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Raymond R. Johnson, Lutheran minister, social worker

December 14, 2013, 4:09 pm
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March 4, 1937 - Dec. 10, 2013

Raymond R. Johnson, an Amherst native, Lutheran minister and social worker who moved home after starting his career in New York City, died Tuesday in Harris Hill Nursing Facility, Clarence. He was 76.

Mr. Johnson dedicated his life to counseling children and adults in need after receiving a fellowship to earn his master’s degree in social work at Columbia University.

“His ministry then became really social work,” said the former Karin Meissner, his wife of 49 years.

While working for Lutheran Community Services in the late 1970s, he helped write a grant and found SNAP, or Services Now for Adult Persons, an agency in Queens serving the elderly, which now employs 40 people. For 12 years, Johnson was director of social services at Wartburg Lutheran Nursing Home in Brooklyn.

The couple returned to East Amherst in 1989, when Mrs. Johnson got a job teaching at Ledgeview Elementary School in Clarence.

Mr. Johnson began counseling for Catholic Charities, specializing in couples and families with problems, mostly in Cheektowaga.

After he retired in 2000, he worked with disabled children.

“He absolutely loved it. He was as happy as he could be. He really found a good way to end his working career,” his wife said.

“He exemplified the parable of the ‘Good Samaritan.’ ... If he heard a baby crying he had to go and see how he could help,” she said. “His social work extended beyond his profession. It was just part of his humanity.”

Mr. Johnson was passionate about composting and recycling, taking his sons out to collect glass and cans and then driving to turn them in at a recycling center. He also enjoyed hiking in the Grand Tetons, Rocky Mountain National Park and the Kanyoo Trail in the Town of Alabama.

The Johnsons launched a nature club at Amherst Lutheran Church.

“The idea was to enjoy God’s creation,” Mrs. Johnson said, “and just show that we wanted to preserve and protect wild areas.”

Other survivors include two sons, Raymond T. and Matthew L.; a sister, Elaine Cellino; and three grandchildren. Services were held in Amherst Lutheran Church.
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Mac McGarry, TV quizmaster of ‘It’s Academic,’ dies

December 14, 2013, 7:01 pm
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June 15, 1926 – Dec. 12, 2013

WASHINGTON – Mac McGarry, the avuncular TV quizmaster of “It’s Academic” who spent a half-century pitching local teenage contestants hundreds of thousands of fastball trivia questions about topics as diverse as Shakespeare, Michelangelo, Chubby Checker and the chemical makeup of paint, died of pneumonia Dec. 12 at his home in Potomac, Md. He was 87.

With an easy-going baritone that sounded like a throwback to the days of fedoras and big bands, McGarry thrived well into the Internet age. As host of “It’s Academic,” which launched in 1961 and became the longest-running quiz program in TV history, he liked to describe himself as the area’s most inquisitive man.

A Washington radio and TV personality, he carved a multifaceted career spanning six decades. He covered presidential inaugurations and the start of the Korean War. He also hosted a big-band radio show, was an early TV sparring partner of Willard Scott and appeared with a young Jim Henson and his Muppets.

But it was as the bespectacled face of “It’s Academic” that McGarry became a Saturday staple for generations of Washington brainiacs who competed for scholarship money and intellectual glory. So earnestly does the weekly program take academic achievement that cheerleaders and marching bands became part of the show’s backdrop, rooting on their school’s teams. McGarry, a graduate of academically rigorous Jesuit schools in New York, was the show’s first host. He said he believed in the show’s mission to “put these kids out front, where they belong.”

The show’s creator, the late Sophie Altman, started “It’s Academic” on Washington’s NBC affiliate, WRC. She later brought the same format, sometimes under different names, to more than a dozen markets nationwide.

Born in Atlanta, Maurice James McGarry grew up in New York City. He was working for a radio station in western Massachusetts before a Fordham classmate, the celebrated baseball announcer Vin Scully, urged him to apply for a summer announcing job at WRC-TV in 1950.

