In good or bad econo-mies, Annunciation gradu-ates have shown that they have the entrepreneurial spirit required to start and run successful businesses of their own. Being your own boss has its pros and cons. After all, when there is trou-ble, the buck stops at the top and when you run your own business, you are the top! On the other hand, the abil-ity to create your own hours, get involved in all aspects of a business, and be able to capture and act on your own creativity and drive are won-derful opportunities.

Below you will read about many of the self-made men and women who are Annun-ciation graduates.

In 1990, after many suc-cessful years organizing wed-dings from coast to coast, Margaret Shalloe Mitchell ‘53 put pen to paper and published The Wedding Organ-izer, a workbook for brides. She sold it to corporations such as hotels, clubs, and event planners. They would put their corporate logo on the cover and give it to brides who booked weddings with them. Clients included the Hyatt and Marriott hotel chains as well as many other hotels and clubs. The wedding organizer has a complete filing system, call-back dates, payments paid and payments due.

Each page has a pocket for receipts and contracts, easy and workable (movable) seat-ing charts, gift registry, etc. It has been a hit with brides from every region of the United States. Peggy sold the business in 2000 and now spends her time enjoying her nine grand-children, traveling, taking classes and welcoming her ―Yankee‖ friends as they pass by on I-95. Peggy lives in Sea Island, GA.

www.theweddingorganizer.com

In 1997, Walter Lotz ‘54 heard of a new technology that prevented people from starting their cars when they were above the legal limit to drive. Never having had a ticket or an accident due to impaired driving, he purchased a volun-tary unit. After a year, he de-cide to start helping others and has done so since 1998.

Walter had spent twelve years as a volunteer fireman and on the rescue squad and had answered many calls in-volving death due to drunk drivers. As a result, he devel-oped a passion to expose this technology to every parent and adult who might benefit from it. His company, Sens-O-Lock o f A m e r i c a , L L C (www.SensOLockAmerica.com)

is now in seven states (NY, NJ, CT, MA, RI, MI and GA) and expanding to a total of four-teen within the next year.

The Entrepreneurial Spirit

Find us on the web at www.school.Annunciationcrestwood.com

June 2011

The Annunciator

Inside this issue...

Letters from the Pastor and Principal

2

Named Scholarships 3

Archbishop Dolan 4

Traveling the World 8

Family Reunion 9

Altar Boy Memories 10

Milestones 17

The Annunciator Editorial Board:

Richard Burke ‘48

James Murphy ‘57

Chris Grealy Brown Daly ‘62

Mary Theresa Gill McCombe ‘75

John Sullivan ‘82

Marie Villani-York ‘93

Melissa Brennan ‘95

Caroline Sohr ‘08

Reunions

Class Notes

Annunciation Elementary School

465 Westchester Avenue

Crestwood, NY 10707

24

27 Sports

18

Charles Menzie ‘63 has a BS from Manhattan Col-lege and a PhD in Biology from the City University of New York. Prior to creat-ing his own firm, Charles worked for LMS Engineers and EG&G Environmental Consulting. Wanting to have more freedom over the work he was perform-ing and the management of projects, Charles started his own company, Menzie-Cura & Associates, an envi-ronmental consulting firm which specialized in envi-ronmental and health risk assessment. Most of the work at Menzie-Cura involved assess-ing the risks of chemi-cals in the environment. Menzie-Cura, which opened in 1983, had offices in Mary-land, Wisconsin, Maine and Massachusetts and thirty employees before it was recently sold.

Subsequent to this sale, Charles started another business called Sediment Solutions, which sells a technology called SediMite ( w w w . s e d i m i t e . c o m ) . SediMite aims to help treat contaminants in sediments that exist under bodies Continued on page 11

Annunciation School will be introducing a pre-kindergarten program in September. The program, for four-year-olds, will be comprised of a choice of full or half-day sessions meeting five days a week.

Over the last two years, Annunciation School has graduated two grades with an unprecedented three classes per grade. This has freed up classroom space allowing for the possibility of adding a pre-kindergarten.

"Our parishioners are very excited about the program, which we outlined at an informational meeting and open houses,‖ said the principal, Bar-bara Kavanagh. "The pre-K will be center-based, allowing for creative exploration on the part of the students. The kindergarten curriculum will be re-vised as well, allowing for more hands-on experi-ences and less seat/workbook time than they cur-rently have. The focus in the pre-K will be emergent literacy, while the kindergarten will focus on devel-oping reading and writing at a level appropriate for young children.‖

Dear Alumni and Friends of Annunciation School,

We come to the close of the 2010-2011 school year very pleased with the students' progress and very excited about the new pre-kindergarten program, which will commence in September. Our graduates have received many accolades and are attending prestigious Catholic high schools. The teachers did a great deal of work this year examining test data and altering lesson plans to enhance our already strong curriculum. Our Catholic identity remains a visible compo-nent of our community; Archbishop Dolan commented when he visited in March that one can see that our school is truly Catholic!

I am grateful for your continued support of your alma mater. Know that we keep you in prayer in our school's book of intentions.

Best Regards,

Barbara S. Kavanagh

Pre-K Program to Begin in September

Letter from the Pastor

Dear Alumni of Annunciation, First Holy Communion, Confirmation and graduation provide many opportunities to celebrate what makes An-nunciation special. Each of them bring our families to-gether to honor our children – our future. This, our 80th anniversary year, continues this tradition.

I was glad to meet many of our alumni at various an-niversary celebrations. Know that you are always wel-come. Annunciation is your home.

Have a blessed summer.

Sincerely,

Letter from the Principal

The Annunciator Page 2

Upcoming Articles in The Annunciator

Public Safety

Are you or were you a firefighter, police officer, correc-

tions officer, FBI, EMT or other public safety officer?

If so, please email mtmc525@aol.com to be included in

an upcoming article.

Boy Scouts

Were you an Eagle Scout from Annunciation‘s Troop 6? If so, please contact Mary Theresa McCombe at

mtmc525@aol.com or Thomas O‘Grady at

mrtogrady@yahoo.com. Troop 1 from Crestwood has compiled a list of Eagle Scouts from their troop from April 1928 to today. Troop 6, which existed from the 1960s to the 1990s, would like to do the same.

Musicians

Do you or have you made your livelihood as a profes-

sional musician? Do you aspire to be a professional

musician? If so, please email mtmc525@aol.com to be

included in an upcoming article.

Graduates Head to High School The thirty-five boys and forty girls, who comprise Annunciation‘s Class of 2011, will be graduating on Saturday, June 18. While their grammar school journey is ending, their high school journeys are about to begin.

The Class of 2011 will be attending thirteen different high schools. The breakdown by school is as follows:

1 each to Sacred Heart High School, ACS Egham International School, Dominican Academy, Salesian High School and Xavier High School

2 to School of the Holy Child

3 each to Regis High School and Archbishop Stepinac High School

6 to Maria Regina High School

9 to Iona Preparatory School

13 to Our Lady of Good Counsel Academy

17 each to Fordham Preparatory School and The Ursuline School

The class is also proud of the fact that four of their members were awarded full scholarships to Regis, Dominican Academy and Our Lady of Good Coun-sel Academy, as well as eighteen partial scholarships to six different high schools.

Father Joseph Tierney, weekend associate, will be the graduation speaker.

Page 3 Page 3

Each year at graduation, the school awards eight named scholarships in ad-dition to scholarships presented by the Home School Association and an anonymous benefactor.

The Men's Club of Annunciation presents two scholarships in loving cele-bration of the cour-age to try, caring heart and faithful spirit of Billy Deighan, a former student who died f r o m c a n c e r . These scholarships are funded from the annual Men‘s Club golf outing and are awarded to students who exhibit academic excel-lence, general effort and Christian val-ues.

The Rose Basso Scholarship is awarded to a student who exemplifies kindness, respect for others and follows the values taught in the Catholic relig-ion. The scholar-ship is named after Rose Basso, who taught kindergarten, first and third grades during her tenure at Annuncia-tion from 1995 to 2006. It was first awarded in 2007, and was started by the Basso family after the passing of this wonderful teacher and parishioner in 2006.

The John Dougherty Jr. Scholar-ship remembers a former parishioner, Jack Dougherty, who passed away in 1975. Jack was the father of Mary ‗66, Jack, Ed, Mark, Luke and Peter ‗77 and husband of Ann, who is still a parish-ioner. In his life, he gave of himself to his family, church and community. He was the rarest of men; one of whom it can honestly be said that we are all a little poorer without. Following his

death, his friends and neighbors estab-lished the John Dougherty Jr. Me-morial Scholarship at Iona Prep. This award is given annu-ally to one Annun-ciation graduate who will be attend-ing Iona Prep and is awarded at gradua-tion. It is the hope of the donors that the graduate who wins this $600 annual award will strive in his lifetime to be-come the man Jack Dougherty was.

The family and friends of Annuncia-tion's former pastor, Monsignor John M. McNamara, along with parishioners of Annunciation Parish, established a memorial to perpetuate Monsignor's memory in rec-ognition of his genuine interest, love, commit-ment and dedica-tion to Annun-ciation Parish and School, and in appreciation

for his accomplishments during the short time he was pastor (1969-1975). It is awarded to a graduate who dis-plays good moral character, school spirit, cooperation and respect during his or her years at Annunciation.

The Rev. George McAnaney, SJ scholarship is presented to a graduat-ing boy who will be attending Ford-ham Prep. This scholarship was en-dowed by Fr. McAnaney‘s brothers, Joseph, Frank and Edward, in honor of their brother who was ordained on June 22, 1941 and died in 1956. Origi-nally the scholar-ship was to be given to graduates of Annunciation School or Holy Eucharist School. Holy Eucharist was closed many years ago and the scholarship now resides at Annunciation. Fr. McAnaney taught at Fordham Prep and was the uncle of Annuncia-

Continued on page 22

Named Scholarships Remember Former Parishioners and Others

June 2011

Page 4

Visit by Archbishop Timothy Dolan

ciation throw and bound copies of The Annunciator. Alan Novak was made an honorary Annunciation student and pre-sented with some gifts from the school.

After spending half an hour walking throughout the gym and greeting parish-ioners, the archbishop and the Novak family took a tour of the school. Going from classroom to classroom on the kin-dergarten through 4th-grade hallway, the archbishop engaged the children in each classroom, asking them questions and listening as they explained things they had on display in their classrooms.

Msgr. Dennis Keane said that the archbishop‘s visit was wonderful because ―he was able to speak to the students in a warm and gentle way in the church, in the auditorium and in the classrooms. The students of Annunciation really felt this love showered upon them.‖ Principal Barbara Kavanagh remarked that the stu-dents prepared for the momentous visit by creating original artwork of the An-nunciation and by singing and participat-ing in the Mass. ―I will most remember the archbishop's warmth, sense of humor, and interest in the children.‖

Commemorative cards of the occasion with the archbishop‘s picture on the front and a photograph of the stained glass Annunciation Window were distributed as a remembrance of the visit. They were a gift of Laura and Frank Sinatra, parents of Frank ‗02 and Robert ‗05.

