Have something to share with the Class? Drop a line by left-clicking on the mail box above ^. We would all like to hear from you!  Here's what we "hear" - latest posting first.

Please send me your birthday or any other classmate birthday and we will post it on the appropriate month. Thanks- Marcy

Hi Marcy,

I want to add my voice to the chorus of how great a job you're doing in keeping our website interesting and current -- and nostalgic at the same time.

Perhaps you can publicize this on the website about my son Ami in Washington, DC. Anything which would give his tours to Costa Rica more exposure will be helpful. Maybe there are some among our fellow alumni who would be interested in a great vacation in Costa Rica.

Ami was just chosen "Guy of the Week" on GatherTheJews.com, a news and events site in Washington, DC. You can read his interview here:

http://www.gatherthejews.com/2012/01/guy-of-the-week-ami-greener-travel-company/

He speaks mostly about his tours to Costa Rica and his own traveling predilections and activities in Washington. Please do have a look. And please forward it to anyone else whom you believe may be interested.

A good week to all,
Doug
1/23

Just when I had almost given up on our missing list, I receive a phone call out of the blue from Patricia Calvano who now goes by her middle name Joy and married name Lawrence. A few months ago she received an iPad from her husband and finally learned how to use the internet and send email. She discovered Google and did a search on her maiden name. That's how she found our website and discovered she was on our missing list. She decided to let us know she is still alive and fill us in on her life. Joy lives on Cutchoque, Long Island. She has one son, age 48 and an eleven year old grandson and an eight year old granddaughter. She has already connected with Marilyn Lerner and asked me about many of our old classmates. She has an excellent memory for someone who has not kept in touch with anyone for over fifty years. She even remembered that we used to walk together to Jonas Salk School in ninth grade, something I had long forgotten. We spoke twice on the phone and I asked her for a recent picture for our then and now section and she sent it out while we spoke. We will post her contact information on our yearbook page and add her picture to the then and now. Best of all we will remove her name from the missing list!
1/17

Click Here to View or Download Honey's PDF
I received permission from Honey to post this New Year's message. I want to share it because Honey is truly inspirational. I get exhausted just reading all they do in one year!
1/3/12

Hi Marcy........just wanted to wish you a Happy New Year, a belated Happy Birthday, and to say thanks for the great job you continue to do with the website. For those of us who don't live in the NYC area or get back there on a regular basis, the site is a great way to stay on top of what is happening with our fellow classmates.

It was great to see you at the reunion. Take care and have a wonderful 2012.

Harvey Pearlstein
1/1/12

That Was The Year That Was

Another year has passed, and for the class of 1961 it was a most memorable one. Our long talked about 50th reunion actually happened. Classmates traveled from nineteen different states and as far away as the American Virgin Islands. Despite the distance, people came in from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, California, Washington, Nevada, Arizona, Texas, Colorado, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Illinois, and Saint Thomas, Virgin Islands. The most impressive part, I think, is that a sizeable number attended this one who had never attended any reunion before. They were reconnecting with folks that they hadn't seen in over fifty years and from the conversations, you would think that no time had passed at all. We all became teenagers again. What fun it was for me to go around taking pictures that would build up our then and now section. I carried a list with me of attendees that had no pictures on the site and happily checked off every single one as they smiled for the camera. Thirteen new faces were added to that section. Those who attended will have warm memories for years to come.

Over the years forty eight of our classmates have passed away. This past year we lost Lew DeWeese. It makes us stop and think how fortunate we are to have made it this far. Condolences to those of you who lost spouses, children and parents this past year.

As with every year, 2011 brought several retirements, relocations and one marriage (Stu Smith). It can be a daunting task to re-find those of you who move. Giving me your new information and email addresses is something I appreciate more than you know. This past year we found Bob Lent and Kassie Frenzelas and Evelyn Aloisio found us on the web herself. Another person who found us on the web was Edmond Butler, the grandson of our former vice principal. They shared the same name and he has the same name plate on his desk that once sat on his grandfather's desk at LMHS. He was very pleased to see our faculty listing which keeps his grandfather's memory alive. I scanned him some pictures of his grandfather from our yearbook which he shared with his grandmother who is still alive. It's nice to be able to touch someone's life with memories from the past.

Special thanks to all who worked on our reunion this past year, to every classmate who shared pictures or news for the site, to all who attended our reunion, to our wonderful boosters and to Bob Benson who does all our posting in a timely manner. Wishing everyone a healthy and happy New Year. Keep those pictures and updates coming. Without your updates and news, this site would be nothing. Never underestimate how much your fellow classmates are interested in what's going on in your life.

Marcy
12/31

I received this very interesting article from Rona Selsky, LMHS class of 65. For those of us who took a tour of our old streets and homes while on Long Island this past June, it will ring true.

Click Here
12/26

I am always amazed at the energy some of our classmates have. Their willingness to take on new careers at this age just blows my mind. When Marilyn Lerner Workman moved to Florida a couple of years ago, she became bored with retirement. She talked to a friend who suggested she try real estate. She took courses, got her real estate license and then landed a job at a nearby agency. She lives in Stuart, Florida which is about 30 minutes north of West Palm Beach. So if you're thinking of retiring to that area, she would be the perfect choice for your real estate agent. She not only knows the area well but also loves the Florida lifestyle. In addition, she has the contacts to connect you with a realtor in any other part of Florida. Just let her know what area you want to look into, and she can supply you with a real estate agent for that city. I can personally attest to her work ethic and those who know her will tell you she's personable and fun to be with. Marilyn's email is wworkmanmarilyn@aol.com and her phone number is 772-288-5010. Her cell number is 631-379-8477.
12/23

Dear Marcy, at this time of year my thoughts often go to family and friends who help make life a better place and help to create wonderful memories that sustain us during good and not so good times. With this thought in mind I want to wish my Levittown Memorial Class of 1961 a happy holiday season and a healthy 2012. Our June 2011 50th class reunion gave me memories that I still enjoy. I wish you all a 2012 of time spent with special people who enhance your life at the moment and become memories for you to cherish.

Roni (Cojac) Mintz
12/9

Thanksgiving Greetings from Your Website Committee - Click Here to play
11/22

Hi Marcy,

Just a note to let you know of our latest address change, from: 127 Mecca St., Port Charlotte, Fl. 33954
to: 17221 Elder Av., Port Charlotte, Fl. 33954

We recently sold our beautiful home on Mecca St. (in this housing market, that was no small feat), but I credit my creative wife, Helen, a former real estate broker in New York, with a very attractive ad on Craigslist to procure a buyer for this home. We were extremely lucky to be able to sell this home (built during the boom in 2006) for a very nice profit.

We'll be living in the new home I built, which is next door to a very upscale, older home that I built in 1990 and recently purchased by Joe Garofalo and his wife, Valerie. Our new home is smaller, has many amenities (I call it the Palazzo) and is much more suitable as a retirement home. The home sits on two acres of well manicured grounds.

Joe Garofalo is currently here and starting to move into his new home. We had a bbq last Sunday (10/30/11) with Joe & Val and were fortunate to have Larry Carballo and his wife, Peggy, stop by and join us on their way home from St. Pete. My sister, Linda, and her husband James Gaspari, were also our guests. BTW: Linda was a graduate of LMHS, class of 1964. I think Larry will send you some pics of that get together.

I appreciate you making the change in address....perhaps other classmates will drop in on us. They're always welcome.

Thanks, Roger Annicelli
11/5

I received this from Russ Mulroy:

Condolences to Susan Amrhein Mulligan on the passing of her younger sister Nancy after a long illness. "Nancy was a role model for our entire family", said Susan. She was 65.
10/27

I just wanted to follow-up on Steve Ross's post. I also thought Doug Greener's update was great, God bless him and his family. I liked Steve's comment about rope climbing in gym class. I too disliked it and Coach Al Chase on several occasions told me that I was lucky that I was on the basketball team so he couldn't fail me that quarter in P.E. In closing I wanted to say that I was fortunate enough to play against Steve in baseball for many years in Forest City and he was a very slick fielding first baseman as well as a great hitter (for the benefit of your two athletic sons).
Bob Lent
9/28

It was great to read Doug Greener's update. I still remember him wearing an LMHS T-shirt at the 2005 reunion. When Doug signed my yearbook he wrote "You are a rare combination of brains and brawn". This comment has generated much laughter from my two athletic sons, especially considering that I equated climbing the rope in Gym class to water boarding. Once again, a huge thanks for a fantastic reunion.
Steve Ross
9/27

For those of you in the NYC/Long Island area, our classmate Steve Bitel will be part of the Gracie Square Art Show:

When: Saturday, October 1 at 10:00am - Sunday, October 2 at 6:00pm

Location: Carl Schurz Park, East End Ave. & 86th Street

This is one of the premier annual outdoor art shows in NYC. Steve will be in booth 16 out front on East End Ave.
If you do go, please remember a camera and send pictures to me for the informal gatherings section.
9/26

Dear Friends,

Forty years ago earlier this month, Trudy and I walked off the boat in Haifa and became Israelis. I could say it was a beautiful day, as early September days almost always are, but I really don't remember. I risk sounding like Maurice Chevalier singing with Hermione Gingold the great Lerner and Loewe classic "I Remember It Well" from Gigi.

"That dazzling April moon."
"There was none that night -- and the month was June."
"That's right. That's right."
- - -
"You wore a gown of gold."
"I was all in blue."
"Am I getting old?"
"Oh no, not you."

"How strong you were,
"How young and gay,*
"A prince of love in every way."
"Ah yes, I remember it well."
[*For those not old enough to remember the original meaning of this word, please ask your parents.]

Memory apart, it's been quite a trip. Twists and turns and bumps along the way, but I don't think we regretted for a moment having made it.

"You're moving to a war zone," is what some friends told us in New York. And I suppose we were; maybe we still are. But for those of us who believe that our people have a future, this is the only real estate where it's going to matter. And we have made ourselves a part of it.

Along the way, we have produced three wonderful sons who amaze us every day; acquired a lovely, fantastic daughter-in-law, and now Amitai, our second generation sabra, the same familiar-foreign child that I was to my immigrant grandparents.

We are surrounded by caring friends and fill our semi-retired days with interesting and mostly meaningful activities. We are blessed with good health and, astonishingly, the continued friendship of people who remember us sailing out of New York harbor on that shiny day forty years ago. (Or was it under a cloudy sky?)

Doug

So, with forty years in Israel behind us, we are looking forward to the start of 5772 in a few days. As we write, the Greener family is even more dispersed than usual.

Eitan is in the U.S. introducing his girlfriend Dalit to the wonders of the Old Country. Their three-week vacation started in New York City, as the sign says, "home of six professional sports teams, and also the Mets." For Rosh Hashana, they will be with Uncle Danny and Aunt Carole, Shana, Ami and Gabby in Cleveland, and then travel to southern Florida to see Grandma Goldie and Uncle Hal. Eitan and Dalit are working temporarily for the Natali Health Service while they chart their future plans.

Aharon, Melanie and Amitai flew to Athens at the end of August for an academic year, begrudgingly leaving behind the summer demonstrations and protests in Israel. They are now witnessing the Greek protests and strikes due to economic turmoil and breakdown.

Aharon is doing research as a fellow and member at the American School of Classical Studies in Athens. He is working on his doctoral thesis on Aegean and Cypriot pottery that was imported to Israel during the Late Bronze Age. He hopes to take advantage of the time in Greece to better familiarize himself with the local sites and pottery.

Melanie is working for Kenes International, the Israeli organizers of conventions and congresses, as a brand manager overseeing the marketing of international medical congresses. Her taste for Greek food - cultivated amidst the Greek community of Montreal - is now being indulged at the many local restaurants near their home in the Kolonaki neighborhood. During their time abroad, Melanie plans to write more actively and now blogs at perpetualnomad.wordpress.com.

Amitai goes every morning to the Kyria Maria nursery in Kolonaki and is trying hard to memorize his friends' new-sounding Greek names - Nikos, Adonis, Eleni and Evelina. He loves to go there, and also loves meeting the green and red men at the crosswalk. As far as we know, he is not shouting "Yasoo" and breaking more plates than usual. The family looks forward to frequent visits by their families and friends, most imminently by Bubby Joyce on Rosh Hashana. In November, Grandpa Doug and Savta Trudy plan to visit for some babysitting duty.

Ami in Washington has been keeping busy with his eco-tour company, the Costa Rica Caribbean Experience, visiting the area and leading groups three times since last Rosh Hashana – including a four-day backpacking trip with his girlfriend Gabby through the Corcovado National Park. This winter he plans on expanding the scope of the tours, and has recently hired a marketing director to help with the expansion. Next year he plans to start offering environmental group tours to Alaska, Canada and Israel.

He continues to teach this year – giving a course on Judaism and the Environment in a local synagogue, and teaching spoken Hebrew in another. He still lives in DC's vibrant Adams Morgan neighborhood, and enjoys all that DC and its surrounding nature have to offer, mostly camping and hiking. This summer he saw Trudy and Doug when they visited the U.S., and this Rosh Hashana he and Gabby will be joining Eitan and Dalit in Cleveland.

Trudy is still feeling her way around retirement and, like many of her friends, doesn't know how she managed to find the time to work all these years! She enjoys her leisurely cup of coffee in the morning, but has already picked up two volunteer jobs - with the Israel Free Loan Association, which she has been donating to over the years, and with the Jerusalem SPCA. The work gets her out of the house, but at least she doesn't have to fight rush hour. Rehearsals will be starting after Sukkot for a Gilbert & Sullivan production of "Trial by Jury" (which she learned as a young lass from her older brothers!), and she's promised a neighbor to start on a walking regimen with her - to begin with, to walk off the holiday meals! She also has an assignment from a friend for a papercut design, among her craft projects, and is slowly going through years of documents, letters, etc. Enough to keep her busy!

Doug is having difficulty being less busy. Although he's unofficially semi-retired, he's blessed with some really great clients who make business a pleasure. Aside from that, his days include some reading, writing, listening to music, hard-core exercising, shopping and occasional pub crawling with friends. He would like to do another stint of volunteer reserve duty by next spring. He and Trudy just spent a two-day weekend with a hiking club on the Golan which included a six-hour hike down (and a little bit of up) Mount Hermon. It was classified as "moderately hard," which it probably was -- for some of the younger participants! The Greeners got the aches out by using liberal amounts of arak and liniment.

In closing, we wish all of our wonderful family and friends a great New Year, when our dreams become reality for the good.

Doug Greener
Trudy
Ami
Aharon, Melanie and Amitai
Eitan
9/26

Marcy - sorry these are so late....Del had second knee replacement right after we got home and so these have lingered in the system. We thought the reunion was fabulous and even the spouses had a good time. Del still can't get over how tight we are as a class after all this time.
Thanks again for a wonderful weekend!

Sandy Parrish Duvall

Sandy's pictures will be posted on the 50th reunion page
8/29

Dear Marcy,

I do not know if this appropriate or not, or even how to go about it. - However, it would be appreciated if the passing of Jimmy Greenleaf could be put on our site - somehow.

He graduated in 1960 and a lot of alumni a year before as well as a year after knew him. He was definitely a part of my high school years as we went to 3 proms together. Here's a few in our graduation class that knew him:
Honey Cottrell, Kathy LoMedico, Betty Csontos, Lorraine Devito, Carol Manning, Louise Denardo - I'm sure there are more, I just can't think of them all right now. (Deceased that knew him: Arlene Trimboli & Bob Heller.)

He passed away August 21 from bladder cancer; his picture and obit follow.
Born: August 16, 1941 - Died: August 21, 2011
Services:
Visitation: Wednesday 2-4 and 7-9 PM
Greenleaf, James A. of Ronkonkoma, NY on August 21, 2011 in his 70th year. Beloved husband of Sue. Loving father of Arlene Zegel (Jason), Jennifer Rizzo (Eddie) and James E. Greenleaf (Erin). Dear brother of the late Joan Harker. Cherished Grandfather of Justin, Sean, Gavin, Liana, Connor and Shane.

