Lillian Casi Stein ‘49 was a 1st through 4th-grade teacher for 24 years. Early in her career, she taught 1st grade, where she loved seeing the youngsters who couldn’t read or do simple math, blossom into read- ing and being able to do simple addition and subtraction. “In those days,” Lilian says, “few children went to preschool, and kindergarten was more like preschool.” She then stayed at home to raise her children during which time she did substi- tute teaching. When her children were old enough to go to school themselves, Lilian returned as a teacher at the Valley Cottage School, part of the Nyack, NY school sys- tem. She taught there for 19 years in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th grades. “I loved being with these youngsters and watching their minds develop not only with the important skills, but also creatively. Some children needed a confidante as they came from homes that did not provide necessary love and understanding. I enjoyed teaching so much that I have influenced my daughter, Cara, to be an art teacher in Georgia.” Lilian says that Sr. Marianne was her favorite teacher because she was delightful. She adds, “All of the sisters were excellent.” Miriam O’Donnell Quinlan ‘56 re- ceived a Bachelors degree in psychology from Immaculata College in Pennsylvania in 1964 and then went to work for Eastern Airlines in New York City. She was mar- ried in 1968 and eventually left the airline. She stayed home, raising their three boys— Tom ‘89, James ‘90 and Matthew ‘96—until 1989 when Miriam was hired by then prin- cipal Sr. Anne Massell. She taught 2nd grade at Annunciation for the next fourteen years. She especially loved preparing the children to receive the sacraments of Penance and Holy Commun- Annunciation Molds Today’s Teachers Find us on the web at www.school.annunciationcrestwood.com February 2014 The Annunciator Inside this issue... New Parent Crisis 3 Crestwood Country Club 4 Museum Designer 5 Bits of Crestwood 6 Around the School and Parish 7 The Annunciator Asks 8 Free Time? - Then and Now 15 The Annunciator Editorial Board: Richard Burke ‘48 Patrick F.X. Brennan ‘53 Chris Grealy Brown Daly ‘62 Mary Theresa Gill McCombe ‘75 John Sullivan ‘82 Marie Villani-York ‘93 Annunciation Elementary School 465 Westchester Avenue Crestwood, NY 10707 22 A Spokesman is Born 18 ion. She also found it incredible walking down the same hall everyday that she did as a child! Looking back, Miriam doesn’t know how she juggled parenting, teaching and going to school for her master’s at the College of New Rochelle all at the same time. Her favorite teacher at Annunciation was her 8th grade teacher Sr. Marianne. Miriam says, “she was very kind and made everyone feel important.” Miriam and her husband, Tony, moved to Weeki Wachee, FL ten years ago. She loves the weather there and stays very active. Angela Donovan ‘57 graduated from Maria Regina High School and The College of Mt. St. Vincent before receiving a Master of Arts in teaching from Manhattanville Col- lege in 1966. She then began a thirty-two year teaching career in the Mt. Vernon (NY) Public School District, retiring in June 1999. During those thirty -two years, Angela taught pre-K for 9 years and kinder- garten for 23 years. After retiring, Angela did some substitute teaching in the Yonkers public schools be- fore returning to teaching for three years at the Asbury Nursery School in Yonkers, NY, where she taught a three-year- old class. She now volunteers in the Yonkers public school, helping out in the 1st-grade class taught by her sister, Grace Donovan Feighery ‘67. Angela says, “The teacher who made the Continued on page 10 Class Trip Memories 21 Milestones Class Notes 19 Angela Donovan
Transcript
Lillian Casi Stein ‘49 was a 1st through 4th-grade teacher for 24 years. Early in her career, she taught 1st grade, where she loved seeing the youngsters who couldn’t read or do simple math, blossom into read-ing and being able to do simple addition and subtraction. “In those days,” Lilian says, “few children went to preschool, and kindergarten was more like preschool.”
She then stayed at home to raise her children during which time she did substi-tute teaching. When her children were old enough to go to school themselves, Lilian returned as a teacher at the Valley Cottage School, part of the Nyack, NY school sys-tem. She taught there for 19 years in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th grades. “I loved being with these youngsters and watching their minds develop not only with the important skills, but also creatively. Some children needed a confidante as they came from homes that did not provide necessary love and understanding. I enjoyed teaching so much that I have influenced my daughter, Cara, to be an art teacher in Georgia.”
Lilian says that Sr. Marianne was her favorite teacher because she was delightful. She adds, “All of the sisters were excellent.”
Miriam O’Donnell Quinlan ‘56 re-ceived a Bachelors degree in psychology from Immaculata College in Pennsylvania in 1964 and then went to work for Eastern Airlines in New York City. She was mar-ried in 1968 and eventually left the airline. She stayed home, raising their three boys—Tom ‘89, James ‘90 and Matthew ‘96—until 1989 when Miriam was hired by then prin-cipal Sr. Anne Massell.
She taught 2nd grade at Annunciation for the next fourteen years. She especially loved preparing the children to receive the sacraments of Penance and Holy Commun-
Annunciation Molds Today’s Teachers
Find us on the web at www.school.annunciationcrestwood.com
February 2014
The Annunciator
Inside this issue...
New Parent Crisis 3
Crestwood Country Club 4
Museum Designer 5
Bits of Crestwood 6
Around the School and Parish
7
The Annunciator Asks 8
Free Time? - Then and Now
15
The Annunciator Editorial Board:
Richard Burke ‘48
Patrick F.X. Brennan ‘53
Chris Grealy Brown Daly ‘62
Mary Theresa Gill McCombe ‘75
John Sullivan ‘82
Marie Villani-York ‘93
Annunciation Elementary School
465 Westchester Avenue
Crestwood, NY 10707
22 A Spokesman is Born
18
ion. She also found it incredible walking down the same hall everyday that she did as a child!
Looking back, Miriam doesn’t know how she juggled parenting, teaching and going to school for her master’s at the College of New Rochelle all at the same time.
Her favorite teacher at Annunciation was her 8th grade teacher Sr. Marianne. Miriam says, “she was very kind and made everyone feel important.”
Miriam and her husband, Tony, moved to Weeki Wachee, FL ten years ago. She loves the weather there and stays very active.
Angela Donovan ‘57 graduated from Maria Regina High School and The College of Mt. St. Vincent before receiving a Master of Arts in teaching from Manhattanville Col-lege in 1966. She then began a thirty-two year teaching career in the Mt. Vernon (NY) Public School District, retiring in June 1999. During those thirty-two years, Angela taught pre-K for 9 years and kinder-garten for 23 years.
After retiring, Angela did some substitute teaching in the Yonkers public schools be-fore returning to teaching for three years at the Asbury Nursery School in Yonkers, NY, where she taught a three-year-old class. She now volunteers in the Yonkers public school, helping out in the 1st-grade class taught by her sister, Grace
Donovan Feighery ‘67.
Angela says, “The teacher who made the Continued on page 10
As I write this letter, we are celebrating Catholic Schools Week. The theme of this celebration is Catholic Schools: A community of faith, knowledge and service. How true that slogan is of Annunciation School over the years. We have been, and will con-tinue to be, a community that grows in grace, wisdom and charity. In this issue we will read about some of our alumni who give back to society by being educators. We all know how important a good education is, and so often we remember those teachers who have touched our lives by their dedication and service. An-nunciation School is proud to have an early educa-tional role in the development of these men and women! To all of you, thanks for your support and prayers and be assured of my prayers for you.
Sincerely,
The Annunciator Page 2
Reunion 2014 News
SAVE THE DATE Saturday, May 3, 2014
Classes of 1964, 1969, 1974, 1979, 1984, 1989, 1994 and 1999,
your reunion has been set for Saturday, May 3, 2014.
Please make sure that we have your email so that we can provide you with information about plans as they become available. Send your name, year and mailing address by email to
[email protected]. Now is also the time to reach out to your classmates and let them know that you want to see them there!
Letters to the Editor To the Editor,
I just want to say how much I always enjoy reading the alumni newsletter. There is always a classmate or friend that I enjoy reading about, as well as the stories that seem to take you back to a time when life was much simpler.
