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April 29, 2003
Helen M. Zboyan of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., a retired secretary, died Friday, April 25, at home. She was 82.
She died of Parkinson's disease, according to her family.
Born Oct. 16, 1920, in Stamford, she was the daughter of the late John and Elizabeth Rigo.
Mrs. Zboyan worked as a secretary at John Deere-Neff Machinery in West Palm Beach, Fla., for 15 years until retirement. She moved to Palm Beach Gardens from Stamford 32 years ago.
She is survived by two sons, John Zboyan of Palm Beach Gardens and Peter Zboyan of Jupiter, Fla.; and a granddaughter.
Memorial donations may be made to Hospice of Palm Beach County, 5300 East Ave., West Palm Beach, FL 33407-2387.
Thomas L. Price Funeral Home, 553 Northlake Blvd., North Palm Beach, Fla., is handling arrangements.
Chester Zlotnicki
June 3, 2004
Chester Zlotnicki, a longtime Stamford resident, died Saturday, May 30, at home. He was 80.
He died of natural causes, according to James Wojeck of Wojciechowski's Ambassador Funeral Home.
Born June 18, 1923, in New York City, he was a son of the late John and Anna Zlotnicki.
Mr. Zlotnicki was a communicant and parishioner of Holy Name of Jesus Church in Stamford.
He was a World War II veteran, serving in the U.S. Army Air Forces. As a member of the Air Transport Group, he was a flight engineer of a three member B-29 crew that in 1945 set a new coast-to-coast speed record.
Mr. Zlotnicki worked as a tool and die maker for Barnes Engineer Group and Schick Shaver Co. in Stamford.
He was predeceased by two brothers, Alexander Zlotnicki and Benjamin Zlotnicki.
A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at 9 a.m. Friday, June 4, at Holy Name of Jesus Church, 369 Washington Blvd., Stamford.
Burial will follow in St. John's Cemetery, Darien.
Wojciechowski's Ambassador Funeral Home, 9 Pulaski St., Stamford, is handling arrangements.
January 2, 2003
Gloria Jean Blue, a lifelong resident of Stamford, died Monday, Dec. 30, at Stamford Hospital. She was 66.
She died of cardiac arrest, according to her family.
Born June 27, 1936, in Bridgeport, she was the daughter of the late Bertha Anna Michaels.
Mrs. Blue worked for the Stamford Board of Education for more than 25 years as a community liaison at Stamford High School. She was head of the minority student union at Stamford High School. She was a member of the Greater Faith Tabernacle Church in Stamford, where she was a choir member and usher.
She is survived by two daughters, Margaret Anna Blue Parkhill of Hollywood, Calif., and Gloria Jean Blue-Cherry of Stamford; and two grandchildren.
She was predeceased by a son, Michael Edward Louis Blue and one sister, Delores Mitchell.
Calling hours will be Friday, Jan. 3, from 10 to 11 a.m. at Greater Faith Tabernacle Church, 29 Baxter Ave., Stamford. The funeral service will follow at 11 a.m. at the church with the Rev. Johnnie Bush officiating. Burial will follow at Spring Grove cemeteryin Darien.
Downer Funeral Home, 31 Stillwater Ave., Stamford, handled arrangements.
January 3, 2003
Angchild B. Brencher, a longtime Darien resident, died Tuesday, Dec. 31, at her home. She was 96.
She died of natural causes, according to her family.
Born Oct. 4, 1906, in Stamford, she was the daughter of the late Alfred and Agnes Berghult.
Mrs. Brencher was a member of the United Methodist Church of Darien and a former member of the New Haven Lutheran Ladies. She was a former West Haven resident.
She was predeceased by her husband, William H. Brencher, a son, William H. Brencher, Jr. and a daughter, Gail A. Billingham.