During his first five years at the NBC affiliate, McGarry was a general staff announcer, providing voice-overs for all occasions. In 1955, he was cast as the “straight man” to Willard Scott on WRC-TV’s “Afternoon,” a variety show that featured Jim Henson, then a University of Maryland at College Park student.

Initially the show’s second banana, McGarry won admirers for his singing and for keeping up with Scott’s banter. Show director James Kovach told The Post at the time that McGarry “has a lot more talent than anyone realized.”

Between WRC-TV engagements, McGarry acted as an announcer, host and weatherman for Buffalo’s NBC affiliate of the time, WBUF-TV Channel 17, from 1954 to 1959. While serving in Buffalo, he won the local award for best newscaster of the year. While in the area, he attended was St. Benedict’s Catholic Church in Eggertsville.

McGarry continued hosting variety shows until “It’s Academic” turned up. Although never a ratings leader, the show stayed put in large part because of its long sponsorship by Giant Food. McGarry retired from it in 2011.
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Harry T. Titus, towing service owner-operator

December 14, 2013, 7:13 pm
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Aug. 13, 1945 - Dec. 12, 2013

Harry T. Titus, a towing service owner-operator, died Thursday in Buffalo General Medical Center. He was 68.

Mr. Titus was born in Buffalo and was a graduate of the Buffalo Public Schools. He owned and operated A Better Towing Service on the East Side, which included car sales and services, for 12 years. He was a tow truck driver and before that was employed at Light’s Towing. He also drove a tractor-trailer for Just in Time Trucking and worked as a cabinetmaker for Interval International.

Mr. Titus enjoyed working on and restoring cars and motorcycles. He was also proud of having attended the Woodstock concert in 1968.

“He was a father figure for family and friends and a role model on how to be a good man,” said his son, Jason L.

Other survivors include Mr. Titus’ wife, the former MaryEllen Reusch; a sister, MaryLou Pritchard; and two brothers, Pete E. and Robert L.

Services will be held at 8 p.m. Monday in Dengler, Roberts, Perna Funeral Home, 3000 Delaware Ave., Kenmore, preceded by a wake at 5.
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Sister Mary Luchesia Marszalek, 100, teacher, principal

December 14, 2013, 7:16 pm
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Dec. 7, 1913 – Dec. 14, 2013

Sister Mary Luchesia, a teacher, principal and librarian who worked with elderly and sick sisters at Villa Maria Infirmary, died Saturday in Blessed Mary Angela Care Center, Buffalo. She was 100.

Born in Buffalo, the former Mary Marszalek was a Felician sister for 81 years.

She graduated from the former Mount St. Joseph Teachers College, now Medaille College, with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education.

She started her teaching career at St. Stanislaus School in Buffalo. She was a full-time teacher for 41 years and a part-time teacher for nine years in the Diocese of Buffalo – except for one year at Sacred Heart School in Syracuse.

She also was principal at Coronation, St. John Kanty and St. Adalbert schools for 20 years. She later worked for one year as a librarian at Villa Maria Academy.

Sister Luchesia then became director of craft ministry at Villa Maria Infirmary, where she enabled sisters to use their creative skills in making handicrafts. She also worked as an assistant to the director of novices, an aide to the local minister, and as a director of formation ceremonies and liturgies at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Provincial House.

For her 100th birthday, a special Mass was offered by the Rev. Monsignor Robert Golombek and attended by a select group of sisters and friends.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered at 10 a.m. Tuesday in Immaculate Heart of Mary Convent, 600 Doat St., Cheektowaga.
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Peter O’Toole, star of ‘Lawrence of Arabia,’ dies at 81

December 15, 2013, 5:27 pm
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Aug. 2, 1932 – Dec. 14, 2013

LONDON – Peter O’Toole, who gained worldwide fame as the star of “Lawrence of Arabia” at the dawn of a career that included four Golden Globe awards and eight Academy Award nominations, has died. He was 81.