Reposing Moloney’s Bohemia Funeral Home, 1320 Lakeland Ave, Bohemia, NY. Visiting Wednesday 2-4 and 7-9 PM. Private Cremation, Nassau Suffolk Crematory, Lake Ronkonkoma, New York.
Memorials: In lieu of flowers please make donations to: Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network, 4813 St. Elmo Ave., Bethesda, MD 20814.



Thank you Marcy,
Lorraine

I received this from Rona Selsky LMHS class of 1965. I know many of you spoke with Kay Porter at our 2005 reunion and her picture is on our site from that reunion. Here is the link that Rona refers to: http://www.sayville.com/news.asp?news=379

While driving into Sayville yesterday I passed a small park named Kay Porter Park, so I just did a little google research...it is named after "our" Kay Porter, former guidance counselor at LMHS. She was one of the faculty members who came to our "Classes of the 60s" reunions in 2000 and 2005. If you google Kay Porter Park you can read the articles and see pictures of her.
8/22

Happy 70th birthday to Bob Benson, the 1959 LMHS alumni who does our posting. Six years ago this Labor Day weekend we started this website after Russ Mulroy contacted Bob to ask him if he was interested in doing our site. (He does his own class of 59 site and that's how Russ found him) At that time we were hoping to stay afloat at least a year so that we could post the 2005 reunion pictures and contact information for reaching our classmates. When so many classmates revealed that they had long ago lost their yearbooks, we wanted to get the yearbook pictures up there too.

The site turned into so much more with classmates sharing their news and old pictures. It has enabled many of us to reconnect with old friends and even meet outside of scheduled reunions. Without Bob we would be more isolated from each other. So thanks Bob, and many happy returns of the day!
8/17
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Thanks, Marcy!

It has been a pleasure working with you and the LMHS61 Committee these many years. I have come to know your Class as well as my own (LMHS 59). Here are some interesting Facts & Figures on this website as of August 15, 2011:

First "Update" Listing - July 24, 2005 (All are still available)
Total Emails Exchanged - 8,573
Emails from Marcy to me - 5,116 (That's 71/ month average or over two every day)
Emails from me to Marcy - 3,136
Web size - 165 MB (Size on disk = 193 MB)
Web Folders - 605
Web files - 9,774 (Many of these are individual pictures)

July 2011 was your 50th Reunion - So:
Unique Hits in July 2011 - 5,223
Pages Viewed in July 2011 - 11,048

To LMHS 61 Class Members:

As you can see, this has been a very large effort over the past 6 years which, I believe, could not have happened without the love and dedication Marcy has for this project and to you - her Classmates! I can truly say I wish I had a "Marcy" for my Class of 59!

Bob Benson
8/17

Marcy,

Thanks for all the LMHS reunion pictures, they were great to see. I would have loved to join the fun, but I was retiring at the end of June and had to be there to train the next lucky secretary.

My 3 sisters all live on LI and I did go back at the beginning of July for a 2 week visit, my brother Tom from Kansas also joined the family reunion. We took a ride into Levittown to see our old house and we visited the Slate Lane pool. We stopped at LMHS to see the exhibit, but we were there on a Tuesday and they only open on Wednesday. It was amazing to see what folks have done with the old Levittown homes, we hardly recognized our own house.

Hope to be around for the 55 year reunion, now that I'm retired I am foot loose and fancy free..when I'm not babysitting one of my 9 grandkids......

Take care, thanks for all the hard work you put into the LMHS site.
Janet Columbia
8/8

I'm happy to take another name off our missing list. Quite some time ago I found Kassie Frenzelas in California. I had an address but no phone number. I sent her a letter and never heard back. I never posted her information on the site because I wanted her permission before I did that. Recently I found her sister in Pennsylvania and left a message on her machine asking Kassie to contact me. Kassie finally called me today and we spoke for a good hour. She told me she did receive my letter but it was at the time her mother was sick before she died and there was too much on her plate at that time to contact me. But she did look at our site and loved it. It even inspired her to go to her mother's attic and find her old yearbook which she hadn't looked at since high school.

Kassie is retired after working for TWA for years. I found an old picture of her online that she said I could use for her then and now picture, even if it is outdated. She says she's definitely interested in attending a 55th reunion if we have one since she's never been to one before. Taking names off that missing list is one of my favorite things to do.
7/28

Marcy --

I'm very sad to tell you that Lew DeWeese passed away two weeks ago while recovering from surgery. I'm going to miss him; we had just recently re-established contact after 48 years.

Lou Chanin

We will move Lew to the Gone But Not Forgotten page and welcome any tributes from classmates for that section. I checked the death registry and found the date of death is July 11th. I could not find an obituary but will keep trying. I'm so glad we were able to get Lew's recent picture from Lou Chanin for our informal gatherings section. I'm sure it must mean even more to Lou to have this memory.

Marcy, Thanks for all of your hard work to make the 50th reunion fantastic. Please change my contact information on the lmhs website when you can. My address is the same, phone is 540-353-3558 and my e-mail is this one, seaspraysprings@aol.com. Was so good to see you friend.!

Arlene (Brambora) Campbell
7/21

Hi Marcy,

Thanks for the birthday wishes.

Arlene Brambora and I had a great time talking about the reunion. She had a wonderful time and by the time we finished chatting, I felt like I had been there. I also enjoyed the wonderful pictures you posted on the web site - fabulous to look at. The gal and guy group pictures are wonderful....good idea.

And who knows,maybe I can make the 55th!!!! Thanks again.

Love, Lois Christensen Bish
7/21

Hi Marcy,

A really big thank you to everyone who worked so hard to make this reunion a memorable experience, you, Helene, Honey, Ernie, Russ, Larry and Steve. Also a special thank you to you and Murph I can't believe that you and Murph had to talk me into attending. I had such a great time, including seeing old friends and really enjoyed myself, in case you didn't notice. In closing, the answer to the question, "is he howling???", you bet I was howling check out all of the beautiful ladies that were around me.

Bob Lent
7/20

Marcy
I just realized that your name was not on the name & email list that I collected at the reunion and consequently I did not send you any pictures!
You were one of the main reasons we had the event in the first place! I and the rest of our class can't thank you enough for all the work you do on our behalf.

I sincerely apologize. I will send them to you as soon as I finish this note.
Feel free to post any of the pictures you choose on our web site.
Best Wishes
Steve Bitel
7/13

Marcy,
First of all I want to thank you and everyone else that worked on the reunion. It was great and I had a wonderful time that I would not trade for anything.
thanks again.
Jeff Chasan
7/13

Hi!

Thank you to all--Marcy, Helene, Steve B., Ernie, Honey, Russ and to everyone else who made the LMHS 50th Reunion so memorable an occasion for Alan and me. Being included among such a warm and generous group of friends meant the world to me. I will always feel honored to have been a member of the class of '61.

Love,

Jessica Joseph Gest
7/13

Marcy --

Thanks for saving the diploma from Saturday. I'll get it next time we meet. It was a real fun time and I hated to leave early. I'm going to check out your photos on the site. Met some old aquaintances and talked to some people more there then I may have in all of High School. How about that!

Lou Chanin
7/7

A quick note to let you know how terrific the Reunion was. Thanks to all the planners for a fantastic job. My non LMHS friends find it hard to believe how close we are after 50 years and how lucky we are to have such a great website. I look forward to future gatherings and hope we can have another before the 60th. I have been in contact with several of our classmates who could not attend and I plan to "Nudge" them next time.

Steve Ross
7/7

Dear Marcy,
I want to thank you so much again for the wonderful memories you've helped us recapture--and make for the future. I had a great time and only regretted that I couldn't have joined everybody the next day. I think that everything was wonderfully planned to include as many people as possible (the price and location was excellent, and for those of us who don't drink, it was thoughtful to set things up so that we didn't have to subsidize those who do). I've always thought that our class was a terrific one--and our 50th reunion (!!!!) only emphasized that.

Fondly,
Barbara Steinman Bengels
7/5

Hello to All,

Alan and I are home in Atlanta after spending 4 days post LMHS 50th in NYC.

For the past year+ I was reading about the plans - Friday night dinner at an Italian restaurant and a pizza luncheon at LMHS (Atlanta pizza is mostly tomato sauce, cheese on something called crust but certainly no oil dripping) AND visiting with classmates from 50 years ago. Sounded fabulous.

Friday night was definitely a moment in time. I loved the circle “that’s what friends are for”. As I scanned the circle, I was back to our 4 years together at LMHS. I think it is funny that most of the women said, “None of us have changed”. If I recall there were mirrors at the restaurant!!!! Guess we left our glasses at the table.

Saturday was special. We were very impressed at the condition of the building and the amazing programs that take place within these walls. The museum was an unexpected surprise. I believe the kitchen table and chairs came straight from our Forest City house. My parents sold our house in 1978 and it is still owned by the same family and looks beautiful. I took photos to show my 97-year-old dad who still lives independently AND drives (at night) AND has a girlfriend.

To the fabulous planning committee, a sincere THANK YOU. The attention to detail every step of the way helped to create an amazing experience for all of us. The “graduation ceremony” was such a cute touch.

To all my classmates, thanks for making the effort to attend the reunion and create an atmosphere of joy.

Roni Cojac Mintz
6/30

Hi Marcy,

The reunion was truly wonderful thanks to the planning and hard work of yourself, Helene, Russ, Honey, Larry C., Ernie, Steve B and et all. Thank you, we all appreciate your efforts and the results.

'Came home today and scanned the website and realized you could use some additional pictures which I've attached. 'Hope these are of some use.

I read Stu Smith's story regarding the parking lot gate. When I first drove into the lot, I wondered, just for a second, what would happen if the gate was ever locked. Well, now I know! LOL.

Once again, Patt & I congratulate everyone involved in making the reunion "memorial".
Bob Levine
6/29

Hi Marcy,
To answer your question, the Jones Beach pics were taken Saturday afternoon after the school luncheon.

Funny story: Dee Gross picked up Roger Anicelli and wife, me and my wife and we went out to Jones Beach in her car. We met Gino and other classmates out at the beach.

After a fun filled day walking and talking Dee dropped us back at LMHS. I left my car in the parking lot and when I got there to retrieve it, the gate was locked and naturally no one was in the school to let me out. I called 911 and they sent the police out to the school. When the car arrived the officer said that he had no contact information for the school. Within a minute of the police coming a Levittown School Security truck pulled up to save the day. The Police Officer asked, "who called you??". School Security said the call that came from 911 to the police radio was being monitored by School Security and they responded in a flash.

It seems that someone didn't get the memo that said, there is a class reunion at the school and don't lock the gate until all the cars are out.

I guess they responded so fast because they were glad to get rid of me 50 years ago and when they found out I was back and it was my car in the lot, they figured we better respond as fast as we could and get him back out of town.

All and all, it was a wonderful day and lots, and lots of fun !!
Talk to ya soon,

Stu Smith
6/28

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you to Helene, Ernie, Honey, Marcy and Russ for everything to make our 50th Reunion such a blast from the past! And also thank you to all the alumni who came together to make this so much fun - from Gino and Murphy who travelled from CA to everyone who still lives on "the Island".

It is hard to put into words what fun we had at this gathering. Let's get together again real soon, even in an informal manner.

And remember, if anyone is in Williamsburg, VA, give a call. We have plenty of guest quarters. Plus our boat to go sailing in Hampton Roads and the Chesapeake Bay.

Love to all,

Eileen (Wolff) and "Husband" Michael Turner
6/28

Hi Helene,
By now you have come back down to earth and I want to say, as always you did a wonderful job heading the team, pulling things together
to make our 50th reunion something special..

Be well and let's do this again next month !!

Hugs,
Stu Smith
PS: Marcy, I will be sending you out the pics I have from Friday and Saturday...
6/27

Dear Marcy,

This is for the entire reunion committee, and especially Helene. Thank you all for a delightful weekend. It was so good to get together,renew friendships, share memories, catch up on current lives, and know we are young at heart, and constantly getting better!
All your planning provided a very cherished event, which all attendees will warmly treasure.

Laura Allen Lally
6/27

Hey guys (Honey, Russ, Helene, Marcy, Ernie)
Cannot say thank you enough. What a wonderful get - together, affair, re-union.
All of you did such a wonderful job & it certainly did not go unnoticed. What work, what co-ordination. Hope I did not leave anyone out!
A real Success!
Thanks to all of you.
There is nothing like renewing old friendships . . . . .or even making new ones. Just a very wonderful weekend. Thanks for all your effort - it is absolutely APPRECIATED!
Love,
Lorraine Cuomo (Schibani)
6/27

After years of talking about it and months of planning for it, our fiftieth reunion finally took place in Levittown. Despite some rainy weather Friday night, it was all smiles inside Domenico's restaurant. Carol Lutz spent Friday night in the former Meadowbrook Hospital after suffering a severe allergic reaction Friday afternoon. Imagine flying in from Oklahoma for an event and getting sick just hours before that event begins. That did not stop her from checking out of the hospital Saturday morning so she could at least make the luncheon at the high school. Valerie Garofalo was able to attend just two weeks after double knee replacements. That's the kind of determination our class has when it comes to getting together.

We owe a big debt of gratitude to Helene for stepping up to the plate when no one else would. There was a period of time when some of us thought a reunion would not be taking place. Helene's attention to detail made everything run smoothly from beginning to end. Ernie Brodsky was Helene's right hand man who accompanied Helene on the trips to Domenico's for menu planning etc. and his wife Joann worked with enthusiasm on some of the projects too. Russ Mulroy personally hand picked every song that the DJ played. Honey Murway Cottrell collected our funds and kept track of the spreadsheet telling us who was paid. She also made our badges, mailed out the invitations to the classmates without email and was relentless in sending out reminders to those who did not respond to the invitations. We also owe a big thank you to all of you who made phone calls to classmates. Those phone calls paid off. They brought up our number of attendees. And thank you to Larry Carballo for making the arrangements at the Holiday Inn in Plainview for many of our out of town guests.

A few of you have already started to send me pictures and for that I am appreciative. It will take some time to catalog and label the pictures so they will be going up on the site a little at a time. So keep checking for more as the days go by. They will be divided up into Friday and Saturday pictures. A special thanks to Steve Bitel who took individual shots of classmates getting their "diplomas". From beginning to end this was a very memorable and nostalgic weekend. I was amazed at the number of our classmates who had never attended another reunion in fifty years but showed up for this one. So many of them told me they regretted not coming in the past. Thanks again one and all for coming out and helping us celebrate this unforgettable occasion.
6/27

One last minute update to report. We are now up to 123 people. Gerald Matis and his wife as well as Dee Gross King will be buying tickets at the door. I checked Levittown weather and I suggest you bring an umbrella. Hopefully you won't need one but rain is the forecast. Looking forward to seeing everyone tomorrow night.
6/23

Well wishes go out to Valerie Garofalo (wife of Joe). Val is having double knee joint replacement surgery on Tuesday. She will have a two or three day hospital stay followed by two weeks of rehab. As Joe says, it is cutting it close but she still plans on making the reunion.

As we get closer to the reunion weekend, it might be a good idea to check the site regularly in case of any last minute news. Helene has asked that everyone make the effort to arrive on time (8:00 pm). We will be having the class photo shot before eating and we'd like every classmate to be in it. Late arrivals may not get in the photo. As the date draws closer, I will put directions to the restaurant on the site. It is still not too late to send a check to Honey if you plan on going. We love surprises!
6/6

Hi all,

This is my first reunion and I am so excited. It is hard to believe that 50 years have gone by. I have re-connected with Judy Cottrell Wolter and we will be coming together. I have been living in Sayville since 1977. My husband Stan decided to practice here and is still actively doing so. I have two married sons David and Adam and four fabulous grandchildren. I can't wait to greet and meet all of my classmates and hope I can recognize you and you me.

Fondly,

Toby Wolff Klausner
5/23

Hi Marcy
Wow isn't it great. I hope more sign up. I wanted to tell the alumni that they can send table requests to my e-mail address. I will do my best to make everyone happy.
If they need to be as far away from the DJ please let me know. I will work it out. I would appreciate it if all request start as soon as you know. IF YOU DON'T HAVE A PREFERENCE I WILL SEAT EVERYONE AT A TABLE.