She is survived by two grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
Calling hours are 4 to 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 3, at Edward Lawrence Funeral Home, 2119 Post Road, Darien. A funeral service will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 4, at the funeral home. Burial will follow at Fairfield Memorial Park, Oaklawn Avenue, in Stamford.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be sent to the American Lung Association, 45 Ash St., E. Hartford, CT 06108.
January 2, 2003
Claro Castaneda, a retired teacher and Stamford resident, died Tuesday, Dec. 31, at the William & Sally Tandet Center for Continuing Care in Stamford. He was 75.
He died of natural causes, according to his family.
Born April 10, 1927, in Manila, Philippines, he was the son of the late Marcelo and Gregoria Domingo Castaneda. He is survived by his stepmother, Lorenza Castaneda of Meriden.
Mr. Castaneda worked as a teacher in Manila.
He is survived by his wife, Elisa San Jose Castaneda of Stamford; his former wife, Magdalena Balugay of Stamford; two sons, Philip Castaneda of Stamford and Teodoro Castaneda of Hawaii; four daughters, Yolanda Acervida of Stamford, Elenita Santiago of Milford, Miraflor Roche of Shelton, Clarissa Castaneda of Brooklyn, N.Y.; five sisters, Ofelia Pascual of Manila, Carmen Bautista of Hamden, Emilia Martin of Mobile, Ala., Clara Esquilin of Meriden, and Elvira Castaneda of Ocean City, N.J.; four brothers, Leonardo Castaneda of Milford, Oscar Castaneda of Hamden, the Rev. Louie Castaneda of Manila, Orlando Castaneda of Stamford; and seven grandchildren.
He was predeceased by two brothers, Ernesto Castaneda and Lamberto Castaneda.
Calling hours will be 5 to 9 p.m., Friday, Jan. 3, at the Leo P. Gallagher & Son Funeral Home, 2900 Summer St., Stamford.
A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at 9 a.m., Saturday, Jan. 4, at St. Mary Church, 566 Elm St., Stamford.
Burial will follow at Spring Grove Cemetery, Darien.
June 23, 2003
Eulalie D'Andrea, a Greenwich resident for 58 years, died Monday, June 16, at St. Raphael's Hospital in New Haven. She was 76.
She died from complications after an extended illness, according to her family.
Born Nov. 12, 1926, in Safe, Mo., she was a daughter of the late Laurence and Louisa Pilger.
Mrs. D'Andrea graduated from Warrensburg State Teachers College in Missouri in 1944 with a degree in education and taught eight grades in a one-room school for two years before marrying and moving to the Riverside section of Greenwich.
Mrs. D'Andrea was president of the Riverside School and Eastern Junior High School PTAs. She was a Scout leader, Greenwich Cardinals Football booster, an active member of the Greenwich Women's Club and an avid bowler.
She led many blood and fund drives for the American Red Cross.
After raising her children, Mrs. D'Andrea ran a successful business in Old Greenwich, retiring in 1990.
An avid golfer, Mrs. D'Andrea served as president of the Southern New England Women's Golf Association and Bruce Women's Golf Association, of which she was named an honorary life member in 1998. She frequently won the longest drive award at golf tournaments and was proud of her victories.
She is survived by four daughters, Florence Verrier and Alicia Melillo, both of Old Greenwich, and Eulalie "Lulu" Walklet and Laura Keane, both of Fairfield; six sons, Anthony D'Andrea of Riverside, Rocco D'Andrea Jr. of Collegeville, Pa., Ronald D'Andrea of Darien, Leonard D'Andrea of Stamford, Douglas D'Andrea of Ketchum, Idaho, and Donald D'Andrea of Fairfield; two sisters, June Wynn of St. James, Mo., and Ruth Galetta of Horseshoe Bend, Ark.; and 21 grandchildren.
She was predeceased by her husband of 56 years, Rocco D'Andrea, in January; four brothers, Delmer Lasher, Willson Lasher, Walter Lasher and Junior Pilger; and a sister, Louisa Wright.