He died Saturday at the Wellington hospital in London following a prolonged illness, said his agent, Steve Kenis, Saturday in an email. It quoted O’Toole’s daughter, actress Kate O’Toole, as saying the family is “completely overwhelmed by the outpouring of real love and affection being expressed toward him, and to us, during this unhappy time.”

She said there would be “a memorial filled with song and good cheer, as he would have wished.”

With Richard Burton and Richard Harris, O’Toole was among a select band of actors who in the 1960s and 1970s became as well-known for their lives off-screen as their brilliance on it. The three were known as hell-raisers for their drinking sprees.

“We heralded the ’60s,” O’Toole once said. “Me, Burton, Richard Harris, we did in public what everyone else did in private then and does for show now.”

O’Toole was given the starring role in “Lawrence of Arabia” (1962) after acting with the Bristol Old Vic company and as a secondary player in films including “The Day They Robbed the Bank of England” (1960). Director David Lean had thought of Marlon Brando or Albert Finney for the lead before choosing O’Toole.

“He needed an actor beautiful enough to upstage the vast desert panoramas,” Bloomberg News critic Peter Rainer wrote in 2006. “With his hawkish features, blinding blond hair and radioactive blue eyes, O’Toole is a magnificent camera subject in ‘Lawrence of Arabia.’ ”

O’Toole, nominated for an Academy Award for leading actor, lost to Gregory Peck for “To Kill a Mockingbird,” though “Lawrence of Arabia” was named best picture and Lean best director. O’Toole’s performance propelled him as an international name and was described by film producer Sam Spiegel as “unequalled in modern cinema.”

O’Toole, who announced his retirement last year, also starred in “Goodbye, Mr. Chips” (1969), “The Ruling Class” (1972) and “The Stunt Man” (1980). He showed off his comedic skills in “My Favorite Year” (1982) as a hard-drinking, self-centered actor unconvinced that his best days are behind him.

After eight Oscar nominations – the most recent for his role in the 2006 film “Venus” – he received an honorary Oscar in 2003.

When he was 70, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences first offered him an honorary Oscar. He wrote back to say that while “enchanted” by the offer, he felt he was too young.

His career had brought him together with “fine people, good companions with whom I’ve shared the inevitable lot of all actors: flops and hits,” he said in a statement in July 2012. “However, it’s my belief that one should decide for oneself when it is time to end one’s stay. So I bid the profession a dry-eyed and profoundly grateful farewell.”

Peter Seamus O’Toole was born to Patrick O’Toole, a bookmaker and soccer player, and his wife, Connie, a nurse. In his memoir, O’Toole said he wasn’t sure where in the U.K. he was born, because he had two birth certificates, one giving Connemara, in County Galway, Ireland, as his place of birth, and the other saying Leeds, in north England.

His childhood was dogged by ill health, and though he could read by age 3, he didn’t attend school regularly until he was 11. He left two years later with no qualifications and got a job at his local newspaper, the Yorkshire Evening News, as a tea boy.

He worked his way to reporting, covering stories with colleagues including future columnist and playwright Keith Waterhouse and author Barbara Taylor Bradford.

“I soon found out that, rather than chronicling events, I wanted to be the event,” O’Toole said.

After a stint in the Royal Navy, he gained a place at London’s Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in a class that also included Finney and Alan Bates.

He made his stage debut in London’s West End in 1957 and two years later was cast in the play “The Long and the Short and the Tall” at the Royal Court Theatre, where his understudy was Michael Caine. He made his film debut in Walt Disney’s “Kidnapped” (1960) with Peter Finch.

In “Becket” (1964), he played King Henry II opposite Richard Burton’s Archbishop of Canterbury. In “The Lion in Winter” (1968), he again played Henry II, this time opposite Katharine Hepburn’s Eleanor of Aquitane.

Later career highlights include “Caligula” (1979), “The Last Emperor” (1987), “Troy” (2004) and “Stardust” (2007). He was also the voice of restaurant critic Anton Ego in Pixar’s animated “Ratatouille” (2007).

One of his most acclaimed performances was his portrayal of a former drinking partner in “Jeffrey Bernard Is Unwell,” a long-running stage play written by Waterhouse that was made into a 1999 television movie.