Thanks again Marcy for everything.
Helene

I spoke with Helene on the phone today to clarify what she is planning for our seating arrangements. She is going to do a seating chart by tables as you have all experienced at weddings. In order to make sure that you can sit with friends, you will have to email her (Heleneerb@verizon.net) or call her by cell phone (516-547-6867) to put in your requests. She also needs to know who would prefer to be away from the music. (I'm one of those folks!) and who would like seating as close as possible to the bathrooms. You can also tell her any other special needs you might have due to health issues. She stresses that your requests will be private and she will try to accommodate your wishes. She has already started this seating plan so it's important that you get your wishes to her as soon as possible. Those who don't respond will be seated by Helene. She wants you to keep in mind that this seating will be in effect for the buffet dinner, but people can mingle and sit down at other tables after the meal so you will get to talk to everyone. I know that not everyone looks at this website daily so please let your friends know to check it.

Dear Marcy,

It was so wonderful to see the update on our LMHS site - that we have, indeed, reached our minimum . . . . . . WOW - all of you, who have made this work must feel so proud. What a 'classy' class we have . . . .. . . ..I'm sure all are very excited and looking forward to this wonderful evening together. (Plus lunch and the visit to the MUSEUM.)

Honey must have been thrilled to find all those checks and relay all the info to you.

Hats off to all involved . . . . . certainly a monumental task. I realize it is NOT easy getting commitments. At our age, we really do not know what tomorrow brings. This event certainly brings a lot of SMILES and renewals of old friendships to everyone attending.

Thanks for making this such a success.

Love &andsee you June 24th - with BELLS on. - LOL.

Lorraine (Cuomo)
5/6

Well fellow classmates, I've been looking at this website for the last 10+ days and there is nothing new. Someone must have something to say. Or, are we all waiting for Honey to get home from Europe and open her mail to see if she's got the big "90"? I'd love to see the total go up, but I'd also like to hear what's happening to you all.
Me, I had my big 68th this week. How is this possible? I'm just a kid!!! Marcy called me--to remind me? And, we all think she's such a nice person!!!
I've got my ticket, rental car and motel room, now all I have to do is loose that extra 50+ pounds by June 24th--but, I'll start my diet on Monday.
Folks, this is the only 50th high school reunion we'll ever have. You have less than 2 months to make your plans. I can understand that it's expensive for those who have to travel a ways, but you Long Islanders, just have a short ride to join us and it'll be fun. If I can travel from Florida....
See you all soon.
Toni Salometo

It has been slow on classmate news. Remember that I don't make the news. I wait for it to come to me. No one is looking forward to Honey's return to the States more than me. The suspense of what her mail will hold is killing me!
5/1

Hi Marcy,

Having a wonderful time. So happy I received an e-mail from Marilyn Workman and she is definitely coming to the reunion. She has been in touch with April Haglund and I think that is what helped make her decision. Also heard from Regina Kerr and she is thinking about it. I asked her to send you her current address as she lives in Westbury NY and she says we have her listed at S.C. But hopefully when I return to Florida there will be many checks waiting for me.

ooxx
Honey
4/17

Honey will be in Germany from April 12th to May 3rd. Her mail will kept at the post office during that time. There will be no paid postings for this three week period but you can still safely send your checks to her. When she returns I will update the paid ticket list. We are both very confident that when she returns we will have met our required 90 minimum tickets. We wish her a great vacation spending time with her grandson. I know she's looking forward to retuning home to see what surprises are in her mail. Don't disappoint her! Send your check now.

I can still add names to the who's coming list, so if you decide that you are coming, let me know and we'll put your name on the list.
4/12

Marcy..

A mention on your 1961 website would be appreciated.

I will be writing here on a regular basis. Thanks to Tim Lavey for the photo. The next story to be used, I presume, will be about the 1963 Levittown Poppy Queen competition. It has already been submitted.
Frank Barning

http://levittown-ny.patch.com/articles/the-story-begins-pioneers-of-early-levittown

Frank Barning is a 1960 graduate of Division Avenue High School. He also does a blog on early Levittown life that you might find interesting:
http://theworldaccordingtofrankbarning.blogspot.com/
4/12

Hi Marcy,

Looking through the school daze pictures on the class website there's a picture of Mr. Kantor's 5th grade class submitted by Laura Allen that I'm in, but my name isn't on the list. I'm in the first row right side of picture. Guess I was pretty forgettable. It was my first year at Gardiner's Avenue from PS 77 in Brooklyn. I was recently in Orlando with Lois Christensen Bish and I have a picture of us I'd like to send you. Could I get your mailing address and I'll get it out to you?

Wish I could join all of you at the reunion, but I'm retiring at the end of June and I can't be gone until after July 1st. Hope everyone has a wonderful time. My home email address has changed - nonna711@live.com school email address Janet_Columbia@beaverton.k12.or.us

I've never really looked extensively at the site until today, and you've done a great job Marcy. I was sad to see how many of us are gone, pretty scary....
Janet Columbia
4/6

Honey & Marcy,

I can't believe it has been 50 years since we graduated LMHS. Time flies by when you're having fun.

We sold our home on the East end of Long Island in 6 days at the appraised price to the VP of Cablevision. My wife Emmy (first graduating class from MacArthur) felt isolated out in Southold.

We are finishing the winter in our home in Vero Beach, Florida and then closing on our new home in Kent Island, Maryland just across the bay from Annapolis, Md. where our son and his family live. We will be snowbirds for a while.

I'm keeping busy between the US Coast Guard Auxiliary and the golf course trying to stay out of trouble.

Unfortunately with the new house I'm not going to able to make the 50th reunion. Just too many things going on and we're going to try to spend a lot of time with the grandchildren this summer.

Give my regards to all my classmates.

Bob Stickle

Honey received this note from Bob Stickle and we will be updating his new address and email.
3/29

I just wanted everyone to know that Honey will be away from Monday, March 28th to Tuesday, April 5th. This does not mean that you can't mail your reunion check to her. The post office will hold her mail while she's away and it will be safe. What it does mean is that there will be no paid postings on our site during this time. We will resume posting the paid people after her return and with any luck she will come home to more checks in the mail. We are very close to our required 90 tickets so if you haven't yet paid, now is the time.

Thanks to all of you who have been making phone calls. People without email may hesitate signing up because they don't know who's coming. Callers should read off the who's coming list on the website to them. It could make a difference.
3/28

Hi, Marcy...My info is totally changed.
My new address is: 5413 Rick Husband Drive, El Paso, TX 79934..Home phone is 915-881-4234. My son Matt is in the Army stationed here at Ft. Bliss. He had a little girl last March so Bruce and I moved here from Southern California to help care for the baby. He's being deployed this year to Afghanistan for a year and when he returns, they'll probably head east ..Bruce and I will stay in El Paso. It's hard to have your family scattered all over the place. I wish I could make it back for the reunion but too much stuff going on here. I hope you all have a wonderful time..
xxxooo Gail (Siegel) Jamison
p.s. cell # shown on yearbook page is no longer viable. My email address is: holy1.urholy@yahoo.com
3/28

Hi Marcy: Joan Wilson (Gale) class of 61. Thank you for all you do. We live in NC, and we will be coming to the BIG Reunion. My husband Ed will be with me. Carol DelPrete (Manning) and I have stayed friends all this time. Lorraine Cuomo and I have also stayed in touch over the years, in fact I just spoke with her, what a blast. We look forward to being at this wonderful occasion. I will send a check to Honey Cottrell in Tampa.
Joan (Gale) Wilson
3/28

Hi Marcy,

I just came across a long lost envelope of high school memorabilia. I had received the envelope in 2006 from Joan Gail (Wilson); but I put it in a safe place so I wouldn't lose it — HA HA! I decided to send it out to you immediately before I had a chance to lose it again.

Valerie and I will be in Puerto Vallarta Mexico, for a week (3/19 to 3/26), we will be visiting Sandy (Parish) & Del Duvall while we are there.

There is more news; we bought a house in Port Charlotte Florida. Roger Annicelli is our next door neighbor. In fact the house we just purchased from its third owner was built in 1990, by Roger Annicelli the first owner. We have not moved yet; have to get our house in New Jersey ready for sale.

Looking forward to our 50th reunion (the 60 & 70th also). I would like to thank you and Helene and Honey for all the work you are doing in organizing this reunion.

Thank you again, Joe Garofalo


Joe's Package came to my house by mail. I will be sorting through the pictures and newspaper articles this week. I will give credit to Joan since they are hers, but thank you Joe for taking the time and trouble to mail them to me. Some are duplicates of pictures that are already on the site and I won't be using them. I want pictures of the meeting with Sandy and Del! The Murphys will also be visiting them when they get back to Colorado.
3/22

Dear Marcy,

I must take some time-out here to thank you and all who are involved for doing such a wonderful job - getting our 50th re-union together. What an undertaking! What a class!

Thanks to you, Helene, Honey and God knows who else - we're all about to enjoy a wonderful MILESTONE. Hats off to all involved.

Since I've realized that this affair was really going to happen . . .. . . ..I've trained myself to go to our site at least once or twice a week. WHAT A SITE . . . . .WHAT EFFORT! It is just so wonderful to browse through each & every heading/link - it takes me sometimes hours to enjoy and absorb everything in front of me. Wow - GREAT JOB done by all involved. THANKS THANKS THANKS!

All of the above has inspired me to try to locate old classmates/friends/relationships/acquaintances through our high school years. I'm happy to say I'm 'nagging' a few! LOL!

The bottom line here is that whoever can enjoy the old memories & friendships should attend. Especially getting to see the LEVITTOWN MUSEUM at the Luncheon. Wow! BRING A CAMERA for sure.

I realize an awful lot comes into consideration here . . . . . ..financially as well as physically. Hoping all that know about this event & can physically attend - will do their best to be part of this WONDERFUL MILESTONE in all our lives. Congratulations to all of us - regardless of attendance - hey, we made it.

Once again, thank you all who have made this come together.
Love,
Lorraine Cuomo
3/18

 After placing an ad in Newsday about our reunion, I received an email from a photography studio who offered to take a group photo of all the alumni (not guests). There is no charge for this service. Individual classmates can purchase an 8 by 12 color photo at a cost of $20.00. There is no minimum order so it's there for those who wish to have a keepsake of our 50th. You don't need to buy one in order to be in the picture. You would just fill out their envelope addressed to yourself and the photo would be mailed to you in two to three weeks.

Helene has asked that I let you know how important it is to come to the restaurant on time. (8:00 p.m.) She wants this not to interfere with the dinner so they need to get in and out quickly. Anyone coming late would not be in the group photo. What better incentive to arrive on time? I'll put a reminder here closer to the reunion date for those whose memories are not what they used to be.
3/16/11

Marcy,
I was just browsing our website and saw that there is one phone number associated with my name that needs to be deleted. I retired from work in 2000, so please delete the 380-4538 office number.
If you can, please add the mobile number: 757-871-0160. That is the one we will use when we are sailing up this summer and have the sailboat on the mooring or hook while we are visiting LI for the reunion. I'm really looking forward to this, and have sent emails to some of the gals I used to pal around with. Thanks for all you do.

Eileen (Wolff) Turner
3/7/11

Dear Marcy,
I finally had time last night to check up on my old friends and came away both happier and sadder: reading about Liz Sucher broke my heart, but hearing that you've reached Kathy Scottireggio Armitage -- and that she still remembered our wacky days together at West Side Story-- made me feel like a kid again! I did want to mention that I've changed my e-mail address to profbengels@gmail.com, and am very much looking forward to our big get-together! Between now and then, I expect to be doing a great amount of babysitting for our newest granddaughter, finishing up a semester teaching a new course at Hofstra, preparing to deliver a paper at the International Association of the Fantastic in the Arts (about the childhood of a large number of science fiction writers!), and hopefully getting to Europe on a trip that will be very wearying for us older folk. All of this is exciting--and exhausting, but nothing is like seeing old friends again.
Thanks again for all your efforts. You need a very big hug!

Barbara Steinman Bengels
3/7/11

Hi Marcy !
Thanks for fixing the typo...
I feel sooooooooo much better. I think the next stop for me is the 'NUT HOUSE' but, that won't be until after the reunion.

Just a little note: I will be getting married on March 18, 2011 and my new bride will be at the reunion.

Talk to ya soon,
Stu Smith

Congratulations to Stu. We are looking forward to meeting his bride in June. Stu can be reached at ssmith3300@aol.com . Fifty years after graduation and our classmates are still living life to the fullest.
3/7/11

Good morning Marcy !!
We need more snow.. The stuff that's on the ground down here is getting dirty !!

Because I'm and ANAL retentive person, I want to point out an typo on the 50th reunion list
Barbara Van Valen Elsherbini- Paid (1) Fri & Sat.
If you look at the last letter in Barbara's name the 'i' is in 'BLUE' not 'BLACK'.

Sorry for be'n such a pain but, I think they have a name for people like me out there.
I also think I would make a good case study for someone going for their Doctorate in Psychology ... :-)

I hope we get a few more classmates on the reunion list so that we can get this project in the air by June....

Always,

Stu Smith
Good grief! I'll bet you were the only one to notice this huge error. Obviously when Barbara's name was taken off the newest paid in blue the switch to black ink was not totally completed. It's still early and I do believe we will sign up more classmates. Honey plans to send out reminders to those who still need to pay and those who have not responded to the invitations. But at this point there is no urgency. Not a week goes by that she isn't receiving a few checks in the mail. I feel confident that our classmates will come through. They always do.
3/4/11

As of today we have sold 57 tickets to our 50th reunion. We still need 33 more to meet the required 90 minimum. Fortunately we still have sufficient time to do that. Helene mailed me a clipping from Newsday that lists upcoming reunions on Long Island. I sent Newsday our information in the hopes that some of our missing classmates still live on Long Island and can contact us if they see it. They said it would appear on Sunday, March 6th for those of you that subscribe to Newsday.

Honey has been busy making our nametags for the reunion. They look wonderful! Alumni will have their names in large black type with our LMHS logo. Guests will have their names in red and a small panther head so that we can easily identify whether that familiar face is a classmate or a guest. Nametags will be encased in plastic with a pin on back and you can pick them up at the door the night of the dinner. Believe it or not, she has finished every nametag of those who paid so it will be easy to keep on top of the job as new checks come in.

For those of you who got a chance to look at Liz Sucher's tribute on the Gone But Not Forgotten section, you know that she was a published poet. Her sister says that anyone interested in buying her collection of poems can do so through her at a cost of $18.00. The sister's email is sakk@mindspring.com.
3/1/11

Dear Marcy,

Browsed through 'our' site this morning & was so impressed - wow! It actually took me over an hour. I still have more to discover on it . . .. . . .and will after lunch today. I do not think I have visited the site for well over a year now. It just gets better & better.

Yes, I will be attending our 50th. It sounds so exciting & will get my check out to Honey before the end of this month.

Thanks to you, Helene, Ernie & all the 'behind the scenes' organizers . .. . . . . .we will be enjoying a wonderful 50th Reunion. Thank you all! I just cannot believe it's "50 Years".

Sincerely looking forward to this wonderful event, seeing all of you . . . . . . . & sharing old memories. -

See you then.
Love,
Lorraine Cuomo Schibani
2/24/11

Hi Marcy,

Just a short note to tell you to count me in for the reunion, it sounds like it will be a great time and something I can't miss. Thanks to Helene, Honey and you. As they say "the check is in the mail".

Bob Lent
2/19/11

Hello, Marcy,

I hope all is well with you and your family. I have been working through a former co-worker to try to get better rates for our reunion weekend. We have come up with the Holiday Inn in Plainview with a rate of $129.00 per night. The posted internet rate is $153.00. Our rate is based on a minimum of 10 rooms for Friday June 24 and Saturday June 25. The Holiday Inn is about 8 miles to Levittown, has a lounge and restaurant and I believe was the site of our 20th reunion. I would like to post something on our site asking our classmates to contact Kerri Pavan (SEE BELOW) to make their reservations using "LMHS-61 Reunion" as the GROUP CODE. I have made reservations for Ronnie, Helene and myself and I believe Rheva will also stay there. I can also be contacted at lcarballo@live.com or on my cell at 954-647-1193.