Friday, March 25, the Feast of the Annunciation, was also the date of a visit to the church and school by Archbishop Timothy Dolan, who helped the parish celebrate the 80th anniversary of its creation. Accompa-nying the archbishop to Annunciation were his young friend, 13-year-old Alan Novak, and Alan‘s family, who were in New York visiting the archbishop through the courtesy of the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

The church was filled with school-children, and the archbishop‘s homily had them enraptured. Speaking to the congregation from the center aisle, the archbishop reflected on the importance of the Annunciation and Mary‘s re-sponse to God. Archbishop Dolan, in retelling the story of Mary‘s agreement to be the Mother of God, asked the children, ―and when God asked Mary to be the mother of Jesus, did she say, ‗oh, I really have to get my nails done?‘ Did she say, ‗I really have to go outside and play with my friends?‘ No, she didn‘t.‖ Recalling a report that his own niece had written about the Annuncia-tion, he said, ―When God asked Mary to be the Mother of God, she said ‗okey-dokey.‘‖ This was met with a round of hearty laughter. The archbishop then asked for the children to reflect on what it was that God was asking them to do.

The Mass was concelebrated by all of Annunciation‘s priests in residence, including Msgr. Dennis Keane, Fr. Salvatore Riccardi, Fr. Ivan Lovric and Fr. Tomislav Mlakic and weekend asso-ciates Fr. Joseph Tierney and Msgr. Francis Boyle. Also assisting were Deacon Guy Pellegrini and Deacon Ralph Longo.

The children‘s choir and a 7th and 8th grade choir led the music, while children served as lectors, read peti-tions and brought up the offertory.

After Mass, the archbishop and the Novak family walked across to the

schoo l where the Archbishop was able to meet and greet all parish-ioners in attendance. After a few welcoming words by Msgr. Keane, the archbishop took the microphone to declare how happy he was to be at Annunciation and to introduce Alan and his family to the parishioners. The archbishop men-tioned that he had first met Alan when he was bishop of Milwaukee. The two have stayed in touch over the years and when Alan was given the opportunity to take a trip by Make-A-Wish, he wished to visit ―his old friend Bishop Dolan‘‖ rather than visit Mickey Mouse!

Also accompanying the archbishop was the Superintendent of Schools for the Archdiocese of New York, Dr. Timothy McNiff. Summing up his first visit to the school, Dr. McNiff said he was, ―so heartened by it. From the supportive pastor, to the wonderful faculty and the great kids and supportive families, it is easy to see why Annunciation is so special.‖

He noted that Annunciation is one of the largest schools in the Archdio-cese, in the top 10% of schools in terms of size. His visit, he said, was very memorable. ―The children were very impressive. Their demeanor and participation in the Mass, the enthusi-asm they had for the school and the way they engaged with the adults was outstanding.‖

The archbishop was presented with an Annunciation baseball cap and a Class of 2011 T-shirt by five of the six children of Eileen Brennan-Conlon and John Conlon ‗77. They had been selected because they represent the family with the most children in the school. He was also given an Annun-

The Annunciator

Page 5

Visit by Archbishop Timothy Dolan

June 2011

Clockwise from above: Msgr. Dennis Keane welcomes

Archbishop Timothy Dolan to Annunciation Church; the

Archbishop and his friend, Alan Novak; a delicious

choice of treats at the reception in the gym; the

Archbishop has the attention of 4th–grader, Michael

O‟Brien; former faculty member, Miss Ethel Pizzuti and

her sister, Gail, take a photo with Archbishop Dolan;

Archbishop Dolan shares a laugh with long-time parish-

ioner Tom Gilchrist.

Photo credits: Mary Theresa McCombe „75, Karen McCrory, John

Hallinan „66

Around the School and Parish

Page 6 The Annunciator

Cheerleading Coach Gaetana Capozzo „86 ran a

half marathon on April 10 at Rockland State

Park to benefit United Hospice of Rockland. Her

sister, Marissa „90, ran a 5K. Current and past

cheerleaders came out to support the runners.

This spring, the 8th grade collected gently used

men‟s, women‟s and children‟s clothing, household

items and stuffed animals. Over 7,000 pounds of

items were collected and turned over to A&E Cloth-

ing Corp who paid the 8th graders by the pound. The

collection was a benefit for the 8th Grade graduation

festivities. Here, Nick Manzi, Joseph Ryan, J.P.

Dougherty, and Nick Merlino help load over 700

bags of clothing into the delivery truck.

Annunciation schoolchildren, many of whom plunged into the freezing Atlantic off Rockaway

Beach, come out to support their schoolmate, Annie McMahon (front with glasses), and raise

money to fight Cystic Fibrosis during The Plunge for Cystic Fibrosis on February 5, 2011.

The Drama Club presented “The Wizard of Oz” at two

performances in April. Main characters, above, were

played by Gregory Enriquez, Dylan McHugh, Amanda

Buongiorno, and Brian O‟Grady.

Around the School and Parish

Page 7

The 1st-graders of

Daisy Troop 1551

hosted a bake sale

on May 1 to raise

money for relief ef-

forts in Japan. Here

the girls enthusiasti-

cally advertise their

bake sale to

passersby.

Troop 1 Crestwood and Pack 6

Crestwood had their annual Scout

Sunday Mass on February 6. Light

of Christ Medals were given to 13

boys and Parvuli Dei Medals were

given to 21 boys. The boys acted as

altar servers, readers, presented

the offertory, read the petitions and

Tom O‟Grady „75, Scoutmaster,

Troop 1 was a Eucharistic Minister.

Here the boys pose for a picture on

the lower church altar.

Girl Scout Sunday was held on April

3. At left, the Girl Scouts read the

petitions. The Mass was celebrated

by Fr. Ivan Lovric who was assisted

by Deacon Guy Pellegrino.

Special thanks to

Karen McCrory who

has acted as an un-

official newsletter

photographer for

this edition of The

Annunciator, provid-

ing pictures on

pages 4, 5, 6, and 7.

June 2011

This issue of The Annunciator marks the first time that the newsletter will be delivered to just over 1,700 email boxes. The growth of this newsletter has spread by word of mouth, by mes-sages posted on Facebook and by the organization of reunions which renew people‘s connection to their alma ma-ter.

But the geographical delivery of the newsletter is probably greater than many might expect. Annunciation graduates are no different than the rest of the population in that they experi-ence life from a global perspective. Many of our graduates live abroad and receive the newsletter in email boxes in Asia, Europe and beyond.

The reasons for their international residence are varied. Below we intro-duce you to some of the Annunciation expatriates.

Marianne Henshaw Fleming ‘63 came to Durham University, Durham, England in 1969-70 on a junior year abroad from Manhattanville College, P u r c h a s e , NY, through the Institute of European Studies in C h i c a g o . There were 26 A m e r i c a n s from many different col-leges in the USA and they were spread throughout Durham University in their residential colleges for the year. The group trav-elled together during the vacations and had a most marvelous experience of European culture.

Marianne returned to Manhattan-ville to complete her BA in Religion, and, having met her husband of 37 years, decided to return to Durham to do an MA in Theology. She trained as a high school teacher and spent the next twenty-seven years teaching reli-

Traveling The World

Page 8 The Annunciator

grandparents were Croatian) intro-duced him to someone who helped him secure a job in a government agency promoting foreign investment.

Robert Quinn ‘01 moved to London shortly after his graduation from Bos-ton College. He had already spent three months in London during the summer of 2008 while interning at G o l d m a n Sachs where he is now em-ployed. At present, it is Rob‘s inten-tion to stay in London for another year.

Having attended Regis High School and traveling very little outside of the U.S. during college, Rob finds working abroad to be a great oppor-tunity. London is an easy transition and offers close proximity to mainland Europe for weekend trips.

Rob already knows that when he returns to the U.S., he will live in New York. He is very close to his four brothers, Steven ‗97, Rudy, Peter and Tom, all ‗03, and knows that while they support his work, they do not want him to live away for too long.

gious studies to students in both Catholic and state schools. Religious education is a required subject in Eng-land, so she was able to engage stu-dents of all religions and those with no specific religion in the ethical, spiritual and religious issues of our times.

Marianne had been originally drawn to England by the courses offered and the fact that she did not have to learn a different language in order to study there. After falling in love with her hus-band, Michael, she was drawn for other reasons! Says Marianne, ―Our son, Christopher, is getting married to the lovely Natasha on the 28th of May, so the royal family is not the only one hav-ing had a big occasion. Although I now consider England as my home, we do visit New York annually, staying in our apartment in Bronxville. We usually get over to Crestwood at some point, and it is always lovely to receive news from the ‗old neighbourhood‘ through The Annunciator.”

Richard Babajko ‘72 moved to Croa-tia in 1995 and has no plans to move back. He and his wife, Maja (pronounced ―Maya‖) a native of Za-greb and a cardiologist, own an apart-ment there and are raising their family there. They have one daughter, Ana, who is 12 years old. In addition to their home in Zagreb, they have an-other home on the sea.

R i c h a r d finds that his l a n g u a g e abilities are an advantage in Europe. He is fluent in Croatian, Italian, Spanish and French and admits to knowing a little English too!

Initially, Richard came for a visit. He had been living in France and was looking for job opportunities. Rela-tives in Croatia (Richard‘s paternal

Robert, former member of the class of 1954, and Richard Giannini and their sister, Marion Giannini Dailey, are cousins of Frank and Roger Vitolo and their sisters, Carol Vitolo Riggs and Barbara Vitolo Scheideler. However, they did not know of one another‘s existence. Robert Giannini knew he had Vitolo relatives—his grandmother was a Vi-tolo—and he remembers having been in the Vitolo home in Crestwood when he was very young, but he had no recollections beyond that. The Gianninis moved from Crestwood in 1952. Robert had just finished sixth grade and Richard had just finished third grade at Annunciation School.

Carol Vitolo Riggs ‗65 was too young to remember the Crestwood Gianninis. She checked with her sib-lings, Frank ‗62, Barbara ‗66 and Roger Vitolo, who attended Annun-ciation through fifth grade in 1969, and they did not remember any Crest-wood Gianninis either (Sadly, a fifth sibling, Patty Vitolo Clark ‗60, passed away in 2009.) The name was a part

of the family lore; they had met some Giannini relatives at one point, but they did not even know that they had had Crestwood cousins. The Vitolos were centered in the greater New York area, the Gianninis in Central Florida, and both went separate ways for almost sixty years. Then the Vitolo name appeared in a recent article in The Annunciator and caught Robert‘s attention. The Annuncia-tor put him in touch with Carol, an e-mail correspondence ensued, and then in January of this year, they met in per-son.

Carol and her husband, Charlie Riggs, drove from their home in Crystal River, FL, to join Robert and his wife, Jo Ann, who were visiting his sister, Marion, at her home in Deland, FL. Perhaps a larger Giannini-Vitolo reunion may be in the offing. There are too many brothers, sisters, in-laws, and grandchildren who should share in the joy of having two families reunite after all these years.

All parties are grateful to The Annun-ciator for helping the families make this connection.

On Saturday, May 7, 2011, ninety-seven children received their First Holy Communion at three Masses, one celebrated at 10:00 a.m., the next at 11:30 a.m., and the last at 1:00 p.m. The weather was beautiful as these proud second graders and their families cele-brated receiving this sacrament.