– Bloomberg News
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Herbert J. McChrystal Jr., retired general who was cited for valor in Korean, Vietnam wars

December 15, 2013, 6:46 pm
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May 30, 1924 – Dec. 10, 2013

Herbert J. McChrystal Jr., a retired Army major general who was a highly decorated combat veteran of the Korean and Vietnam wars, died Tuesday at his home in Kingsport, Tenn. He was 89.

He had heart and respiratory ailments, said his son Stanley McChrystal, a retired Army general who commanded U.S. and international forces in Afghanistan and also led the U.S. Joint Special Operations Command.

The elder McChrystal grew up with a military legacy, as the son and grandson of Army officers, and was a 1945 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. All five of his sons went on to serve in the Army, and his daughter is married to a West Point graduate.

As a young soldier, Mr. McChrystal served with U.S. occupation forces in Germany after World War II. Later, while commanding combat units in the Korean and Vietnam wars, he was awarded the Silver Star four times for battlefield valor – once in Korea, three times in Vietnam.

During his second tour of duty in Vietnam in 1968, he was chief of staff for the 4th Infantry Division.

In the early 1970s, Mr. McChrystal served at the Pentagon as director of the Planning and Program Analysis Directorate, where he worked closely with a then-little-known junior officer named Colin L. Powell, who later became national security adviser, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and secretary of state.

In his 1995 autobiography, “My American Journey,” Powell wrote that he had an undesirable Pentagon assignment until “I was rescued by an impressive officer, Major General Herbert J. McChrystal Jr.”

Mr. McChrystal’s final active-duty assignment was leading the Army’s Test and Evaluation Command at Fort Hood, Texas. He retired in 1974 as a two-star general. In addition to his Silver Stars, his decorations included the Distinguished Service Medal, two awards of the Legion of Merit, the Distinguished Flying Cross, two awards of the Bronze Star Medal and the Combat Infantryman Badge.

Herbert Joseph McChrystal Jr. was born in the Panama Canal Zone and grew up on military bases where his father, an Army colonel, was posted.

He completed high school in Pullman, Wash., before entering West Point in 1942. He graduated in three years as part of an accelerated wartime program.

Mr. McChrystal was based in the Washington area off and on from the late 1950s to the late ’70s and attended specialized military and diplomatic training programs. He was a consultant to the RAND Corp. for several years after his military retirement.

After moving to Florida in 1977, McChrystal taught computer courses at the Florida Institute of Technology, from which he received a master of business administration degree in 1981. He later operated a logistics consulting firm with his wife. He had been a resident of Kingsport since 2001.

His first wife, Mary Bright McChrystal, died in 1971 after 23 years of marriage. A second marriage, to Gailey Smith, ended in divorce.

Survivors include his wife of 38 years, Nedra Rutledge McChrystal, of Kingsport, and six children from his first marriage; retired Army Col. Herbert “Scott” McChrystal III, of Springfield, Mo., a former infantry officer who later served for seven years as senior chaplain of the U.S. Military Academy; Elizabeth “Betsy” Brinker of Eastover, N.C.; David McChrystal, of Manassas, Va.; retired Army Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, of Alexandria, Va.; Peter McChrystal, of Melbourne, Fla.; and William McChrystal of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Survivors also include a stepdaughter, Charlotte Oliver of Kingsport; a sister; 21 grandchildren; and 18 great-grandchildren.

Four of Mr. McChrystal’s grandsons are West Point graduates. Three are serving with the Army in Afghanistan, and another grandson is working with a private organization in Afghanistan.

– Washington Post
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Cheryle L. Gilmore, social worker, program founder

December 16, 2013, 3:07 pm
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Aug. 18, 1946 – Dec. 11, 2013

Cheryle Leslie Gilmore, a longtime social worker who founded an innovative play-therapy program, died Wednesday in Sisters Hospital after a long illness. She was 67.

Ms. Gilmore was born in Schenectady and earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s of social work degree from the University at Buffalo.