A memorial service for Mrs. D'Andrea and her husband will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday, June 24, at First Congregational Church on Sound Beach Avenue in Old Greenwich.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the American Heart Association, 122 E. 42nd St., New York, NY 10168; the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, P.O. Box 650309, Dallas, TX 75265-0309; or the American Cancer Society, ATTN: Web, P.O. Box 102454, Atlanta, GA 30368-2454.
Leo P. Gallagher & Son Funeral Home, 31 Arch St., Greenwich, is handling arrangements.
April 29, 2003
Catherine Fairbrother, a longtime Greenwich resident, died Sunday, April 27, at Greenwich Hospital. She was 80.
She died of cardiac arrest, according to her family.
Born June 8, 1922, in Port Chester, N.Y., she was the daughter of the late John and Nellie Kopec Kosek.
Mrs. Fairbrother was a cook at several local restaurants and delicatessens. She enjoyed bingo, gardening and cooking.
She is survived by a daughter, Nancy Fairbrother; a son, John Fairbrother; and a sister, Sophie Brabender, all of Greenwich.
In addition to her parents, she was predeceased by her husband, Irving Fairbrother Sr.; a son, Irving Fairbrother Jr.; and two sisters, Eleanor Buckely and Bessie Hylenski.
Calling hours will be 4 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, April 30, at Castiglione Funeral Home, 134 Hamilton Ave., Greenwich.
A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Thursday, May 1, in St. Paul's Church, 84 Sherwood Ave., Greenwich.
Burial will follow in St. Mary's Cemetery.
April 26, 2002
Robert Walter Freiday of Alpharetta, Ga., died Wednesday, April 24, at home. He was 37.
He died of natural causes related to a seizure, his family said.
Born March 29, 1965, in Hollywood, Fla., he was the son of Donald R. Freiday of St. Petersburg, Fla., and the late Anne Capers Freiday. He graduated from Devry Institute of Technology in Atlanta.
Mr. Freiday lived in Wilton for eight years until moving in 1994 to Alpharetta, where he worked as a network communications analyst with McKesson Corp. Mr. Freiday enjoyed sports and health fitness.
In addition to his father, he is survived by his stepmother, Helen Hay Freiday of St. Petersburg; a sister, Catharine Freiday of North Haven; a brother, Scott Freiday of Middletown; a stepbrother, Ronald Ellis of Orlando; a stepsister, Sheila Martin of Chattanooga, Tenn.; his maternal grandfather, Francis L. Capers of Stamford; an aunt, Catharine Capers Wagner of Windsor, Vt., who helped raise him; and several other aunts, uncles and cousins.
In addition to his mother, he was predeceased by his maternal grandmother, Caretta Capers; and paternal grandparents, Donald and Marjorie Freiday.
Memorial donations may be made to the Epilepsy Foundation, 4351 Garden City Drive, Landover, MD 20785-7223.
A memorial service will be held at 4 p.m. Saturday, April 27, at St. John's United Methodist Church in Aiken, S.C., with the Rev. Sheila Rogers officiating. The family will receive friends one hour before the service at the church.
Burial will be private.
December 1, 2002
Felix Guerra, a resident of Stamford, died Sunday, Nov. 24, at Stamford Hospital. He was 54.
He died of cancer according to his sister, Nhora Guerra of Stamford.
Born Feb. 8, 1948, in Bogota, Colombia, he was the son of the late Carlos and Maria Fonseca de Guerra.
Mr. Guerra emigrated from Colombia to the United States in 1970. He worked for Stamford-based Pitney Bowes Inc. for 10 years and most recently for Circon-ACMI in Stamford for five years.
Mr. Guerra is survived by a brother, Carlos Guerra of Stamford; and two additional sisters, Ines Guerra and Miriam Guerra, both of Stamford.
A memorial service will be at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 3 at St. Mary's Church, 566 Elm St., Stamford.
A private burial will be held in Colombia.
Downer Funeral Home Inc., 31 Stillwater Ave., Stamford, is handling arrangements.