Just one week later, on May 15, the Most Rev. Dennis J. Sullivan, D.D. and Vicar General, confirmed eighty-two seventh graders in an afternoon Mass packed with the confirmandi, their sponsors and proud families.

More than a dozen of the chil-dren receiving these two sacra-ments were the children of alumni.

Newsletter Leads to Family Reunion by Robert Giannini, former classmate „54

Page 9

Jo Ann and Robert Gianinni

Photo courtesy of Joni Tempest-Worley at

www.tempestworleyphotography.com

Knights of Columbus Council Formed

The Knights of Columbus is the largest and most influential Catholic fra-ternal organization in the world. It works ardently for our church, our com-munity and our youth in addition to providing social and networking opportu-nities.

In June 2009, The Blessed Mother Council was formed and serves both Annunciation and Our Lady of Fatima Parishes. Membership is limited to practicing Catholic men over the age of 18, but the Council will sponsor events and many other activities that all individuals and families can participate in.

Meetings are held on the second Wednesday of the month in the Annun-ciation Parish Room. If you are interested in joining, please contact Patrick Dolan (husband of Jeanne Marie Bickerstaff Dolan ‗78 and father of Erin ‗06, Brendan ‗07 and Meaghan ‗10) at pat.dolan@yahoo.com or check the website at http://www.blessedmothercouncil.org.

Holy

Sacraments

June 2011

Steven Trizano has been appointed to the United States Military Academy at West Point‘s Class of 2015. A graduate of Annunciation‘s Class of 2006, Steven attended Iona Preparatory School. After graduation, he attended a post-graduate year at The U.S. Military Academy Prep School.

Steven is the son of Steve and Ann Marie Trizano, and the older brother to three younger sisters, Antonia ‗11, Geor-giana ‗12, and Francesca. Steven‘s fa-ther, Steve, served in the Navy and is a Gulf War vet. His grandfather, Ralph Trizano, served in the Army during the Korean War.

Steven says that he always wanted to go into the military and that his family had very high standards about how he lived his life. As a result, he sees going to West Point as the next natural step.

He reports to duty on June 26.

At West Point Prep, Steven got his first taste of military life. He says, ―It was an eye opener. The military life-style is completely different from any-thing I'd ever experienced before. Everything is regimented, so there's rarely any free time. It was difficult to get used to in the beginning, but it definitely prepared me for the next four years at West Point.‖ Steven also played on West Point Prep‘s lacrosse team and expects to play for Army beginning next year.

Steven Trizano „06 Appointed to West Point

Page 10 The Annunciator

Memories of an Altar Boy by Jim Murphy „57

In the late 50‘s and 60‘s, Father Ray-mond Hyland was the curate at Annun-ciation. He first served under the elderly Monsignor Dugan and then under the jovial Monsignor Brosnan. Fr. Hyland drove a shiny black Pontiac and always had a cigarette going. This is why he was affectionately known as ―The Camel.‖

Father's obsession was to make the altar boys the elite corps of Annuncia-tion. His high Masses on the holidays were truly epic. The main altar server was the master; then came the Mass servers, followed by the acolytes and finally the benchwarmers. There were constant rehearsals, and if someone did his military turn wrong, they started all over again. It was not unusual to go home from practice in the dark,

For the special occasion Masses we even had special cassocks. They were white with red sashes and capes. I think we looked like bishops. Mrs. McCarren and Mrs. Shea used to come in to tie the bows over our collars. God help anyone whose shoes were not highly shined, and sneakers would mean excommunication

Everyone had a partner. Mine was

Vinnie Bonacorso. Others that I re-member were John Clark, Eddie Bren-nan, Larry Dougherty and Jimmy Duffy. There was a picture taken of Vinnie and me many years later in Viet-nam which I always called ―The Altar Boys.‖

Funerals were another big deal. Not only did you get out of class, but you also made money! After the Mass, you would wait to hear the jingle of half dol-lars coming through the sacristy. It was Mr. McGrath, and you had to earn the fifty cents. If you messed up, you did not get paid.

Some of the incidents that stick out in my mind were Midnight Mass in the 6th grade when I was a mere bench- warmer and interrupted Msgr. Dugan‘s forty-five minute sermon by yawn-ing. Of course he stopped to correct me but did not take the hint and went on speaking. The other was a funeral when a top heavy cross fell apart. There were some snickers from the altar boys and no half dollars from Mr. McGrath.

The highlight of our altar boy careers was Fr. Flynn's first Mass. Cecil B. De-Mille could not have staged it better. It

was quite a show, and to this day, I am proud to have participated. I recently ran into Fr. Flynn and introduced my-self. I told him that I had served at his Mass. I think he was taken aback to realize that the grey-haired man talking to him could have served his first Mass.

Tom „49 and Jim „48 Hanifer in the

cassocks that Jim Murphy refers

to in his article.

of water. Charles currently works for Exponent, where he is director of Expo-nent‘s biological and ecological sciences practice.

Joe Menzie ‘64 runs a gemstone whole-saler and jeweler in New York. Joe learned the business by working for his grandfather‘s colored gemstone wholesale business for ten years before joining Go-lay Buchel. At Golay Buchel, he learned about world markets and the mass-market categories of gemstones. He started his business, Joseph M. Menzie, Inc., in 1985.

Joe travels all over the world buying loose gemstones from mining and cutting centers in Brazil, Columbia, India, Cey-lon, Thailand, Burma and Africa. He then redistributes them to fine retail stores in the U.S., including Tiffany and Harry Winston, as well as other jewelry manu-facturers. He was elected President of the International Colored Gemstone Association in 2003.

Joe Houlihan ‘68 is one Annuncia-tion grad who certainly caught the en-trepreneurial bug. In 1984, Joe joined his brother Dan ‘66 at Houlihan & O‘Malley Real Estate Services. Dan specializes in commercial properties where his sister Liz Houlihan Geno-vese ‘74 is part of his team. Joe heads the firm‘s residential sales group.

Houlihan & O‘Malley has become a sought-after ally in local real estate. As Joe explains, ―This business is our home; our clients become our neighbors. My team and I are dedi-cated to offering unparalleled service, and unwavering integrity. My name and my business are one in the same, and I never forget that.‖ He continues, ―We respect the families we work for and appreciate that our everyday is their big day. Buy-ing or selling a home is a mile-stone occasion that deserves nothing less than a real es-tate agent who knows where you are coming from and where it is you are trying to go—

sometimes literally, always figura-tively—and is willing to take that jour-ney with you.‖

Whether visiting family or showing one of Crestwood‘s great houses, Joe still spends a lot of time in his home-town. Through co-sponsorships of the Amer ican Gir l Fashion Shows at A n n u n c i a t i o n School and as the official corporate sponsor of The Crestwood Histori-cal Society, Joe has remained involved in the local com-munity and parish. In fact, Houlihan & O‘Malley has participated in every real estate transaction in Crestwood year-to-date.

From childhood memories of the Annunciation schoolyard to entrepre-neurial aspirations, Joe and his siblings have never forgotten how Crestwood has helped shape their identities and shown them what good things can happen when you care about where you come from and the families that turn a place into a community. Continued on page 12

Entrepreneurial Spirit (continued from page 1)

Page 11

Non-Profit is Created in Memory of Graduate

The Right Track to a Cure for Pancreatic Cancer is a toy train museum that opened on March 31, 2011. This business, whose primary purpose is to raise funds to benefit pancre-atic cancer research, is located in Lake Lure, which is in the western mountains of North Carolina and is the brainchild of Peggy Keyes, widow of Larry Keyes ‘51. Larry, who was also the father of five Annunciation graduates: Kathy ‗75, Meg ‗77, Laura ‗78, Jimmy ‗81, and Ellen ‗90, was a toy train collector and hobby enthusiast who died of pancreatic can-cer in 2007.

At the museum you can see trains from the early 1900s to the present. There are sev-eral tracks set up with working trains, and visitors can work the trains themselves. There is a separate train room for the youngest engineers, complete with push trains, engineer cos-tumes and coloring pages. There is also a small gift shop where visitors can get anything from Christmas ornaments to train sets, baby clothes or train whistles.

Says Peggy, ―The museum is fun for every member of the family no matter how young or young at heart! The entrance fee is a $5 donation per person, with children 2 and under free, and 100% of that donation goes to The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.‖ Larry and Peggy Keyes

Joe Houlihan

Dan Houlihan

June 2011

Page 12

Richard Linderman ‘69 started his own firm, RJL Associates, in April 2010. The business is a healthcare man-agement consulting business, with Rich having over twenty years of experience in hospital management. Clients have ranged from single hospitals to multi-hospital health systems and have been faith based, community hospitals and investor-owned hospitals, including some in Pennsylvania, Florida and Mis-souri. RJL Associates specializes in process operations improvements, la-bor productivity management, length of stay reductions and management training. Rich can be reached at http://www.linkedin.com/in/richlindermanconsultant.

Maureen Gavaghan Craig '71 owns Silverbell Quilts, a very small, side business that is an outgrowth of her interest and passion for quilts. Maureen made her first quilt in 1995 when she was in-between jobs. On a whim, she pur-chased an old quilt in Houston and decided to try and recreate it, which she ac-complished, do-ing all the work by hand. In 2001, Maureen took classes on making a sampler quilt and learned how to operate a sewing machine. It was during that class that she learned that there were quilt guilds. She joined her local guild and began to become exposed to the quilting com-munity.

Maureen attended her first big quilt show in Williamsburg, VA not long after that and was completely amazed at the throngs of people there! ―I had no idea there were so many people in-volved with quilting. I really thought I was doing something that nobody else was. Boy, was I wrong!‖ says Maureen. "Several years ago, I learned that there are about 20 million quilters in the

United States. The resurgence of inter-est in quilting started in the 1970's fol-lowing a groundbreaking show at the Whitney Museum in New York. It was through my membership in the Balti-more Appliqué Society, and my atten-dance at national quilt shows, that I became exposed to quilts of the 19th century and began to learn about the history of quilting in the United States.‖

A few years ago, Maureen attended the American Quilt Association show in Paducah, KY and attended classes to become trained as a quilt appraiser. She had already accumulated a collection of 19th and early 20th century quilts and had a number of them professionally appraised. Taking the courses offered by Bobbie Aug and Gerald Roy in Pa-ducah provided her with the confi-dence and knowledge to establish her own business offering quilt apprais-als. Maureen plans to apply to take the formal exam given by the American Quilt Society as a certified quilt ap-praiser very soon. In the meantime, she is gaining experience and having fun appraising quilts in southwestern New Mexico. In addition to offering appraisals, Maureen make quilts on commission and offers classes in her community of Silver City, NM. She also teaches hand quilting and appliqué, and has taught a class on the history of American quilts.

www.silverbellquilts.com

Lori Sullivan ‘72 is a practicing attorney with her own firm, located in White Plains, since 1989. She is also an elected trustee of the Village of Briar-cliff Manor. Lori went to law school at Pace University School of Law, graduating in 1987. She practices mat-rimonial and family law, as well as represents large bar/restaurant owners doing commercial leasing, real estate transactions. She is also corporate counsel for national and international companies.