She was a social worker for the Buffalo Board of Education for 22 years before her retirement in 2010. During this period, she founded and coordinated an innovative play-therapy program that helped children with mild to moderate behavior issues after receiving a grant in 1994.

Before that, Ms. Gilmore was a public assistance caseworker with Erie County Department of Social Services. She held several positions at Catholic Charities of Buffalo, including as a social worker in the child care unit; worked as a training specialist for Crisis Services and as a program director at Parents Anonymous; and was clinical coordinator at Our Lady of Victory Infant Home.

Ms. Gilmore was also an adjunct faculty member at UB, serving as a field educator for graduate and undergraduate social work students.

She was a member of New York State United Teachers, the National Education Association, the Association for Play Therapy, the National Association of Social Workers, the Parkside Community Association, the Buffalo Zoological Gardens, the Friends of Tifft and Albright-Knox Art Gallery.

Survivors include her husband, Peter Bollenbach; a daughter, Caitlin Bollenbach; and her mother, Dorothy Gilmore.

A celebration of Ms. Gilmore’s life will be held from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. Jan. 4 in Unitarian Universalist Church of Buffalo, 695 Elmwood Ave.
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James E. Roehling, construction company owner

December 16, 2013, 6:13 pm
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Aug. 31, 1942 – Dec. 10, 2013

James E. Roehling, of Akron, a construction company owner, died last Tuesday in Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital, Amherst, after a long illness. He was 71.

Born in Akron, he attended Akron High School and worked for 15 years at Perry’s Ice Cream in production and setting up and repairing machinery.

Then he established his own excavation business, installing leach fields for septic systems, and worked for an overhead door company.

Before he retired in 1996, he did work to expand Akron Mobile Home Park, installing roadways and pads for trailers.

An outdoorsman, he enjoyed hunting, fishing, camping, water skiing and snowmobiling. He was a charter member of the Northern Erie Sno-Seekers Snowmobile Club.

Survivors include his wife of 51 years, the former Donna Cope; three sons, James E. Jr., “Chip” Doni J. and Rusty J.; a daughter, Tracy Brogowski; a brother, Clarence “Cork”; a sister, Audrey Calnan; and four grandchildren.

Services were held Monday in First United Methodist Church, Akron.
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Carol A. Donato, operated several restaurants

December 16, 2013, 6:20 pm
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Nov. 30, 1946 – Dec. 14, 2013

LEWISTON – Carol A. Donato, of Lewiston, who operated several restaurants, died Saturday in Mount St. Mary’s Hospital after a battle with cancer. She was 67.

Born Carol A. Chiarenza in Niagara Falls, she was a 1964 graduate of Niagara Falls High School and a 1965 graduate of Roberts Beauty School, where she earned a license in cosmetology.

After raising her children, she began her restaurant career with her husband in the Hitching Post on Hyde Park Boulevard and the Hitching Post Too in the Rainbow Centre.

She and her husband lived in Tampa, Fla., for five years in the 1980s, then returned to operate restaurants in two Off-Track Betting centers – the Rainbow Racing Room and the Amherst Turfside Sportsplex. She retired in 2003.

In retirement, she and her husband maintained a summer cottage in Crystal Beach, Ont., where they first met.

Survivors include her husband of 45 years, F. David; three daughters, Michele L., Jeanine Catanzaro and Dana Evans; two sisters, Grace Petrozzi and Mae Minicucci; and four grandchildren.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered at noon Wednesday in Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph Parish at St. Joseph Catholic Church, 1413 Pine Ave., Niagara Falls.
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John Markarian, real estate, trust, estate attorney

December 17, 2013, 4:15 pm
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Sept. 30, 1929 – Dec. 14, 2013

John Markarian, of the Town of Tonawanda, a lawyer specializing in real estate and estates and trusts, died Saturday in Hospice Buffalo, Cheektowaga. He was 84.

Born in Buffalo, the son of rug merchant Charles M. Markarian, he was a graduate of Kenmore High School, Syracuse University and the University of Buffalo Law School. He served as a lawyer in the Army and headed a legal office in Puerto Rico.

