notes
June (Carton) Kennedy ’39 celebrated her 90th birthday in April 2009 with friends and family in Martinsburg, WV. Kennedy is pictured in the front row with her sister, Joyce (Carton) Longshore ’43 (left). Standing is her nephew Thomas Longshore ’83 and his wife, Barbara (Samelski) Baker ’69.
1940s Richard H. Zoller ’40 and Kathryn (Warner) Zoller ’40 have been married for 66 years. Kathryn taught mostly in elementary schools for 36 years. Richard taught public school music for one year and was a Bandmaster in the Army for 30 years. Richard, now 93, is still active in the arts and publishes a review column weekly. Kathryn is also active, having spent 11 years on the board of the Sierra Vista Symphony. The Zollers were founders (with two others) of the Sierra Vista Symphony, now in its 13th season.
1950s Joan Becker Smith ’52 was recently honored by the Greater Chamber of Commerce as “Citizen of the Year” in Greene, NY.
Some Potsdam alumni from the Myrtle Beach area met for a luncheon in North Carolina in February. Pictured (l to r) are Phyllis Corbin Raville, Crane librarian from 1947 to 1956; Wilbur “Red” Raville ’52; Margaret Curtis Aquino ’50; Antone Aquino ’50; George Cuppernull ’52; Sue Cuppernull; Mary Lou Crane Sedlak ’49; and Shirley Secor Bush ’49. Absent are Doc Dwight Murphy ’52 and Nancy Murphy. Rosemary Spencer ’57 went to Vienna to participate with the Citrus Community Concert Choir as part of the Haydn Festival. The group is singing two compositions by Ed Lojeski. Spencer is also a new great-grandmother as of April 25, to Corbin John Spencer.
In February 2009, members of the Class of 1958 held a mini-reunion. Pictured from left to right are Marilyn Gaggin, Maria (Dejulio) Di Maria, Rita (Itkin) Schwartz, Ellen Gold, Norma Luce and Judith (Dermody) Zangas. Rita (Itkin) Schwartz ’58 and Sylvia Amarel Infantine ’58 met in Portland, ME, to attend a concert featuring Renée Fleming ’81. The trio chatted about their days at Crane.
Susan Campbell Torrance ’61 is now a homemaker after she retired from her educational pursuits. After living in Ohio from 1961 to 1984 and in New Jersey from 1984 to 2000, she moved back to her hometown Gowanda, NY to be near her family. Torrance and her husband are active volunteers in the village. She is president of the chamber of commerce, a member of the Kiwanis, on the library board, and running a family business. She is looking forward to their 50th anniversary in 2011.
Clarinetist Joe Rosen ’62 and his wife, Christina, hosted “A Night of Music” at their apartment in Manhattan in April. The gathering was limited to 30 guests, most of whom have made performance a major part of their adult lives. The evening consisted of individual and joint performances from alumni representing each decade from the 1950s to today. Pictured are the Rosens (center) with SUNY Potsdam President Dr. John F. Schwaller (r), and his wife, Anne (l). Bill Jones ’63 retired from Parsons Child & Family Center in 2005, as a full-time music therapist. Jones taught music education in college and public school for 20 years. He recently helped develop the Authorized Steinway Virtual Model D Concert Grand Piano. He is actively performing in solo and ensemble recitals, serving as organist and choir director at the United Methodist Church in Slingerlands, NY, and teaching piano in his Delmar, NY, home.
Emmy Award-winning filmmakers Marilyn Mazur Weiner ’63 and Hal Weiner’s “State of the Planet’s Oceans” was one of only five documentaries nominated for best television program of 2009. Narrated and hosted by Academy Award winner Matt Damon, the PBS documentary investigates some of the most critical challenges to the health and sustainability of the world’s oceans. Peter Crumb ’64, the son of Frederick Crumb, the eighth president of SUNY Potsdam, recently donated World War II letters, documents, photos and records to the SUNY Potsdam library named after his father.
The Community Performance Series Studio Orchestra, a 17-piece big band under the direction of Wally Siebel ’68, backed up CPS guest artist John Pizzarelli in a Crane concert titled “A Tribute to Frank Sinatra” in April. Pictured are (front, l to r) Michael Nystoriak ’93, Herm Matlock, Siebel, Pizzarelli, Glenn Drewes ’71, Tim Savage ’84, Jake Whitesell ’05, (back) Wayne Davison, Pat Carney ’82 and Christopher Creviston (Crane faculty).
siebel...
raville...
Class of 1960 50th Reunion in 2010
Ed Bailey ’63 recently was honored for 40 years of service with ABC News during an awards banquet and ceremony at Manhattan’s Pierre Hotel.
Class of 1965 45th Reunion in 2010
Jerry M. Grodin ’69 was elected as president of the New York State Psychological Association. He will serve as president beginning January 2010, while serving as president-elect during 2009.
1970s Class of 1970 40th Reunion in 2010
Boyle...
1960s
Gaggin...
Kennedy...
1930s
Rosen...
class
T.C. Boyle ’68 and his wife, Karen Kvashay ’69, recently met with SUNY Potsdam President Dr. John F. Schwaller and his wife, Anne, at his home in Monetcito, CA, to discuss his new book, The Women. Marilyn Hardie Klerx ’68 retired from the Radio Filharmonisch Orkest Holland (Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra) and lives with her husband, Wilin Malmedy, near the original spa in Belgium.
Ralph Hastings ’70 had his organ compositions featured during the Madison, WI, First Baptist Church worship service by Theodore Reinke, who is a member of the Madison Chapter, American Guild of Organists. After 37 years of coaching high school basketball at Ogdensburg Free Academy, William B. Merna ’70 was inducted into the New York State Basketball Hall of Fame.
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