January 3, 2003
Antoinette Malizia of Stamford died Tuesday, Dec. 31, at Stamford Hospital. She was 87.
She died of natural causes, according to her family.
Born Feb. 14, 1915, she was the daughter of the late Luigi and Rose Socci Carella. She was the wife of the late Anthony Malizia.
After working as a seamstress, she worked for Bloomingdale's department store in Stamford for about 30 years, first in the fabric department and later in the receiving room.
She was an active member of St. Leo's Church and senior group in Stamford, as well as one-time moderator for the church's youth group. She also helped organize the senior bake booth at the annual church fair. She was a long-time active member of the E. Gaynor Brennan nine-holers golf group and was an active golfer until last year.
She was a manager with the Stamford Youngtimers Basketball League and Miss Softball America, where she managed two teams at national championships.
In addition to her husband, Mrs. Malizia was predeceased by three brothers, Richard Carella, Jerry Carella and Anthony Carella; and two sisters, Angela Malizia and Lena Buzzeo.
She is survived by three sons, John A. Malizia of Cape Cod, Mass., Larry A. Malizia of Stamford and Alan A. Malizia of Stamford; one sister, Carmella Socci of Stamford and four grandchildren.
Calling hours will be 4 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 2., at Lacerenza Funeral Home, 8 Schuyler Ave., Stamford.
A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Friday, Jan. 3, at St. Leo's Church, 24 Roxbury Road, Stamford. Burial will follow in St. John's cemeteryin Darien.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the charity of one's choice.
Frances M. Marciano
June 25, 2004
Frances M. Marciano of Danbury died Wednesday, June 23, at home. She was 77.
She died of complications from Parkinson's disease, according to her family.
Born July 28, 1926, in Greenwich, she was a daughter of the late John and Jennie Tripodi Marciano.
She was a 1944 graduate of Greenwich High School and a member of the National Honor Society.
Ms. Marciano worked as an executive secretary for Fawcett Publications/CBS in Greenwich for 37 years. She was then employed with the town's Board of Education in the superintendent's office for 10 years.
She lived in Greenwich until a year ago, when she became ill.
She was also a member of the Byram Garden Club and the Glenville Seniors. Ms. Marciano enjoyed traveling and gardening.
She is survived by a brother, Gregory Marciano of Danbury; a sister, Lucy Capalbo of Cos Cob; and three nephews and two nieces.
Calling hours will be 4 to 7 p.m. Sunday, June 27, at Castiglione Funeral Home, 134 Hamilton Ave., Greenwich.
A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at 9 a.m. Monday, June 28, at Sacred Heart Church, 95 Henry St., Byram.
Burial will follow at St. Mary's Cemetery, 399 North St., Greenwich.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the American Parkinson Disease Foundation Inc., Connecticut Chapter, 27 Allendale Drive, North Haven, CT 06473.
Madelaine C. Meiklejohn
June 29, 2004
Madelaine C. Meiklejohn of Mendham, N.J., a former Greenwich resident, died Wednesday, June 23, at home. She was 88.
She died of natural causes, according to her family.
Born July 21, 1915, in the Bronx, N.Y., she was a daughter of the late Paul V. and Irene Matthews Coletti.
Mrs. Meiklejohn lived in Greenwich for many years and moved to Mendham three years ago.
She was owner and designer for Colonial Cottage, a custom furniture design business, in Bellmore, N.Y.
Mrs. Meiklejohn enjoyed painting and golf, and she won awards for her beaded floral designs. She was also loved sewing, knitting and crocheting.
Mrs. Meiklejohn is survived by her daughter, Carol Ann Westervelt of Mendham; a stepson, Robert H. Meiklejohn of Stamford; five grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.
She was predeceased by her husband, Robert P. Meiklejohn; a sister, Dorothy Harvey; and a stepdaughter, Blanche Alexander.
Services were held Friday, June 25, in Mendham.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105.