In the last edition, it was great to see the photo of the undefeated CYO baseball team coached by Chris White. Chris and I were teammates for thirty-one years on the Crestwood Baseball/Softball team in the Yonkers Rec-reation League, and there is no finer person.
John Balletta ‘71
To the Editor,
I always enjoy reading the newsletter! It’s a great way to stay connected to Annunciation.
Kristina Remy ‘96
To the Editor,
The October newsletter was awesome as usual. Lots of great and varied information. We especially loved the tribute to the retired AES faculty and “The Annuncia-tor Asks” feature. Thank you so much.
Life doesn’t necessarily get harder as we get older, but the accumulation of negative experiences can certainly make it seem so. I have dealt with a few unfortunate events in my life that have shaped me as a person, but a recent one has affected me in a way that can’t be compared to previous ones.
I am a mother now. The most difficult, yet rewarding, thing I have ever done. In September of 2013, our 15-month-old son, Finn, was diag-nosed with craniosynostosis (kray-nee-o-sin-os-TOE-sis), a condition in which the borders of the bony plates in a baby’s skull close prematurely. These borders, which are called su-tures, normally close by the time the child is two or three years old. Anything earlier than that can cause a skull to grow unevenly and may lead to a number of serious prob-lems since the brain continues to grow.
There are different types of synostosis. In Finn’s case, the sagittal suture that runs along the top of the head had fused. Sagittal synostosis is the most common type of cra-niosynostosis which, believe it or not, occurs in 1 in 2,000 births. This statistic was astounding to me. I had never heard of it until Finn was diagnosed.
Our journey began on September 18, 2013. Finn went in to see Dr. Andrew Reisner, a pediatric neurosurgeon at Chil-dren’s Healthcare of Atlanta, after his pediatrician became concerned with the size of Finn’s head. The pediatrician was worried that his head was too large and wanted to rule out hydrocephalus (fluid in the brain.). I wasn’t overly wor-ried, because I had a big head when I was a baby!
We went for an ultrasound, and the technician perform-ing the procedure had a hard time finding the fontanelles (soft spots) on Finn’s head. My heart sank. I had a feeling we were looking at something more serious, but I tried not to worry. After all, Finn was a great baby, very healthy and was reaching all of his milestones.
We took our results to the neurosurgeon, and he exam-ined Finn thoroughly. He measured Finn’s head, as well as mine and my husband’s. He saw no fluid in Finn’s brain and was more than pleased with his fine and gross motor skills. He told us Finn just had a genetically big head. Unfortu-nately, that wasn’t all. Just when we thought the appoint-ment was wrapping up, he asked if we could go back to the hospital for x-rays. While he was fine with the size of Finn’s
head, he was concerned with the shape of it. That was the first time we heard the word craniosynostosis.
Our lives changed at that very moment. We felt helpless. It was a most overwhelming and emotional day. The next few weeks were filled with doctor’s appointments, CT scans, worrying, crying, and planning. We met with a plastic surgeon who encouraged us to operate. Even though Finn wasn’t experiencing any obvious symptoms, we knew his brain had a lot more growing to do, and we wanted to make sure it had room to do so. Some of the side effects of craniosynostosis are intrac-ranial pressure resulting in develop-
mental delays, seizures, migraines, and vision problems. We talked to a few parents who had been through this, and they all said that the benefits of surgery far outweighed the risks associated with it. As hard as it was to think about our baby in pain, we knew we had to operate .
On November 12, 2013, Finn went in for surgery. Finn had a full CVR, or cranial vault reconstruction. Handing him over to the operating room nurse was one of the hard-est things I have ever done. My husband, Brian, and I hugged each other tight and waited. While we were kept informed as the surgery progressed, it wasn’t until four hours later that we were able to see him. It was heartbreak-ing to see Finn bruised and swollen, but we knew he was a fighter. We were also comforted by the fact that Finn’s re-covery nurse was named Chris. Christopher Finn is named after his uncle Chris who passed away on September 11, 2001. We knew then that this was Finn’s guardian angel’s way of telling us that Finn was going to be okay.
I have a greater appreciation for my own parents after all of this. This is a part of parenting that is difficult, if not im-possible, to prepare for. I am happy to report that the hard-est part is behind us, and Finn is doing wonderfully, though he will be followed by doctors until he is five years old.
I truly feel that my new purpose in life is to help others who are going through this and to spread awareness about craniosynostosis. I have started a blog to document Finn’s journey (http://finnscranialadventure.blogspot.com/) and to share our story with others. It will also be wonderful for Finn to have something to look back on. We hope this is the hardest thing he will ever have to endure in his lifetime.
and Summit Place (now known as Hollywood Avenue). By the 1907 map, this 8 acres is clearly labeled ‘Crestwood Country Club, Lessee of the Est. of George Pollen.’ The entrance to the club was from Scarsdale Road via an oval shaped driveway and the acres spread north to Vista Street near P.S. 15’s building. The map also shows how it blocked Westchester Ave-nue and Carpenter Avenue from being connected. This land ended at the easterly line of Hollywood Avenue, but in the 1929 map, you see this area, where the club was, is shrinking, allowing more prop-
erty for P.S. 15 and the connection between Westchester and Carpenter Avenues.
On this 8 acres, the Crestwood Country Club was estab-lished in 1903, when they applied for their charter of incor-poration. It was not only a social/athletic club, but also, I soon realized, an organization that represented the families of Crestwood and challenged the city, county, Parkway Commission and even the New York Central Railroad on issues concerning their well-being. Another article I have uncovered, describes a gala clambake affair at the country club in 1908, where participants were transported by stage to trains and trolleys. The club even had a bowling alley that welcomed local league competition.
The club ended in 1909. I thought it strange to have the club last only six years. Perhaps it might have been a finan-cial burden for such a tract of land and that big house. But perhaps there was another reason. During the time the club was in existence, the underlying land had been in a court conflict. It is interesting to note that, when the club closed, the property was sold to Andrew Hartmann, who was a civil engineer who worked for the City of Yonkers Planning Committee. Hartmann, who also built the Queen Anne-style home at 6 Hollywood Avenue, was one of several engi-neers involved in the planning and layout of the Crestwood community.
Today, Hartmann’s purchase of this property might be considered a conflict of interest, since he was also a found-ing member of the club. By 1929, the map shows that many parcels had been sold along Scarsdale Road, Carpenter Ave-nue, Westchester Avenue and Hollywood Avenue, and one has to wonder how much Hartmann profited from his smart move. On that same 1929 map, there still seems to be a building on a leftover empty lot which might have been the old club. That building no longer remains today.”
At one time Crestwood was home to a private club called Crest-wood Country Club. Recently, John Beach, who lives in Colonial Heights and is a member of the Crestwood Historical Society, shared his research into that club with members of the “Crestwood Memories” Facebook page. John’s research is fascinating, and we thank John for the permission to reprint his research.
“There are many old maps of the early Crestwood area. Most early maps show only the large tracts of land ownerships. The largest and possibly the oldest land tract was the Sherwood Farm, but newer maps show this area slowly dividing up into a more recognizable Crestwood as we know it today.
Something interesting was beginning to show in the 1881 Yonkers Map. It was a square piece of land being of 8 acres, located inside another 127 acre parcel. The larger piece was the land of Jacob R. Merritt (connected to the Sherwood family lineage).
Now this smaller 8 acres caught my eye mostly since it appears to be closely situated on Scarsdale Road and extends eastward to about where Hollywood Avenue would later be. It is labeled ‘Est. of G. Pollen.’ who was a wealthy merchant who lived in the Bronx and Manhattan. He had a son and a daughter, Ann Eliza, who married Samuel Leggett in 1849. They later moved onto her father’s estate in Yonkers Park (as Crestwood was previously known). They had 5 children but sadly, on May 14, 1873, Samuel’s body was found in the barn with several bullet holes. ‘This murder was never cleared up, but as he was financially embarrassed at the time, and had been depressed in spirits for a long time previous, the theory of suicide was accepted as the true one,” wrote the New York Times on March 15, 1878.
