designer and prop person in New York City for many film productions, including Saturday Night Live and Mathnet, for which she received an Emmy nomination. She also worked as a stylist for still photography shoots.
Years later, while living in Santa Monica, CA, she received her master's degree in psychology at Antioch and continued giving to the world through her practice. Confirmed pacifist Tanna, a dedicated Quaker, was a strong activist in the anti-war movement of the early 70's. And she continued this work facilitating workshops for the Alternatives to Violence Project in prisons and elsewhere in the community in an effort to promote more peaceful interactions among people. She is in the hearts of a great many who will miss her terribly and with whom she had deep friendships, some spanning many decades.
Tanna is survived by her mother, Betty Schenkler Pearlman, and brother, Pete Pearlman.
Published on NYTimes.com from Feb. 26 to Feb. 27, 2015.
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/nytimes/obituary.aspx?pid=174262303
(Aileen was a member of the Woodbury Class of ‘64. Obituary furnished by Pete Pearlman '61.)
Aileen’s and Pete’s mother, Betty Schenkler Pearlman, passed away on July 29, 2020. Her memorial page can be found at https://obituaries.neptunesociety.com/obituaries/sherman-oaks-ca/betty-pearlman-9290191.
Ruth Potter
Ruth Potter was my 2nd grade teacher (1952-3). She taught me to read. I arrived from 1st grade at Larkfield School in East Northport, where they used the "sight method" (maybe it's called "whole word" now) to teach reading. It didn't work for me, and I think I also missed patches of the school year on trips with the Partlows and McGregors to their cabins near Cooperstown, NY. So I arrived at Miss Potter's class a year behind everyone else. She offered to meet with me at 7:30 am for one or maybe two months. We met for an extra half-hour each day going over the 1st grade material. I remember really hating Dick and Jane -- who talks like that? Woodbury was an advocate of the "phonics system" to teach reading, and it worked! I went from non-reader to avid reader; in fact, I got into a competition with a couple other students with bringing books to share with the class. My mother finally brought it to an end. My mother thought a lot of Ruth Potter and recommended I should someday name a school after her. My mother told me Miss Potter died soon after I had her class. I would like more details about her and a photo of her and my 1952-3 class. I also attended Woodbury for the 3rd grade (1953-4), and then we moved to Michigan.
-- Chris Burditt, napabiker@aol.com (April 7, 2010)
Zoe Sherman Pronti
Zoe Pronti, director of the summer youth program at Cornell's Adult University since 1987, died unexpectedly on August 31, 2000 in Glens Falls, New York. She was 54.
During her 14 years as designer and manager of CAU's acclaimed summer campus youth college, she created a fabulously successful, much envied and copied "family week of college life" for thousands of Cornell alumni children, the children of Cornell faculty and staff, and youngsters from the Ithaca area.
The system she created, which combined the experience of Ithaca-area teachers with the enthusiasm of Cornell student instructors and counselors, worked wonders year after year. Her skill at working with departments and units throughout the university created a legion of admirers among staff people all across campus. And she possessed an ability to combine rich, lively activities and programs with a firm grasp of maintaining order and safety for hundreds of youngsters in unfamiliar surroundings.
"Thousands of youngsters who first experienced Cornell under Zoe's guidance, innumerable families who knew their children were in good hands, hundreds of CAU staff members -- temporary and permanent -- who worked with her all have lost a most special friend and colleague," said Ralph Janis, CAU director, who added, "The university has lost a devoted, highly accomplished member of its professional family."
Donations in Pronti's memory can be made to the Salvation Army.
Cornell Chronicle; September 7, 2000 (http://www.news.cornell.edu/Chronicle/00/9.7.00/obit.html).
Steven Magne Rodland
Steven Magne Rodland, 49, of Leesburg, Virginia, died unexpectedly December 1, 2007 due to complications from pneumonia. Steven was born in Huntington, New York on July 28, 1958 to Sam and Margrethe Rodland, and attended Woodbury Avenue Elementary School there. He recently moved to Leesburg, VA and worked at Lindsay Volkswagon in Chantilly. Previously, Steven was a long time resident of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida and worked at several automobile dealerships in the area. He was a life-long member of Telemark Ski Club in Rutland, Vermont. Steven is survived by his parents, Sam and Margrethe Rodland, of Palm Beach Gardens, FL; brother Ole Rodland, of Ruckersville, VA; sisters Marian Dunn of Bradenton, FL, and Janet Vandervaart of Lovettsville, VA; as well as a niece and four nephews. A memorial service will be held at Bethel Lutheran Brethren Church in Huntington Station, NY, at 1:30 pm on Saturday, January 5, 2008. Memorial contributions in his name may be made to Bethel Lutheran Brethren Church, 10 Pinetree Road, Huntington Station, NY 11746.