William J. Leber Funeral Home, Furnace Road, Chester, N.J., handled arrangements.
May 8, 2002
Elizabeth "Goo" Minor, a longtime Stamford resident, died Saturday, May 4, at William & Sally Tandet Center in Stamford. She was 70.
She died of cancer, according to her family.
Born Jan. 12, 1932, in New York City, she was a daughter of the late John and Katherine Crosley McKelvy.
Mrs. Minor was a member of Greater Faith Tabernacle Baptist Church in Stamford, where she worked as a missionary.
She is survived by her husband of 50 years, Charles T. Minor Sr. of Stamford; two daughters, Laurie Minor and Kathleen Minor, both of Bridgeport; three sons, Keith Minor of Stamford, Marshall Minor Sr. of Bridgeport and Charles T. Minor Jr. of Hamden; two sisters, Lorrena Johnson of Danbury and Johnnie Mae McCord of Stamford; eight grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews.
She was predeceased by a son, Jeffrey Minor.
Calling hours will be 10 to 11 a.m. Thursday, May 9, at Greater Faith Tabernacle Baptist Church, 27 Baxter Ave., Stamford.
A funeral service will follow at 11 a.m. at the church. The Rev. Johnnie C. Bush will officiate.
Burial will be in Mountain Grove cemeteryin Bridgeport.
Downer Funeral Home, 31 Stillwater Ave., Stamford, is handling arrangements.
December 5, 2001
John Mitchum, who followed his movie-star brother Robert to Hollywood and became a character actor who appeared in scores of movies and hundreds of television shows, has died. He was 82.
Mr. Mitchum, who suffered the first of three strokes in the spring, died Thursday of internal complications in a Los Angeles hospital.
Appearing on screen in the 1950s as John Mallory and under his own name after 1962, Mr. Mitchum had small parts in 80 feature films, including "Stalag 17," "Submarine Command," "Chisum," "Paint Your Wagon," "High Plains Drifter," "The Outlaw Josie Wales" and "Bandolero!"
On television, he appeared on about 800 shows, including "Gunsmoke," "Perry Mason," "Dragnet," "Batman," "Twilight Zone," "The Waltons" and "Little House On the Prairie." He also had recurring roles on "Riverboat" (as Pickalong) and "F Troop" (as Hoffenmueller).
Mr. Mitchum's most memorable role was as Clint Eastwood's detective partner, Frank di Georgio, in "Dirty Harry" and its two sequels: "Magnum Force" and "The Enforcer."
But Mr. Mitchum, a singer, songwriter and poet, had a far more unusual show-business distinction. He wrote and co-wrote the words to the only record album John Wayne ever made: "America, Why I Love Her," a 1973 RCA album of patriotic poetry recitations that was rereleased after Wayne's death in 1979.
The album earned Mr. Mitchum a Grammy nomination in the best spoken-album category.
"America, Why I Love Her," Cindy Mitchum Azbill said, was the thing her father was most proud of in his career.
Mr. Mitchum was born in Bridgeport in 1919.
In 1933, the two Mitchum brothers -- 16-year-old Robert and 14-year-old John -- hitchhiked and rode the rails to California where their sister, Annette, was living in Long Beach.
John Mitchum later followed his brother's lead and went to work at Lockheed Aircraft in Burbank. Drafted into the Army in 1944, he was assigned to the 361st Harbor Craft Co. in Florida and later was stationed in Hawaii, where he was assigned to the G.I. Chorus.
Discharged in 1946, Mr. Mitchum was walking down Santa Monica Boulevard a year later when an agent asked him if he was an actor. When Mr. Mitchum said he wasn't, the agent said, "So, do you want to be one?"
As recounted in his memoir, Mr. Mitchum was taken to a studio on Cahuenga Boulevard where the director of a pioneer saga called "The Prairie" gave him a once-over and cast him as the naive young man who is in love with the heroine.