Ann Eliza’s troubles continued with the death of her fa-ther on May 14, 1877. She was left with the Yonkers prop-erty, grand house, barn and a large sum of money, but never had the chance to enjoy it. Some months later, she was mur-dered on March 15, 1878 in that grand house by Theron Merritt who was said to be a disturbed jealous lover who then took his own life.
Maps from 1891 and 1901 continue to show this 8 acre property and what was now shaping up to be Crestwood. Almost all of the new streets had early names, and the 8 acres began to fit to some these newly named streets, in this case to Hollywood Place (now known as Hartmann Place)
Design takes many forms. Some are more familiar—interior design, graphic design, and architectural de-sign might readily bring to mind the job description for the person behind such a design. Some are less familiar but important nonetheless and might make it a bit harder to imagine ex-actly what the person might do in a job with the title product designer, urban designer or museum exhibit designer.
Maria Mortati ‘79 can tell you ex-actly what a museum exhibit designer does. Her work, which has spanned more than a decade, engages her in diverse projects ranging from formal museum exhibitions to short-term artistic interventions. She collabo-rates with museum staff, boards and local communities as she creates museum exhibitions or plans for new projects.
Maria holds a bachelor in fine arts in studio art from the University of Colorado and a master’s of fine arts in design from Stanford University. Her prior work experience is quite varied. She worked for an advertising agency in Ice-land in the late 1980s. After college, she spent about a dec-ade working multimedia and interaction design. For exam-ple, in the 1990s, she worked for Silicon Graphics, an American manufacturer of high-performance computing. She also worked for the Exploratorium, a science museum in San Francisco, as well as some local San Francisco area mu-seum exhibit design firms. It was in these studios, that Maria was able to get a chance to work on larger projects and take on many different responsibilities.
Maria says, “At Stanford, I was transitioning from multi-media and interaction design to installations and exhibitions. I was thrown in with mechanical engineers and became in-terested in fabrication, kinetics and interactives in the real world vs. the virtual world. Museum exhibitions seemed a natural progression from human/computer interaction de-sign.”
Because museum work is based on “accrued experience,” Maria says, “The project I’m working on now is usually my favorite—it’s always more challenging than the last. Cur-rently, I’m working on exhibits and programs for a ‘food truck’ styled ranger station for the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy and a series of street-level exhibits for a
new neurosciences building for the University College of Lon-don.”
Some of her projects can be quite whimsical. Her work for the Walker Art Center’s Internet Cat Video Fest in the summer of 2013 was one such project. For that event, she designed a mobile video cart where festival attendees could record their interpretation of the sounds their cats make. The resulting video compilation is both interesting and entertaining, especially for cat lovers.
In 2011, Maria decided that having her own firm would allow her to focus on invention and implementation rather than pro-
ject management and dissemination, which began to domi-nate her responsibilities at the firms she worked for. “I learned a lot at all my firms, and they were great experiences. Having my own company is fun in that I have greater lati-tude in terms of what types of projects I take on, and how far I can go with them. It also means that the threshold be-tween not enough and too much work is always tricky.”
Maria is a frequent panelist and lecturer. She teaches public interaction design in the MFA Design program at the California College of the Arts. She has written articles for museum journal Exhibitionist, and she blogs on various as-pects of museum participation and design. Her projects in-clude work for the Baltimore Museum of Art, Dallas Mu-seum of Art, Children’s Creativity Museum in San Francisco, and Fort Collins Museum of Discovery in Colorado.
“I’ve learned that while I may think what I do is not rocket science, it makes a big difference to people in the in-stitutions I work with that I understand how they work and how to get creative projects into or through their infrastruc-ture. It’s hard to do innovative work when you are an insti-tution.”
Her advice for people who love museums and think they might want to work in that environment is, “Museums are complex entities, so the best advice I can give is to volunteer first and get a sense of what you’d want to work in. Then, read up a bit on the current thinking and best practices for that area of the museum world.”
February 2014
Maria Mortati
Page 6 The Annunciator
Bits of Crestwood: Cars, Cars and More Cars
Growing up in Crestwood in the 1960s meant you were part of America’s car culture. Muscle cars and pony cars were born in that era. Oldsmobile 442s, Pontiac GTOs, Ford Mustangs and Chevy Cameros were coveted status symbols, as were other cars like Lincoln, Cadillac and Ford Thunderbirds (the latter had a real sweet design in 1961).
Our little neighborhood on Crestwood Avenue bounded by Juana Street to the north and St. Eleanora’s Lane to the south boasted some of the most popular cars of the time. I can recall at least two Thunderbirds in nearby driveways, a gorgeous blue ‘61 model, the other a more elegant design of the late 60s/early 70s. Cadillacs graced a few driveways too. Usually of the staid Coupe d’Ville or Sedan d’Ville style (no convertibles that I can remember), they still impressed with their incredible size and those iconic tail fins.
Before I go too far, I have to mention station wagons. For anyone who has never heard the word before, think Subaru Outback—without the head-room or four-wheel drive. They were the forerunners of the SUV and the minivan—the large-family, cargo-hauling battleships of the 50s, 60s and 70s. When you needed to tote home the Christmas tree, the four kids and the dog, you used the station wagon. For a while, my dad drove one: a depressing early 60s grey Ford Fairlane that took a beating but kept on trucking.
On the sunnier side of the street, there were the sports cars like the Dodge Challenger, a gorgeous example of which resided in a neighbor’s drive-way. It was paired with a ‘68 Pontiac GTO, the model year car enthusiasts love for its audacious plastic nose bumper. Our driveway featured a ‘68 Oldsmobile 442 in gold with a black rally stripe along the flanks and a roof covered in black vinyl. The 442 and GTO rumbled at idle betraying their big horses beneath the hoods. We had some good times comparing the features of cars in those days.
There were also some misadventures as well. There was the time that my dad’s Buick Special was rear-ended one night when parked in the street in front of our house (the driver made it, but the car did not). Then my mom and brother spun out on the Bronx River Parkway after a tire blowout in our ‘64 Chevy Corvair (all were OK; Ralph Nader would make his name admonishing GM about this
particular car’s safety). One morning we found a Pontiac GTO or Tempest (they look the same) on our front lawn. Unbeknownst to us, the driver swerved off the road while we all slept; he or she walked away leaving us with a morn-ing mystery—and a ruined front lawn. Another misadven-ture occurred when a friend disengaged the transmission of his mom’s car that was parked on our sloping driveway. It quietly rolled across the street and hit a stone buttress, ruin-ing it and the car’s rear bumper (the friend was OK but ran for it to escape his mother’s wrath).
I like to think that my dad was ahead of the curve when it came to car-buying trends. There had been a Plymouth in our past (the body rusted very badly), a Buick LeSabre (the gas gauge never worked), a Buick Electra 225 (a beauty that was really a pretty good car but a bit of a gas guzzler), a Cadillac Sedan d’Ville (not that bad either but it was a used car with used-car issues), a Chevy Vega (I used it for com-
muting to college; the hood paint bubbled off, and one night, I destroyed the rear axel by running it over a curb) and a very plain brown ‘77 Olds Cutlass (the engine would cut out on turns; it was the antithesis of the Olds 442).
By then my dad had real-ized better cars were being built overseas. Before long, a Toyota Camry and later, when Dad was more suc-cessful, a Mercedes Benz joined the long list of cars
that made our driveway home. My dad’s last car was an-other Mercedes he leased rather than owned. It was the trend of the future.
I resisted the disloyalty at first, owning a Ford Taurus for 100,000 miles, but I soon joined the crowd purchasing Nissans and Hondas. I still follow automobile develop-ments and am pleased that U.S. car makers are building much better products these days, but it will take a lot of quality data to bring me back. That said, in my home office sits a very accurate model of the 1968 Oldsmobile 442, a car I never drove but one that I will always love. For de-spite its rock-hard sports suspension, less than great quality (there were electrical problems), it turned a lot of heads, handled better than others in its class, and it accelerated as advertised: like a rocket. It was the car I grew up with in Crestwood.