(Published in Newsday on 1/4/2008.)
http://www.legacy.com/Newsday/DeathNotices.asp?Page=Lifestory&PersonId=100645442
(Furnished by Linda Shoemaker, via Laurie Lucey '71.)
Raymond G. Sansiviero
Raymond G. Sansiviero, of Huntington Station, Long Island, New York, died on May 24, 2020 following an extended illness.
Ray was born on February 2, 1949 as the son of Alfred and Elaine Sansiviero, of Huntington Station. He attended Woodbury Avenue Elementary School in Huntington, graduating from the sixth grade there in 1961 before continuing his secondary school studies.
After graduating high school, Ray enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and was deployed to Vietnam. He was wounded in action at the Battle of Khe Sanh and was awarded the Purple Heart Medal.
Ray was a retired employee of the Town of Huntington, and was a longtime member of Post 1469 of the Veterans of Foreign Wars at Huntington Station, serving for a period as its Post Commander.
(Photo credit: VFW Post 1469, Huntington Station, NY.)
Jean E. Schneider
Jean Schneider, a longtime Huntington elementary school teacher has passed away at 80 after battling esophageal cancer. She worked at Washington, Woodbury Avenue, Village Green and Southdown schools.
Mrs. Schneider was hired as a full-time, tenure track teacher in February 1965 and retired in June 1988. Before joining the Huntington faculty, she substituted in the district during the 1963/64 school year.
A graduate of City College of New York (BA, 1951), Mrs. Schneider, who was predeceased by her husband, obtained a master’s degree at Hofstra University in 1965. “She was a lovely lady and a magnificent teacher,” said Margie Creighton, a district secretary. “All the parents requested her.”
The daughter of immigrant parents, Mrs. Schneider grew up in Brooklyn. Her father died when she was a young child and she lived in a small apartment with her mother, grandmother, uncle, aunt and older sister. She attended CCNY at night and became the first member of her family to graduate from college.
“My parents bought the house in Huntington in early 1959 and moved there from Queens,” said Mrs. Schneider’s daughter, Risa Keene, who lives in New Hampshire. “It was a hard time for them because in addition to having two small children, my mom had recently had a radical mastectomy and they gave her only a small chance of overcoming the disease. But her strong will won out and she became a 50-year breast cancer survivor who provided much support to other women who experienced the disease.”
“As a person, Jean lived life to the fullest,” said retired Huntington teacher Maryann Sacher, who was a colleague and friend of Mrs. Schneider. “Each and every day was an adventure to her and she loved adventures. Jean's journeys took her all over the world and everywhere she went, she gave out ‘smiley stickers’ as a symbol of friendship and peace. Even at her funeral service her daughter Risa gave them out as a tribute to her mother.”
“My mom loved to international folk dance and started dancing with a group that has met at Washington El School for almost 50 years,” Risa Keene said. “This hobby opened many opportunities up to my parents. They learned about other cultures, met people who she remained close friends with for the rest of her life and used some of the dances she learned to create plays for her classes and observed celebrations from many of these other cultures by teaching the dances, preparing food, etc.”
Mrs. Schneider’s granddaughters, Alder, Kendra and Woodra, were her treasures and whenever she had an opportunity, she would share a story or a picture of the three girls.
“My parents also traveled a great deal,” Risa Keene said. “Their travels took them to eastern Europe (Romania, Turkey, Yugoslavia and Hungry, just to name a few), Africa, Scandinavia, Holland, Germany, Spain, France, Italy (visiting with one of Huntington's American Field Service students from 1972), South America, Mexico and all over the U.S. While traveling in Arizona she met a teacher from a Native America boarding school. When she returned she developed many lessons on U.S. Indians. She also wrote a grant which enabled her to purchase many Navaho dolls that she used in her lessons. When she traveled she didn't just watch and sightsee, she interacted with the people and was a participant in whichever culture she was visiting. She used much of what she learned and saw on those trips in her classroom. Wherever she traveled she carried smile face stickers which she would give out to those she met in her travels. She was able to develop a friendship with anyone in any culture and she never ceased writing to them even after many, many years.”