He appeared in a handful of films with brother Robert, including "The Lusty Men" in 1952 and the 1989 TV movie "Jake Spanner, Private Eye," in which the Mitchums played brothers.
Mr. Mitchum said he didn't mind being overshadowed by his screen-legend sibling. "There's no jealousy," he told the Los Angeles Times. "I feel very definitely that my forte is as a character actor."
Mr. Mitchum is survived by his wife, Bonnie; daughters, Victoria Mitchum and Cindy Azbill; eight grandchildren; and 15 great-grandchildren.
January 2, 2003
Vito Pepe Sr., a Darien resident, and U.S. Army veteran of World War II and the Korean War, died Monday, Dec. 30, at Greenwood Health Center in Hartford. He was 83.
He died of natural causes, according to his family.
Born Sept. 16, 1919, in New York City, he was the son of the late Rosairo and Dominica Cerullo Pepe.
After serving in the U.S. Army during World War II and the Korean War, Mr. Pepe worked as a chip and grinder with Nash Engineering, formerly in Norwalk.
He was a member of the Norwalk Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Piedmont Association.
Mr. Pepe was predeceased by his wife, Ida "Edith" Maestro Pepe; and three brothers, Michael Pepe, Pasquale Pepe and Carmine Pepe.
He is survived by a son, Vito Pepe Jr. of Darien; two sisters, Helen Cocchia of South Norwalk and Grace Dimenico of Wilton; and two grandchildren.
Calling hours will be from 9 to 10 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 2, at the Edward Lawrence Funeral Home, 2119 Post Road, Darien. A funeral service will immediately follow at 10 a.m. at the funeral home.
Burial will be private.
October 13, 2003
Social Critic Neil Postman, 72
Neil Postman, an author, educator and social critic whose warnings about the pernicious effects of technology in American society were a constant theme in the 20 books and scores of essays he wrote over a four-decade career, died Oct. 5 at a hospital in Flushing, N.Y. He was 72.
The cause was lung cancer, according to a spokesman for New York University, where Postman taught for 44 years.
A professor of media ecology, Postman first garnered national attention with the book "Teaching as a Subversive Activity," a critique of rote learning and other traditional education methods, which was co-authored with Charles Weingartner and published in 1969.
He later focused his wry intelligence on technology, most notably television and computers, offering a cautionary perspective that caused some critics to regard him as something of a Luddite.
His best-known books in this vein include "Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business" (1985), "The Disappearance of Childhood" (1994) and "Building a Bridge to the 18th Century" (1999).
Postman eschewed computers; he wrote all his books in longhand, generally over bagels and coffee at a favorite diner in the New York City borough of Queens. He did not use a cell phone; he did not e-mail. He was probably, by his own proud admission, "one of the few people that you're likely to . . . ever meet who is opposed to the use of personal computers in school."
He even spurned the cruise-control option when he bought a new car. "What is the problem to which this is the solution?" he asked the bewildered car salesman, popping the question he had used countless times in his seminars to challenge students.
The car salesman mustered a reply after a moment, suggesting that cruise control was for people who had trouble keeping their foot on the gas pedal. In his many years of driving, Postman countered, stepping on the gas had never been a problem. In his view, there usually was no good answer to his searingly simple question. He always followed up with another zinger: "Are you using the technology, or is it using you?"
"He didn't care if you had a better solution to a problem he never felt was real, and he would make fun of you if you tried to recommend it," NYU journalism Professor Jay Rosen, who studied under Postman, said in an essay posted Friday on the Internet magazine Salon.
"I am not a Luddite," Postman once told a Canadian interviewer. "I am suspicious of technology. I am perfectly aware of its benefits, but I also try to pay attention to some of the negative effects."
Postman, a New York native, was educated at the State University of New York at Fredonia and at Teachers College at Columbia University, where he earned a master's and a doctorate in education. He began teaching at NYU in 1959 and in 1971 founded its media ecology program to study how modes of communication affect human perception and interaction.