By Mark L. Maiello ‘71
A 1968 cream-colored Olds 442; not unlike the car
owned by the author’s family.
Around the School and Parish
Page 7
Students Help at Westchester Food Bank Fundraiser
February 2014
On October 19, 2013, fifteen Annunciation students assisted at the Westchester Food Bank’s annual fundraiser, “An Evening of Good Taste.” The Annunciation Ladies’ Guild had been approached with a request for volunteers. Prior to the event, the children were instructed in how to solicit donations for the “lunch box” food pro-gram. Overall the students raised $8,600 during the three-hour event. The children were complimented on their poise, manners and very persuasive “selling” skills. The total raised through their efforts far exceeded the food pantry’s expectations and previous year’s sales. We are so proud of how they represented Annunciation School! The students who participated were Ryan Tannian, Jack Brennan, Sarah Bergen, Sean Tobin, Jack and Danny Breen (sons of Kim White Breen ‘86), Regina Potenza, Hannah White, Mikaela and Ali Walsh (daughters of Brian Walsh ‘82), Courtney McGrath, William and Graydon Crabtree (sons of Will Crabtree ‘86), Christiana Santos and Margaret Taylor.
Students listened intently to an anti-bullying pro-
gram that came to the Annunciation School gym
on November 7, 2013. The program was paid for
with a portion of the funds donated by the Class
of 1983 in memory of their classmate, Irene Ber-
tolini. The program kept the children’s attention,
and they enthusiastically answered questions
about how they would approach various bullying
scenarios while learning about how to help some-
one who is being bullied.
Anti-Bullying Assembly Held
Page 8
nue where she now lives (also known as the “the Dolan house”). On Face-book, she connected with another alumnus, Elizabeth Carlock Stano ‘59, who also lived at 427 West-chester Avenue. In addition, Eliza-beth had lived at 11 Manhattan Ave-nue and at 485 Westchester Avenue with the Martin family. Elizabeth says, “I miss Crestwood and am very blessed to have grown up in such a wonderful community.”
Judee Arnstein ‘68 lived at 105 Crestwood Avenue (also known as “the Weireter house”) and also at 37
Ridge Street.
Thomas Schultze ‘75 says that technically he lived in two houses since 33 Hollywood Avenue was connected to 36 Crestwood Avenue. That house, which had a very large yard, was recently knocked down and replaced by two houses.
Vince O’Leary also lived in two, moving from 212 Man-hattan Avenue to 424 Hollywood Avenue.
Peter Marsalisi ‘76 lived in two houses. One was on Chauncey Street and the other on Westchester Avenue, and Mary Spero Salisbury ‘73 lived at 219 Pennsylvania before moving two doors down to 213 Pennsylvania where her brother, Peter ‘83, still lives with his family.
Mary Aiello Jackson ‘67 lived at 37 Avondale Road until 6th grade when her family moved to Eastchester. The Jack-sons then moved back to Crestwood and settled in at 505 Westchester Avenue.
The winner of the title “person who lived in the most Crestwood houses” might be Betsy Kaus Comizio ‘68 who says that the Kaus family lived in five different houses in Crestwood—164 Pennsylvania Avenue, 426 Scarsdale Road, 62 Crestwood Avenue, 185 Hollywood Avenue and then 65 Crestwood Avenue!
We generally remember our home in Crestwood with warm and open hearts. Elizabeth O’Connor ‘66 lived in only one house in Crestwood—47 Crestwood Ave-nue—but says, “A part of my heart is still in that house.” Mark Aval-lone ‘67 says that his father built their family home at 81 McArthur Avenue in 1958. He acknowledged that “it is very hard when your par-ents pass, and you have to sell the house.” And even when sold for many years, the house, though it had new owners, was referred to by others as “the Avallone house.”
More than a handful of people have lived in multiple houses in Crestwood. Not only did the question posted to the Facebook page reveal some migrations around the neighborhood, as well as some in and out and back into the neighborhood, but it identified two Facebook members who have both lived in the same house (at different times)!
Mary Theresa Gill McCombe ‘75 has lived in three Crest-wood houses. She started out at 230 Pennsylvania Avenue, where her parents still live, then moved to 48 Margaret Ave-nue also known as “the Hardy house” when she got married and finally to 51 Lindbergh Place.
Mary Campbell Caldwell ‘61 also lived in three houses when she counts the time that she spent with her grandpar-ents. The first house was 131 Chittenden Avenue before her family moved to Japan. When they returned from Japan, Manhattan and London, they re-settled at 259 Hollywood Avenue (also known as “the Amend house” and currently “the Tarpey house”). Mary also spent lots of time at 242 Westchester Avenue where her grandparents and aunt lived.
Diane Doyle Vezza ‘75 is on her third house, having grown up at 68 Vermont Terrace before moving as a teen to 530 Westchester Avenue and then to 427 Westchester Ave-
“The Annunciator” Asks:
Have you Lived in More Than One Crestwood House?
The Annunciator
Annunciation Church and Annunciation School are on
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biggest impression on me was Sister Francis Xavier. She was very strict and really meant business. There was no fooling around in her class! Another favorite teacher was Sister Marianne. She was so gentle and kind and was also very friendly and a good teacher. The qualities of both these teachers helped to form my teaching career.”
Although retired now from classroom teaching, Marianne Henshaw Fleming ‘63 taught religious education in both
Catholic and state secondary schools in England for 27 years. Religious educa-tion is a required subject in all schools and includes the study of the six major world religions and the philosophy of religion and ethics.
Marianne has a degree in religion from Manhattanville College in Pur-chase, NY and an master’s in theology from the University of Durham, Eng-land. She trained as a teacher in Dur-ham and was pleased to be able to teach all children regardless of their faith back-ground, including those with no faith
background, so that they could gain a deeper understanding of why religious faith is so important to different people—Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs as well as Christians of all denominations.
Patricia DeStasio Greiner ‘65 teaches 2nd grade in Aus-tin, TX at Canyon Creek Elementary School. Initially, she received a degree in business administration and worked in that field for a time. After staying home and raising her three children—Christopher, Laura and Matthew—Patty decided to return to school for a teaching degree. She completed most of her coursework at SUNY New Paltz, but just as she was ready to do her student teaching, her husband, Bruce, received an international assignment.
Patty and her family lived in Germany for two years be-fore returning to the U.S. and settling in Austin. It was there that she completed her degree. She has now been teaching for 22 years. Says Patty, “I love my kids, colleagues, principal, and my community. I really have been blessed.” She is now struggling with whether to retire or continue working adding, “Teaching is my joy!”
Patty’s favorite Annunciation teacher was Sr. Margaret Marie who taught 2nd grade. “Our class was in the basement of the church during school renovations. She told me a story I wrote about my mother was lovely and made me feel like a
published author. I remember that feeling when I edit my students’ writing today,” she says.
Joanne Pondiccio Sullivan ‘66 is recently retired from teaching at Yonkers Middle/High School (NY). Over the course of 36 years of teaching, Joanne taught at both the elementary and junior high school levels. She loved teach-ing and was passionate about her job. She shared that pas-sion by supervising many student teachers and mentoring other teachers.
Joanne, who is a resident of Valley Cottage, NY, is cur-rently working part-time at BOCES in the GED and Eng-lish as a Second Language programs in Nyack, NY. She notes that over the course of her teaching career, testing has become a fixation. “Kids aren’t allowed to be kids. They are always getting ready for moving on and being measured and evaluated instead of being taught and learn-ing to love learning for the sake of learning.”
Antonella Schirripa Castanaro ‘68 received a B.S. in French from Georgetown University and a graduate degree in education from Iona College. She is certified to teach French, Italian and social studies.
When Ann was a stay-at-home mom, she started doing long-term substitute teaching. Enjoying this, she decided to teach full-time and has been teaching at St. Eugene’s School in Yonkers, NY for nineteen years.