Thank you for your continued assistance,
Larry Carballo
2/18/11

Kerri A. Pavan
Director of Sales & Marketing
Holiday Inn Plainview
215 Sunnyside Boulevard
Plainview, NY 11803
Tel: (516) 349-1240
Fax: (516) 349-7408
Email: kpavan@ablehotels.com

Hi Marcy,

Thank you for doing such a great job as webmaster for the LMHS class of 1961. I have been pretty far removed from things since the 20th year reunion in 1981. Those 30 years have gone by so quickly. I am hoping to be able to make it back for the 50th reunion.

I have attached a listing for the What have I been doing since 1961 Alumni Page (the several family pictures are a little large but I could not figure out how to make them smaller) and a recent picture for the Then & Now section. Also, if you could add our family business web-site www.ardconsultants.com to my yearbook picture that would be helpful.

Additionally, I noticed that Marjorie Sussman Davis is listed as missing. I have found what I believe to be a current email address for her on our college web-site. It is margedavis@hotmail.com. I have not seen her since our college days 45+ years ago but will contact her about the reunion and hope that she will be able to attend.

Again, thank you so much for your great work. I will be sending a donation to the treasurer and look forward to the possibility of re-connecting with people during the reunion.

Paul Banikiotes
8963 Furrow Ave.
Ellicott City, MD 21042
410-461-5049
443-745-3155
2/8/11

Thanks Paul. I did find Marge's email on the Cornell alumni site a few years ago and read something she had contributed to the alumni newsletter when she retired. I emailed her at that time telling her about the class website, but I never heard back. I am not sure if she's not interested or whether she ever got the email. It was not returned to me so I assumed the email address was correct. Hopefully you'll have better luck than I did. Thank you for the pictures and the alumni page. With luck they will be posted later this week.

Hi Marcy and Jerry,

Thanks for updating all of my information on the website Marcy. Also thanks to you Jerry for providing Marcy the "Now" and "Informal Gatherings" picture, I'm still trying to figure out the camera. I really enjoyed our lunch and appreciated you bringing me up to date on a lot of our classmates as well as yourself.

Bob Lent
2/8/11

Nice to see you & Honey finally found Bob Lent. The CIA has nothing on you two!

It was nice to read that Bob speaks about the 108-89 win over Lawrence because he was a very important part of that victory almost 50 years ago next week. Most of the ink goes to the guys who score the points but it was Bob & Ron Emmerich that night who truly stood out. Bob's terrific defense, ball handling and passing in that game still stands out in my mind. Without Bob Lent we don't beat Lawrence that game!

Russ Mulroy
2/8/11

Hi Marcy and Honey,

I would like to thank you for your efforts and persistency in "finding me" I really appreciate it. I would also like to thank all of the classmates that have worked so hard on this website and continue to work hard in keeping the class updated and together. The website is great and I really enjoyed taking a trip down memory lane with all of the notes and different pictures of my classmates, and towns of Levittown and Wantagh, as well as the more current information. One press clipping on the website is of significant importance. For many years I have told my two sons of the thrashing we put on undefeated and first place Lawrence High School of 108-89; they had a hard time believing it, especially the score, even though they appeased their old man and said they did, but now thanks to Mary Yancey (Pike) I have the documentation to prove it. On a more somber note I'm sorry to hear of the passing of many of our classmates who are "Gone But Not Forgotten". My updated information is as follows:
address - 6240 N. 13th Street, Phoenix, AZ 85014-1735; Tel. no. (602) 703-8101; e-mail: rlent42002@yahoo.com. Date of birth 12/17; married 42 years on 4/5 to Billie; 2 two-legged children not living at home; 2 grand-daughters; 7 four-legged children (dogs) letting us live at home with them; I retired on 12/17/2010.

Sincerely,
Bob Lent
1/26

Hi,

I just saw my name in the "Missing" file of this class. I never got to go to LMHS as my career Navy father was transferred to Rhode Island where I lived for over 40 years. I did graduate in '61 from Hope High School in Providence, RI.

I'm Maureen Jenkins Patt. I've been married for almost 49 years ( this April ) and am the mother of 3, two guys and one gal; grandmother of 5, 4 guys and 1 gal. In May of 2004, we moved from the coast of Rhode Island to the west coast of Florida to a small town north of Tampa.

I enjoyed seeing the yearbook photos and remember some of the people listed, especially Patricia Clancy Roden. Now I have her address & phone number thanks to you. It's been far too many years since we've talked to each other.

Maureen J. Patt
knitandspin@tampabay.rr.com
1/25/11

Hi Marcy,
Just found this website and noticed I am among the "missing". Here's my info: Evelyn Aloisio Gordon, 4 Homestead St., Sudbury, MA 01776
Evelyngordon@comcast.net
It was fun to look at all the pictures. Great work!
Thanks, Evelyn
1/21/11

Hi Marcy,
Happy and Healthy New Year,
Hope all is well. Your letter to the Alumni was great. I thank you for all you are doing to keep our class informed and together near and far. I wish you the best and I am anxious to be with you and all our class members in June. Lots of fun to come. It is great seeing the checks coming in. I know we are on the way to a great weekend.

Love and my best to all,
Helene
1/6/11

Hi, Marcy,

As the Director of Communications for LMHS, I am letting you know my new address which will be as of February 1, 2011.

It is 327 Cedarwood Drive, Mandeville, LA 70471.

I'll be leaving here on January 27 and it should take 2 days and a few hours of the third (total of 22 hours away) to reach my destination, but the furniture won't arrive until a few days after that so I'll be staying with my sister. My friend, Cindy, is driving down with me which I think was a lovely gesture on her part, and one for which I will be eternally grateful to her for.

My cell shall remain the same at least for a while, and if or when that changes I'll let you know. Email won't change. Wish me luck!!

Celeste
1/5/11

Marcy,

Just viewed the website and wanted to commend you on the year-end letter. It is great and inspiring. Makes me want to find more classmates. I will start again next week. Hopefully Santa brought some of our classmates either computers or laptops and they will go online and find us. Running out of time….. June is fast approaching and hopefully many more checks will arrive in my mailbox.

Hope you have a very Happy New Year.

Honey
1/1/11

Marcy....

First let me wish you and yours a happy and healthy 2011.

I saw your year ending message on the class website and I once again wanted to thank you for all of the work you do in making the site such a great place to visit. I know I speak for every classmate who has seen the site when I say, "Great job!".

See you in June.

Harvey Pearlstein
1/1/11

That Was the Year that Was

As 2010 comes to a close, many of us eagerly await our 50th reunion in June. One year ago at this time, we had no date, no place and nothing more than a hope that a reunion would actually happen. Thanks to Helene for stepping up and finding an affordable weekend right in the heart of our old stomping grounds. For some the Saturday luncheon will be the first opportunity to set foot in our old school since graduating fifty years ago. At this time a number of people have already sent their checks in to Honey and others have assured us that they will be coming and have saved the date. We're hoping that more checks will start rolling in after the holidays.

It is always sad that every year we lose more classmates. This past year Betty Hudson Purcell, Cathy Ogden Dumrauf and Lillian Schmidt passed away. We also learned of other passings that took place in the last couple of years when invitations to the reunion were sent out.

On the bright side, one of our classmates earned her four year college degree this year, one was married, several retired or became grandparents and another was the successful recipient of a heart transplant. Good news like that is a joy to report.

More and more classmates are joining Facebook and have joined groups like LMHS alumni or LMHS Class of 61. That's been a great help in finding lost classmates. This past year two of our alumni (Audrey Pettit and Kathy Scottireggio) actually found us on the web and now are off our missing list. We were also lucky enough to find Marilyn Chotiner, Marlene Ginsberg and Christine Ianello. When invitations went out for our reunion one downside was that some of the people we had located in the past had moved again and had to be "refound". That's to be expected since retirement often means a move to a warmer climate. I am always grateful to those who let us know of email changes and new addresses. Keeping track of everyone is a huge task.

For those of you who haven't sent a picture for our then and now section, please make it your New Year's resolution. This is especially important in a reunion year when recognition of faces may depend on whether we have a current photo to aid us. And a very special thank you to all who have sent news and pictures. You make our website a community whenever you share and it keeps us all connected. As always, our boosters play a huge roll in keeping this website financially sound. Thanks to you we can always meet our monthly bill. Lastly, thank you Bob Benson, LMHS class of 1959 for maintaining our site. After five years of handling our photos he says he feels like he knows most of you.

Warmest wishes for a healthy and happy 2011. Hopefully I'll see many of you in June.

Marcy
12/30/2010

Dear Marcy,
I am officially retired!
Plan to travel, do home projects with an end point of an emergency room visit to stop bleeding, play with computers and media toys, and spend my kids  inheritance.
Steve Ross
12/28

Congratulations to Judi Loewe Long who was married on October 23rd after many years of widowhood. I believe she was the first of our class to be married- the day after graduation. Her first husband died unexpectedly of a heart attack in his fifties. Despite our age our classmates are not afraid to try new experiences. We wish her much happiness.
12/14

I was thinking of having a golf outing while at the reunion. Could you put something on our website to see if there are folks that would be interested in playing a round at Bethpage sometime before or after the reunion. I would like to get an idea of how many would be interested. I know Smitty and Lou Chanin will play and I have contacted Kevin Farrell. I know there are other golfers so I just want to test the waters.

Thanks
Jerry Murphy

If anyone is interested please contact Jerry at gwmurphy44@gmail.com. When we have a date and time for this outing, we will post it here.
11/27

Hi, Marcy –

I tripped across your web site following a totally unrelated link – and found my 17 year old self staring back from the yearbook page! Kathleen Scottireggio (Scotti) then, Kathy Armitage now.

I didn’t actually graduate from Levittown Memorial but I did spend sophomore and junior years there - family issues precipitated a move to Staten Island in November of senior year, where I’ve pretty much been ever since. I graduated from New Dorp High School that June.

Those years were quite a blur for me, so I don’t have as many memories as many of you do. Mostly I remember chorus, especially because I still sing in two choruses and am very grateful for the skills developed in high school. I also get a memory-zap when I clean out my junk drawer and find my GCettes pin. The concert records are long gone, though. Wish I had them.....

I vaguely recall putting on a variety show or two with Pat Heinsohn and Haydn Slomack and spending more than one Saturday afternoon at the stage door of the Winter Garden with Barbara Steinman and probably Pat, waiting to sneak into the second act of West Side Story. BTW, I last saw Pat in the mid-80s and was saddened to read of her death.

I’m sending some pictures I found – all from junior high and before. Many of the people in the pictures were also LMHS grads. My mom was always quick to make chocolate chip cupcakes and take out the camera in those days, so many of them were taken at my house on Saddle Lane.

Thanks for the memories.

Kathy
11/19

Hi Marcy and Honey,

I hope you guys and families are well.

I'm actually considering coming to the reunion. It's quite complicated logistically -- and I have two quick questions: What is the address of the old LMHS building? Where is it located in relation to Domenico's? I've given myself a lot of time to make arrangements, so it really is possible.

Thanks a lot,
Doug Greener

I sent directions to Doug and at some point closer to the reunion I will have them on this site for all to use. What a tribute to our class that a classmate would travel all the way from Israel to join us. Some of you may remember that he also came to our 2005 reunion. Barbara O'Connell (Virgin Islands) also plans on being there. Our classmates never cease to amaze me.
11/4
 

Reaching out at reunion time can have its drawbacks. Honey called Hank Wright and reached his wife, who reported that Hank passed away on December 17, 2008 after a motorcycle accident. I remember how happy he was to be found a few year back and to reconnect with Phil Smith after more than forty years. We will be moving him to the gone but not forgotten section on the yearbook page.

Checks have started to come in for the reunion and we will soon start posting the paid attendees on this site. New searches had to be done on the classmates whose invitations were returned as undeliverable or whose emails bounced back. So we have updated a number of classmates with new contact information on their yearbook page. Thanks to Honey for all her work in making phone calls and keeping track of all the changes. There's more to collecting money than meets the eye.
10/31

Condolences to Pat Pandolfi Cox on the loss of her ninety three year old mother on October 5th. Although I haven't seen Mrs. Pandolfi in over fifty years, I remember her with warmth and fondness. She always made you feel welcome in her home and she will be sorely missed by Pat and her sisters. Pat can be reached at pattyjazz@aol.co
10/26

Honey has begun to send out emails to all classmates with the information on where to send the reunion money. If you haven't kept us updated and have changed your email address, you may not get a mailing. Below is her message with prices and where to send your checks. Information will be going out in the mail to those who do not have access to a computer.

OUR 50TH REUNION IS ALMOST HERE

Friday June 24, 2011

Place: Domenico's Restaurant in Levittown
Time: 8 -12 PM

Menu:
On each table: (red tablecloths with black napkins):
Bread
Bruschetta and stuffed mushrooms
Buffet,
Garden Salad dressing on the side
Rigatoni a la vodka
Eggplant Rollatini
Grilled Chicken Breast
Sole Francaise
Chicken Parmigiana
Rotini Primavera with Garlic and Oil
Roasted Potatoes
Broccoli
Escarole
Occasion Cake
Unlimited Coffee, tea, iced tea, regular and diet soda
Cash Bar
Cost per person including food, tax, bartender & DJ: $50.00

Saturday June 25, 2011

Lunch in the LMHS lunch room!!
Domenico's will supply & deliver Pizza, wraps etc. Water & soda will also be available.
Cost per person: $12.00.

There hopefully will some nice surprises during lunch but we're still working on that.

PLEASE MAKE CHECKS PAYABLE TO:

LMHS 61 - 50th Reunion

Send to:
Honey Cottrell
15104 Roundup Drive
Tampa, FL 33624

Please indicate your guests name (if applicable) on the check.
Visit the Class Website
WWW.LMHS61.ORG

Click on 50th reunion for updated information and see who is attending

Look forward to seeing you in June!

10/18

Dear Marcy,
I hope all is well--and was excited to get my note from Honey today about the reunion. I just wanted to verify that my husband Dennis and I do expect to come, and I'll be getting my check in the mail for the dinner. (Although Dennis lived in Lynbrook, he knew Mark Michaels, Ted Richman, and Dick Broder through Eagle Scouting; what a small world!) I'm not quite sure yet about the luncheon--and do I have to let you know that now? (I may have to head out to Kansas for a conference around that time but haven't gotten the dates confirmed yet.)
So far as my "news" in concerned, my youngest daughter just had her first child, a little girl named Wesley Alessandra--so we're happy as can be! (We have a 10 year old granddaughter and a 6 year old grandson from our oldest daughter.) I'm still teaching at Hofstra (in February I'll be starting my 43rd year there!) and was interviewed as part of their 75th birthday celebration. If anyone wants a good laugh please go to oralhistoryproject@Hofstra.edu (maybe ohp@Hofstra.edu?) and select "Slide Show." You'll have to browse through important graduates, such as Nelson DeMille, but eventually you'll get to "Barbara Bengels"-- and can make fun of my harlequin glasses when you see some of the old pictures on the website.
Please send my love to everyone--and best wishes for a happy and healthy holiday season.
Fondly, Barbara Steinman Bengels
P.S. Another exciting event of this year was my having part of a study I've been working on published as the lead article in The New York Review of Science Fiction. (I interviewed 55 SF writers about the encouragement they did or didn't get from their parents, teachers, librarians, etc.-and received some very funny and poignant responses back. It's been very interesting and great fun! It also reminds me of how many of my teachers discouraged me from reading SF as a kid! Who knew I'd be teaching it on a college level--for forty years?)

Deciding about the luncheon can be done at a later date and a separate check for $12.00 can be sent in if you do decide to go. In the near future we will be marking those on the list of attendees as paid once Honey gets the check and will have that posted here on the website 50th reunion page. It's hard to believe our 50th reunion is only eight months away!
10/18

Marcy,
It has been too long since I visited the website and caught up on what all of us are doing. Thanks to everyone who is working on setting up the reunion. Yes, count me and "Husband" in for coming to the 50th reunion next summer. We are planning to sail our boat up to New England again (sailed up there this summer and loved it so much we are ready for a repeat) and will schedule our cruise so we will be nearby for the weekend of the festivities. Don't know what I can do to help from here, but let me know if there is something.
Eileen Wolff Turner
10/15

Hi, Marcy,

 Long time since we spoke. My fault. I tried to email Gloria Russo at the sites in the yearbook but both came back undeliverable. Is there another address for her?