Lori lives in Briarcliff Manor with her husband , Pete , and daughter , Kristyn. Her sister Kerry Sullivan Pohar ‗77 and her family also live in Briarcliff Manor, just four houses from Lori.

Marty Avallone and Kerry Tracy, both Class of ’75, grew up across the street from each other in Crestwood. They are founders of a media company that was honored in 2009 by Inc. Maga-zine as one of the nation‘s 500 fastest growing firms. Working Me-dia Group helps hun-dreds of mid-size firms achieve their goals, maxi-mize the return on their advertising in-vestments, and navigate complex and ever-changing media landscapes. Founded in 2005, Working Media Group ‘ s r ev enu e w i l l e xc e ed $30,000,000 in 2011.

Before Working Media Group, Marty started his career as a lawyer and then moved on to a number of executive po-sitions in sales and marketing at IBM. He then helped take public, and signifi-cantly grow, a mid-sized software firm, Mapics, which was later sold to a private equity backed group.

Prior to founding Working Media Group, Kerry served as managing direc-tor of Time Inc. strategic communica-tions. He was publisher of the Delta inflight publication and founder of Kerry Publishing. He had previously sold television time for CBS.

Both entrepreneurs honed their ne-gotiation skills on the playgrounds and streets of Crestwood. More importantly, Marty is married and the proud father of three boys and one daughter and lives in Wilton, CT. Kerry is married and the proud father of two boys and one daughter and lives in New York City. Continued on page 13

Entrepreneurial Spirit (continued from page 11)

The Annunciator

Kathy Keyes ‘75, executive chef and co-owner of Pagosa Baking Company, baked her first cake at the age of 5 and hasn‘t stopped since. She graduated from the State University of New York at Buffalo with a degree in nutrition and food science, and worked in clinical nu-trition for ten years.

Kathy‘s passion for fine food led her to L‘Academie de Cuisine in Bethesda, MD, where she graduated from the pro-fessional pastry program in 1992. While a student at L‘Academie, Kathy received mentoring from Les Dames des Ecof-fier, an organization of women chefs and food professionals. Kathy has worked as a pastry chef at the Morrison Clark Inn, and Sweet Surrender Bakery and as a bread baker at Marvelous Mar-ket, all in Washington, D.C. She honed her high altitude skills at The Peaks at Telluride and Isabel‘s in Pagosa Springs.

Kathy‘s passion for bread led her to open Pagosa Baking Company in Pagosa Springs, CO in 2001 with partner Kirsten Skeehan. The artisan breads and fine pastries at Pagosa Baking Company have earned a dedicated local following,

and a regional reputa-tion. She is proud to be celebrating ten years of great food and great service.

In 1999, Kathy started making her European style sour-dough breads at home for friends, and

over the months, was invited to sell her products in local retail stores. She con-verted part of her garage into a commer-cial kitchen in December 2000, with the intention of a wholesale bread business. With encouragement from their future downtown neighbors, the duo pur-chased a building in June of 2001 and opened the retail shop in July of 2001. This afforded them the opportunity to expand their offerings to include break-fast burritos, soups, and sandwiches. Pagosa Baking Company now holds

cooking, baking and decorating classes in the kitchen and uses local produce in their salads and fruit pies.

Lee Woodriffe’s ‘77 love of travel be-gan decades ago. At some point, realizing that she was just working to afford the vacations that she would enthusiastically and regularly embark upon, she decided that it was time to make a switch from a career in broadcast journalism to travel. The result is Pegasus Tours and Travel based in Lithonia, GA.

Starting at the bottom, she enrolled in travel school and began working as a travel agent. For the first few years, she settled into a routine of booking travel for clients, but also ex-ploring various places around the globe. Says Lee, ―One month, I was sharing a laugh with the actual Barber in Seville. Another time, I was singing, You Take The High Road with a bunch of locals in Glasgow, taking in the crisp air of the Swiss Alps, or sampling the greatest salmon in Iceland. I had finally become the adventurer I had always dreamed I would be.‖

She was asked to do an interview at a local television station in Washington, DC and capitalized on that opportunity by turning a one time interview into a two year travel segment as lead travel analyst on Good Morning Washington and a guest spot on Fox Morning News, also in DC.

This led to greater exposure in the in-dustry. She became travel faculty at a school in Fairfax, VA and then Director of Training and Education, overseeing three travel schools and travel training for 1,000 plus employees nationwide.

September 11, 2001 hit the industry very hard, and Lee was forced to reinvent her career over again. Finally settling in Georgia, and again working as a travel agent, she made a decision to open her own company. Pegasus Tours and Travel officially opened in September, 2007. Lee

states that, ―It has been some of the hardest work with the longest hours. It is sometimes frustrating, nerve-racking and difficult, but also the most rewarding and personally fulfilling task I've ever undertaken.‖

Pegasus Tours and Travel www.Pegasus.4MyDeals.com and www.PegasusToursAndTravel.com is a full service travel agency servic-ing the US and Canada. Lee can be reached at 1-888-673-4278 or by email at leewoodriffe@bellsouth.net

Mike Scelsi ‘81 and his wife, Mary Wilcox-Scelsi, started and manage their own law office. Wil-cox and Scelsi, LLC is located at 25 Pond View Lane in Stamford, CT.

Mary, who is a Cornell graduate, and Mike met on the first day of law school at the City University of New York. They re-mained friends t h r o u g h l a w school and didn‘t begin dating until after they had graduated. They were married in 1996 and have a two-year-old son, Matthew.

The firm primarily handles real estate transactions in Connecticut and New York, including purchase, sale, and refinance, and has helped a number of Crestwood friends and Annunciation grads over the years since they opened in 1997.

Although the firm does not have a web site, Mike invites Annuncia-tion friends to contact him by email at wandsllc@optonline.net.

Ray Connolly ‘81 is a registered professional engineer in the struc-tural/geotechnical area. In 2009, he

started a not-for-profit organization (currently applying for 501(c) status) Continued on page 15

Entrepreneurial Spirit (continued from page 12)

Page 13 June 2011

Mr. Louis Capozi is completing his 20th year of teaching at Annunciation School. Arriving in 1991, he was hired by former principal, Sr. Anne Massell.

Mr. Capozi is a graduate of Iona Pre-paratory School, received his bachelors from Iona College and his master‘s from St. John‘s University. In addition, he holds a professional diploma in elemen-tary school administration and supervi-sion from Manhattan College.

Prior to coming to Annunciation, he taught at Holy Name of Jesus in New Rochelle, Immaculate Conception in Tuckahoe, St. Frances of Rome in the Bronx, and Christ the King in Yonkers.

At Annunciation, Mr. Capozi who originally began as a 3rd-grade teacher and is again teaching 3rd grade, also taught math to the 5th through 8th grades, spending eleven years as the 7th

and 8th grade math t e a c h e r . From 1995 to 1997, he was principal of the school before re-turning to teaching.

―My long-est mission

has been at Annunciation School,‖ says Mr. Capozi. ―It is in a beautiful setting, and the faculties that I have

served with have been friendly and nurturing. Each class that I have taught always presented me with their own set of challenges, and I always felt that, in some way, I contributed to their educational growth. The parents have always been cooperative and wish only the best for their children. I always am impressed by the level of parental involvement in the school. The sports programs and the after-school programs have also had a posi-tive effect on the children and have contributed to their personal and so-cial development.‖

2011 Marks 20th Year for Mr. Louis Capozi

Page 14 The Annunciator

Emma Clarke ‗10 is the 2011 winner of Yonkers Junior Idol Competition. The contest, which is sponsored by the Yonkers Department of Parks and Rec-reation and the Untermyer Performing Arts Council, took place on March 26 at Saunders High School.

Emma first became aware of the competition three years ago when she saw a poster advertising the competi-tion. She auditioned then and was a finalist for three consecutive years. This year, she again auditioned on January 19. Surviving that cut, she then had to per-form on January 31 and was one of six contestants selected to participate in the Junior Idol competition. Contestants must be between the ages of 10 and 14.

At the final competition, Emma per-formed two songs to rousing applause. The first was Patty Smyth's ―The War-rior,‖ exhibiting Emma's enthusiastic vocals, and the second was Kelly Clark-son's ―Because of You,‖ showcasing her

Annunciation Grad is Yonkers Junior Idol p o w e r f u l voice. Emma, who is an honors stu-dent at Good C o u n s e l Academy in White Plains, has been sing-ing since she was five years old. Her love of singing and music had prompted her to join the Annunciation junior choir where she sang for five years, and she had per-formed in numerous Annunciation plays when she was a student.

Vying for the Junior Idol title with Emma was her sister Paige ‗12. ―It was a little difficult competing against each other, but we both wanted the other to win, and we helped each other with our vocal practices. My sister was truly

happy for me that I won the title this year.‖

Emma reflected on what it means to win this competition. ―I believed in myself, and knew that if I kept trying, I could win it. It also means that I will be given a chance to give back to my city by perform-ing at many public as well as private events. I‘ve already performed for the Untermyer Performing Arts Council's spring fundraiser and can‘t wait to perform at Riverfest in Sep-tember. This responsibility inspires me to be the best that I can be. It will be a ‗spotlight‘ to remind me to uphold all the values that I have been taught.‖

―All of the people that came to support me and the new relation-ships that I made because of this contest are an inspiration to me and remind me of how thankful I am to God for my talent.‖

You can find us on the Web

at

www.AnnunciationCrestwood.com

Page 15

called Stop Climate Change. You can a c c e s s t h e w e b s i t e a t www.stopsclimatechange.org. He felt compelled to do something after seeing a Fox News report that scientists were making up temperature information from the early 1960s. Ray also knew that there had been more temperature shifts in the winter and spring months which, if those same shifts occurred in the summer, would lead to a 122 degree reading in Central Park in mid-July!

The organization‘s goals and objec-tives are to promote the use and effec-tiveness of non-fossil fuel energy sys-tems; to promote recycling; to increase public awareness of climate change; to promote more effective and cleaner fuels; to promote clean water, food and air; to promote the cleanest and safest uses of energy in the business and pri-vate sectors; to promote effective alter-native energy legislation; to share ideas with regard to existing and new alterna-tive energy systems; and to identify pol-lution sources in our air, food and wa-ter.

Lisa Nisco ‘83 started Lisa ―licious‖ Desserts and Event Planning in 2003 shortly after she moved to Tampa, FL. Lisa had started baking at a young age and always used to help her mother. She has enjoyed it ever since.

Lisa special-izes in desserts; anything from cheesecakes to cookies. She frequently does special events, such as show-ers or birthdays where she will do cupcakes instead of a cake. Says Lisa, ―It can be much easier than cut-ting a cake and looks elegant.‖

Michele Sheehan Garrin ‘89 started baking as a child with her

mother. In fact many of her friends also baked with her mother! Says Michele, ―Even now, I will reconnect with someone from Annunciation and they will remark that they remember baking with my mother. She always had us help her. One friend remembers the year she was over the day we were making our tradi-tional thirteen different kinds of Christmas cook-ies; Mom and I wore her out!‖

As fate would have it, when Michele became a mother, her love of baking re-emerged and she started baking every chance she got. Michele would bring something to every play date, make cookies for her children's teachers, send care packages to far away friends. She would use anything as an excuse to bake. Eventually Michele got interested in cake and cupcake decorat-ing, and a year ago, she started One L Bakery (Explains Michele, ―my name has one ‗L‘‖). Since then, she has make confections for birthdays, anniversaries, baby showers, even a graduation cake to look like a Wheat Thins box.