Ann likes teaching because, “it is not just about the sub-ject matter, which of course, you hope the students will master. It’s about engaging them in the process of learning and enjoying the process. Students spend the bulk of their day in school with their teachers, and it’s important that
they learn, are challenged, and like to learn!” Ann says, “It is encouraging to see the great strides that the students make in their academic and social lives. It is also rewarding to see them grow in faith.”
Ann has seen the teaching and school environment change a lot in her almost 20 years at St. Eugene’s. The effects of technol-ogy and changes in the family dynamic have been the biggest changes. However, she notes, in the most important ways,
“teaching and schools have stayed the same. We still strive for excellence and hope that our influence will result Continued on page 11
The Annunciator
Marianne
Henshaw Fleming
Ann Schirripa
Castanaro
Page 11
Teaching Teachers
Continued from page 10
in intelligent, compassionate and creative future citizens of the next generation. We hope our students will realize their best selves and appreciate their unique talents.”
Ann says that her favorite teacher was Mrs. Lucian, who created a cheerful classroom environment and had a great sense of humor.
Tom Byrnes ‘69 has em-barked on a new career as a teacher after a 35-year career at IBM as a world-wide marketing communications manager. He is now a full-time professor teaching marketing at NC State. He is also a part-time adjunct at the Wake Tech Community College. Tom, who is a resident of Raleigh, NC, says that his favorite teacher at An-nunciation was Miss Brophy (6th grade). “She was fresh out of col-lege, fun to be with and had us singing songs almost every day (If I had a Hammer).”
Mark Dougherty ‘72 began teaching 22 years ago after working at IBM for 11 years. He went back to school and received a master’s degree from Manhattanville College in special education and later earned a master’s from The Uni-versity of Connecticut in bilingual education. Mark worked as a special education teacher with students with behavioral
issues in the Bronx, NY and Hartford, CT, before being hired by ACES.
ACES is one of six RESCs (Regional Educational Service Centers) in Connecticut. The RESCs were born out of the need for special education programming in the late 60s and early 70s. Mark says, “We draw students from over 26 cities and towns in the New Haven area. I have always loved the challenge of working with this population and went back to school to get my administrative certification
about ten years ago. After serving as an assistant principal at ACES Mill Road School, I was named principal of ACES Whitney High School North in 2007.”
“Our students generally are of pretty average intellectual abilities,” he continues, “but have significant behavioral issues that get in the way of their learning; they are like diamonds in
the rough. If we’re able to help the students address their behavioral issues, they have a good chance of getting their lives back on track. Being a part of that can be extremely rewarding.”
Mark notes that ACES has a number of remarkable suc-cess stories. “We have had students who have had numer-ous psychiatric hospitalizations and arrests who have gone on to complete college and embark on successful careers. My colleagues are incredibly dedicated and compassionate people. Some have worked with this population for over twenty-five years and still come to work each morning with a passion you rarely see in other fields.”
ACES has a very strong vocational component to its program and the school’s social worker has helped establish over twenty-five work sites where ACES’ students get real-life, paid work experiences. They are currently working on a partnership with Habitat For Humanity and are hopeful that they can find funding to make it a regular part of their vocational program. Mark points out that “the more au-thentic the experience we can offer our students, the more likely it will be to engage and motivate them to succeed.”
Mark says, “Like almost anyone who grew up in Crest-wood, I feel incredibly fortunate to have had such an idyllic childhood. It is the glaring missing piece in the lives of most of my students. I had great teachers at both Annun-ciation and at Iona.” Mark’s favorite teacher was Mr. Tavolacci who, he recalls, “would just pace across the front of the classroom and turn history class into a storytelling hour. He’s one of the reasons I always wanted to teach.”
Barbara Menzie Procario ‘73 is currently a 7th-grade science teacher at Van Wyck Junior High School in Wap-pingers Falls, NY.
Fr. David G. Monaco, C.P. ‘74 is an associate profes-sor of sacred scripture at the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, OH, where he has taught for three years. Dave has just returned from leading a theology pilgrimage to Rome where he had the privilege of concelebrating the January 1st Papal Mass in St. Peter's Basilica with Pope Francis.
Dave’s book, The Sentences of the Syriac Menander: Introduction, Text and Translation, and Commen-tary is now in a second printing with Gorgias Press and has been Continued on page 12
Tom Byrnes
Fr. Dave Monaco
February 2014
Mark Dougherty
Teaching Teachers
Page 12 The Annunciator
Continued from page 11
designated as Volume 7 in the Gorgias Studies in Late and Clas-sical Antiquity. His most recent project is an article for a fest-schrift in honor of Prof. Hans-Dieter Betz of the University of Chicago entitled, “The Rhetoric of Narrative in Acts 8:26-40.” It is to appear as a chapter of a volume to be published in Berlin by Mohr Siebeck Publishers.
Dave’s favorite teacher at Annunciation was Mrs. Seiler. He says, “After all these years, I still marvel at the world of English literature that she opened up for us and at the train-ing that she gave us in English grammar. She had us reading classics of English literature in grammar school that most students do not come across until their college days, if at all.”
Linda DeMaria Mazurek ‘73 has been teaching since 1982. She is now an assistant principal. Most of her experi-ence as been in Catholic elementary schools.
Margie Grealy Burns ‘76 has been a special education teacher in the Locust Valley School District (NY) for eight years. She had previously worked in the Half Hollow Hills School District and, for almost six years, was involved in the early intervention program through the New York State De-partment of Health. As a special education teacher in that program, Margie had the opportunity to work with children diagnosed on the autism spectrum and their families. Her students were aged 17 months to 3 years.
Margie went into special education after her son had suc-cessful early intervention for a speech/language delay. Margie says, “It set the groundwork for him to become the fabulous man that he is today.” One of Margie’s favorite teachers was Mrs. Seiler. “I al-ways remember how she made literature come alive! She
created such a caring, safe, and engaging environment in which to learn,” she recalls. Margie lives in Huntington, NY with her husband of 25 years, Bob. He is an engineer, and they have two children—Kelsey and Bobby—who are both in college.
Peter Dougherty ‘77 is in his 25th year teaching at the Perkiomen School, a boarding school in Pennsylvania, where he teaches AP cconomics and math. He received his under-graduate and graduate degrees at The University of Hartford. It was during grad school, when Pete was the assistant la-crosse coach, that he realized that he loved working with the younger guys. It was also during this time that he met his wife, Carol, who was already working at Perkiomen full time and pursuing her graduate degree during the summer.
Pete says that working at a boarding school requires that you be a teacher, coach and dorm parent. As a result, you develop a much deeper relationship with the students. He also knows that the most important thing to understand is that every student learns differently. “You throw someone a ball,” Pete says. “If they catch it, great. If they don’t, you throw it a different way until they do catch it.”
Pete’s favorite teacher was Mrs. Seiler who he says was
tough but fair. “Students don’t mind tough teachers as long as they are fair,” he says.
When Michelle Targiano LaMassa ‘82 realized during college that she wanted to be a teacher, she transferred to Concordia College, where she graduated with a bachelor in education with a concentration in early childhood. She says that she had a wonderful mentor in her aunt, Sr. Dolores Targiano, RSM, who always gave her excellent advice and was the greatest example of what an educator should be.
Michelle teaches grades 6, 7 and 8 mathematics and grade Continued on page 13
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7 religion at Immaculate Conception School in Tuckahoe, NY. She previously taught at Mt. Carmel/St. Anthony School in Yonkers, and St. Pius V in the Bronx. She is cur-rently working on a master’s in mathematics education grades 5-12.
As a teacher, Michelle is constantly learning. She says, “Learning is not limited to our subject matter and new ways
to teach, but our students teach us something new every day. The best thing about teaching is making a dif-ference in the lives of your students. It is quite rewarding when a child can finally say that they understand how to do something.” Michelle also be-lieves that college degrees do not mean that a teacher is completely prepared for this undertaking. “We learn and grow from our experiences with our students and our colleagues. I also feel that I became a much bet-ter teacher after becoming a mother.”
Michelle’s favorite teacher was Mrs. Lisa Siano, whom she says, “was kind and always made sure we understood math. She is the teacher who made me actually enjoy math.”