His survivors include his wife of 48 years, Shelley Ross Postman, two sons, a daughter, four grandchildren, a brother and a sister.
Early in his career, Postman made a name for himself as a radical education reformer, in the same league with Jonathan Kozol and John Holt, practitioner-theorists who advocated wholesale changes in the structure of schools. "Teaching as a Subversive Activity" said schools stymied real education by insisting that students memorize trivial facts and by presuming there was only one right answer to any question.
"Subversive" schools, in the Postman sense, would not rely on multiple choice tests or textbook lessons. Postman favored an "inquiry based" approach that emphasized the process of learning by encouraging students to ask their own meaningful questions. The teacher's goal would be to develop "a new kind of person, one who -- as a result of internalizing a different series of concepts -- is an actively inquiring, flexible, creative, innovative, tolerant, liberal personality who can face uncertainty and ambiguity without disorientation."
The book became a '60s classic, and is still in print.
Ten years later, however, Postman stopped talking about blowing up old definitions of schooling and began embracing many of its conventions. In "Teaching as a Conserving Activity," also co-written with Weingartner, he advocated dress codes for teachers and students and emphasized the importance of helping poor and minority youths become competent in standard English. Society had become so unsettled by 1979, when the book was published, that Postman believed it was necessary for schools to become a stabilizing, or conserving, force.
The social revolutions of the 1960s and '70s were one factor in Postman's apparent philosophical reversal. But the most salient influence was television's cultural ascendance: The electronic medium had become "the command center" of American society, he said, and this was not good news.
Television, Postman claimed, was antithetical to inquiry and stunted critical thinking. It told children too much and blurred the lines between childhood and adulthood. These became the primary notes of a lament that he sounded for the next two decades.
Postman did watch television; he was a fan of history and sports programs and old movies. What disturbed him most was television news, which he believed bred intellectual dullness by turning viewers into passive spectators.
Postman might have been one of the few prominent foes of "Sesame Street," the pioneering educational television show for preschoolers, who learned their ABCs and numbers from warm, fuzzy characters and cartoons with catchy music. Although a mountain of experts would disagree with his contrarian assessment, Postman maintained that the show, in pandering to the appetite for entertainment, taught children not to love school, but to love television.
Postman's most powerful idea was that "the media are not merely transmitters of information but environments in which cultures grow," said Terrence Moran, a former student of Postman's and a colleague at NYU. "He was always interested in how the structure of communications systems shaped people."
February 12, 2003
Richard Dean Sullivan of Greenwich, a retired Mobil executive, died Monday, Feb. 10, at Greenwich Hospital. He was 75.
He died of myelosysplasia syndrome, a rare blood disease complicated by pneumonia, according to his family.
Born March 5, 1927, in Vinita, Okla., he was a son of the late Vincent and Lila Sullivan.
Enlisting in the U.S. Navy in 1944 through the V-12 program, he became a naval aviator who flew Corsairs.
A 1950 graduate of the University of Arizona, Mr. Sullivan received his master's degree a year later in international business at Thunderbird, The American Graduate School of International Management in Arizona.
His business career included positions at Olin Corp., Monsanto Co. and Purvin & Gertz, Inc. as a chemical engineer and consultant.
For 17 years, Mr. Sullivan worked overseas for Mobil Oil. He was the venture manager for natural gas in the North Sea. He lived in Norway for five years and London for seven before retiring to Greenwich in 1990.
He volunteered for Call-A-Ride in Greenwich and was a member of the Retired Men's Association and the Mobil Annuitants of Fairfield.
Mr. Sullivan is survived by his wife of 24 years, Betty Due Reilly Sullivan; a son, Paul Sullivan of Norwalk; a daughter, Maria Sullivan Gulick of Darien; a sister, Suzanne Sullivan Bruning of San Diego; two stepsons, Thomas Reilly of Cheshire and Eric Reilly of Basalt, Colo.; a stepdaughter, Suzanne Reilly of Los Angeles; a grandson; and four stepgrandchildren.