One of the hallmarks of Mrs. Schneider’s life was promoting tolerance of others, understanding people from different ethnic traditions and fostering the inclusion of students with disabilities before it was enshrined in law. “My mom would stand up for what she believed in whether it was popular or not,” Risa Keene said.
In addition to Risa, Mrs. Schneider had a son, Todd, who was born in 1956 and passed away in 1969. After her son passed away she took a year off from teaching and attended evening graduate school at Hofstra. Her granddaughters, now ages 20, 18 and 16, meant the world to the retired Huntington teacher. “She was very devoted to them and it was not unusual for my parents to take care of them for a weekend so they could spend some alone time with the three girls,” Risa Keene said.
Mrs. Schneider was also known to keep in touch with former students. “They loved her dearly,” Risa Keene said. “Some of her students are now teachers because of her influence and some became Spanish teachers because of the Spanish that she taught in the classroom.”
Even though she was ill, Mrs. Schneider continued dancing this year and was a valued member of that tight knit group to the end of her life.
A funeral service was held on March 25 at Temple Beth El on Park Avenue in Huntington.
(Courtesy Huntington Public Schools; http://www.hufsd.edu/news/stories/2009/april/03c.html.)
Eulogy of Retired Teacher Jean Schneider - By her daughter, Risa Gay Keene
It’s incredible the love that people have for my mom. It seems that wherever she went she sprinkled fairy dust and magically people would smile, they would feel their strengths; the good would come out in them.
As a teacher she nurtured the love of art, music, dance, travel and compassion for those who were different. Many of her students still kept in touch with her. No surprise, she never let go of those she cared about.
As a cousin, aunt, mother and grandmother she taught us about our family and our heritage. She shared stories of when we were little, of when she was a child and even of before she was born.
As a friend my mother held each precious relationship in a special place in her heart. She always had a little gift from her travels or from her home that was a perfect fit for that friend.
As an activist my mother fought hard for what she believed in whether it was parking for the elderly at the railroad station or ending the Vietnam War.
She lived her life to the fullest with all the heart and soul that she had within her and then some. She was a doer. If she had an idea or saw a need which had to be met my mother was right there making it become a reality.
I could go on forever about the incredible things she did and felt, but I would be remiss if I didn’t talk about the joys of her life; my dad, Alder, Kendra, Woodra, Doug, Todd and me. My mom has made it possible for us to have opportunities that have broadened our awareness and helped to make us the wonderful people we are today. What a gift!
My mom’s life hasn’t always been easy. As we all know she had breast cancer over 50 years ago and of course there was Todd’s death. But she used the energy created by these tragedies to help and support others.
I’d like to share one of my most favorite stories my mother would tell. As she would travel the world my mother would handout “smasus”, smile face stickers. My mother always said that one day the bushman in Africa, the peasant in Romania, the royal guard in England, the park ranger in Maine, the painter in Mexico and weaver in Peru would accidentally meet and notice that each of them had a happy face sticker. With delight they would share their stories about this friendly crazy lady who they met.
My mother’s energy and enthusiasm were infectious and those of us who were close to her will always remember her boundless energy and determination.
(http://www.hufsd.edu/assets/pdfs/community/heritage/her_schneider_eulogy.pdf)
(1986 photo furnished by Jack Abrams, via Laurie Lucey '71.)
Charlotte Tamney Sherman
Charlotte T. Sherman, 90, of 1229 Trumansburg Road, died Sunday, June 2, 2002 at the Cayuga Medical Center at Ithaca, New York. She was born in New Paltz, NY, daughter of the late Warren and Ethel Walker Tamney. Charlotte was retired from the Huntington, Long Island School District where she had worked for many years.
Charlotte is survived by her son-in-law, Michael Pronti of Lansing; her grandsons, Scott (Michelle) Pronti of Lansing, James (Kelly) Pronti of Rochester and Greg Pronti of Charlotte, N.C.; two great-grandchildren, Rachel and Meghan Pronti of Lansing and several nieces and nephews. Charlotte was predeceased by her daughter, Zoe Pronti, who died August 31, 2000, and her husband, James Sherman, who died in 1979.
Private graveside services at Pine Grove Cemetery, with no calling hours. Arrangements by the Bangs Funeral Home.
(The Ithaca Journal; Tuesday, June 4, 2002.)