While completing a bachelor’s degree in finance at Iona College, Liz Kilkenny ‘82 realized that she wanted to be a teacher. She went on to receive a master’s degree in educa-tion from Fordham University and a second master’s in reading with certification for K-12 from Manhattanville College.
She began her career in the East Ramapo Central School District (NY) in 1992, and currently teaches 6th grade. Liz is a resident of Yonkers and has two sons and a daughter. She says that what she loves about teaching is that, “each day and each year brings something new. Every day is different, and it never gets boring.”
Liz says, “My favorite teacher was Mrs. Peg Connors, because she was nice to me.”
Donna Jones Vitrone ‘89 has learned that sometimes the only stability in a child’s life is found in school. She be-lieves that it is important for school to be fun because stu-dents need to know that you can still learn and have fun in school.
While a student at Annunciation, probably as young as 4th or 5th grade, Donna knew that she was attracted to teaching. She is a graduate of Lakeland High School and received an undergraduate degree in history from Mt. St. Mary College in Newburgh, NY and earned a master’s de-gree from Western Connecticut State College.
Donna has been a substitute teacher in the Mahopac school district as well as at St. Joseph’s School in Croton Falls, NY. She is currently a 5th-grade teacher at St. Eliza-beth Ann Seton School in Shrub Oak, NY. In that capacity, she teaches English, composition, religion, social studies, spelling and reading.
Donna’s favorite Annunciation School teacher was Mrs.
O’Neil because she always felt comfortable around her. “She talked to me like I was a friend, not just one of her students,” says Donna.
Joanna Capozzo Napolitano ‘90 began her teaching career in the Bronx, NY. She then worked in New Rochelle before leaving the workforce temporarily after giving birth to her sons. Joanna then returned to teaching at Annuncia-tion School where she taught 4th grade from 2009 to 2012.
A mother of twin 8-year-olds, Joanna and her husband are residents of New Rochelle. When she left Annunciation, Joanna moved to the New Rochelle public schools where she continued to teach 4th grade at the William B. Ward Elementary School.
Having been interested in school administration while in college, Joanna earned a master’s of science in teaching and a mas-ter’s of arts in administration and supervision. She is state certified in teaching and school building administration and capitalized on all of her credentials when she became the assistant principal of Midland Elementary School (Rye, NY) in July 2013.
Joanna’s favorite Annunciation school teacher was Mrs. Judy Manzi who, Joanna says, “inspired me with her com-passion for her students and her passion for teaching.”
Kristina Remy ‘96 has been a special education teacher for 7-1/2 years. After Annunciation, she graduated from Maria Regina High School and Manhattanville College where
she did both her undergraduate and graduate work. She is dual certified in regular and special education and also certi-fied to teach students from birth to grade 9. Continued on page 14
Liz Kilkenny
Michelle Targiano
LaMassa
Joanna Capozzo
Napolitano
Teaching Teachers
Page 14 The Annunciator
Continued from page 13
Kristina says that she has enjoyed helping and teaching others from as far back as she can remember. “I have memories of teaching my brother to ride a bike, swim, etc., as well as imparting my knowledge of various subjects to my friends. I knew I wanted to become a teacher my freshman year of high school. I was having trouble in math class, and my math teacher spent countless hours after school teaching me strategies to approach the math topics that I
was struggling with.”
Kristina, who lives in Scarsdale, NY, has worked at Pathways School in Eastchester as well as The West-chester School for Special Children in Yonkers. She currently teaches medically fragile children at the John A. Coleman School in Yonkers, al-though she has worked with stu-dents on the autism spectrum as well as students with multiple dis-abilities. “I’ve always had a special place in my heart for students with
disabilities and those who needed a different approach to learning,” said Kristina.
Kristina’s favorite teacher at Annunciation was Mrs. Reilly because “she made an effort to make each student feel special.”
Katie McNamara ‘00 teaches 2nd grade special educa-tion at the George W. Miller Elementary School in Na-nuet, NY. She knew she wanted to be a teacher in her sen-ior year of high school when she recognized that she had a strong desire to help students who struggle be more successful in school. After she completed her undergraduate degree at Marist College, Katie com-pleted her master’s degree at the Col-lege of New Rochelle.
Still a resident of Crestwood, Katie says that her favorite teacher was Mrs. Reilly because “she always made me feel good about school even though it wasn’t always easy for me.”
After graduating from Dominican Academy and Ford-ham University where she majored in psychology and mi-nored in Irish studies, Aileen Finnerty Doohan ‘00 re-ceived her master’s from Fairfield University in May 2011.
She is now a school psychologist in the Lakeland Central School District (NY) having previously worked in Rye Neck and Eastchester school districts, as well as the Trumbull, Stamford and Newtown school districts (CT). Aileen likes that there is no “one right answer when working with chil-dren. You have to give different assess-ments and figure out what their particu-lar learning style is to be successful at school.” She loves working as a team with teachers and families to best sup-port students. Aileen came to this par-ticular line of work having interned at a mental health clinic in Harlem in New York City during her studies at Ford-ham. Working with a school psycholo-gist and talking with her about the field convinced her that such a career would be a perfect fit.
Aileen’s favorite Annunciation teacher was Miss Pizzuti because she made the classroom such a welcoming place.
What to do in your free time is an age-old question. After school, every-one needs a little time to unwind and kick back, right? That has always been the case in Crestwood, as in most neighborhoods, but how we do it has changed.
Nowadays, spare time has become a precious commodity, because, frankly, who has it? In speaking with my father, Joe Maghak ‘79, “after school” was much simpler back then. They may have had an intense game of stickball at the park, or rode their skateboards and bikes until it was time to go home for dinner, but it was not structured. I think that is the biggest difference. Sure kids played baseball and basketball—baseball was played in the spring and basketball was played in the winter. The basket-ball team was most likely Annunciation CYO, and baseball was probably Hillcrest Lakers, but there was no overlap. That is no longer the case.
Baseball now may include playing for your school team and Hillcrest Lakers; when that ends, summer ball starts up, which is followed by fall ball. In high school, there is base-ball conditioning in the winter to get you ready for the spring season. Similarly, basketball is played in the winter with your school and simultaneously on an AAU team, or travel team. The summer may fill up with various basketball camps at area high schools. Soccer, hockey and lacrosse are very popular sports today that were uncommon thirty years ago, and they too include various camps and clinics, travel teams and local leagues. As is plain to see, we now end up
Free Time? After School—Then and Now
juggling two or three sports per season. Each sport includes practice, possibly conditioning and games.
Today, when there truly is nothing to do, you could probably find many An-nunciation students at the station or Schultze Park. My friends, in particular, will grab some lunch at the station and then walk to the park or one of our houses, where we play basketball, football or even video games, depending on the weather. On warmer days, we usually opt for basketball, and football is played on cooler, fall days.
Years ago, no one visited the station just for lunch. There was no “hanging out” at Crestwood station, something
that has become so commonplace for Crestwood kids that they can be found there most days or nights. Additionally, it is used as a meeting point for kids from nearby areas.
Video games are another new way to spend time. Sys-tems, such as Xbox and Playstation, offer us the opportunity to play video games while in the same room, or “live” sepa-rately from our family rooms. Tablets, such as iPads, allow us to transport our entertainment wherever we go—home, a friend’s house, the car or wherever there is a wi-fi signal!
As with most things, there are, of course, similarities as well. Kids today still play basketball at their friends’ hoops. Also, if not being shuttled to a particular field for practice by a parent, biking is still a popular means of transport. Music remains a traditional extracurricular activity. And something that will never change, the highlight of any activity is just be-ing with your friends!
William Maghak ‘14 and his father,
Joe ‘79
By William Maghak ‘14
Keep Us in Mind!
If you have a bit of news to share—a birth, marriage, anniversary, engagement, job
change or other fun life event, please drop us a line and send us a photo!