I'm really looking forward to the reunion next summer. I can't believe it's been 50 years. I probably can't do much to help from down here but if you think of anything that will help please let me know.

Regards, Larry Carballo

Those are Gloria's correct email addresses. The mystery is why they sometimes work and other times do not. I seem to recall she told me to try the Fort Scott email during the work day and not at night. And if I remember correctly, that one won't take attachments. But it is the one she always communicates with whenever I do hear from her. Keep trying.
10/13

Marcy,

 Betty's married name was Purcell. She was laid to rest yesterday at St. Charles Cemetery in Farmingdale. I checked to see if there was an obituary and couldn't find one. She had 2 children, Anthony and Linda. She had three grandchildren, all boys. She had been divorced for many years but her ex predeceased her. I'll look for photos of her in my many years of albums. Hope all is well with you. Take care.

 Ardy Clay Oley

 I received a note today from Ardy Clay Oley telling us that her dear friend and our classmate Betty Hudson passed away today. We will be moving her name to the gone but not forgotten section and welcome any remembrances of Betty that you might want to share.
10/7

Dear Marcy,

Why is it when it comes to our birthday, some of us are like children? To the point...my birthday is September 25th not the 26th. Would you please correct this for me? Also, if possible, put an X next to my name on the 50th Reunion List. I would like to help in anyway needed, especially since I live only about 33 miles away from the restaurant. Be well.

Sincerely, Carolyn Nelson
9/18

Dear Friends,

Our New Year greetings are getting out a little late this year. But, then again, September also came late this year. It normally starts three to four weeks before Rosh Hashana, but this year it started only one week before. No matter. A year is a year, and 5771 has already begun.

The old year hasn't been bad to our small family. As it fades into history, this is where we are:

Ami is still in Washington DC, but he beat the heat this summer by traveling to Alaska for the first time in his life, with his girlfriend Gabby Hirz. They were wearing parkas in July as they climbed Mt. Alyeska! Ami keeps busy developing his international tourism projects, including the Costa Rica Caribbean Experience (see http://bit.ly/cuHNKO) which combines visits to the coasts and a Jewish-run eco-farm in the highlands, and his own Sustainable Israel Tours, which provides unique environmental tours to Israel and the region, with the first tour announced for March 2011. There's a website under construction at: http://sustainableisrael.com/

Aharon and Melanie just moved to their new apartment in Modi'in. They have more room, fresh air, good commuting to either Tel Aviv or Jerusalem, and a nice nursery school for Amitai. Aharon is continuing to work on his Ph.D. thesis and several other activities, including running Dig The Past in the U.S. (www.digthepast.org). His article on "The Symbolic and Social Meanings of the Intermediate Bronze Age Copper Daggers" was accepted for publication in the prestigious Palestine Exploration Quarterly in London, scheduled for next year. Melanie has started to work in the Tel Aviv office of the Association for Civil Rights, and she enjoys the convenience of commuting by train.

Amitai began to walk -- and run -- during a trip to Canada and the U.S. this summer. He says a few "pre-words" and knows how to make lots of animal sounds. He runs to see the poster of the big black horse when he visits Savta and Grandpa in Jerusalem. A lively, lovely kid in all ways.

Eitan is getting a few more months' experience as an intern with the Red Star of David, working in the Netanya area. His girlfriend Dalit Zaguri is also extending her internship in Kfar Saba. They both are living with Dalit's parents in Haifa, which is a convenient distance to where they both work. They are looking at November to finish with their internships and final exams -- and then the real world awaits. Eitan continues to be an avid follower of the fortunes of Israel's national basketball and soccer teams, as well as his beloved Betar Jerusalem soccer team.

Trudy just got back before Rosh Hashanah from a good visit to the States. One brother had a significant birthday; she reconnected with some old friends from camp(!) and college; and she attended a family bar mitzvah in Baltimore. She's is trying to wind down her job at Pardes in the coming months so she can devote more time to helping with Amitai, finally pick up on all her unfinished craft projects, take some of the clutter out of the house, have more time for visiting friends, and then find part-time work/volunteering to keep her busy! She would also love to get back to singing in some form or other (assuming anyone will still accept
her!).

Also during Trudy's trip, she, Ami and Gabby, and Aharon, Melanie and Amitai all converged at Goldie's condo in Century Village for a two-day partial family reunion. Great-grandma Goldie was exhausted at the end -- but was thrilled to see Amitai and the rest of the family.

Doug isn't about to retire just yet. He's still at work most days, but also finds time for a pretty hectic schedule of exercising, writing, attending various lectures, and frequenting pubs old and new. He's very pleased with the flowering of native Israeli micro (or boutique) breweries. So much beer; so little time.
In closing, we'd like to point out how difficult it was to compose New Year's greetings in our highly opinionated family.

We were going to say "Sweet," but Aharon said, "What about these multinational conglomerates that are chopping down the rain forest to plant sugar cane plantations?"

We were going to say "Healthy," but Eitan the paramedic said, "What, you want me to sit around twiddling my thumbs the whole year?"

We were going to say "Safe," but Melanie said, "You're always talking about the military and security. What about individual rights?

We were going to say "Peaceful," but Doug said, "We don't want to give people any illusions."

We were going to say "Prosperous," but Ami said, "Why is it always about making money? Gimme a break!"

We were going to say "Relaxed," but Trudy said, "Wonderful .. . . but what about me, with all the cooking and cleaning up!"

So we decided to take the lowest common denominator and wish everyone of you a "Good New Year" -- and you can interpret that any way you want.

Doug and
Trudy Greener
Amiel
Aharon, Melanie and Amitai
Eitan
9/18

Hi Marcy,

I hope you and your family are doing well.

I have a new address: 2911 PHARR ROAD SOUTH, NW; BOX 1433; ATLANTA, GA 30305..NEW E MAIL: thedaph1@gmail.com; phone: 404 384.0274.

Thanks for keeping us together.

Love,

"Chickie"

PS: Sonya Shrednick no longer lives in GA. She's relocated to her aunt's condo in Fla.
7/29

Marcy,

I am no official retire, well, sorta... I still do a little contract work to earn travel money. We are really looking forward to the reunion next year!

Keep up the great work on the web site!

Blessings,
Vic Sassone
7/27

Marcy please add us to the list for the reunion, sounds like it will be a great time.

Kevin & Rosemary Farrell
7/21

I'm delighted to report that Kevin Farrell had a successful heart transplant on June 22nd. The donor heart was young and healthy. Kevin was up and walking around in two days and discharged after ten days. On July 2nd he had lunch out at a Chinese restaurant with his wife Rosemary. Just amazing! His doctors said he should be ready for golf by October. We wish him a long and healthy life. Kevin can be reached at Kevpetfar@aol.com
7/20

I'm sad to report the loss this week of another classmate. Frank Barning (Division Avenue class of 60) wrote to let me know that Cathy Ogden Dumrauf passed away on Saturday. I checked online and found her obituary, which is posted on the "Gone But Not Forgotten" page. Any memories of her are welcome for her tribute page.
7/1

Dear Marcy,

Was so excited to find this website of our class of '61. Have attached my then and now pictures and will provide further information later when the excitement abates somewhat. The lovely gentlemen with me in my "NOW" photo is my husband of 43 years John Michael O'Donnell. I am looking to, and will definitely attend, our 50th reunion next year.

Audrey


I immediately called Audrey in California upon receiving this email. Two days prior to this I had been doing people searches on her without any luck. After an hour and a half on the phone we are now caught up. She retired last year as an administrator in nursing. She and her husband have one daughter and a seven year old granddaughter. She is very excited about the 50th reunion. She found our site by doing a search on class of 61 reunions in the hopes that our class would be doing something for our 50th. She has not been in contact with anyone in our class since graduation. However she came close sometime in the late sixties when she was home visiting her parents in Wantagh. She fell asleep on her mother's chaise lounge in the backyard. Gloria Russo was also home from Kansas visiting her mother. She stopped in to see Audrey but Audrey's mother didn't want to wake her up and so she missed out on seeing an old classmate. Gloria, I'm wondering if you remember this? Audrey would like to do an alumni page and the picture of her husband that she spoke of will go there as we try to keep then and now pictures as individual shots.
6/30

Thanks to Honey we now have another name removed from our missing list. She communicated with the sister of Christine Ianello on Facebook and discovered that Christine was also on Facebook and had joined in the hopes of finding lost high school friends. She is now Christine Amato and lives in Centereach, NY. Her information is now on her yearbook page.
6/29

I'm happy to announce that we have removed another name off our missing list. Marilyn Chotiner had an unusual last name so I did a search on the last name and found a family tree site listing her marriage to Jerry Currier. Once I knew her married name, the rest was easy. I gave Honey the number and asked if she wanted to make the call. Here is what she learned:

Just spoke with Marilyn – they have just moved into a new house so new address is 430 Heritage Court, Charlottesville, VA 22903 phone 703/307-4056 (I think it's her cell phone) and birth date is 12/22/43. She was very pleased to be found and will check out the website as soon as they get unpacked and all set up. Once she sees it she may send more info and will let you know if she can make it to the reunion. She has not been in touch with anyone from LMHS since graduation as her entire family moved to MD right afterwards.

You are amazing, I have been looking for her and never came across it. Was the family tree site GENI? I put info on their site hoping classmates would find me and maybe get in touch. Nothing like that has happened, but my nieces and nephews, some of which have never met, are in touch via that and FB.

Going to be doing some traveling this fall, but thought I would set up the bank account late October and start getting people to commit and pay for the reunion. I take my laptop when we travel, so there will be no problem keeping up with who is going to attend and who pays, etc.

Take care – and great work with Marilyn. Guess it is hit and miss with the internet, just like how I found Marlene…. Maybe we'll locate everyone at some point.
6/27

To all our dear friends,

It's been a very long 4 weeks. My family and I thank you for the prayers you have said for our brother Michael. Michael passed away in his sleep Saturday morning, ending his long battle with lung cancer... He left two sons Michael, John and a daughter Nichole, and two grandsons, with one more on the way Jordyn, Michael the fourth and Tylor, to be born July 9. They are doing fine for now and will continue to adjust with God's guidance. Life moves on... Thanks again for all the prayers, May God Bless you.

 Mary Mennette Mattson

We send our condolences to Mary and Margie Mennette on the loss of their brother Michael.
6/21

Marcy,
Thanks for all the awesome work you do for the Class of 61. I plan on coming to all activities for the 50th reunion. I think I've even got my husband interested. He loves Domenico's. Hope to see you there. By that time I should have at least 19 Grandchildren and 1 great-Grandchild. By the way my birthday is June 22nd.
Carol Lutz Smemoe
6/11

Marcy,
Please convey my congrats to Stu on his newest car--he's a beauty (blue, it must be a boy). I can't imagine the time and energy it took to do the work, but the results are worth it. It's lovely. I'd ask to drive it, but I don't think I could get in and certainly couldn't get out. Nice work Stu.
Toni Salometo
6/8

Hi Marcy,

Any word on the summer picnic ??
Attached please find a picture of my new baby. It's a 1961 Austin Healey Bugeye Sprite. Back in the last century, one of Barbara O'Connell's boyfriends had one. I pleaded with my Dad for one and he said, 'NO'. You will get yourself killed in that thing. Hence, no Bugeye.. Turns out Dad was right !! It's a real religious experience driving a car with drum brakes. From 60 the car will stop in just a little under 300 feet and that's if I have a new pair of sneakers on.. It's a far cry from today's cars with disc brakes that can stop in just under 125 feet from the same speed.
Stu Smith

There were not enough yes responses to cover the cost of the park grounds fee so it looks as if there will be no picnic this year. Thank goodness our 50th is just one year away this month.
6/5

Hi Marcy. Hope all is well with you.

Both Bob Levine and Mark Michaels called me recently about attending the reunion next summer, and I'm planning on being there, so add my name to the list.

I'm enjoying retirement, particularly now that the good weather has returned. I just got back from visiting my money in Las Vegas and had a great time. I'm looking forward to a few months of golf and spending time with my grandsons.

Have a great summer!

Harvey Pearlstein
6/1

To our dear friends, I am asking you once again to say a prayer for my brother and his family. As you know my brother has been fighting the effects of his brain cancer for 3 years. Well, this week he went in for another test and they found a tumor surrounding his heart and lung. The sad news is this one can not be treated. Michael will not be with us for long. God will embrace him and take him home before the sounds of summer are gone.
Mary Mennette Mattson
5/26

Kudos to Toni Salometo for achieving the distinction of being our oldest classmate to graduate from college. Although she earned her associates degree years ago, after retiring she set out on a course to get that four year college degree. There were many interruptions along the way, including a move to Florida, but she finally achieved her goal at the age of 66. Follow your dreams classmates. It's never too late.
5/24

Dear Honey,

Thanks to you and others that have worked to make the Levittown Memorial High School website a reality! It was quite a trip down memory lane, bringing 50 years up to the present moment! Somehow it is hard to believe a number in our class are no longer with us….

Perhaps I missed it but what would be great to see are updates on what people are doing now or some highlight over the years. For example, --As for what I have been doing at least for the last 30 years can be seen at my organization’s website: www.legacyintl.org just look for me under “who we are”. I wanted to make a contribution to humanity and this is how I express it. Greetings to all my classmates.

My home address is 1067 Rising Star Drive, Bedford, Virginia 24523; birthday is April 27. Attached is a recent photo for the site. Please spell my last name with an “e”. Thanks again for your efforts.

Best,
Marlene Ginsberg

Thanks to Honey for finding Marlene Ginsberg on Facebook. With pleasure we can remove her name from the missing list. Honey contacted Marlene, told her about the site and asked for her birthday and contact information. Above is Marlene's response to Honey's email. Marlene may have overlooked our alumni pages on the yearbook page which tell what people have been doing since graduation. We invite Marlene to send us her bio so she can have an alumni page. That goes for the rest of you too!
5/15

Congratulations to Michelle Curtin, daughter of Frank and Rona Curtin. Michelle just graduated from medical school and will start a three year residency in Columbia, South Carolina.

In response to queries from Bob Levine and Stu Smith about another picnic this summer, Frank says he will do one again if there is enough interest, but it will be simpler this time around. Last year there was too much food. Since there is a park fee that must be paid in advance, he would need to know that we have enough people to share in the cost of the fee and food supplies. So drop a line to the website if you want to attend. I'll let you know if we get enough responses to start making plans.
5/10

Coach Goes to Denver on a Lacrosse Crusade - NYTimes.com

This article is about Bill Tierney, Tom's youngest brother. My younger brother went to Cortland with him. I know Tom's son is the lacrosse coach at Hofstra.. A real dynasty!!!
Submitted by Rona Selsky
LMHS Class of 1965
5/3

HI Marcy

Just had a chance to check out the LMHS website - The plans for the 50th sound great! Helene has worked her magic once again! I can hardly wait to see everyone again!
Just have to tell you that I ran into a couple in Mexico and the wife was doing what Helene has done but for her 60th class reunion. Let me tell you she had her hands full - most of her class were in wheelchairs, on walkers and otherwise incapacitated. She had to make special transportation arrangements and find a flat place for all the walkers.
...so I'm here to tell you guys - GET ON THE STICK AND COME TO OUR 50TH REUNION because the next one, we may all not be able to get to!!! I mean it Harvey!! and Hank, and Ilene T, Richie M.,the BAND, the football team, the earstwhile cheerleaders.... and the rest of you dudes and dudettes. This one is important. It may not be quite our last Hurrah, but it's getting close. So thanks Helene for all you are doing, and thank you folks who keep the website alive.!!! AND THE REST OF YOU GUYS START PLANNING NOW FOR NEXT YEAR!!

love ya - see you then!
Sandy (Parrish) Duvall
5/1

Dear Friends,

The Wells Fargo stage coach drove through Jerusalem a few days ago and threw down a package of old New York Timeses. So I was able to read a very serious article on the "darker mood" in Israel on our 62nd Independence Day (April 20 this year), where because of our political situation, "the sense of celebration this year is muted" and we are "profoundly worried."