Linda Lee Shoemaker
Linda Lee Shoemaker, 76, accomplished musician and 30-year band director in the Huntington School District (NY), passed away peacefully in her sleep at home at Huntington, New York on August 10, 2019.
Linda was born in Bell, California on September 30, 1942. Her love of music and talent was inherited from both sides of her family, where there were music educators and opera singers.
Linda began her clarinet study in the 4th grade and later joined the Huntington Park (California) Youth Band, where she marched for the opening of Disneyland and in the Tournament of Roses Parade at Pasadena, CA three times with that band. She was also a member of the East Junior High School Band.
Linda also performed with the Downey (CA) High School Viking Marching Band. After graduation from Downey High School, she attended Long Beach (CA) State College for two years, then accepted a full music scholarship at the University of Nevada at Reno, where she earned her B. S. Degree in Music.
After graduation, Linda moved to Columbus Ohio, worked in a music store, and attended classes at Ohio State University. In 1967, she accepted a teaching job in Huntington, New York, teaching first at Woodbury Avenue and Flower Hill Elementary Schools. She attained her M. S. Degree in Music at C. W. Post University on Long Island.
She later became the band director at Finley Junior High School in Huntington, and formed the Huntington Nicolettes Marching Band. She moved up to Huntington High School in 1982, where she taught band and was the assistant director and director of the Huntington High School Blue Devil Marching Band. Linda retired in 1997, and went on to join the Sunrisers Drum & Bugle Corps on Long Island and form the Huntington High School Blue Devil Alumni Marching Band.
Linda was also an avid photographer and traveled all over the world. She had a particular love of Ireland and adored Kenya, where she went three times due to her love of nature and all animals. At home she always had a cat or two, and raised several rough collies, her favorite breed.
Linda enjoyed attending concerts of the New York Philharmonic, the New York Opera, and the Metropolitan Opera over the years. Among her favorite singers were Luciano Pavarotti, Beverly Sills, Renata Tebaldi, Maria Callas and Leontyne Price.
Linda is survived by her sister, Doris J. Mady (Mike); her nieces, Cyndee J. Mady and Lisa L. Buchanan; her great-niece, Taylor L. Buchanan; her great-nephews, Jeremy M. DeGonia and Dallas R. M. Buchanan; and great-great-niece, Adriana DeGonia; all residing in Oregon. She is predeceased by her parents, Oliver and Gladys Shoemaker, and her sister, Norman Jean Shoemaker.
Funeral service at 11:00a on Friday, August 23rd, 2019, at M. A. Connell Funeral Home, 934 New York Avenue, Huntington, New York. Interment at Huntington Rural Cemetery, 555 New York Avenue, Huntington.
(Obituary and photo courtesy M. A. Connell. Thanks to Laurie Lucey ‘71 for additional data.)
Mary Jane Sloter Sitterley
Mary Jane Sitterley of Huntington died suddenly on June 13, 2004. She was a teacher with the Huntington School District for 30 years. She is survived by her husband, Donald; son Kenneth and his wife Jill; and her grandchild, Jamison. Visitation at the A. L. Jacobsen Funeral Home, Huntington Station, on Thursday 2-5 and 7-9 p.m. A religious service will take place Friday at 11 a.m. at the funeral home, followed by burial at Huntington Rural Cemetery.
(The Long Islander, June 2004; furnished by Lynn Sheron Spillane, Class of '60.)
Ralph Elzek Thompson
Tragedy struck Huntington 56 years ago this month when English teacher Ralph E. Thompson fell 14-feet to his death on the school gym floor while rehearsing with four students for a November 20th Thanksgiving assembly program.
Mr. Thompson came to Huntington in 1938 and taught for a year at Woodbury Avenue Elementary School. The following September he became one of the original faculty members at the brand new Robert K. Toaz Junior High School. He was active in the community and lived at 71 Central Parkway, within walking distance of Toaz. (He previously resided at 39 Madison Street in Huntington.)
On Sunday morning, November 8, 1953, Mr. Thompson was rehearsing in the Toaz gym with a group of four boys for a show the group planned to perform during a school-wide assembly. This wasn’t any old show, since Mr. Thompson was an accomplished trapeze artist and each year he trained a set of student performers in various circus arts skills.