Michele is located in Raleigh, NC. The bakery can be reached at OneLBakery@gmail.com and on Face-book.

Kristen Arditi ‘99 started Yes...You Can Sweets & Treats, a hand-made chocolate creations business. It began as a joke between Kristen and her boy-friend when Kristen constantly wanted dessert and chocolate and he would al-ways say , "no more" or "no you can't." Say Kristen, ―So, I told him, yes...I can, and I would make them on my own.‖

―One night at dinner we sat down and laid out the game plan. It has slowly blossomed from there. I focus on holidays and special occa-sions, platters and favors.‖

Kristen is an investigative analyst for the Manhattan District Attorney‘s Office by day, so Yes...You Can Sweets & Treats is a part-time business. You can find Kristen at various fairs and home parties where she spread her message of ―chocolatelyness.‖ She can also be f o u n d o n F a c e b o o k a t www.facebook.com/yesyoucansweetsandtreats or by emai l at Kr is -ten@yycst.com. If you are interested in Kristen‘s chocolate creations you can be added to an email list to get updates on holiday selections and other specialties.

Entrepreneurial Spirit (continued from page 13)

June 2011

Pirates of Troublesome Brook!

Photo from

The Past

Peter Doncourt and

Robert Topping, both

„60, play with their

friends David Cohen

and Bobby and John

Spollon.

Deaths

Please pray for the repose of the souls of the fol-

lowing alumni:

Charles Angione ‘64

Robert Mullin ‘51, brother of James ‗50 and Mary

Lou ‗57

We also pray for the souls of the following family

of alumni:

Violet Esposito, mother of Eugenia ‗57, the late Maria ‗59, Jean and Jackie, and grandmother of Danielle ‗01 and

Joseph ‗07 Gizzo

Christopher Mayo, son of the late Robert ‗65

Luca Cappelli, father of Louis ‗65, Connie, Barbara ‗68, Susan ‗72, Gina formerly ‗75, and Michael ‗78

Cyrus J. Pecoraro, father of John ‗65, Rosemarie ‗66, Mary Ellen ‗68, Sue Ann formerly ‗69, Thomas formerly ‗71, Barbara Ann formerly ‗73, Carol Jean formerly ‗74,

Veronica formerly ‗75, Theresa, Katherine ‘81 and Chris-tine ‗84

Martin Keefe, father of Mary Kate ‗83, Martin, Timothy, Brian formerly ‗88, Edmund formerly ‗90, John, and

Kathleen ‗99

Mary Sullivan, mother of Maura ‗81

Patricia Brown, mother of Lynn ‗66, Peter ‗68, Megan ‗74 and Amy ‗76

Nicholas Ambroselli, father of Nicholas ‗93, Paul ‗97 and Michael ‗00

I‘m at the age now when you‘re asked to attend 40 year anni-versary reunions. It makes you reflect on your past—to think about the time associated with the reunion. That can be fun if you grew up in Crestwood.

Let me say right here that I was a lucky kid. The nine year separation between my older brother and me meant he grew up in the Bronx, and I didn‘t. No disparagement to the Bronx. I have fond memories of that borough as most of my closest relatives spent all or the better part of their lives there. What it meant was that I grew up in a house, my brother in an apart-ment. I played on grass, he played on asphalt. He went to a NYC public school, and I wore a uniform at Annunciation. He grew up a bit harder and maybe wiser (I don‘t think I ever really grew up). The bottom line is I had it good. It was a privilege to grow up in Crestwood. Crestwood will always be the index of comparison with other places I visit—it is my standard of liv-ing. Here are just two memories of growing up in that wonder-ful little section of Yonkers that was and seems to remain a vil-lage all its own.

The Bronx River – It‘s part of the reason Crestwood seems like it could be a backdrop for a Mark Twain novel. A neighborhood with a river! It is the quintessential American town scene. It is a park to walk through in summer and a place to ice-skate in winter. How fortunate are Crestwooders! They rival the citizens of small towns in Holland who skate on their canals. Though polluted from parkway runoff and probably some illegal dumping, the river was, at least in my childhood, never so offending to be a worry. In fact it was alive with life. Canadian geese and mallard ducks called it home because they could find food there. Countless song birds raised generations of chicks in the nearby parkway woods. In the river, fish, though certainly not the catch of the day, abounded. Smaller creatures such as snails were commonly seen.

The Bronx River bends sharply west near MacArthur Ave-nue and Arrowhead Lane before turning east again a bit south of St. Eleanora‘s Lane. That was very close to my old home. It was a great place to walk my beagle who loved being let off the leash to run in the woods. My cousin from the Bronx, who spent summers with me, would ―go down to the river‖ to catch darters and crayfish. To young boys, the river is a magnet for fun and excitement. My cousin caught many more fish than I ever did. There‘s that good Bronx upbringing again.

After the underground overflow diversion of the Trouble-some Brook was installed in the 1970s, the Bronx River took on a new personality. The outflow for the diversion is at the foot of the aforementioned Arrowhead Lane. After a heavy rainfall, the confined, rushing water would exit with tremendous force guided to the west bend of the river by a man-made trench. The only word for this condition is dangerous. Anyone or any Continued on page 25

Page 16 The Annunciator

Bits of Crestwood by Mark L. Maiello „71

Annunciation Parish

80 Years Old and Thriving!

On May 10, 1931, Father Timothy J. Dugan, Joseph Hayes, and Ralph Feriola met with His Eminence Patrick Cardinal Hayes and His Excellency Bishop Dunn at the Cardinal‘s residence at 452 Madi-son Avenue and incorporated the Church of the Annunciation of Crestwood. Father Dugan was named pastor of the new parish.

Msgr. Timothy Dugan

Births

Troy and Samantha DiNaopli Mandara ‘90 are the proud parents of their first daughter, Faith Alexandria, who was born on October 24, 2010 and baptized at An-nunciation in April. The Mandara family lives in York-town, NY.

Adriana Weigand was born to Antoinette and Donald Weigand ‘91 on October 24, 2010 at White Plains Hospi-tal. She was baptized at Annunciation in January, and her Godfather is her uncle Chris Weigand ‗95. The Weigand family lives in Hartsdale, NY.

Robert Melnyk ‘86 and June Cirigliano Melnyk ‘91 welcomed their son, Brendan Robert, to the family on January 7, 2011. He joins older brothers, Ryan (4) and Owen (2). His mom says he is an absolutely great baby who is either sleeping or being entertained by his brothers!

David and Amelia Roselli Carpanzano '93 welcomed their first baby on January 14, at 1:18pm. Gianna Marie was born at White Plains Hospital weighing 8 pounds and 6 ounces and measuring 19 inches long. Amelia is cur-rently working at Mt. Pleasant Blythedale School in Val-halla as the Assistant Principal, and David is a teacher at St. Peter's School in Yonkers. The family is currently living in Brewster. Both families are extremely excited about the new arrival especially Uncle Frankie Roselli '95.

Adeline Elizabeth Krug was born to Linda and Albert Krug III ‘86 on April 6, 2011, weighing 7 lbs 15 oz, 20.5 inches long. She joins siblings Albie (4), Julia (3), and Evelyn (1). Albert is a chartered financial analyst and Di-rector of Fidelity Capital Markets in Boston, MA. Adeline is also the granddaughter of Albert Krug, Jr. ‘53.

Mike Finneran ‘88 and his wife, Julie, had their third child, Declan Edward, on April 9th. Declan was warmly received by his older brother Liam (age 4) and his older sister Nora (age 2). Declan's first visitors at the hospital were his Uncle Tim Finneran ‗81 and Tim‘s wife, Laura, along with their children, cousins Georgina Finneran ‗10, Katie Finneran ‗13 and Laura Finneran ‗16.

Carlito and Alice Byrnes Morilla ‘61 are proud to an-nounce the birth of their tenth grandchild, Timothy Daniel Luciano, son of Delia and Douglas Luciano of Warwick, NY. Timothy was born on May 15, his great-grandfather, Tom Brynes‘ birthday.

Milestone Spotlight

Michelle Griffith

Milestones

Peyton Riley Sullivan was born on December 20, 2010 at White Plains Hospital to Christopher and Angela Galgani Sullivan ‘90. The family lives in Yonkers and has an older daughter named Chloe who is turning 3. Angela is Vice President of Na-tional Publicity for Sony Pictures Entertainment.

Delia Elisabeth Spero was born on May 16. She is the daughter of Melissa and Peter Spero ‘83 and the youngest of three girls. Older sisters Mikayla Grace (7) and Anna Marie (3) are thrilled. The Spero family lives in Crestwood, NY.

Marriages

Kara Duffy ‘97 married Brian Mylod on May 7 at Annunciation

Church. Kara met Brian when they were both working at

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods in 2004. Kara was an intern, and

Brian worked in equity sales. Although they became friends,

they did not start dating until 2008. The bridal party included

many Annunciation graduates including Caitlin Duffy ‘97, who

was the maid of honor. The couple honeymooned in Dubai

and the Maldives and are living in Atlanta, GA.

Page 17 June 2011

John and Lauri Pacilio Griffith announce the baptism of their daughter, Michelle, on May 1, 2011. Michelle‘s God-mother is her Aunt Paulette Pacilio.

Michelle was born in Hangzhou, China four years ago this past Janu-ary and raised in foster care for three years. One year ago, she was adopted by John and Lauri who had read a notice in the Annunciation Church bulletin looking for families interested in adopting from China. The adoption process was lengthy but ―well worth the wait,‖ according to Lauri. Michelle is a happy, active little girl who will be at-tending the Pre-K at Annunciation next year where she will join her older sister, Jacqueline, who will be in 6th grade in

September.

Michelle is known as Tian Tian which is her Mandarin name and means ―Sweet Sweet.‖ She is presently a student at the Butler Nursery School and attends the Chi-nese School of Southern Westchester.

Page 18

Reunions! Reunions! Reunions!

The Annunciator

Class of 1971: top: Laureen McDermott Coyne, Ann

Colligan McEvily, Maureen Brophy Johnson, Anne

Voges Rice, Barbara Kirk Pecsok, Kathleen Sullivan

Cerra, Ed McAnaney. Bottom: Mark Maiello, Khris

Tahmin, Dan Sweeney

Class of 1971:

Clockwise from

top left: Eileen

Kelley Hepp,

Alicia Barry Par-

rish, Maureen

Gavaghan Craig,

Elizabeth

McQuillan

Gerke, Elaine

Sheridan

Class of 1971: Standing: Nancy McGovern Dries, John

Kelly, and Tommy O‟Moore. Seated: Christine Hanniff

Mastrogiorgio and Bob Kerrigan

Class of 1966: Valerie Pagano Hepburn (left) and

Bobbi Gigliuto Iacovelli pose for the camera.

Class of 1966: Susan Lombardi Golden, Nick Florio, Bob

Vonick, Marianne Angel Bedard and Delia McCallen

Class of 1966:

Francis Grealy (left)

and Nick Florio en-

joy the reunion.