It's a shame the writer -- I think a very respected journalist or else why would he be representing the New York Times in Israel -- wrote about our muted celebrations before Independence Day. Had he waited a day or two, and actually gone out to be with the people on the street, he would have seen that the mood was significantly different from his description.

I think that before I give you my immensely more accurate eye-witness account, I should just point out my wariness with any journalist who reports something like, "The mood in this town is . . . ." or "Gotham is a city in mourning today" or the like. Not only does it sound pompous; it's basically meaningless, expressing more what the writer thinks should be than what really is. True, cities can be physically destroyed or crippled by natural or man-made disasters (Chernobyl, New Orleans, Port au Prince), but political events in themselves do not dictate city-wide moods.

No matter. Trudy and I went out on the eve of Independence Day to a nice restaurant and then walked over to the Jerusalem City Hall Square for an outdoor song concert. Three middling famous singers gave us two hours of Israeli golden oldies. If the crowd was profoundly anything, it was loud. There they were singing and dancing in the aisles and looking like they were having a great old time. A group of American college students near us were shifting and sliding to the beat, looking real cool and pulling in Israelis who passed by. A bunch of girls behind us held up a big Israeli flag as they sang and danced with the music. And over on the other side of the square, people joined hands in a huge circle and danced the hora with all their might. During all this, a firework display started behind us and we all turned around to "ooh" and "aah" and cheer.

After the concert was over, Trudy joined hundreds of others for folk dancing in the square, while I went home. (I never learned how to do anything more sophisticated than the old two-step hora.) As I was walking back to the bus, I was struck by the fact that Jerusalem was full of ignorant people who don't read the New York Times. They were parading down the street, some singing, many taking part in the venerable Israeli custom of spraying artificial snow on passers-by and hitting them with squeaky plastic hammers. This year there were also humungous blow-up balloon hammers as well. I find it less strange to see adults acting like kids than to see teenagers acting like kids. Teens have this thing about staying "cool," which I understand, but on Independence Eve they were stepping out of character and whooping it up without a drop of self-consciousness.

I got home after midnight and one of the neighbors was having an obscenely loud party in his yard. I was tired, and I must admit that in such situations where people are so inconsiderate, I have no hesitation in calling and complaining to the police. Not for nothing am I known as the "Jerusalem party pooper." So I did. The desk sergeant informed me that there was nothing to do. "Independence Eve is the one night of the year when you can make all the noise you want all night. There's no law against it." I never heard this because I never had to face this situation before. How strange that this hadn't happened in previous years, when the national mood wasn't so "muted."

In the morning, after a short night's sleep, I went to a festive service in the synagogue. If anybody was "profoundly worried," he didn't look it. I can't swear that no one had any personal problems, but the mood was one of the most upbeat I have ever seen -- for our synagogue, at any rate. We are not known for our litugical enthusiasm. Later in the day, we went to have our traditional vegetarian barbecue in the park behind the King David Hotel. All around us were hundreds of other depressed families charring their mammal meat, relaxing in the sun, drinking beer, kicking around a soccer ball, and generally doing what they always have done every Independence Day. Eitan joined us and left for his shift on the ambulance, and other friends came over as did Aharon, Melanie and Amitai. We ate, relaxed, talked, argued, had a baseball catch (that always attracts spectators) and watched an air force fly-by. As the day ended, we retreated into our dark moods. Our friend Mike Horton caught us on the attached photo, which clearly shows our apprehension as we face the future.

A blessed, prosperous and peaceful 63rd year to us all.

Doug Greener
4/26
Go to "Informal Gatherings" for Doug's latest Family Picture.

Marcy,

That is Paul in the "unidentified person" picture with Warren Hechinger in "The Way We Were" section. He did work for the DNC as their Political Director until he died of a massive heart attack on Sept 24th, 1992 in Little Rock, Ark. We were married in Aug of 1966 and split up in 1974. He leaves my daughter, Jessica Dylan Tully and her half-sister Miranda Tully whose birthdays fall on the same day: July 19th, Jessie was born in 1970 and Miranda in 1980. Paul went to Trinity Prep and then to Yale (undergraduate) and Univ of Penn Law School (1972) but was friends with a lot of LMHS folks from elementary school and sports. It was sad that he died before Clinton was elected because he worked for other Presidential candidates, none of whom won, but he never saw Clinton's (and his) victory.

Hugh O'Donnell went to LMHS, I believe - I'll ask him, he just friended me on Facebook; and his dad was my Latin teacher: Mr.Hugh O'Donnell.

I just though I'd fill in some of the blanks.

Heidi Perlmutter, LMHS class of 1960 (I had lots of friends in the class of '61)
4/23

Hi Marcy,

Count me in too.   Mark Michaels and Steve Ross called to remind me to visit the LMHS website and to advise me about the plans for the reunion.  Please advise me of when and to whom to send in a check for both Patricia and myself.  And how about another summer picnic? 

The website looks great.  Thanks for your continued efforts.

Regards,
Bob Levine

  At this time no account has been set up to collect reunion funds. Honey Cottrell has volunteered to do that, but Helene feels there is no need to start collecting money until early November. The advantage of going with a smaller place is that no large deposit (usually thousands of dollars) is required to hold the date. We will use the website to announce where to send the money when the time comes. Many thanks to those of you who are making phone calls to friends about the reunion so that everyone keeps that date open on their calendars. Honey has been contacting people on Classmates.com as well. For those of you who know classmates who are not online, a phone call to them with the date would be appreciated. Together we can spread the word and help to make this reunion a huge success.
3/30

Hi Marcy

I happened to be looking at the lmhs website ( terrific job!) the other day and I noticed that the email address listed for me is obsolete. Could you please change it to the current address: mikes616@optonline.net in the offchance that someone might want to contact me. I also have a Facebook page as well as a Facebook page for my practice ( Mark Michaels, Architect). Many thanks!

Mark Michaels

ps- I've been calling some old classmates trying to convince them they MUST come to the reunion next June!
3/22

I am not a member of your class but did attend Salk with a number of your classmates. I went online to check out your website and see how many names I remembered. Reading your emails I saw Kathy's name. I am sad to say that she passed away from cancer about 5-6 years ago. She was married to John Morton and left behind a daughter Susan.

Barbara Nagle Matis

I checked out Kathyrn on the Social Security Death index and found this information to be true. I will look into finding her daughter so that she has the option of getting that Girl Scout handbook recently found in her old home. We will be moving her picture to the Gone But Not Forgotten page.
3/15

Hi-My name is Leslie and my brother Greg is in the process of tearing apart his house in Levittown on Club Lane to do some reconstruction. When he tore apart the ceiling he found a 1956 Girl Scout Handbook with the name Kathryne Carll written inside, also written was pack 333 Wantagh NY. I did a classmate search and her name came up on this site-which makes sense since she probably would have graduated from a levittown school in about 1961. He would love to return it to her and Im sure she might like to have it for an old keepsake. Are you able to help me out with this?? Any help that you could provide would be appreciated!
Thank you very much--
Leslie Maillette
wag15@comcast.net
603 775-0030

This is a wonderful story and I'm disappointed that Kathy Carll is one of our missing classmates. I tried finding her in the past but don't know her married name. Is there anyone out there who knows her married name so I can do a people search? Does anyone remember if she lived on Club Lane? I will write Leslie and ask her if she'll keep the book just in case we get lucky and find Kathy. Any leads you can provide will be most welcome.
2/19/10

Dear Marcy,

I am Elizabeth Sucher's younger sister Alice. I just came across your wonderful Web site for LMHS '61 today. What an incredible thing you all have put together. I wanted to fill you in more about Elizabeth. She passed away on Jan. 13, 2000 from lung cancer. She lived in Santa Rosa, CA and is survived by her husband, Dayle Carlson and daughter, Sarah Carlson and by me and our mother Sylvia who is now 97. She would have absolutely loved this Web site. I don't have time right now but I would love to give you more information about her at some point.

Thanks!
Sahib-Amar Khalsa (formerly Alice Sucher)
2/10/10

Marcy, Hope all is well with you and your family. I was watching the news and wondered if anyone knows how Gino is. I remember several years ago the problems he had with a mud slide and hope history hasn't repeated itself.
Regards, Steve Weissman

I spoke to Gino and he is fine. There was a mudslide about a mile away from his home, but his property was untouched. The county did a lot of work after the big one that hit his neighborhood and that work seems to be doing the trick. In addition he had backhoe work done on his property that would divert the mud away from the house if the large trench dug by the county overflows. He says the creek that runs through his property is free of debris so that is a good sign. They have had torrential rains and even hail, but no mud. He said to say thanks for asking Steve.
1/26/10

 I received a call from Helene today with a progress report on plans for our 50th reunion. She went to Domenico's today and put down a deposit so our date of Friday, June 24, 2011 is official. She said that we will have a private entrance to our room there that is accessible from the back parking lot. No need to walk through the restaurant to find our spot. She saw the room and said it was perfect for our needs. She picked out black and red (school colors) tablecloths and the buffet menu with choices to suit everyone. They will supply a cash bar and the bar tender. Those who chose to drink will pay for their own and can take care of tips. There is a party store in that shopping center that will be used for our decorations and balloons. There is a place for our banner to be hung and signed by all who attend. She also contacted the DJ and he has us down on his calendar.

She also got permission for us to use the former Levittown Memorial School on the day after the reunion. There will be a janitorial fee for the use of the cafeteria. The owner of Domenico's gave Helene a special rate of $5.00 for sandwich wraps at lunchtime. We can also visit the Levittown Museum in the basement of the school. Those who went there in 2005 know it is well worth the time to see this museum. Helene feels that rather than adding the cost of Saturday's outing to the reunion ticket, that it should be a separate fee paid only by those who plan to attend. That way, anyone not choosing to go will not have to pay for those who do attend. It will also give her a more accurate count on the number of sandwiches to order.

Mark your calendars now and if you haven't committed to going, do so soon.
1/22/10

I heard from Tommy Mueller (LMHS 1958) today with the sad news that our classmate Lillian Schmidt passed away yesterday from Parkinson's disease. We will be moving her to the Gone But Not Forgotten page. As always, anyone who would like to share a memory of her is welcome. I will include the email that Tommy received from Lillian's brother John and a prom picture.
01/12/10

 Honey has been reaching out via Classmates to possible siblings of our missing classmates. Unfortunately she heard from the brother of Barbara Ryan Myers that Barbara passed away from cancer in November, 2000. She left behind three children. We will be moving her to the gone but not forgotten page, Feel free to share any memories you may have of her.
01/06/10

I just received a letter from Dick Hawkey with good and bad news: the good news is that hes been busy seeing plays with his wife; the bad news is that his dear friend Ray Kavanaugh lost his wife this past summer. He was married to Clare Sullivan who also taught at LMHS. He said that Mary Loonam (who was my gym teacherand a very compassionate one considering my very negligible skills---) also died recently. Since getting Dicks letter, I ran into Ray at the Garden City Libraryand Ill bet hed love to hear from anyone who had him. Hes living in Garden City and Im sure his address is available online. (His sad news was that Dicks brother had just died. Dick still lives at 7 No. Nancy Place in Massapequa and would, Ill bet, also love to hear from former students.) I might also add that I would never have been an English teacher if it werent for Dick Hawkeyand I was thrilled when he became an adjunct at Hofstra for a good number of years. Every time I ran into him in the halls I felt as though I were 16 again!

Finally, I wish everyone a wonderful 2010!!!!

Barbara Steinman Bengels
01/01/10

Marcy,

Was stunned to receive your Christmas card! I am here in New Jersey since 1968, and living in Highland Lakes since 1987, when I married Ed, husband # 2. Life before him is not open for discussion. Between us, we have 5 grown offspring. And 4 grandchildren. All scattered. I have a son in Wisconsin, a daughter in Florida, and another daughter in France, just outside of Geneva. My 2 grandsons are there, and I have been flying over to Geneva once a year since 1997. They are here visiting now, so I am keeping this short. Ed's daughter lives in Delaware, and his son lives in Pa. He and his wife have given us our 2 granddaughters. You can add the information below to your website, and I have attached a recent picture, taken this year when I was in France. I am still working, and the retirement word is not yet in my vocabulary! Just an ordinary life. Nothing remarkable.

Judy Voska Plocharski
413 East Lakeshore Dr.
Highland Lakes, NJ 07422
email: jplo@warwick.net

I have been in touch with Sally Pittman and Chickie Goldberg. It was a jolt to learn that Nancy Ryen and Debby Miller have died. Sally, Nancy and Debby were my closest friends, and Chickie lived at the end of my street in Wantagh. She and Debby remained close friends. I know that Barbara Farrell married Alan, who is/was a cardiologist here in NJ. However, I don't know if she wants anything further revealed. Some of us just want our lives pretty much kept to ourselves.

So, how DID you/Honey/whoever find me? The website mentions that you tried contacting my son - he doesn't have a facebook -who did you contact, and how?

Hope everyone is well and happy.

Best Wishes for a Happier New Year!

Judy

I was delighted to hear from Judy, especially because I have not had much luck in the past when sending letters to missing classmates. Phone calls have always proved most effective but since her phone is unlisted, I sent a Christmas card with a note and our website information. Obviously she was pleased to be found and wasted no time contacting Sally and Chickie.

As to Barbara Farrell, Honey contacted her brother Carter on Classmates and he passed on the website information to Barbara. She did look at it and told Carter she would contact Honey with her information, but when that didn't happen we figured she wished to remain private.

I found Judy doing a people search on Judith Voska and it listed that name as an aka for Judith Plocharski. The age was right so I did a phone check on her which revealed her address but not the phone. It's rare when I get any luck using a maiden name, but this time it paid off. I didn't really expect to hear back so this email was a nice surprise. The son Scott was listed as a relative. I googled him and found someone with that name on Facebook. Apparently it was the wrong Scott. Welcome back to the fold Judy! This now brings our new total to 25 missing classmates found in 2009. What a great way to end the year.
Via Email 12/30/09

That was the year that was....

Another year has come to an end and we hope that 2010 will be a happy and healthy year for all of you. This past summer a group of us got together for a class picnic. Three of the classmates who came had never been to any class function since graduation and it was heartwarming to see how easily they fit right in with everyone as if no years had passed at all.

We lost one classmate this past year, Arline Gruber Kaplan. Sadly though, because of stepped up people searches, we learned of many more passings that took place over the years and our gone but not forgotten page has grown larger than any of us ever wanted. This past year we worked on adding the date of death under their pictures and would welcome any remembrances of these classmates you might wish to add. We also lost one teacher, Mary Loonam.

Many of you became grandparents this past year and at least one I know of became a first time grandma. It was also a year for retirements and relocations. As someone who has lived in the same house for forty two years, I find it amazing that people our age can pack up their homes and move to another part of the country. Cleaning out closets is a big chore for me. But cleaning out a home? That is a remarkable accomplishment and I marvel at the stamina that some of you possess.

It was a banner year for finding lost classmates. It was our best successful search year since before the 2005 reunion. We owe a huge debt to Honey Murway Cottrell, who spent countless hours on the phone and on the computer contacting people on Classmates and getting their information. Facebook opened up another avenue of search and we found missing classmates there too. We are down to fifty four missing souls and truth be told , we do know where some of them are but will respect their wish for privacy. We welcomed twenty four people back into the fold in 2009: Grace Squance, Suzanne Handwerker, Steve Strauss, Dolores Dragna, June Ryan, George Schieber, Merrily Nappi, Karin Weinberg, Jane Lynch, Elinda Guardino, Roberta Willensky, John Hughes, Dorothy Monroe, Phillip Campanaro, Doug Castoldi, Helen Kehlbeck, Mary Lynn Graham, Paul Allen, Herb Baynon, Bonnie Schatz, Norman Levi, Dorothy Willner, Ilene Tetenbaum and Maddie Seidelle. The majority of these folks have had no contact with anyone from high school since graduation and a good many of them have reconnected with long lost friends. Three of them even had the opportunity to meet former classmates in person. It doesn't get any better than that.