During the fateful rehearsal Mr. Thompson either slipped or blacked out while trying to turn on the trapeze, falling through the air and striking his head on the gym floor. He was well-known for never practicing with mats. Billy Griffin, one of the four students there that day, ran to a telephone and called his parents who lived nearby. His mother called the doctor and Mr. Griffin’s father rushed to the school. Dr. Palmieri soon arrived and an ambulance followed.
Transported to Huntington Hospital, Mr. Thompson passed away there the next day, Monday, November 9 at 5 p.m. He never regained consciousness after sustaining a fractured skull and other injuries.
Toaz Principal J. Taylor Finley quickly moved to soothe stunned and grief-stricken teachers, students and parents. Mr. Thompson headed the Toaz yearbook and supervised writing for the school newspaper. He was a former performer with the Hagenbeck and Wallace Circus Shows.
His first performer at Toaz was Lucy K. Sammis, who later worked as a Huntington English teacher for more than 30 years. “You balanced on the quarter-inch steel wire, six feet above the floor, first hanging on grimly to the beginner’s balancing pole,” Ms. Sammis wrote in a 1984 letter to the community about Mr. Thompson and what it was like to be one his protégés. “Months later, the fishbone of fear still in your throat, you jiggled and danced across the endless 25-foot rope. If you really felt hero-love, you agreed to perch on his shoulders while he danced across. The umbrella and the feel of the circus tent became our world.”
Mr. Thompson, who performed many trapeze shows for local schools and organizations, was born in Springfield, Illinois. He earned a BA degree at the University of Denver and an MA at Columbia University. Prior to coming to Huntington, he was a junior high school teacher for nine years in Englewood, Colorado.
Locally, he completed a term as commander of the American Legion’s Huntington Post 360 and was active as an officer and member of several town and county organizations.
Mr. Thompson, who was part of the St. Paul’s Lutheran Church congregation, was a first aid instructor for the Red Cross and a member of the Men’s Voluntary Hospital Corps., the Blood Bank Gallon Club, a scoutmaster and a former president of the Huntington Teachers’ Association. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II.
The summer before his death was a happy time for the the Toaz English teacher as he attended a family reunion in Los Angeles, California with his wife, Stella.
“Ralph Thompson was a clown, a father confessor, a gentleman athlete,” Ms. Sammis wrote. “His passion was a perfectionism he demanded of a few.”
The driving force behind the creation of the Associated Teachers of Huntington’s scholarship fund, Mr. Thompson served as its chairman from 1951 until his death. In the days following that terrible November morning, the ATH renamed the fund the Ralph E. Thompson Memorial Scholarship Fund. It presented an award each year to a graduating Huntington student who planned to pursue a career as a teacher in New York State. The scholarship was renewable each year for four years of college study.
Teachers performed plays for the community, played basketball games against each other and against parents and students, donated money and collected money from school PTAs to fund the scholarship, which was a source of tremendous pride for decades.
About 1985 the ATH decided to drop Mr. Thompson’s name from the scholarship on the belief that too many people didn’t remember him. This decision did not rest well with Ms. Sammis, who in an October 14, 1987 letter to School Heritage Museum curator Jack Abrams said: “Ralph Thompson was one of the finest public school teachers I ever had, and I was sorry when the ATH decided not to use his name on the scholarship fund.”
Today, there are some ATH members who are hoping the organization will change the fund’s name back in honor of Mr. Thompson and educate a new generation about his career in Huntington.
“Teenagers tend to be hero worshippers or dissidents,” wrote Ms. Sammis in 1984. “The students who remember Ralph Thompson remember him as a hero; one whom you looked forward to seeing every day in class, and afterwards in the gym. He was a gentle hero, never pompous or officious, never negative or rigid. He had no children of his own, and we students became his children. He cared about each of us personally – our writings, our stormy teenage struggles, our strivings. One former student remembered the jut of his jaw, his purposeful stride. Another remembered his voice, with a slight Denver, Colorado touch, but never strident. He was what someone stated “every teacher ought to be.”
Mr. Thompson was laid to rest in Pinelawn National Cemetery on Thursday, November 12, 1953.
(Furnished by Pete Pearlman '61. Reproduced by permission of Huntington Public Schools.)
Alma Stoddart Toaz
Alma S. Toaz, 96, died January 11, 2003 in Naples, FL. Mrs. Toaz was born September 30, 1906 in Gulf Summit, NY, and was the daughter of the late Louis and Adda Stoddart. Mrs. Toaz and her beloved late husband, John, were residents of Turtle Lake and members of the Quail Run Country Club.