Classes of 1966 and 1971

Reunion Photos

You can see more photos on the school website at

http://school.annunciationcrestwood.com/alumni.html

and scrolling to the bottom of that page

On a very rainy Saturday evening in April more than 100 graduates and guests came out to celebrate their reunions and reconnect with former classmates. The Classes of 1966, 1971, 1976 and 1981 celebrated their 45th, 40th, 35th and 30th anniversaries, respec-tively, at Leewood Golf Club in Eastchester, NY. Although the rain was torrential and didn‘t cooperate (flooding closed the Bronx River Parkway), the mood inside could not be dampened.

The evening began with passed hors d‘oeurves and a cocktail and was followed by a delicious buffet dinner. Although music and a dance floor were available, nobody wanted to stop talking long enough to eat, let alone dance! Miss Ethel Pizzuti, long-time and much loved former 1st-grade teacher, was a guest as was Mrs. Mary Hill, former 8th-grade teacher to the Class of 1971. Msgr. Dennis Keane dropped by to welcome the graduates, many of whom had taken an earlier tour of the school and attended the 5:00 p.m. Mass.

An official Annunciation alumni baseball cap and alumni T-shirt (see page 23) were given to Rick Busch and Julia Wilkinson Francis, respectively, who traveled from Florida and Arizona to attend the re-union.

In the days prior to the reunion, the classes of 1966 and 1971 produced booklets that have docu-mented the lives of many of the graduates after their graduation from Annunciation. In addition, the Class of 1971 produced a booklet of memorabilia, including many items retrieved from the Maiello fam-ily archives.

In the days after the reunion, photos were ex-changed and emails recounting the fun were sent. ―The Annunciation reunion this past Saturday was so much fun, to say the least!! It was truly wonderful seeing my childhood classmates and friends from so long ago!!‖ said Susan Lombardi Golden ‗66. Mark Maiello ‗71 emailed his classmates saying, ―I just want to write that I had a terrific time last Saturday night. Before the 16th, when I told colleagues at work and elsewhere that it was to be a grammar school reunion I was attending, they were amazed that we could pull this off. I never questioned it. There is something about our class in particular, Annuncia-tion parish and Crestwood and its environs in general that made it all seem possible. We were and remain Continued on page 21

Class of 1976: Top Miss Ethel Pizzuti, Mary Conner Kuzemchak,

Jeanne Langenauer Carter, Janine Azznara Chakir, Regina Faul,

Peter Marrinan, Regina Hill Lo Basso, Lisa Innamorato Apos-

tolopoulos, Bottom: Kevin O‟Brien, Steve LaSala, Dianne Cotter

Ledingham, Theresa Ryan

Class of 1966: Seated Brenda Walsh, Sylvia Bryne, Bobbi Gigliuto

Iacovelli; Standing: Marianne Angel Bedard, Jean O‟Leary, Bob

Vonick, Francis Grealy, Michael Byrne, Susan Lombardi Golden

(front), Elizabeth O‟Connor McCollum, Nick Florio, Julia Wilkinson

Francis, Maureen Florio

Reunions! Reunions! Reunions!

June 2011 Page 19

The Class of 1971, with the largest attendance, poses for a group

picture.

Over 100 in Attendance at

Multi-Year Reunion

Reunions! Reunions! Reunions!

Page 20

Class of 1961 Holds Dinner Dance at Doral Arrowwood

The Class of 1961 held their 50th Anniversary reunion on Saturday, April 30, 2011 at the Doral Arrowwood in Rye Brook, NY. The evening, which included a dinner dance, had been planned by a committee comprised of Maurice Powers, Preston Burkart, Alice Brynes Morilla, Linda Oppermann Youngren and Mary Ann Scheideler Murray.

The following day, almost 20 members of the class and guests attended the 11:30 Mass where the class was acknowledged by Fr. Ivan Lovric. During the petitions, the names of the deceased members of the class were also read. Following Mass, a group photo (see below) was taken on the steps of the church, reminiscent of the class‘ gradua-tion picture. Walking across the street, everyone was then given a tour of the school by current 8th-graders Ashtyn Lange, Brendan McLoughlin and Michael Parrish.

The class had invited back one of their former teachers, Sr. Agnes William. Though unable to attend, she wrote, ―Congratulations to all on your 50th School Reunion! It was a joy teaching you and being with all of you at Annunciation School. Thank you for thinking of me.‖ Prior to the reunion, Linda and Mary Ann created an autobiography booklet of the class that was emailed to everyone, including those who were unable to attend.

In a flurry of emails that circulated after the reunion, the reviews were that the night was extraordinary. ―We have to thank each other for coming a long distance, for not ‗chickening out‘ at the last minute (it was a bit intimidating coming through the door) and for sharing our lives with each other so openly and honestly. Our time rebonding cer-tainly shows how friendships formed without political, economic or other motives than to be friends can endure the test of time,‖ said Andrea Petillo Kish. Said Theresa O‘Connor McLean, ―I haven't hugged and laughed that much for a long time. Who says that you can't go home again?‖ Rosanne DiFabio Panio wrote, ―Those days of grammar school are gone, but on Saturday, we remembered almost every moment.‖ Lou Quintano summed it up, ―What a hoot. That was the BEST ever!‖

Picture from top: Marianne Clark Salotto, Mary Campbell Caldwell and Bill Boylan;

Patti Christopher Kennedy and Alice Byrnes Morilla; Paul Merolla and Preston Burkart;

the class poses together at Doral Arrowwood; on the steps of the church the following

morning with Annunciation Pastor, Msgr. Dennis Keane.

See more photos at http://school.annunciationcrestwood.com/alumni.html

The Annunciator

Reunions! Reunions! Reunions!

June 2011 Page 21

Continued from page 19

quite a bunch. It was a great night of good conversation, lots of laughs, a few inevitable shocks and sad stories, and now a new set of memories.‖ Mike Byrne ‗66 commented, ―It really amazed me how so many people were still so recognizable after SO MANY years.‖

The Class of 1971, who, with thirty-nine graduates, had the largest attendance at the multi-year reunion, also came to-gether to donate over $3,500 to the school in memory of their classmate, Wil-liam Wik (see additional story below). Through the efforts of classmate and attorney, Daniel Sweeney, and with the permission of the Wik family, the class, in starting the William Wik Fund, honors the memory of a local hero and provides assistance with tuition to Annunciation families who are experiencing economic difficulty.

William ―Billy‖ Wik, was a local un-sung hero of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center. On that fateful day, Billy was working as an Assistant Direc-tor of Risk Management for the Aon Corporation on the 92nd floor of 2 World Trade Center. Billy‘s body was found in a pocket of rubble, together with five fire-fighters. Billy was wearing emergency

worker gear including work g l o v e s , a face mask and was holding an e m e r g e n c y medical flash-light, all indica-tive of a fire fighter. The

details of exactly what these men were doing at the time of their deaths is unknown, however, it is clear that Bill was assisting them, no doubt in an attempt to rescue other people. The evidence of this is irrefutable. Officials at the New York City Morgue, several of whom Dan Sweeney interviewed while helping the family after Billy's death, were certain of this fact as well.

Billy was a resident of Crestwood and husband of Kathy and the father

Multi-Year Reunion

Reunion Class Creates Scholarship in Memory of Classmate of three children, Patricia, Kathleen ‗03 and Daniel ‗07. He was the brother of Ray ‗62, Kathleen ‗65 and Thomas ‗77.

Those wishing to contribute to the fund to honor Billy‘s courage, caring and sacrifice can send a donation payable to Annunciation School at 465 Westchester Avenue, Crestwood, NY 10707. The Class of ‘71 and Billy‘s family thank all who have already donated. Contribu-tions are tax deductible. Please specify that you want your donation directed to the William Wik Fund.

Leadership in the Athletic Arena

Annunciation has a reputation in the Bronx and Westchester for having ex-ceptional athletes. With numerous CYO, CAA and other tournament championships under our belts, the gymnasium is lined with banners cele-brating our teams‘ wins.

That our students go on to play on their high school and college teams is not a surprise. And that our graduates take a leadership roll on their teams is no surprise either. Here is a look at some of the Annunciation Class of 2007 who are now graduating high school and have served as captains on their various high school varsity teams.

Matt Casella was co-captain of Fordham Prep‘s lacrosse team, along with other Annunciation classmates (see below), handling the position of mid-fielder with ease and taking face-offs.

Matt had 15 assists and 12 goals in the regular season. He was also a three year starter on the varsity football team which had it‘s best season in Fordham Prep history, going 10-1. Matt led the Catholic High School League in interceptions and was se-lected to the CHSFL All-League Team. He was also selected to the Daily News 1st All Bronx/Manhattan Team and to the 5th team all state by the New York Sports writers. Matt was the recipient of Fordham Prep‘s Peter L. Waters Award for outstanding character and leadership as a senior. He will be at-tending St. Michael‘s College in Sep-tember and will be playing lacrosse for this D-2 team.

Chris Sullivan was co-captain of Fordham Prep‘s lacrosse team. He was also captain of shot put this year. Chris scored 23 goals in lacrosse during the regular season while providing 13 assists and was the third ranking offensive player. In addition he is a shot putter and plays football, making varsity on both in his sopho-more year. In September, Chris will attend University of Santa Clara where he will study business.

Tom Whelan was co-captain of Fordham Prep‘s lacrosse team. He was Continued on page 23

Page 22

tion graduates Mary McAnaney Barth ‗51, Edward McAnaney ‗53, Sheila McAnaney Kostanecki ‗53, Francis McAnaney ‗56, Brian McAnaney ‗60, Maureen McAnaney Mokrzycki, a former member of the Class of 1961, Edward McAnaney ‗71 and Elizabeth McAnaney Altonji ‗74.

The Christopher Duffy Scholarship goes to an 8th grader who will be attend-ing Fordham Prep. Chris was a 1992 graduate of Annunciation and a 1996 graduate of Fordham Prep where he played football and lacrosse. Chris was a starting fullback and senior captain on the football team, and senior captain mid-fielder on the lacrosse field. He graduated Villanova University in 2000 and, after graduation, joined Keefe, Bruyette & Woods as an assistant trader. He never missed a day of work in his short time there, and he was at work in the South Tower of the World Trade Center the morning of Sep-

tember 11, 2001 and died with 66 other employees when the tower fell. Chris was a loyal son, grandson, and brother who loved life. The Duffy family created this scholarship in Chris‘ memory and holds an an-nual golf outing to fund the scholar-ship.