If you have a change of email or mailing address, please let us know. We don’t want to
Please pray for the souls of the following deceased alumni:
Thomas Flynn ‘57, brother of Raymond ‘60 and Robert ‘64
Christian Soto ‘87, brother of Jesse ‘91 and son of Alice Wilkinson Soto ‘60
Edna Clark Rogers ‘65, sister of Virginia ‘54, James ‘56, John ‘68 and Marianne ‘61
Thomas Taxter ‘99
Terrence Kramer ‘63, brother of Thomas ‘60
We also pray for the souls of the following family of alumni:
William Ludt Sr., father of Peg ‘59, Bill ‘61, Rick ‘63, Ro ‘66,
Niki and Terry
Jane Walsh, sister of James ‘67 and Kathleen ‘72
Mary Gormley, mother of Karen ‘71, John ‘74, Anne ‘80 and the late Mary ‘68
Angela Auteri, mother of Peter ‘65, James ‘67, Paul ‘68 and John ‘71
Margaret Rossano, mother of Gina ‘76, JoAnn ‘78 and
Michelle ‘80
Carol Scolaro, mother of Mary Clare ‘69, Bernie ‘72 and the late Paul ‘71
John Fitzpatrick, husband of Carole Tedaldi Fitzpatrick ‘78
Page 17
The following school families made a commitment to pray for our deceased Annunciation alumni during the month of November 2013. Without them, Annunciation School would not be able to continue such a wonderful tradition. Thank you!
Thank You to the Following
School Families
Class of 1948—The McMahon* family
Class of 1949—The Varker* Family
Class of 1950—The Conlon* Family
Class of 1951—The Merone and Bonanno families
Class of 1952—The McCrory Family
Class of 1953—The Dolis Family
Class of 1954—The O’Brien and Taylor families
Class of 1955—The Dufresne and Benedikt families
Class of 1956—The Tobin and Clerkin-Lundin families
Class of 1957—The Fitzmaurice family
Class of 1958—The Adams* family
Class of 1959—The Harpur family
Class of 1960—The Hogan family
Class of 1961—The Sheehan* and Carr families
Class of 1962—The Tannian family
Class of 1963—The Petit family
Class of 1964—The Sullivan family
Class of 1965—The Kilduff, Wirchansky and Mueller
families
Class of 1966—The Downes family
Class of 1967—The Costiglio and Simmons families
Class of 1968—The Buff family
Class of 1969—Class 4B—Yaroslawa Perich
Class of 1970—Class 4A—Nora Parisi
Class of 1971—The Cronin family
Class of 1972—The Belluccio family
Class of 1973—The Boncardo family
Class of 1974—Class 3A—Adrienne Brazier
Class of 1975—The Mancino* family
Class of 1976—The Moeller family
Class of 1977—The Gilchrist* family
Class of 1978—The Barry family
Class of 1979—The Conner* family
Class of 1980—The DiPanfilo family
Class of 1981—The Finneran* family
Class of 1982—The Butler family
Continued on page 21
February 2014
Engagements
Kimberly Gutekunst ‘00 and Hugh Stout III were en-gaged on Christmas morning in Hugh’s hometown of Okla-homa City, OK. Kimberly works in human resources for Hermes, and Hugh works in software consulting. The couple, who met in Manhattan in July 2012, are planning a Fall 2014 wedding.
Lacey Gutekunst ‘03 was engaged to Peter Madden on January 25, 2014 in Los Angeles, CA. She and Pete, who knew each other when they were students at Dominican Academy and Regis High School, respectively, started dating after college. Lacey is an actor and singer, and Pete is a sen-ior producer for Sports Illus-trated. The couple is planning a June 2015 wedding.
Marriages
Thomas Browne ‘77 married Heather Rudisill on Octo-ber 18, 2013. Thomas’ brother, Michael ‘79, was the best man. His brother, Kevin ‘73 and sister Carol ‘72 walked their mother down the aisle. Thomas’ brother, Robert ‘70, played the bagpipes as the bride walked down the aisle. The reception was held at the Bear Mountain Inn. The couple resides in Putnam Valley, NY.
Births
Hernani Castro ‘84 and his wife, Susan, had fraternal twin boys on December 20, 2013. Thomas Edward Cas-tro made his debut just two min-utes before his brother, Matthew William Castro, at White Plains Hospital. Susan is currently en-joying maternity leave from her work in the municipal bonds division at Citigroup in Manhat-tan. Hernani is a director of quality assurance at Viterion TeleHealthcare in Elmsford, NY.
Milestone Spotlight
Milestones
Jose Velasco ‘93 and his wife, Ca-tarina, are happy to announce the birth of their daughter, Sabrina, on Septem-ber 16, 2013, at Orange Regional Hos-pital in Middletown, NY. Sabrina joins her big sister, Isabelle, who is 2 years old. The family returned to An-nunciation Church to baptize Sabrina on December 29, 2013.
Michael Francis Buono was born to Michael Buono ‘90 and his wife, Lisa, on June 11, 2013, at Lawrence Hospital in Bronx-ville, NY. The Buono family lives in Yonkers, NY.
Page 18
Tommy Kilduff Joins YFD
Tommy Kilduff ‘03 has always wanted to be a fire-fighter, following in the footsteps of both of his grandfa-thers and five of his uncles. In September 2013, Tommy joined the Yonkers Fire Department and graduated from the fire academy in December 2013. He had taken the firefighters’ test in the spring of 2012 and completed the physical part of the test in the fall of 2012.
A graduate of Iona Preparatory School and Catholic University of America, where he studied history and edu-cation, Tommy says that it was at the fire academy gradua-tion in December that he really felt a part of the brother-hood.
Tommy works at Engine 304 at Station 4 on Radford Street in southwest Yonkers, an easy commute from his home in Crestwood.
The Annunciator
1949
Francis Doyle is a “reading buddy” in his daughter’s kindergarten class. She teaches in Sumter, SC. Frank and seven members of the local Kiwanis Club volunteer one hour a week and work one-on-one with the children. Frank says they are paid “with smiles and hugs.”
1961
On October 17, 2013, Nancy Waters was named the President of the Ladies of Charity, NY. The installation Mass was held on October 19, in the Lady Chapel of St. Patrick’s Cathedral. A luncheon followed at The Univeristy Club.
1964
Ellin Collabolletta Duggan recently moved to Upland, in southern Califor-nia. She and her husband, Kip, are both fully retired now. They sold their home in Hartsdale, NY and have downsized to a lovely condo in Upland. Ellin and Kip’s daughter and her family live nearby. “We are enjoy-ing our grandchildren, settling in and making new friends. We love and miss our friends in NY.” To keep in touch, you may contact Ellin at [email protected].
1967
Kate Kearney-Patch has spent the last several months renovating the “Kearney House”—the Crestwood house in which the six Kearney chil-dren were raised. It is a gorgeous three/four-bedroom Colonial with a stone front located at 12 Avondale Road. The house now has a brand-new open kitchen and hardwood floors throughout and is for sale.
Kate says, “We have a lot of won-
Class Notes
derful memories and stories about grow-ing up in that neighborhood. It is hard to see this go, but we are all hoping for a family to buy it who will enjoy it as much as we did!”
1971
Richard Hoefling is now general man-ager at V. Santini, Inc., a moving and storage company established in 1899. Prior to this, he was, for 23 years, a vice president at Apple Maintenance Services, Inc., a company owned by his sister, Dorothy ‘75 and her husband, Manny. Richard says, “New job, new year, new life. My journey continues. I hope your journeys continue wondrously.”
1973
A new position for Yonkers City Court Judge has opened up this year, and Rich-ard Sweeney is hoping to be among the candidates considered for the job. Rich-ard has experience in this area, having been named a Yonkers City Court Judge in March 2010, finishing out a vacated term until the end of 2010.
1993
Anthony Casella is the director of cam-pus ministry at Iona Prep in New Ro-chelle, NY. He is also the founder of the Hope for Change Foundation (HFC), which is a unique organization dedicated to cancer research and breast cancer awareness. The idea for the foundation started in 1997 when a group of high school students sought to make a contri-bution to the community through funds raised in theatrical performances in West-chester County, NY. By 2002, HFC was an established 501(c)3 charity. HFC has raised over $100,000 for local hospitals and research projects since its inception and has committed over $20,000 in the past two years to research projects related to breast cancer at White Plains Hospital.