She was a life member of Old First Presbyterian Church, Huntington, NY and the North Naples United Methodist Church. A 1932 alumna from Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY, she held a Bachelor of Science Degree from the School of Music Education. As a devoted music teacher, she taught for many years at the Huntington Elementary Schools, Huntington, NY before retiring.
She is survived by step-daughters, Alice DeBaun of Oriental, NC and Elinor Neuhauser of Cleveland Heights, OH. Cousins were Ruthie Smith of Matamoras, PA, Betty Smith of Horseheads, NY, Kenneth Lawrence of Las Cruces, NM and Florence Guncher of Forest Hills, NY. She was preceded in death by her beloved husband, John Toaz.
Funeral services will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, January 15, 2003 at the North Naples United Methodist Church, 6000 Goodlette Road, Naples, FL. Later she will be laid to rest at the family plot, Woodlawn Cemetery, Elmira, NY. The family requests that contributions be made in honor of Mrs. Toaz to the Orchestra Endowment Fund of the Naples Philharmonic Center for the Arts, Naples, FL. Fuller Funeral Home, Pine Ridge Road, 592-1611.
(Naples Daily News; January 14, 2003. Photo courtesy JoAnne Valentine Powell '58.)
Paul Anthony Tufano
Paul Anthony Tufano, 61, died unexpectedly on Wednesday, September 25, 2019, at Geisinger Medical Center in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
Born in Huntington, New York on April 2, 1958, he was the son of the late Patrick and Dorothy Kenny Tufano. He was a graduate of Huntington High School and went on to receive his Marine Boatyard Mechanic certificate from Wilson Tech in Suffolk County, NY.
During his career, Paul achieved master mechanic certifications from Mercury Marine and OMC. He owned and operated Tufano’s Marine Service Inc., and was a heavy equipment operator and a master carpenter.
Along with his love of boating, Paul enjoyed fishing, gardening, and spending time with his family and grandchildren.
Paul is survived by his daughter, Michelle Wheeler (Chad); his sons, Sean Tufano (Amanda) and Christopher Tufano; his sister, Kathleen Peterson (Rick); his brothers, Charles Tufano (Sandra) and John Tufano; his grandchildren, Emily, Sabrina and Michael; his former wife, Kathleen LaMay; and many nieces, nephews, and very close friends.
The family will receive friends Tuesday, October 1st, from 5 to 8 p.m., at the James Wilson Funeral Home, 143 Gravity Rd., Lake Ariel, PA, and a mass of Christian Burial will be held on Wednesday, October 2nd, at 10:00 a.m. at St. Mary’s Church, 334 St. Mary’s Church Rd., Lake Ariel.
https://jameswilsonfuneralhome.com/site/obituaries/paul-anthony-tufano/663/
Obituary and photo courtesy James Wilson Funeral Home. (Provided by Laurie Lucey ‘71.)
Robert Frank Valentine
Robert Frank Valentine, 87, son of the late Frederick and Emeline Valentine, passed away on Thursday, March 15, 2007, following an extended illness. Bob was born September 28, 1919 at St. Albans (Queens), New York. After graduating from Jamaica High School (in Jamaica, Queens, NY), he attended Oswego Primary Teachers Training School (Oswego State Teachers College; SUNY Oswego), graduating in 1941 with a degree in Industrial Arts.
At that time, he joined the U.S. Army Air Forces as an Aviation Cadet. During World War II, he commanded North American B-25B Mitchell bombers with the 319th Reconnaissance Squadron and the 3rd Anti-Submarine Squadron against German U-boats in the northwestern Atlantic, as well as Consolidated B-24H Liberator bombers against Japanese land and sea targets throughout the Central Pacific with the 7th Air Force.
He achieved the rank of captain and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Air Medal with seven Oak Leaf Clusters, the American Defense Service Medal with bronze star, the American Campaign Medal with bronze star, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with four bronze stars, the World War II Victory Medal, the Conspicuous Service Cross (NY) with nine service devices, the Medal for Merit (NY) with six service devices, and two overseas service bars, as well as his Army Air Forces pilot's wings.
After the military, he flew as an airline pilot for 5 years with American Export Airlines and American Overseas Airlines and 29 years with Pan American World Airways. While with Pan Am, Bob was a celestial navigator, copilot, flight instructor, check-pilot and captain, flying the Douglas DC-4, Lockheed L-749 Constellation, Boeing 377 Stratocruiser, DC-6, DC-7, Boeing 707 and Boeing 747 before reaching mandatory retirement at age 60 in 1979.
