Recent Passings:

Susan Storck Binger, M&A '49

Susan Storck Binger (March 25, 1932 – August 15, 2023) was the child of John P. V. Storck and Nina Tonks Storck and raised by her stepmother, Lucie Giles Jowers Storck, after her mother’s death. She was valedictorian at the High School of Music and Art (now LaGuardia) in New York and graduated from Radcliffe College in 1953, having married Bronson Binger the year before. She volunteered with several organizations, including the Radcliffe Club of New York, of which she became president, and the Church of the Heavenly Rest. She also worked in development at the New York- Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center.

Sheila Lerner Tschinkel, M&A '57

Sheila Joy Lerner Tschinkel passed away on August 9, 2023 in Atlanta, GA. with family at her side. Sheila’s career path always involved helping and teaching oth- ers- as a professor of economics, banker, and economist. She served as an assistant professor at the University of Alaska 1963-65, the University of Connecticut 1967-68, then at Yale 1968-69. After years at the Federal Reserve Bank, she worked abroad, and then she taught economics at Emory University School of Business as a Distinguished Visiting Scholar. Sheila was extremely interested and active in supporting women being active in politics and running for office, including mentoring and holding fundraisers for prospective leaders.

Noman Zide, M&A '44

Professor Norman H. Zide (born 5/30/28) passed away suddenly 2/21/23, just 3 months shy of his 95th birthday. Born in NYC, he grew up in Brooklyn and attended Music and Art High School (now LaGuardia).  Graduating at 15, he studied at and received degrees from NYU (Bronx campus), Yale, Columbia and Penn.  Eventually earning several Masters and a Ph.D.  His studies were interrupted by a stint in the US Army during the Korean War, where he was stationed in Oklahoma.

It was there he developed an affection for country music and an interest in indigenous languages—initially Comanche.  This would eventually lead him to India where he spent many years traveling, researching, living and teaching tribal languages including Munda, Sora and Gorum. His many years in India were some of his most productive and lead him to Delhi, Calcutta, Bihar, Jarkhand and Odisha (Orissa) among many other places, and work with the American Institute of Indian Studies (AIIS).  He was also a Fulbright Scholar and Ford Foundation grant recipient.

Accepting a position with the University of Chicago in the South Asia department, he was a long time Professor and occasional department chair in his decades there.  The author of numerous papers and studies on these languages, he was one of the foremost scholars in his field when UChicago’s department was number one in the country.

A classically-trained pianist, his love for music and opera remained a major part of his life along with writing short stories. He travelled far, saw much and made his own way.  He is survived by his sons Gregory and William, daughter-in-law, nieces, nephew and numerous cousins, students and friends. His humour, intellect and scholarship left a lasting impression on all who knew him.  He is loved, remembered and will be missed.

Richard Schepard, M&A '59

Richard Schepard passed away May 13, 2023 in Paris, France. Devoted husband of Michele, brother of Andrew and Debra, father of Mathieu and Erica; Gregory and Marion; Christopher and Camille; five grandchildren, beloved friend and gifted international attorney. Founding Partner, Bredin Prat, Paris. Assistant General Counsel U.S. Department of Commerce 1977-1979. Graduate of CCNY, NYU Law (first in class), Fulbright Scholar (Sorbonne).

Dr. Stanley Fishman, M&A '54

We are sad to report the recent passing of Dr. Stanley Fishman, M&A ’54, who was a strong supporter of Alumni & Friends, who endowed a number of funds honoring his classmates that provide scholarships to current LaGuardia music students. We extend our condolences to his family, friends and M&A ’54 classmates.

 

Dr. Martin Nass, M&A '43

Dr. Martin Nass (M&A ’43) passed away on February 16, 2023. He was the first graduate of the NYU Postdoctoral Program in Psychoanalysis, a professor of Psychology at Brooklyn College and NYU, and was faculty and a training analyst at the Contemporary Freudian Society. Marty was a WWII Navy combat veteran who served on the USS Topeka (CL-67). An alumnus of the High School of Music and Art, Marty was a passionate and lifelong violinist who played in chamber quartets until a few weeks before his passing. Read his full obituary here

Viola Calabresi Proeller, M&A '50

Viola Calabresi Proeller, M&A ’50, passed away on February 12, 2023. After graduating from Queens college, she studied painting for two years in Italy before returning to the United States where she earned a master’s degree in art education from New York University. In 1961, she wed Hans Alwin Proeller and together they raised three children, John, Peter, and Marie, on Staten Island. When her children were young, Viola worked as an artist and as a potter, while also teaching art in a New York City public school program called Learning to Read Through the Arts. She later studied Risk Management and worked in the student health insurance department of New York University for ten years before retiring. Read her full obituary here.

Marianne Roney Mantell, M&A '47

Marianne Roney Mantell, M&A ’47, died on January 22, 2023 at her home in Princeton, NJ. She was 93. Ms. Mantell was a pioneer of the audiobook revolution, establishing a company called Caedmon with a former classmate from her time at Hunter College. The company recorded albums featuring giants of 20th-century literature, including T.S. Eliot, Sylvia Plath, William Faulkner, Zora Neale Hurston, Langston Hughes and Gertrude Stein, all interpreting their own works. Their first release was an album by Dylan Thomas, whose centerpiece was his short story “A Child’s Christmas in Wales,” which went on to sell more than 400,000 copies during the 1950s and to become a holiday perennial. Please read the full obituary about Ms. Mantell in the New York Times here.

Susan Forman Titone, M&A '70

It is with great sadness that we learned of the sudden passing of Susan Forman Titone, M&A 70, who died on January 30th, 2023. Susan was a special education teacher, vocal teacher, friend, wife, mother and more. We extend our condolences to Susan’s family, especially her husband Dr. Richard Titone, M&A ’69 and retired LaGuardia faculty, her friends and M&A 1970 classmates.

Donald Walley, M&A '49

Donald Walley, M&A ’49, one of the original “mad men” and an award-winning artist, passed away in New York, December 21, 2022 with his beloved wife of more than 40 years Elizabeth “Liz” Robbins Walley by his side. As a Vice President and creative director at international advertising agencies that included McCann Erickson and Saatchi & Saatchi, Don crossed the world creating campaigns for AT&T, Sony, Coca Cola, Pabst Beer and many others by shooting atop volcanoes in Hawaii, herding wild elephants in Kenya or cage-diving with sharks in Florida. He lived in Manhattan, summered at Fire Island, and was an accomplished watercolorist whose paintings can be found in corporate and private collections.