The Evelyn Cosgrove Scholar-ship, which is do-nated by the An-nunciation Ladies' Guild, is presented to two graduating girls. Evelyn Cosgrove, who has been Annunciation School‘s dedicated school nurse for many years, and has been an active parish volunteer for nearly 40 years is a much admired current parishioner. The scholarship is funded through a variety of fundraising events that the Ladies' Guild runs, such as the Palm Sunday Bake sale and the fashion show. A plaque in the school‘s front

Named Scholarships (continued from page 3)

hall lists past winners who were cited for their ―Christian witness, academic excel-lence and overall effort.‖

The Annunciation Athletic Associa-tion gives a scholarship to one graduat-ing boy and one graduating girl in honor of the years of service of John Duffy and Michael DeSola and in memory of William Wik (see article on page 21). John was Annuncia-tion Athletic Director from 1984 to 1995. He also coached boys basketball for two years including a CAA County Championship in 1993 and girls basketball for six years including a CYO County Champi-onship in 1992. Mike was also a long-time coach of boys baseball, coaching both the JV (5th an 6th grades) Varsity (7th and 8th grades) as well as basketball. Mike coached from 1979 to 1996. Hugs for Heroes

Annunciation School recently partici-pated in a Hugs for Heroes campaign. Hugs for Heroes, Inc. is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to support-ing our troops serving overseas through shipments of boxes containing essential items and notes. The Annunciation pro-ject, under the direction of 7th-grade teacher Mrs. Michele Loughery was a huge success.

In all, 175 shoeboxes filled with ne-cessities and other goodies were col-lected. Such a wonderful response, however, caught Mrs. Loughery a bit off guard when she realized that the money she had budgeted for shipping would certainly not cover such a generous out-pouring. A total of 67 shipping boxes at $13.95 would bring the shipping costs to over $900.

Class mothers mobilized to get the

word out to the parish. Utilizing the Ladies‘ Guild email list, they re-quested that members consider help-ing to defray the cost of shipping. Immediately, donations came in, cov-ering the entire postage cost.

Boxes were sent to soldiers serv-ing in various locations. A number of boxes were sent to the nephew of 8th-grade teacher Mrs. Muriel O‘Neil as well as friends of 1st-grade teacher Sr. Theresa. Mrs. O‘Neil‘s nephew is serving in Afghanistan

The Annunciator

Flag day is June 14 and that evening

three winners of the ―Color It Proud‖

contest will join almost 150 grade school

children who provided winning entries

in the flag coloring contest. Color It

Proud winners from Annunciation

School are Regina Potenza for 2nd

Grade, Hope Simmons for 3rd Grade

and Toniann Talone for 4th Grade. At

the awards ceremony, to be held at

Saunders High School, the children will

receive trophies and American flags.

Color It Proud

John Duffy

Michael DeSola

Page 23

also a starter on their basketball team and was awarded Honorable Mention for the Dai l y News and Al l Bronx teams. In addition, he was named to the 8th team for New York State.

As a lacrosse defenseman, Tom‘s skill with the long stick resulted in key turn-overs by opposing teams. Tom has pro-vided some remarkable highlights as he runs down the field and feeds the team‘s offen-sive players. Tom will be attending Trin-ity College in Connecticut where he will study business in addition to playing bas-ketball for their D-3 team.

Len DeLucia, Fordham Prep‘s la-crosse coach says, ―Matt, Chris, and Tom are invaluable leaders on the 2011 Ford-ham Prep Varsity Lacrosse team. Matt leads his midfield line by constantly dis-playing to his teammates his unending hustle and grit. Tom leads the de-fense with his acute knowledge of the different defensive schemes Fordham runs, while Chris's stick skills and ability to get open for a shot account for his huge impact on the team's offense. Their combined leadership has accounted for a huge part of the teams success the sea-son.‖

Michael Schwind was co-captain of the Fordham Prep basketball team. He was named the varsity‘s most valuable player, led the team to a twenty win season, made the CHSAA All City Team and played in the senior CHSAA all-star game at Fordham University. Coach Kevin Pigott says, ―Michael has done a tre-mendous job in making himself the athlete he has become. He had a wonderful senior year and was one of the best players in our division. Our success this year was because of his athleticism and leadership. He was a pleasure to coach.‖ Michael will be attending Villanova University in September.

Ben Borsellino was a captain on both the Iona Prep basketball and lacrosse teams. Ben will be attending Western New England University where he will study business and play lacrosse for their D-3 Team. Ben received the Iona Prep Captain‘s awards as a sophomore and was mid-fielder of the year in 2010 and 2011. He is a three time all-league player and an All Star in 2011. In basket-ball, Ben was an honorable mention in the lower Westchester All-Star Team, elected to the 1st Team All League.

Rick Trizano, Iona Prep‘s lacrosse coach says, ―Ben possesses the special trait that makes men want to follow his lead, not by his words, though he's not shy to give direction, but by his passion for win-ning, and pursuit for excellence. When some athletes pause, Ben pushes on.‖ Adds Iona Prep basketball coach, Vic Quirolo, ―Ben was an ex-tremely effective captain of the Iona Prep basketball team because of his abil-ity to lead. His leadership qualities made everyone around him better.‖

Edward Pagano was captain of Iona Prep‘s swim team. Edward holds school and New York State records in both the 100 fly and the 200 free relay. Says coach Maura O‘Grady, ―Edward is well-versed in the swimming world. He has a good feel for the league and for our line-ups.‖ He will be attending Johns Hop-kins University in September to study economics.

Leadership in Athletics (continued from page 21)

harmful effects of technology over-load. In May, the ITV team won five EDDY Awards for Best Research, Best Graphics, Best Feature Story, and Best News Anchor. The young broad-casters of Annunciation were most proud of the team award they re-ceived, which was given to the ―Best Elementary News Team in the New York Archdiocese.‖ Amanda Buongiorno and Meredith Taylor received the Best Feature

award, and Emily White and Brian Heubel received the Best Anchors award. Edward Curry and Brendan McLoughlin were nominated for de-bate, and Katherine Conner and Kayley Flynn were nominated for their survey. Other team members include Neil McEnerney and William White, who contributed to the team awards for best graphics, research, and team. The team's coaches, Mrs. Mary Ellen Elliott and Mrs. Melissa Hollywood, worked closely with the students in preparing them for their news broadcast.

The 7th and 8th-grade Instructional Television Team was nominated for seven EDDY Awards for their news broadcast, "OMG, Technology Overload!" The team spent months researching their topic and preparing a script for their news broadcast. The students explored current trends in technology, debated the pros and cons of integrating technology into the classroom, researched the new ways youngsters socialize and communi-cate, and reported on addictions to new media, including text addiction and the

Annunciation Wins Big by Melissa Hollywood

June 2011

1953

Submitted by his sister, Regina Lois Murphy Juan ‘50

J. Stewart Murphy lost his battle with cancer on December 18, 2008 in Bran-don, MI. He left behind his wife, Jane, four daughters and nine grand-children.

After graduating from Annuncia-tion, Stewart continued his education at Fordham Prep, then went on to receive a degree from New York Uni-versity School of Commerce, Ac-counts and Finance in 1962. He then entered Officer‘s Candidate School for the U.S. Navy and was commissioned in December 1962. After an assign-ment in Pensacola, FL, he was trans-ferred to the Naval Weapons Station in Yorktown, VA were he met Jane, and they were married in 1965.

When his tour of duty for the Navy was over, he became a Special Agent for the FBI. He served the FBI in St. Louis, MO; Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, IN; Quantico, VA and Jackson, MI. He retired in Jackson in 1989 after 23 years in the FBI. He continued his career in public service with appointments by the governor to several State of Mississippi administra-tive positions over the next ten years.

Stewart was the brother of Regina Lois Murphy Juan ‗50 and the late Mary Veronica ―Ronnie‖ Murphy Deneen ‗55.

1961

Patti Christopher Kennedy and her husband, Alan, live in a log home in Berlin, NY surrounded by God‘s beauty. They have three grown chil-dren and five grandchildren. Their lives are very busy, filled with work, service and play. Patti is a coordinator of the local food pantry, which has brought comfort to those in need dur-ing these tough economic times. The last twelve years, being able to be a part of Kairos Prison Ministry, has

Class Notes allowed Patti to see the love of Christ, freely given, soften the hearts of women prisoners and give them hope. It is a four day retreat, which leaves these women knowing Christ‘s unconditional love.

Patty and Alan share their home with two dogs, one parrot, one cat and sev-eral chickens, who so generously give them eggs daily. They love their two horses who carry them through the woods and state land which borders their property. They feel very blessed to live there and love to have their family visit and enjoy country living.

Their parish is Our Lady of The Snow and their church is Sacred Heart. Patti is very thankful that Annunciation gave her such a strong religious founda-tion and a thirst to continue to have a personal relation to God and share His good news.

At the age of 50, Patti returned to school and studied ceramics. She has a studio at home and loves throwing pot-tery pieces on her wheel. You can find some of Patti‘s work in Troy, NY, at Third Street Potters, which is a collabo-r a t i ve of n ine loca l po t t e r s . http://3rdstreetpotters.blogspot.com.

Dick Krug attended Roosevelt High School and then entered the Army where he spent most of his next two years in Massachusetts. Upon comple-tion of his military service, he married and was employed at the Concord Police Department where he served for thirty-two years. During this time, he gradu-ated from the Massachusetts State Police Academy and later with a degree in Criminal justice. He started the DARE program, teaching all the 5th grades in Concord‘s five schools.

After retirement, Dick took a part-time job with the Town of Concord as their veterans‘ agent, providing critical services to veterans, such as housing, medical and other benefits that they have earned. His wife, Diane, continues to teach at the Concord Children‘s Cen-ter, where she has worked for thirty-

Page 24

Ashtyn Lange ‗11 models the Annuncia-

tion Alumni T-shirt and baseball cap. If

you would like to identify yourself as

a proud Annunciation graduate, you

can order the baseball cap for $20 or

the T-shirt for $15. Baseball cap is size

adjustable and T-shirts are available in

large and extra-large. Proceeds go to

support our alumni program. Email

MTMC525@aol.com to place your

order today!

Order your Annunciation

Alumni

T-shirt or Hat!!

three years.

Dick and Diane have three chil-dren. They have six grandchildren who range in age from 1-1/2 to 16 years old. Dick says that ―life is good‖ and wants to acknowledge Annuncia-tion School as having given him a solid foundation for life‘s journey.

1962

Kerry Regan McPhee says she ―can't make it up north this year, but wanted to send my love and regards to all from my class of 1962!‖

Continued on page 25

The Annunciator

Page 25

1966

After graduating from Our Lady of Victory Academy, Lynne Brown went on to Smith College and, after spending a summer as an intern in Washington, D.C., came down with a serious case of ―Potomac Fever.‖ She decided to go to graduate school after college at Johns Hopkins where she received her Ph.D. in political science.

Lynne went to work on Capitol Hill as a congressional aide in the late 1970‘s and early 1980‘s. When the congressional leader she worked for became president of New York Uni-versity, he asked Lynne to join his ad-ministration. Says Lynne, ―I said yes, thinking it would be a short

gig……and here I am 25 years later. As Senior Vice President of University Rela-tions, I oversee NYU‘s ‗external‘ face to the world. My portfolio includes govern-ment relations, and I also teach a gradu-ate course – so politics is in my blood. And I guess you could say, I am still in school!‖ Lynne lives in Greenwich Vil-lage, a short two-block commute to work and loves New York City.