Bob lived for many years at Huntington, Long Island, New York, where he was an active member of the Harbor Boating Club. Bob was the founder of the Clipper Pioneers, an organization of retired pilots of Pan American Airways. He belonged to the Airline Pilots Association, the International Order of Characters and the Circumnavigators Club, and energetically supported Las Rancheras Republican Women and the Assistance League of Phoenix.
A skilled tradesman, Bob built and remodeled numerous houses and boats throughout his adult life. He also maintained an avocado grove and second home near Harlingen, Texas for many years. In his later years, he became accomplished in the arts of matting and framing paintings and photographs.
Bob was survived by his wife of nearly 15 years, Jimmie Hall Valentine of Phoenix; his brother, William (Marion) Valentine of Florida; his sister, Mildred (Robert) Painter of Connecticut; his three children, Robert (Nancy), JoAnne (Leigh Powell), and Terry; his five grandchildren, Daniel, Margaret, Theresa, Reid, and Blair; and his many great-grandchildren, nieces, and nephews. Bob was predeceased by his granddaughter, Kathryn Mildred (Kate) Valentine, in 1985; his previous wife, Virginia Roiz Valentine, in 1989; and his oldest brother, Frederick J. Valentine, Jr., in 1993.
His memorial service was held at 2:00 P.M. on Thursday, March 22, 2007 at Whitney & Murphy Funeral Home, 4800 E. Indian School Rd., Phoenix, AZ. Contributions may be made to the Hospice of the Valley, 1510 E. Flower St., Phoenix, AZ 85014-5656. (Published in The Arizona Republic at Phoenix on March 18, 2007.)
(Among other contributions to Woodbury over many years, Bob Valentine constructed the kindergarten playhouse that was in use there for over twenty years. -- T. Valentine '61)
John E. "Jack" Whitney
Saratoga Springs, NY- Dr. John E. Whitney, 92, of Saratoga Springs NY and East Wakefield, N.H. died on Monday, October 9, 2023 at Saratoga Hospital.'Jack' was born on April 19, 1931, in Glen Cove, N.Y. and was raised in nearby Sea Cliff. He was the son of Edward and Sarah Whitney (Deveraux) and a loving brother to his sole sibling, Joan, all of whom pre- deceased him.After graduating from Sea Cliff High School in 1949, Jack joined the U.S. Air Force rising to the rank of Staff Sargent while serving in an intelligence capacity. He was stationed at RAF Burtonwood in England as well as the U.S. Embassy in Rome. Upon returning to the states, he attended the State University of New York at New Paltz on the G.I. bill where he earned bachelor's and master's degrees in education. He would later go on to receive his doctorate.Jack began his career in the early 1960's in Huntington, Long Island, first as a sixth-grade teacher and later principal of Woodbury Avenue School, as principal at Village Green School and finally as principal of Finley Junior High School where he served 14 years and retired in 1986.Jack was a man of integrity and faith and attended church every week. He also believed in community service and was a member of Saratoga Knights of Columbus.His greatest passion was family. He was married to his true love, Jeanne, for 64 years. She passed in 2021. He was the proud father of five children: Jack, Jr (Mary Anne), Bob (Grace), Carol Sampson (Jim), Joanne Kohler (Bret) and Bill (Tina). He had 12 grandchildren, all of whom once enjoyed spending time on his lap.Jack's other passions included thoroughbred and harness horse racing, golf, and spending time with his cherished life-long friends and relatives.He was blessed with a great sense of humor and was an epic storyteller. He was also not shy of a good debate and could always be found on the side of the righteous.A Mass of a Christian burial will be held on Wednesday, October 18, 2023, at 11:30 AM at St. Clements Church, 231 Lake Avenue, Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Burial will follow at Saratoga National Cemetery, 200 Duell Road, Schuylerville, NY. Arrangements are under the direction of the William J. Burke & Sons/ Bussing & Cunniff Funeral Home, 628 N. Broadway, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866.In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in Jack's name may be made to Community Hospice of Saratoga, 179 Lawrence St. Saratoga Springs, NY 12866.Online remembrances may be made at www.burkefuneralhome.comhttps://www.lastingmemories.com/john-jack-e-whitney