Mr. Markarian first joined the practice of Fred Johnson, a lawyer in East Aurora, then became associated with Fred Norton in Kenmore. In the mid-1960s, he started the firm of Dale, Hawthorne and Markarian in Kenmore. He retired in the late 1990s.

A longtime member of the Erie County and New York State Bar associations, he was a frequent contributor to their real property committees.

He was a past president of the Rotary Club of Kenmore, which honored him with its Paul Harris Fellow award.

He also enjoyed a vacation home that he built in Ellicottville.

Survivors include two sons, Edward J. and William C.; two brothers, Michael and Charles; a sister, Elizabeth Binner; and four grandchildren.

Services will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday in the mausoleum in Elmlawn Cemetery, 3939 Delaware Ave., Town of Tonawanda.
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//obituaries203.rssing.com/chan-13782213/article531-live.html

December 17, 2013, 7:33 pm
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Robert M. Atanasio, 67, died Dec. 13.

Francis D. Band, of Kenmore, died Dec. 15.

Cabell G. Brown, 90, died Dec. 12.

Mary Anne (Kelly) Coia, 87, died Dec. 15.

Angeline H. (Toczyski) Demblewski, died Dec. 16.

David A. Gouchie, of Buffalo, died Dec. 15.

Nancy Ann (Rebl) Griesinger, of Lackawanna, died Dec. 15.



Herman L. Hoffmann, of Babylon, died Dec. 14.

Chester J. Hojsan, of Hamburg, died Dec. 15.

Maryann (Pieczynski) Leach, of Cheektowaga, died Dec. 15.

Ronald W. Marcus, of Tonawanda, died Dec. 15.

James Thomas McAlister, died Dec. 14.

Charlotte “Patsy” (Benzel) Mazur, 86, died Dec. 15.

Timothy H. McCutcheon, of Strykersville, died Dec. 13.

Lloyd A. Overfield, of Cheektowaga, died Dec. 13.

Lawrence R. Panepento, died Dec. 14.

Norbert V. “Pete” Peterson, 92, of Kenmore, died Dec. 15.

Walter J. Poliniak, of Amherst, died Dec. 14.

Oleta G. Reuss, died Dec. 16.

Nicholas R. Rizzo Jr., 71, died Dec. 15.

Florence (Lipisco) Tinney, 81, of the Town of Tonawanda, died Dec. 15.
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Area Deaths: Dec. 18, 2013

December 17, 2013, 7:33 pm
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Robert M. Atanasio, 67, died Dec. 13.

Francis D. Band, of Kenmore, died Dec. 15.

Cabell G. Brown, 90, died Dec. 12.

Mary Anne (Kelly) Coia, 87, died Dec. 15.

Angeline H. (Toczyski) Demblewski, died Dec. 16.

David A. Gouchie, of Buffalo, died Dec. 15.

Nancy Ann (Rebl) Griesinger, of Lackawanna, died Dec. 15.



Herman L. Hoffmann, of Babylon, died Dec. 14.

Chester J. Hojsan, of Hamburg, died Dec. 15.

Maryann (Pieczynski) Leach, of Cheektowaga, died Dec. 15.

Ronald W. Marcus, of Tonawanda, died Dec. 15.

James Thomas McAlister, died Dec. 14.

Charlotte “Patsy” (Benzel) Mazur, 86, died Dec. 15.

Timothy H. McCutcheon, of Strykersville, died Dec. 13.

Lloyd A. Overfield, of Cheektowaga, died Dec. 13.

Lawrence R. Panepento, died Dec. 14.

Norbert V. “Pete” Peterson, 92, of Kenmore, died Dec. 15.

Walter J. Poliniak, of Amherst, died Dec. 14.

Oleta G. Reuss, died Dec. 16.

Nicholas R. Rizzo Jr., 71, died Dec. 15.

