We Mourn the Passing of Roseline Poderycki Young

The following was shared on Facebook by Linda White Alexander

Dear class,
Sad news ... Jeanne Sutherland, in another OHS group, posted this morning about our classmate Roz Poderycki Young.
Rest In Peace dear Roz. 

This morning I received an email telling me that Roz Poderycki Young died early this morning. Roz was born in Paris and came to Ossining with her family in the 1950s. Her father was a tailor and the family lived on Spring Street between Maple and Waller. They later moved to Croton Avenue near the municipal building. She had been ill for a long time but her suffering is now over. I had been speaking with her every other week for the last year or so. Good night sweet Roz.
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OBITUARY
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I was deeply saddened by the news of Roz's passing.  She was a lovely woman, inside and out.  I last spoke with her last May, and, in spite of her health struggles, she remained positive and happy to be remembered by her OHS friends.  Roz, you will be sorely missed by your classmates.  Rest in peace, old friend.
- Pook Bellini


Click HERE to see a posting Roz made in May 2016.  

We Mourn the Passing of Carlton West

With sadness, I report the passing of Carleton West recently at the VA Hospital in Montrose. His service was at St. Paul's. RIP
- Carol Moshier Desiderio

Thoughts and Prayers for Classmates Affected by Hurricanes & Fires

Thinking of all of our friends who were in the paths of the recent hurricanes in Texas and Florida and those living near the terrible wildfires out west.  Please check in and let us know how you are doing.  If you send an email with details (including photos), we can add names to a list on this posting.  

Florida Surprise Get-Togethers

Thanks to David Perugini for sharing this news about a couple of meetings with classmates in Florida.

Surprises for Everyone!

In the middle of June I received a FB Message from Mlisa Manning asking if I could be available in Florida for her Dad’s birthday (Sept 23rd). We worked it out that we would be there to surprise him a week later, since we had tickets to the Sir Paul concert* in Syracuse. 

The Big Day comes for us to fly down to the Venice, FL area where Jay lives. Our first stop upon landing was to get something to eat, so we stopped in at the McDonald’s across from our hotel. Waiting in line, a lovely lady pops into my periphery. We stare at each other for a moment, until I exclaim, “Val!” Then, because she’s in apparent shock, I point to myself and say, “David”. SURPRISE! Turns out that Valerie and Ed were waiting to move into their home in Venice the next day — they were just killing time. We enjoyed each other’s company for about an hour while we chatted while our lunches got cold and I took an ‘US-ee’ photo for the Blog.

The next day we rang the bell at Jay’s door disguised as Happy-Birthday-singing Amazon boxes. We handed him his birthday gift (a T-Shirt remembrance of ’The Synners’, our 1965 band). Then we whipped off the masks to reveal ourselves. SURPRISE!  For the next three days we cavorted around the Venice area, enjoying it’s many treasures — completely unaware of the 12 years that have passed since we’d seen each other.

What the trip re-enforced was what wonderful friendships we forged back at OHS. Even after long gaps, it’s possible to just pick up where we left off because the foundations of those friendships are so strong. I don’t know if there are any major reunions in our future, but even such little micro-reunions as what I experienced with Val and Jay are life-affirming. If the opportunity arrises, grab it! You’ll be surprised at how natural it feels to look into the eyes of dear, familiar faces.

* turns out we couldn’t go because I got sick 🤧

Roosevelt School Photo

Ken Foyder has shared this photo and would like some help with identifying people...

Rear:  Ken Foyder, ?, ?, Chet Evans, ?, ?, ?
Front:  MaryAnn Vargo, Carmella Verzello, Marnie Stanley, Linda Knapp, ?

We Are Saddened by the Passing of Our Former Teacher, Earl Sipe,

Wth sadness, we have learned of the passing of our former teacher, Earl Sipe.  Mr. Sipe, a well-liked business teacher, was 92 years old.

EARL SIPE OBITUARY

Mini Reunion

Hello OHS Class of '65!


In August, some of us met up at the home of Rick Henry in NY State for an overnight of catching up.

Kathy Hassett and husband Tony Duran were passing through after an east coast cruise and planned to spend one night at Rick's. Since we weren't too far, Joe Campanella, still in Ossining, popped in, and I came down from upstate as well.

We had all reconnected via a private group on political discourse that we'd gotten involved in during the last year and found ourselves enjoying  a small group place to air our views.  Out of that has come much sharing of the old days, our current lives, and of course some politics thrown  in for good measure. The feeling of connectedness we all felt from our OHS days was palpable and it was like no time had passed.

We wanted to share some photos with you all - we felt much joy and laughter browsing Rick's old WIZARDS and reminiscing about the  GOOD OLD DAYS AT OHS!!

Hope you are all well; you were in our thoughts, believe me!

Fondly,  Linda (White) Alexander

Condolences to Fran Antunovich Esposito on the Passing of Her Husband

Our condolences to Fran and her family during this difficult time.  May you find comfort in wonderful memories of Joe and the wonderful 50 years you shared together.  

We Mourn the Passing of William "Billy" Jones

Sad News
I don't have any more information right now, but apparently our fine classmate William Billy Jones passed away either today (July 30th) or yesterday. A very talented guy and a loving family man. Heartbreak for all.

- David Perugini
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Billy was an active participant in our Facebook community.  Here are some of the initial responses from his FB friends...

Gene Gulland Presents Case Before Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in Mock Appeal by Shylock

Congratulations to our own Gene Gulland for a great presentation!

Some class members might be interested in a fun event this week at the Library of Congress in Washington. The Library held a mock appeal by Shylock, the moneylender in Shakespeare’s play, The Merchant of Venice, in which Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg presided.  Two other lawyers and I actually argued the case based on the laws of 16^th Century Venice and we were vigorously questioned by Justice Ginsberg and the other judges.  Leading Shakespeare experts gave short presentations about the play and a leading actor performed some of the famous speeches by Shylock.  The Library live-streamed and recorded the event, which can be found at this link:

Justice for Shylock: A Mock Appeal Commemorating the 500th Anniversary of the Venice Ghetto

- Gene Gulland