Page 19
2005
Brendan Grogan graduated from Mar-ist College in December 2013 with a 3.5 GPA. He is currently seeking a job in the field of finance.
2008
Emma Dolgos plans on double major-ing in politics and international affairs and history. She is a sophomore at Wake Forest University in North Caro-lina and a member of Kappa Alpha Theta. In addition, Emma plays club soccer for the university and is one of the two executive officers/captains for the team.
Sam Powers is a sophomore at George Washington University, where he is majoring in international affairs with a concentration in global public health. In addition, he plays defense for the school’s club hockey team, play-ing teams from Duke, UNC, NC State, the Naval Academy and rival Georgetown University. Sam says, “Academics are my priority, and I am able to concentrate on my schoolwork while also being able to participate on a com-petitive sports team. Playing has had a very positive impact on my college ex-perience.”
2012
On Saturday, January 11, 2014, Conor Lundy set a new Fordham Preparatory School sophomore school record for the one-mile run with a time of 4 min-utes, 23 seconds. Mike Miano (Annunciation ‘11) was only a bit be-hind him, running the mile in 4 min-utes, 29 seconds.
Everyone can probably remember at least one. It was usually the highlight of the school year, and while the chil-dren could not wait, the chaperones were probably just crossing their fingers that it all went off without a hitch. Some trips were to distant cities, others were just around the corner.
Here are some memories of class trips from the past.
From Carolyn Mangone White ‘60:
For our 8th-grade Girl Scout Troop trip, we took a bus and visited all of the usual Washington D.C. sites. In those days, there was a little open air train with wicker seats that transported you to the Capital Building from the House or the Senate. We were standing at the round-about patiently waiting for people to get off so we could board. We suddenly heard Connie Sullivan ‘60 gasp and yell out, “You’re Kena-tor Sennedy!” It was Senator John Fitzgerald Kennedy, shortly before he announced he was running for president. He thought Connie’s outburst was funny, so he stopped to talk with us. It was the highlight of our trip. Little did I know that I would go on to work in the Senate offices of both Robert and Ted Kennedy!
Class Trip Memories
Page 21
From Meg Hill Nealon ‘76:
In 1st grade, Sr. John Peter took us to the Staten Island Zoo. I have a vivid memory of the trip though I do not re-member if 1B, Miss Pizzuti’s class, went also. Sr. John Peter said she wanted to go there because many of the kids had never been on a boat. We took a school bus to the end of Manhattan and then took the Staten Island Ferry. Amazing! I don’t think that would be a class trip these days. I remember buy-ing a monkey souvenir.
In 6th grade, Sr. Margretta took us on the Circle Line as our class trip. When we rounded the northern tip of Man-hattan at Spuyten Duyvil and began to head south passing Columbia University, there in front of the rock with the big “C” on it were three guys mooning us! Sr. Margretta was beside herself yelling, “Don’t look! Don’t look!” so of course we ALL looked! We thought it was soooo funny! My mother was a chaperone on this trip, and I recently asked her if she remembered this and she gave a resounding YES! She said the chaperones were very upset. Very funny. Of course, mooning was the thing in the 70s!
Thank You
February 2014
Continued from page 17
Class of 1983—The Spero* family
Class of 1984—The Fay* family
Class of 1985—The Breen* family
Class of 1988—Class 6B—Jacqueline Reda*
Class of 1991—The Barnes* family
Class of 1992—Class 3B—Louis Capozi
Class of 1993—The McNamee* family
Class of 2002—The Geremia* family
Class of 2010—Class 1A—Sr. Theresa
*Alumni families (one parent is an Annunciation alum-nus)
History of the 60s:
The Ladies’ Guild
From the “History of the Sixties Annunciation Parish”:
“Those monthly Monday night meetings of the Ladies’ Guild in the 60s were life-savers for the mothers who, in most cases, only got out once a month without the children. Silver and china service were used (provided by Harriet Dougherty). Over 100 women attended the Guild meetings. They had speakers/demonstrations; one Christmas time the Sisters of St. Francis sang, in fact, some of you probably still have the recording. At another Christmas meeting, the Maryknoll Sisters performed.”
- The History of the 60s was recently found by Peter Spero ‘83 in a collection of items belonging to his late parents.
Page 22
A Spokesman is Born of Adversity
In seventh grade, Ryan Gilchrist had no idea that he would face one of life’s biggest challenges. His parents had no idea that they would also be facing an emotional and spiri-tual test. But Ryan has overcome his chal-lenge, with the help of his family and friends, and has now become a spokesman for pedi-atric cancer research.
Ryan is the youngest of three children of Denise and Tommy Gilchrist ‘77. He has been an active participant on Annunciation CYO athletics for his entire school career as well as Hillcrest Lakers Community Club, Topside Lacrosse and the Bronxville Black-hawks. He plays basketball, lacrosse and hockey, sometimes playing multiple sports in the same season, and was a member of the New York State Champion Annunciation 6th grade CYO basketball team in 2012.
In 7th grade, things came to a screeching halt. When occasional stomach pain became more frequent and unbearable, his parents took him to the emergency room at Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital. Surgery to correct what was thought to be an intestinal problem resulted in a much different diagnosis— B cell lymphoma.
Tommy credits Al Kelly ‘72 with helping to steer Ryan in the right direction. “Some families struggle for weeks gath-ering information and figuring out who are the best doctors to see. Al had experience in his own family with this type of cancer, and within 48 hours, we knew how to proceed.”
Ryan came under the care of Dr. Mitchell Cairo, a leading doctor and medical researcher who has helped advance the survival odds of this type of pediatric cancer. Monsignor Keane and Father Ivan rallied around Ryan and his fam-ily, providing spiritual guidance and support. The school family and parish members stood with and behind the Gilchrists as soon as the news broke. After 90 days of treat-ment, which included chemotherapy, Ryan was declared “cancer free” and returned to finish 7th grade.
Now in 8th grade and getting ready to go to high school, Ryan finds himself on the speakers circuit. He has been the keynote speaker at a variety of fundraising events. In No-vember 2013, he was the keynote speaker at the Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital “Wines of the World” charity auction. He was also the keynote speaker at the Hyundai Motor Cor-poration’s “Hope on Wheels Foundation” event in Septem-
ber 2013, during which a check for $250,000 was presented to the Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation (PCRF). Ryan also spoke at the PCRF’s annual char-ity golf outing in August 2013 and was in-terviewed in October 2013 on radio station WHUD for the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals’ radiothon.
In an interesting chain of events, Ryan has recently been asked to be an honorary member of the Fordham University basket-ball team during one of their home games.
At a fall 2013 Annunciation CYO Mass and Communion breakfast, held in the school’s gym, the guest speaker was Ford-ham University assistant basketball coach, Thomas Parrotta. Ryan wanted to share some information about a PCRF basketball fundraiser that he was participating in at St. John’s University called “Dribble for the
Cure.” He had asked the CYO leadership for permission to hand out fliers to the participants at the breakfast. Coach Parrotta saw the fliers and sought Ryan out.
The result was an invitation to a Fordham University home basketball game which will take place later this season. Coach Parrotta says that he reached out to Ryan because he knows that a coach can have an incredible impact on young people. “What I’ve always tried to maintain is that basket-ball is a kid’s game, and it should be enjoyed. When I speak to young people, I always remind them that playing a sport and being part of a team is special, and it should be treated
as such. When it is taken from you due to no fault of your own, it is heartbreaking.”
He continues, “When I heard of Ryan and the struggles he has had to endure and the people who have rallied behind him, I felt that Ryan should be applauded for his determination, and those who rallied behind him as well. His experience has been a won-derful example of community and helping people through hard times.”
Coach Parrotta says that he has kids of his own and that Ryan’s story hits really close to home. “The people here at Fordham University and I are really not doing anything for him. Rather he is REALLY doing some-thing for us. He is a true example of what a competitor is and should be, and I’m sure he will provide that message to our team and program just by being here with us!”