As 2010 approaches, interest in a 50th reunion in 2011 is picking up. We've had offers of help and have provided a place here on the class website for people to express their opinions. Hopefully by the end of 2010, we will be further along in the planning stages and our list of committed people will grow.

Thanks to all of you who have sent your news, pictures and kept us updated on email and address changes. I hope more of you will keep us posted in the coming year. Thanks to our boosters who provide us with the means to update frequently. We can be proud of our class!
Via Email 12/29/09

Thanks for the birthday wishes. I am spending December at my condo in Littleton (Denver) and wish all at LMHS a Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
Thanks for all you do keeping us updated.
STEVE WEISSMAN
Via Email 12/11/09

Marcy,
Gino asked me to relay this message to you ~ he pulled the plug on his computer and decided that he'd rather write a letter with a pen than to type via email. He turned off his internet service and deleted his email address. So if you want to get a message to him either write him a letter or call him direct. If you need his info contact me.

Regards,
Bob Lenci

I received this email from Gino Lynch's brother. I know that many of you have him in your address book so take a minute now to delete his name. He can still be reached at the address and phone listed on our yearbook page.
If Andrea Gilmore or Laura Allen are in your address book, please note that there are new email addresses for both of them listed on their yearbook information page. The old ones should be deleted from your files.
I sent a birthday greeting to Larry Caraballo at his work email and received a response back that he retired on November 19th. I also tried to send the greeting to his alternate Hotmail email but that too was returned. If you are in contact with him, please find out his new info. It's important that we keep our files up to date so close to a possible 50th reunion. Thanks to all of you who do keep us informed when your information changes. It's a huge help.
Via Email 12/9/09

Hi Marcy,

I have an updated picture for then and now and a new email address for the lmhs61 web site, and I understand Im to send the picture to you.

The picture is attached (from 2008). The new email is falcon444@verizon.net

Hope all is well, and thanks for your loving care of our memories!

Regards,

Vic Sassone
Via Email 12/3/09

 Condolences to Lois Christensen Bish who lost her mother in September. Lois came down with pneumonia immediately after her death and wound up in the hospital herself So often caregivers neglect their own health, especially when things are at a crisis stage. We wish her a speedy recovery.

Thanks to Roberta Witlin Hirsh, who sent an old birthday photo that led to two more classmates back in the loop. I emailed Roberta and asked if she knew the married names of Ilene Tetenbaum and Maddie Seidelle, both of whom were in that old photo. Although she has had no contact with either of them in more than thirty years, she did remember the married names of both. I found Ilene in Syosset, NY and she was pleased to know that several people had asked about her. She's a retired art teacher who now works in real estate. Ironically, the only person she has kept in touch with is Maddie Seidelle. They speak twice a year on their respective birthdays. I found Maddie in San Jose, California. She and her husband moved there seven years ago to be closer to their son. For thirty years she was a clinical psychologist with her own practice. After retiring she moved to California and took a job as a school psychologist. She retired from that job this past June. The information on both these classmates is now posted on their yearbook pictures and we welcome them back to the fold.

The funny thing about these two finds is that Honey and I had agreed to take a break from people searches until after the new year. She's in Germany visiting her son and his family and both of us were disappointed that our most recent finds were just not interested in reconnecting with anyone. Maddie and Ilene made up for their less enthusiastic classmates.
Via Email 12/1/09

Hi Marcy. First, l want to thank you again for the terrific job you do with the web site. It's great! I'm sure every classmate who checks the site is very appreciative of your efforts.

I retired at the end of March. I spent the spring catching up on a long list of projects around the house, and split my summer between the golf course and my grandsons (9 & 5). We had a great time! With both of our daughters living in the area, we never planned on moving when I retired, so I guess we'll stay mid-westerners until the end.

I keep in touch with Bob Levine and Dick Broder, but being able to stay up to date on what's happening with many of our classmates is wonderful. Again...thanks. Have a great holiday!

Harvey Pearlstein
Via Email 11/30/09

Today's Newsday obituary lists Mary Loonam, a former LMHS girls' phys. ed. teacher, who passed away yesterday. The obituary on the gone but not forgotten page has a link for anyone who may wish to send their condolences to the family. According to the yearbook picture, she was also an English teacher, but I have no memory of that.

On another note, Bob Benson (LMHS 59), who does our website called me today after viewing Toni's comments on the 50th reunion. He told me that our website has the capability to do an online questionnaire that would go directly to me. This would save me the massive job of emailing a questionnaire to all our classmates who are online. I welcome feedback as to what questions we should ask and I would like to keep it short for easy tabulating and record keeping. I ask that you sign it and add your email address. I will provide a place for comments in your own words if you choose to do that. Anonymous forms will not be tabulated. I will work on this questionnaire in the near future so get any feedback on must ask questions to me. I still intend work on a list of those who are definitely committed to going as well as those who are willing to work in some capacity. Some of you have already let me know and I hope more will do so soon. We can't get started without some working numbers.
Via Email 11/17/09

Dear Friends,

Don't come looking for me between November 15 and December 3. It's my army reserve (milu'im) time again. Yes, I'll be joining my volunteer unit for another 12 days somewhere along the old green line. Until now, you may have noticed, I've been doing this in the summertime. You would think I'd continue, but oh no, that would be too easy. This time I have chosen to endure some rain, wind and mud to make it more interesting.

(Actually, I have nothing against the summer, but for various reasons I've had to postpone my reserve duty several times, until today. And that means it's going to be a little colder and wetter.)

Trudy said that volunteering for reserve duty makes me feel young. I guess it does. As we get on in years (a kinder way of saying that we "get older"), as we get on in years, things that we can no longer do with agility, ease and consistency become relegated to our "memories" tray. It could be anything; no need to detail. The memories are nice, there's no doubt, but they belong to a different lifetime. I suppose old age can be defined as a time when everything -- or almost everything -- is but a memory. The thing is to keep as much as possible in your "still-can-do" tray. Now, most Israeli men my age have memories about reserve duty; a mixture of fondness and good-riddance, as memories often are. But for me, the army reserves are not yet memories. And if that helps me feel young, so be it.

As I've written before, one of the main goals of the volunteer reserve unit is to give younger conscripts more chances to get home on leave. More soldiers on base = less needed at any one time.

Since this week is the twenty-fourth anniversary of the passing of my father Milton Herbert (Moshe Chaim ben David Leib), I began to remember that he also did volunteer work to help soldiers, or in his case, veterans. After we moved to Levittown in 1955, he would take the long drive one evening every week or so to Suffolk County's north shore to volunteer at the Northport VA Medical Center. He would entertain the hospitalized veterans, many of them suffering from "shell shock" (now called "post-traumatic stress"), more than a decade after World War II ended.

Now, for my father, entertainment was playing cards and telling off-color jokes. The wounded veterans, I would guess, appreciated both far more than song-and-dance routines. So my father was always a popular visitor. I imagine him showing up in the wards and the patients shouting, "Hi Miltie," "How ya doin', Miltie? Come over here." And for a short hour or two, he would help them forget their pain, their loneliness and their isolation.

That's much more than I do. But it's comforting to know that at least we're on the same page, that there's something else we share.

Doug Greener
November 2009
Via Email 11/12/09

Hi Marcy,

So good to hear a voice from the past. My birthday is March 22.. The picture I sent You was taken Copenhagen, Denmark. What a great City that is.! My husband Harvey, and I and nine friends took a trip of a lifetime. St. Petersburg, Russia was the highlight of the cruise part of the trip. Other ports, we visited were Helsinki Finland, Stockholm Sweden, Gdansk Poland, Tallinn Estonia, and Oslo Norway. The weather was beautiful and we were so thankful that we were able to take part in such a magnificent excursion. After the Cruise, My husband and I flew to Dusseldorf, Germany and then to Amsterdam which was every bit as amazing as the cruise. The full trip took 19 days.

Now, back to reality,

I am married to my Husband and best friend for forty-five years. We moved to South, Florida. in 1973. I spent my younger years as n Art teacher, developing programs for at-risk and latchkey children, and later as a senior center coordinator for City of Lauderhill, Fl.. I am a mother of three wonderful children and the grandmother of three grandchildren. They all live close by so I am super-busy at all times..

Hope this gives you a little glimpse of my life.

Fondly,
Dorothy Willner Waroff

The search for our missing classmates is progressing nicely. Honey spoke with Norman Levi in Boca Raton Florida and she said he was excited to hear that we have a class website. His information will be found under his picture in the yearbook section. Please take the time to look over our missing list on the yearbook section. If you have any information at all on anyone there- last known state, married name on the females or a contact number on a relative- please help us. For every person we do find, there are ten or more phone calls that are dead ends. Some of the leads provided by classmates have made all the difference and we welcome your help.

Via Email 10/9/09

Hi Marcy,
Effective October 15, 2009, my new address will be 5142 Miles Grant Terrace, Stuart, Florida 34997, telephone no will be 772-288-5010. My cell phone no. is 631-379-8477.....we are going to try Florida for one year and have rented our home here.....and will be residing at our home in Stuart full time. Looking forward to retirement in Florida. Thank you again for the wonderful work and all that you do for the class of '61. Without you, we wouldn't have this wonderful web site.
Regards,

 Marilyn Lerner Workman
Via Email 10/2/09

Good afternoon Marcy
This is the first time I have been on line since I left for New York on July 27 .I have not been sick or even had a cold in many years and the one weekend I was really looking forward to I had a case of pneumonia , followed by double pneumonia ,and then a hernia operation on my birthday!
I did get to my brother's in Bayside but our plan fell apart because my brother had to work and I took the bus from the Port Authority to Middletown, and got a room at the Hampton Inn. I contacted a cousin I had not seen in years, went to Chester and Monroe. Later that afternoon I felt really bad so I changed my flight and went back to Las Vegas . My daughter picked me up and I spent 4 days in the hospital with pneumonia, was released and had two follow ups -a physical and x rays . I thought I was doing ok and while taking a ride with my son I had to go to the hospital at the Air Force base because I could not breathe. This time it was double pneumonia and another 5 days in the hospital. The doctor in charge of my case decided to operate on my umbilical hernia.
Now I am back home taking 11 diffrent medications, mostly vitamins and I guess unless there is another picnic next year we have about a year and a half to get ready for the 50th.
Kevin Kinnaly

Many of us wondered what happened to Kevin when he didn't show up at our picnic in August. I knew he had plane tickets so it was surprising that he wasn't there after coming that far across country. I emailed him later that week to ask if he was ok and did not hear back until now. Apparently he had good reason. We wish him well and a speedy recovery after all that he's been through. The only thing worse than being very sick is being sick away from home.
Via Email 9/27/09

Hi, Marcy,
Thanks so much for remembering--I have a great photo of June Ryan and me for the site.

Here's my saga (aka "excuse")

At the end of June we sold our home, expecting to close on the new home within a few days. Well, that all fell apart the night before we were to sell our home, when our bank pulled back its mortgage commitment on our purchase because of a technicality with the HOA of the gated community where we were purchasing. I won't bore you with the details, but all our possessions went into storage and we stayed with my daughter all summer and just moved into our home two weeks ago. In the interim, I got together with June, but I was reluctant to start loading photo software, etc., on my daughter's pc so the photos are still on my camera card. Meanwhile, I have shared emails with Grace Squance and we will talk after I have some time to get settled in. Meanwhile, here is our new address:

2 Charley Lane
Middle Island, NY 11953
contact info remains the same.

I will get the photo to you soon, and thanks again for all you have done.

Betty Csontos Schuster
Via Email 9/27/09

Kudos to Honey, who once again is doing a great job attacking that missing list. She spoke to Herb Baynon in Brooksville, Florida and learned that he was a teacher on Long Island for thirty five years and has three daughters that still live on the Island. Anyone wanting to reach him can do so through his wife's email which will be listed on his yearbook page. With this newest find we have whittled our missing list down to 69 and all the recent finds have energized us both to keep hacking away at that list. Honey's husband Tom jokingly calls us stalkers but truth be told many of our recent finds have been busy reconnecting via email, phone calls and in two cases (June Ryan and Jane Lynch) in person visits. That alone is reason to keep at it. My weekend was not as successful as Honey's. I called three different numbers and found no one at home. But I will continue to try.
Via Email 9/20/09

I love it when it rains in Tampa. Honey found another missing classmate, Paul Allen, in NYC. His information is now on the yearbook page. There is also a work number change for Roni Cojac Mintz and a new email and phone number for Russ Mulroy.

Hi Marcy,

I was just checking our the LMHS site and saw several references to our classmates who are now in the medical field and remembered something that happened to me back in 1973. My dad was very ill with cancer here in Syracuse at Upstate Medical Center, and he had contracted an infection that had the doctors stumped so that they sent for a specialist who dealt with locating the sources of infections. The doctor walked into my dad's room and he and I looked at each other with a sense of recognition. He checked the name on my dad's chart and then asked me if my name was Celeste. Turned out it was Joel Strom. He found the source of my dad's infection, for which we were most grateful, but I never saw him again. Another small world moment.

Keep well. Celeste Vives Holden

Hi Marcy
How are you doing? I haven't heard how and what is new with our classmates recently. I guess I am due to go on our website!!

Excitement here is that I will become grandmother for the first time within a couple of weeks. I am exercising to be strong and have stamina and hope that when he starts crawling and running around, I can keep up! Much love,
Iris Kogel Chapman
Via Email 9/11/09

While Honey worked from Florida I set out to check old LMHS class lists in the hopes of finding people through their siblings. I found a Bob Kehlbeck who did turn out to be the brother of Helen Kehlbeck. He gave me her number and I found out she lives in Pembroke, MA. Helen recently found out about our site when her daughter Googled the name Kehlbeck and came across her mother's name on the missing list. She never contacted us because she doesn't use a computer. However she gave me her husband's email address if we need to contact her. Helen also gave me the number of Mary Lynn Graham Leonard in West Sayville, NY. Mary Lynn has an unlisted number and doesn't want her information on the site, but anyone wanting to reach her can contact me. She doesn't use a computer, but her daughter has one an she will look at our site.

Helen also told me that Bill Smyth worked with her husband and he passed away in 2001 so we will be moving him to the gone but not forgotten section. If you have a memory of him, please share.

We have now removed another three off the missing list and both Honey and I are following other leads that may bring in more. I told her last night I am so happy to have her helping me on this. If I'm having an unproductive day, she might not be. Yesterday was a bust for her, but I got lucky.
Via Email 9/11/09

Hi Marcy---
I received your email about Frank Esposito and was so very glad you sent it. I do read the website but I haven't in awhile so I missed it. I wanted to write and thank you. It was a nice article and I was thrilled to learn just how much he was to so many people. Thank you again. The last time we talked you asked me to send an updated picture to post to the website and now I'm ready to but I still have trouble downloading from my files, so if you want one or more I'll send it by REAL MAIL if that's ok but I need your address again. I hope to hear from you and I'll check the website more often, I promise . Hope to hear soon.

Craig Shafer
Via Email 9/11/09

Is there really a kinder, gentler New York City?

It seems I've been living with the urban legend of "the uncaring New Yorker." The legend was born in 1964 when poor Kitty Genovese was repeatedly stabbed and left to bleed to death in Kew Gardens while her neighbors, around 40 people, allegedly witnessed everything but neither came to her aid nor even called the police. The legend was strengthened by those apocryphal stories about people falling down sick or injured on the sidewalk while genteel pedestrians carefully stepped over them, afraid to become involved. And it was sealed in stone during the 1977 Blackout, when an orgy of looting, vandalism and arson brought out the worst in the New York soul.

On my recent visit I had no reason to expect anything different.

The first sign of a changing mood happened during an especially turbulent rush hour in the subway. A young mother pushing a stroller found herself looking up a stairway as a waterfall of humanity descended in her direction. Even an empty stairway would have been a formidable climb for her; fighting against this stream was impossible.

Suddenly, as sincerely yours watched while deciding how (or maybe if) to help, someone came from behind, picked up the stroller and plunged headfirst into the torrent. Miraculously, like the Red Sea, it parted, elegantly and completely, as the woman ascended effortlessly towards her destination.