Jean O’Leary and her husband, Mark Gaffney, (Notre Dame ‗73) live in Pel-ham Manor, NY and enjoy sailing, tennis, and trips to their Nantucket summer home. After leaving the hallowed halls of Annunciation School, Jean graduated from The Ursuline School and earned a

B.A. from Newton College (Boston College) and an M.A. from Columbia University. She worked for more than twenty years for Verizon Communica-tions in Public Affairs and Human Re-sources. She currently manages HR Communications for Memorial Sloan-Kettering Hospital in New York. Jean loved growing up in Crestwood and has very fond memories of her grammar school days at Annunciation School. ―The value-based education at Annunciation was excellent, and the faculty and staff were truly dedicated,‖ says Jean. ―But best of all, after school—before the sun set, our moms called, and homework beckoned—we had lots of time for biking, games, sleigh riding in the school playground Continued on page 26

animal unfortunate enough to fall into the outflow waters would be carried away to the swollen Bronx River. But, most of the time, the river retains its character and its draw. Westchester County saw fit to build a bicycle path along its length because it still retains its charm and imparts a sense of history to the area. Despite being at the fringe of Crestwood, it is very much a part of the neighborhood.

The Railroad and Crestwood Sta-tion – If the river were not enough of a draw for young boys, the combination of railroad and river was overwhelming. Diesel engines roared along the length of both. I‘d catch glimpses of them through the trees of the Bronx River Parkway while silent electric trains would click down the tracks, catching me by surprise. Add to that a quaint old station with restaurants, shops, banks, taxis, and a tunnel beneath the tracks and well, let‘s just say Rockwell wasn‘t the only one to notice the magic of Crestwood Station.

Once in awhile, my mom would take me to the station to see a train or two

a r r i v e . In those days of the New Y o r k Cen t r a l and its successor, the Penn Central, the aging fleet of engines and cars were some-what woeful to look at but nonetheless fascinating. Because the train service was not too good, making it back to ―the station‖ only drew it closer to the heart. Even then many were not home yet. I, for example, had a one mile walk. In the snow, it felt like a trek across Alaska.

The station house, which dates back to 1901 and stands today unused, was barely large enough for 25 people. Through the 1980s, it was run by a very kind man, Jack Quinn, who always had a good word for all commuters who availed themselves of his ticketing ser-vices. Jack was so loved he received Christmas gifts. His kindness was noted in a 1989 NY Times article. Reading that long after my use of the Harlem Line ended, I sent Jack a card

thanking him for his daily smiles and good hearted greetings. People like that are rare and should be thanked.

In the 70s, new electric trains and refurbished stations to service them arrived on the Harlem Line. Crest-wood Station changed to meet the modern era and in so doing lost some of its small town charm. But the pur-pose of the station remains the same to this day and it is as important to the Crestwood neighborhood as it ever was. After about 15 years of commut-ing, there was a last round trip for me out of Crestwood when my family moved further north in Westchester in the late 1980s. The station means so much to me that it was like saying a final good-bye to a friend. Crestwood Station always meant home.

I have captured but two of my fa-vorite features of the Crestwood neighborhood here. So many others made vivid impressions that I carry with me to this day. I can only hope to give my daughter a neighborhood with 10% of the character Crestwood has and that creates memories as sweet.

Bits of Crestwood (continued from page 16)

Class Notes (continued from page 24)

June 2011

Page 26

Continued from page 25

and ice skating on the Bronx River by the Crestwood Station. Those were those innocent, halcyon days of the late ‗50s and ‗60s. We worked and played hard, we had routines and ritu-als, and we knew what mattered. Life was good……and all was right with the world. We were ‗living large,‘ and, as we know now, we were mightily blessed.‖ 1971 John Balletta attended Salesian High School for two years before transfer-ring to Roosevelt High School. He attended Manhattan College for a year before the allure of a paying job, cars, and motorcycles seemed more attrac-tive than books and classrooms. For seven years, he was employed by the U.S. Postal Service as a mailman in Port Chester, NY. Midway through his postal career, he took a three- month sabbatical to tour our beautiful country, visiting as many national parks as his travels would allow. Upon his return, he resumed his col-lege education by taking night classes, first at Westchester Community Col-lege and then at Manhattan College. After eight years of night school, he graduated from Manhattan College with a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering. It was during those eight years that he left the postal service and started his career with Con Edison. After a couple of years working at a power plant in New York City, he transferred to the Nuclear Power Plant at Indian Point where he has been since 1988. It was also during this time that he met his wife, Randi, who is also from Yonkers. They have been married for twenty-four years and have been blessed with two boys—John is 17 and Randy is 15. John has had the pleasure of coaching the boys in bas-ketball and baseball leagues all

Class Notes throughout their grammar school years. Both are attending Regis High School in Manhattan. John apprehensively looks forward to the college selection process on the horizon. John and his family live in Mahwah, NJ with their dog, Flash, although they have resided in Mt. Kisco, Peekskill and Warwick, NY along the way. They en-joy vacationing at national parks and try to visit at least one park each year.

Dan Driscoll has been married to his wife, Liz, for twenty-two years. They have two daughters; Christine is 21 and about to graduate from the University of Michigan, and Shannon, who is 18, will be attending Xavier University in the fall. Dan is a financial advisor with TIAA-CREF in Ann Arbor, MI. After graduating from Annunciation, Dan went to Iona Prep, where he was an actor in a few theatre productions and a pole-vaulter on the track team. He then went to Fordham University where he was a four-year varsity letterman in ten-nis and squash and followed that with an MBA from Iona College. He worked for several financial institutions in vari-ous sales and management positions. During his career, the family has lived in Maine, New Hampshire, Poughkeepsie, Buffalo and Michigan. As his wife says, ―If it snows a lot, we‘ve lived there!‖ Along the way, Dan has stayed active in squash, playing in many local leagues and tournaments. He also spent a few years moonlighting as a stand-up come-dian while they lived in New England and was even named ―the Funniest Man in Maine‖ in 1993. Says Dan, ―There are not a lot of people in Maine.‖ He has proudly maintained an active Catho-lic faith and is ―thankful to have been educated by those wonderful nuns and teachers at Annunciation. Growing up in Crestwood was a real special experi-ence.‖

1977

In December 2010, Alice Dillon Brown and her husband, Tom, moved to San Jose, CA. Tom works for Amtrak

Page 26

and was asked to move to California to help secure the contract for Am-trak's continued running of the Cal-train—which is the commuter rail-road between San Jose and San Fran-cisco. Alice is currently working as a nurse practitioner in clinical research at the Parkinson's Institute in Sunny-vale, CA. Tom and Alice do a lot of work with the Michael J. Fox Foun-dation. Alice was recently in Crest-wood for her mother‘s 82nd birth-day.

1991

Bob Crocco lives in Seattle with his wife, Lauren, and their newborn son, Conor. Bob is a graphics program-mer for Microsoft in the XBOX divi-sion. His wife is a residential architect for Balance Associates.

1996

After graduating from The Ursuline School in 2000, Amanda Amodio received a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA in 2004. She received a Master of Social Work from New York University in 2008 while working as a Research Study Assistant at Memorial Sloan Kette-ring Cancer Center. She currently lives in Manhattan and works as an inpatient clinical social worker at MSKCC, providing psychosocial sup-port and counseling to individuals, families, groups and the bereaved. She has an interest in global health and human rights issues and volun-teers for the Refugee Immigrant Fund (RIF), www.asylumhelp.org, assisting people seeking political asy-lum by writing psychological affida-vits. Amanda is a travel enthusiast and has traveled to five continents, having studied in both Australia and Latin America. She speaks Spanish, enjoys playing percussion in a music ensemble and studies dance in vari-ous styles, most recently the Argen-tine Tango. She loves to swim and spend time outdoors whenever possi-ble.

The Annunciator

Duffy/Wik Tournament is Annunciation‟s March Madness Every year since 2004, Annuncia-tion School's CYO program has hosted the Duffy/Wik Memorial Basketball Tournament. William Wik ‗71 and Christopher Duffy ‗92 were both killed on September 11, 2001 at the World Trade Center. Bill Wik worked for AON Corp. and Chris Duffy worked for Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, both in the South Tower.

The 2011 tournament included An-nunciation teams representing the 3rd-grade and 4th-grade girls as well as the 3rd to 7th grade boys teams. Annun-ciation's 7th-grade boys had so many players that they fielded both a blue and a gold team. In addition to the Annunciation teams, the following schools were represented: Holy Inno-cents, Immaculate Heart of Mary, Holy

the tournament, Emma was honored to be one of 24 athletes selected to the Women's Cadet National Team Train-ing and Selection Camp which was held in May.

Says Emma, "Water polo keeps me busy! While I am really enjoying being a freshman at Dominican Academy in the city, I am now training with the Greenwich Aquatics High School girls team. We practice four times a week, and I am excited that I was able to travel with them to Montréal for my first international tournament."

Emma considers playing water polo an awesome experience. She loves the game, has met great coaches and play-

ers and hopes to continue playing through college and beyond. She recently participated in a fundraising fitness challenge to support the USA Women's Cadet National Team raising over $2,000 from neighbors, f a m i l y a nd friends. Says her mother, Cathy Walsh Soderquist ‗79, ―The response from friends and neighbors in Crestwood alone has been over the top. In addition to the money, Emma has received several awesome notes wishing her good luck and so much positive encour-agement, we were all thrilled. But as you well know, that's the kind of wonderful people we are fortunate to know in Crestwood, and you can be sure that no matter where life takes you, back in Crestwood there will always be someone rooting for you.‖

Rosary, Resurrection, Immaculate Con-ception, St. Matthew's, St. Margaret's, St. Lawrence's, St. Brendan's, St. Paul's, St. Eugene's, and St. Ann's.

The tournament spans two week-ends. The tip off was Friday night, March 4 at 7:00 p.m. and the final game that weekend was begun at 6:00 p.m. on Sunday night. The following weekend's schedule was similar with the final game tipping off at 8:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 13.

No tournament of this magnitude could be run without the support of a multitude of volunteers. Mike Casella, Annunciation's CYO Athletic Director, says, ―We had parent volunteers super-vising the concession stand and cooking burgers and hot dogs in the kitchen. We also have 7th-grade student volunteers

doing service hours for Con-f i r m a t i o n , working the scorer‘s table, c o n c e s s i o n stand, and sell-ing raffles. The tournament is a great way to end the season and it turns into a nice c o m m u n i t y even t . A l l teams help support the tournament and make it a huge success." Proceeds from the tournament go to support the CYO programs at Annunciation School.

Emma Soderquist '10 first learned about water polo from her friend Nata-lie's father, Francis Petit, when she was in 5th Grade. Francis, who played water polo for Fordham University for four years (1985-88) introduced Emma to the Hudson Valley water polo team, and she was hooked.

After a great beginning with Hudson Valley, Emma was lucky to join Green-wich Water Polo and played with them for three years. She traveled up and down the northeast for countless games and tournaments, played in the 2008 Speedo Cup in Michigan and qualified for and played in the National Junior Olympics in California in 2008, 2009 and 2010.

Last year, Emma, whose position is goalie, was selected for the Olympic De-velopment Program North East Zone team. This zone covers the area of Maine to Virginia. In January 2011, Emma's team took gold against teams from the Southeast and Midwest at a tournament in Florida and, at the end of

Emma Soderquist Named to Olympic Development Team

Annunciation boys

fight for a rebound

under the basket

against Holy Rosary.

June 2011 Page 27