He was predeceased by his first wife, Nadine Novoa Sullivan; and his brother, Randall Sullivan.
A funeral will be at 10 a.m. Saturday in the sanctuary of the Second Congregational Church, 129 E. Putnam Ave. in Greenwich. A reception will follow in Fletcher Hall before burial in St. Mary's Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of America, 25 Third St., Stamford, CT 06905. The family also encourages blood donations.
August 29, 2003
Robert Stanley "Stan" Symon of Kingwood, Texas, a retired executive vice president at Stolt-Nielsen in Greenwich, died Thursday, Aug. 21, at the Kingwood Medical Center in Kingwood. He was 65.
He died of lung cancer, according to his family.
Mr. Symon joined Stolt-Nielsen as an executive vice president. He was in charge of the operation of its fleet and new ship buildings.
Born April 18, 1938, in Cheshire, England, he was the son of the late John and Margaret Symon.
Mr. Symon graduated from Chester Grammar School and Birkenhead Technical College. He began his career as a cadet with British Petroleum, where, at 24, he became a chief engineer. He resigned from British Petroleum in 1980 after 26 years of service.
While still working with British Petroleum in 1977, he moved his family to Greenwich to work for Stolt-Nielsen Parcel Tankers. He later moved to Old Greenwich.
Mr. Symon was a chairman of the Liberian Ship Owners Council, a fellow of the Institute of Marine Engineers and, until recently, vice president of North America at the institute.
He was president of the Gulf Coast Institute of Marine Engineers in Houston and was a fellow of the Royal Institute of Shipbrokers.
In 1993, he retired from Stolt-Nielsen and moved to Kingwood, where he started a consulting company, Symarine Consulting Services.
Mr. Symon joined his wife, Pauline McCann Simon of Kingwood, as a real estate broker with Keller Williams Realty NE in Kingwood, where they operated as a husband-and-wife team.
From 1995 to 2001, Mr. Symon was the general manager of Alliance Marine Services in Houston. After resigning from that company, he returned to Symarine Consulting Services as a consultant in the maritime industry.
In addition to his wife, he is survived by four daughters, Colette Symon Hanratty of Darien, Lorraine Symon Hayes of Coral Springs, Fla., Helen Symon Rodway of New York City and Julia Symon de Kluiver of Arlington, Va.; a son, Michael Symon of St. Petersburg, Fla.; a sister, Annette Shehori of Toronto; and a grandson.
A service was held Sunday, Aug. 24, at St. Martha Catholic Church, 2302 Oak Shores Drive, Kingwood.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Lung Cancer Online Foundation, through www.lungcanceronline.org.
April 20, 2002
Doris Crow Williams, a Darien resident, died Thursday, April 18, at Stamford Hospital. She was 93.
She died of natural causes, according to her family.
Born July 15, 1908, in Modesto, Calif., she was the daughter of the late Henry Dodge and Catherine Montgomery Crow.
Mrs. Williams graduated from Modesto Junior College. She was an active member in the Darien Historical Society and a member of the Wee Burn Country Club and St. Luke's Episcopal Church.
She is survived by a son, Mark H. Williams of Darien; a daughter, Marcia Perry of Fairway, Kan.; a stepson, Richard N. Williams of Rowayton; four grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.
She was predeceased by her husband, William N. Williams; and a daughter, Diana Williams.
Calling hours will be 3 to 6 p.m. Sunday, April 21, at Edward Lawrence Funeral Home, 2119 Post Road, Darien.
A funeral service will be at 11 a.m. Monday, April 22, at St. Luke's Episcopal Church, 1848 Post Road, Darien.
Burial will follow in Spring Grove cemeteryin Darien.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Post 53 Ambulance Service, P.O. Box 2066, Darien, CT 06820 or the American Cancer Society, 372 Danbury Road, Wilton, CT 06897.
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