A few days later, I was on my way to buy a bottle of wine for a dinner party on the Upper East Side. Near the wine store, I noticed a young woman talking on her cell phone suddenly shout, "What's happening? Are you all right?"

At first I thought she was talking to the other person on the phone, but I followed her gaze and saw that an elderly man had fallen on the sidewalk. She ran over to help him stand up, and only left him when she saw he was well enough to continue on his own.

"Wow. What's going on?", I thought.

I walked into the wine store and the lovely good Samaritan came in right behind me. I ordered a red wine, as instructed, while she asked for help in choosing a dry white. The salesman suggested a pretty pricey bottle -- and offered to let her taste it before deciding. He opened the bottle and looked at me: "Would you like to try some too, sir?"

"It's the young lady's wine," I said.

"Oh, please," she replied.

The salesman poured us some wine and I held up my glass.

""I'd like to make a toast," I said. "To you, for the great kindness you showed just now outside the store."

Her face lit up with 50-50 surprise and delight.

"And to the city that keeps on surprising me," I added. "This time, surprisingly good."

Now, I know that two incidents do not a New York spring make. But if an urban legend can be born by displays of human callousness, perhaps it can be laid to rest by many little acts of kindliness.

Doug Greener
September 2009
Via Email 9/11/09

This Labor Day weekend marks the fourth anniversary of our website. I remember well the tedious job of scanning yearbook pages and cropping out individual pictures so that we could have a place for all those classmates who lost yearbooks to see the faces that would rekindle memories. When we started there were many missing alumni who had no contact information under their picture. Every year we find a few more people, but I predict that this will be a banner year.

On this particular Labor Day weekend, it was pouring rain in Tampa, Florida. Honey Cottrell decided it was a perfect time to spend a day doing people searches and making some phone calls to see if she had found the right classmate or a stranger with the same name. She left a lot of messages on answering machines and is hoping at least some of those people will return her call. The end result of a full day on Saturday is that we now have contact information on Philip Campanella, John Hughes, Dorothy Monroe and Doug Castoldi. We also have updated information on Carol Lee Eckardt Daniels who is moving in two weeks. Their information can be found on the yearbook page. I told Honey that I'm hoping for more rain in Tampa. She plans on making more calls this week. Way to go Honey!
Via Email 9/9/09

If you send an email to a classmate and it's returned to you, before you contact me, check the yearbook page to see if a new one was updated there. I don't always report every time someone changes their information. Both Buzzy Testagrossa and Al Lehrer have new emails but the addresses and phone numbers remain the same. We have added information for several newly found classmates: Roberta Willensky Klein, Grace Squance Pellegrini, Suzanne Handwerker Andersen, Elinda Guardino, and Jane Lynch Todd. There's a new address, phone and emails for Terry Beital Richman and her husband Ted Richman, as well as Sally Pittman Smith. There's a new address for Russ Mulroy with more info to follow. They can all be found on the yearbook page under the picture of the person you want to contact. Thanks to all of you who have contacted us when your information changes. It's a tremendous help with the record keeping.
Via Email 9/4/09

Hi Marcy,
It was great to talk to you last Friday. I have heard from Barbara Steinman Bengals. I was also in my office on Tuesday when I got email from someone in our class. It was Roni Cojac Mintz who works in the same hospital system as I do. She came to the office to see me. It was like being 17 again. She said that she was going to email you but I thought that I should also let you know in case she got busy that night.

Jane Lynch Todd
Via Email 9/3/09

Marcy, I just got an email from Ellen Kobrin (who has been hospitalized twice this past month, poor thing) saying she is sure that Carolyn McGrath died but thought it was from some congenital heart problem. Jane Lynch Todd also wrote back to say that Roni Cojac works right near her--but I'll bet she'll write and let you know that too.

In any case, I also wanted to tell you that I've found a cache of school newspapers from both LMHS and Wisdom Lane. If you'd like to borrow them and use whatever you want for the website, I'll be happy to mail them to you but would like them back when you're through. Just let me know--and send an address.

It's definitely bedtime, so I'll say goodnight--and thanks again for helping so many of us re-connect!

Barbara Steinman Bengels
Via Email 9/2/09

Hi Marcy, after reading the updates and noting that Jane Lynch Todd MD lives in Atlanta. She is affiliated with Children's Healthcare of Atlanta where I have worked for 28 years!. We emailed each other and today she was seeing patients at the hospital campus where I work....I called her cell... and within 10 minutes I was standing in her office! Now that was a nice moment in time for both of us.
Roni (Cojac) Mintz

Wow! Do it again with a camera in hand!!!!!! We'd love a picture for informal gatherings. What a small world we live in. I told Jane we had quite a few classmates living in Atlanta and she was surprised to hear that. Thank you Barbara Steinman for Jane's last name.
Via Email 9/2/09

We are indebted to Suzanne Handwerker Andersen for taking the time to snail mail Honey an article she saved when Frank Esposito passed away in 2000. Honey then scanned it to me so we could use it as a tribute to Frank on our gone but not forgotten page. I was reminded of the day I found Craig Shafer after doing a people search. The first person Craig asked about was Frank Esposito. Craig was new to our school and Frank was the first person to reach out and befriend him. How I hated telling Craig that Frank was deceased. He then told me the story of Frank inviting him over his house and showing him a scrapbook of newspaper clippings on the NY Yankees. Craig, an avid Yankee fan himself, was so impressed with this idea that he started his own scrapbook that he keeps up to this day! How I regret that Frank never knew this. What a legacy he left behind. Take the time to read this newspaper article. It will be well worth your while.
Via Email 9/2/09

Hi Marcy,
Checked the website this am and see that you moved Carolyn McGrath to 'GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN'. Did you find out anymore as to when she passed ?? ( can't believe she is gone)

Another request.. I'm looking for someone in the class of 1958.

Janet Dick, married name Power or Powers, Husband's name Robert.. Last address was somewhere in Fla. Hubby worked in Aerospace..

Janet had a sister, Louise Dick class of 1957 and a Brother Mark Conway class for 1959..

I tried some searching but turned up blanks..
Maybe I could take that crash course 'search 101' and give you and Honey and hand.......

Talk to ya soon !!
Hugs,
Stu S.

I mentioned to Barbara Steinman that when I called Jane Lynch, I was going to ask her about the rumors that Carolyn had passed away years ago. They were friends and neighbors who both lived in my neighborhood. Unfortunately Jane did not know that Carolyn had died, but did confirm that Carolyn was being treated for lymphoma at NYU Hospital around the time that Jane was in medical school. Barbara, however did confirm that Carolyn is deceased. They both went to Hofstra and in fact Barbara still teaches there. Barbara is tracking down a friend who can give her some details. I realized that the reason I could not find Carolyn on the Social Security death index is that she had never worked and still in school when it happened. The reason I resisted putting her name on the gone lost is that there were so many different versions of how and when she died, that I questioned whether it was a rumor. I'll pass on more information on this when I have it.
Stu, I will try to help you on your search. You asked me to do this a few years ago. I could not find these people on the LMHS class lists. But I will try again. In the meantime Honey has found Roberta Willensky on Classmates. More on this when we have all the updated information.
Via Email 9/1/09

I'm happy to say that another lost classmate has been found. I found Elinda Guardino in Las Vegas and she was excited at the chance to view our website. She has not been in contact with anyone in our class since high school but she is going to dig up her yearbook which she has kept. I laughed when she told me she has to walk the dog at 4:00 am with temperatures there in the 100's. She said she will send a picture for our then and now. I spent a good deal of today making phone calls after doing people searches and not having any luck. But finding Elinda is just the push I need to keep going.

Via Email 8/31/09

Hi Marcy, moving out on 9/1. Our new address will be:

52110 Longspur Lane
Fort Mill, SC 29707
Please place the new address in both Yearbook & Treasurer sections.

When I have our new e-mail address & phone #, I'll forward both to you.

Russ
Via Email 8/31/09

Thanks to Barbara Steinman for giving me the married name of Jane Lynch. Jane was the editor and chief of our school newspaper, the Spotlight. I found Jane in Atlanta , Georgia where she is a doctor in the field of pediatric cardiology. Her patients are children with severe cardiac problems. She was married the last year of medical school and says she will probably work a few more years before packing it in. She asked a lot of questions about classmates and will be looking at our site to learn more about others. She mentioned that just last week she was thinking that it must be twenty years since she had any contact with anyone from high school. I'm sure that's about to change. It's a wonderful feeling to remove names off that missing list.
Via Email 8/28/09

Another person from our missing list has been found. When Honey spoke to Suzanne Handwerker on the phone, Suzanne gave her the married names of Karin Weinberg (we used to call her Candy in high school) and Dorothy Monroe. I remembered that Phyllis Peckman had asked me to find Karin but I didn't know her married name and I promised Phyllis that we'd let her know if we ever found her. So I asked Honey to relay that message to Karin when she called. We are still working on Dorothy but the married name we now have hasn't yielded a Dorothy. I can't tell you how much I appreciate Honey's work. I gave her a crash course in people searches 101 and she's a quick study. With two of us working it should go a lot faster and I think this will be a record year for finding lost souls.
 

From: Honey Cottrell

Just spoke with Karin and she was very happy to be found. I gave her both Phyllis Peckman and Sue Handwerker's phone numbers. Karin has never used a computer, so has no e-mail address, although after our conversation she is thinking of having her daughter or granddaughter teach her how to send and receive e-mails and get on our website. Very exciting.

Her address is 8111 NW 100th Terrace, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33321 and phone number is 954/721-6229 and birth date is 9/24/43

Thanks for all your good detective work. Wish the Dorothy we found was the correct one. Maybe I can call Sue this weekend and she can pronounce the married name for me. We may just be assuming it sounds like McClusky because of her spelling.
Honey
Via Email 8/27/09

Marcy,
Here is an e-mail I received from Sue (Handwerker Andersen) this evening.
Honey

Was nice to talk to you today . It got me to thinking I remember when I heard Bernie Kaplan died I wrote the date in my yearbook Feb 17 1963 I think it was an accident but not sure - also Frank Espositio Nov. 6 2000. His sister sent me the tribute from the paper I will fax it to you or Marcy if you want. Just send me either fax number. No I don't have a fax, but I can send it. Let me know if it's something you can use Talk soon.
Sue.

I think it's amazing how the recent find of lost classmate Suzanne Handwerker Andersen has lead to so much more information. She gave us married names on two classmates and that enabled us to find Karin Weinberg and some leads on Dorothy Monroe. Now she's been able to fill in some of the blanks on the gone but not forgotten page. If anyone has a married name of a female on the missing list, please send it to me. That information is invaluable in doing searches. Thanks to all of you who supplied date of death for our deceased classmates. We are slowly giving them the tributes they deserve.
Via Email 8/27/09

Dear Marcy,
I'm sorry it's taken me so long to get back to you. The message that never got through to you was to say that we had just been up to New Paltz the week before to see a play my 9 yr. old granddaughter was in (the cutest chicken I ever did see!) and I was wondering where that was in relation to the picnic. The outcome of your birthday email was to get me thinking about old friends--and tomorrow we're getting together with Vicky Gabrysiak Schulte for the first time in at least 20 years (again in New Paltz); I also was inspired to track Vivian Goldberg Auslander down and got caught up with her via email. (I'm still trying to track down Jane Lynch Todd--but so far to no avail.) In any case, I thank you again for the invaluable service you provide--giving us a piece of our youth back!

Fondly, Barbara Steinman Bengels

I asked Barbara to bring a camera for her meeting with Vicky. I hope she's able to do that. I'm pretty sure that I found Jane Lynch and will call her this weekend. I knew that Jane became a pediatric cardiac surgeon and that she went to Tulane Medical School. Years ago I tried finding her on the Tulane alumni site, but I didn't know her married name. Armed with a married name supplied by Barbara, I was able to track Jane down. Hopefully soon we will have her information and Barbara will be able to reconnect.
Via Email 8/27/09

Hi Marcy,
I was sad to read about Ellie Greenwich. She was my junior counselor at West Hills Day Camp on Long Island in the 1950's, although she was only 3 years older than me. She was 15yrs old and I was 12yrs old. She played guitar, taught us songs and was such a friendly, outgoing person. She had an impact on me because I actually contacted her many years ago when her show "Leader of the Pack" was on Broadway in NYC. She invited us back stage and was so gracious with her words and time. I wanted to share my memories with others who may recall Ellie during her teen years.

Roni (Cojac) Mintz
Via Email 8/27/09

Ellie Greenwich is an alumni. She moved to Levittown when she was 11 and had her own band in high school. This was submitted by Frank Barning Division Avenue HS, class of 60

Ellie Greenwich, `Chapel of Love' co-writer, dies
By NEKESA MUMBI MOODY (AP) - 6 hours ago

NEW YORK - Ellie Greenwich, who co-wrote some of pop music's most enduring songs, including "Chapel of Love," "Be My Baby" and "Leader of the Pack," died Wednesday, according to her niece. She was 68.

Greenwich died of a heart attack at St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital, where she had been admitted a few days earlier for treatment of
pneumonia, according to her niece, Jessica Weiner.

Greenwich, a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame, was considered one of pop's most successful songwriters. She had a rich musical
partnership with the legendary Phil Spector, whose "wall of sound" technique changed rock music. With Spector, she wrote some of pop's
most memorable songs, including "Da Doo Ron Ron" and "River Deep, Mountain High." But Spector wasn't her only collaborator.

She also had key hits with her ex-husband Jeff Barry, including the dynamic song "Leader of the Pack" (years later, Broadway would stage a
Tony-nominated musical with the same name based on her life).

"He was the first male I could actually harmonize with," she once said.

Greenwich was a native of Brooklyn. While she garnered her greatest success as a songwriter, Greenwich started out as a performer. She
performed in talent shows as a child, and by the time she was a teen, she had her own group, called The Jivettes.

She went to college, where she met Barry, and shortly after graduation, began working for songwriters Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, where she got her break. She had her first chart success with the Jay and the Americans song "This Is It," which she wrote with Doc Pomus and Tony Powers.

She also had success with Barry as the duo The Raindrops with the songs "What a Guy" and "The Kind of Boy You Can't Forget."

Greenwich also worked as an arranger and singer, a role that saw her working with artists including Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald.

She is also credited with helping Neil Diamond get his start and was a co-producer of early Diamond hits "Cherry, Cherry" and "Kentucky
Woman."

"Ellie Greenwich was one of the most important people in my career. She discovered me as a down-and-out songwriter and with her then-husband Jeff Barry co-produced all my early hits on Bang records," said Diamond in a statement. "She has remained a great friend and mentor over the years and will be missed greatly."

Among the more famous songs she wrote are "Baby I Love You," "Do Wah Diddy" and "Look of Love."

Greenwich is survived by a sister, brother-in-law, nephew and her niece.

On the Net:
http://www.elliegreenwich.com/
Via Email 8/26/09

Hi Marcy

I got an email from one of our classmates who mentioned the '61 website so I took a look and found that I need to send updated information as the address you have is a couple of moves ago for us. Had no idea the website was so thorough. Just spent an enjoyable 20 minutes looking at it. What a hoot! You are doing a great job.

I am Terry Richman (Beital)
810 Johns Orchard Lane
Wilmington, N.C. 28411
terryrichman@ec.rr.com

Married to Ted Richman
Same address
tedrichman@yahoo.com

I will send you another picture though. Looks like the one you have of me was grabbed from my office website and it is one I have never liked. We will see what we can dig up.

Thanks for all your hard work.

Terry
Via Email 8/21/09

Hi Marcy,

Just a quick overview of my meeting with Betty Csontos at the Lakeland Diner in Bohemia. It was so lovely to see her after all these years. Also got to see Helene Doctoroff at Chachama in Patchogue where she works as well as a goodbye breakfast with her and Ernie Bodsky at the Massapequa Diner....So much love!!!!

June Ryan Frances
Via Email 8/20/09

Honey has been working hard going through the Classmates website and finding people signed up for our class who are on our missing list. She was able to get a married name on Suzanne Handwerker, an old friend of hers from high school. Sometimes that's all it takes to find our female classmates. Although finding people on our missing list is a rewarding experience, finding an old friend is priceless.