Florence (Lipisco) Tinney, 81, of the Town of Tonawanda, died Dec. 15.
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John K. Adrian, owner of food wholesaling firm

December 18, 2013, 10:32 pm
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Oct. 15, 1928 – Dec. 16, 2013

John K. “Jack” Adrian, of Williamsville, owner and president of a food wholesaling firm, died Monday in Buffalo General Medical Center after a short illness. He was 85.

Born in Buffalo, he attended St. Joseph’s Collegiate Institute and was a graduate of East High School.

After high school, he joined J. Adrian and Sons, a retail and wholesale meat business that was established by his grandfather in 1889 and had a store on Genesee Street in the Pine Ridge neighborhood.

J. Adrian and Sons supplied hot dogs to venues for the three major Buffalo sports teams – the Bills, the Sabres and the Bisons – and provided hot dogs to the downtown baseball stadium during its first seasons.

The store was closed in the late 1970s ,and Mr. Adrian closed the business and retired in 1997.

He was a past president of the Greater Buffalo Meat Packers Association.

An avid outdoorsman who enjoyed sailing, he had a vacation home in Silver Lake.

Mr. Adrian also had a passion for automobiles and raced stock cars in Civic Stadium.

Survivors include his wife of 63 years, the former MaryAnn Mackowski; three sons, Robert, Peter and John L.; a daughter, Jacqueline Humphrey; and six grandchildren.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered at 9:30 a.m. Saturday in SS. Peter & Paul Catholic Church, 5480 Main St., Williamsville.
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Retired Cheektowaga K-9 dog dies

December 19, 2013, 7:42 am
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Iozo, a German shepherd that had a distinguished career with the Cheektowaga Police Department, has died, the department announced today.

The 11-year-old dog, whose full name was Kolozsvar-Melleki-Jazzy-Iozo, died Wednesday. He had retired from active duty in 2012 and spent his retirement at the home of his partner, Officer John Doskocz.

Born July 6, 2002, in Budapest, Hungary, Iozo joined the department in May 2004. He assisted in hundreds of narcotics and patrol-related calls, as well as search warrants that led to the confiscation of millions of dollars’ worth of illegal drugs and the arrests of drug dealers.

Iozo was responsible for the seizure of more than 695 pounds of marijuana from the Afro Dogs Motorcycle Club, as well as tracking down a man who was convicted of violent home invasions against elderly town residents in 2005 and 2006.
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Richard Mathewson, led effort to build football field

December 19, 2013, 4:38 pm
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May 20, 1935 – Dec. 17, 2013

Richard C. Mathewson, who was instrumental in the development of a Little League football field in Riverside Park that bears his name, died Tuesday in his Buffalo home. He was 78.

Known as “Coach Dick,” Mr. Mathewson was born in Buffalo. He played semi-professional football in Buffalo in the early 1960s and later worked approximately 10 years as a hot roll operator for American Brass Co.

Mr. Mathewson coached and was a former president of Black Rock-Riverside Little League football.

Working with city officials, Black Rock-Riverside Neighborhood Housing Services, the Buffalo Bills and the National Football League, he helped secure funding for construction of the football field, as well as new restrooms and a concession stand, completed and named in his honor in 2000.

Survivors include his wife, the former Norma A. Kurek; two daughters, Jennifer Crowley and Michelle Gough; a son, Richard; two brothers, Robert and Frederick; five grandchildren; and a great-grandchild.

Services will be at 10 a.m. Saturday in Greco Funeral Home, 2909 Elmwood Ave.
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Rev. Robert W. Vogt, pastor in City of Tonawanda

December 20, 2013, 3:18 pm
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Aug. 16, 1937 – Dec. 15, 2013

The Rev. Robert W. Vogt, retired pastor of St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in the City of Tonawanda, died Sunday in his home in Longs, S.C. He was 76.

The Buffalo native attended the Seminary of St. Joseph and the Little Flower and Niagara University. He also was a graduate of Our Lady of the Angels Seminary at Niagara.

He was ordained to the priesthood in 1962 and was assigned as a hospital coordinator in the missionary apostolate.

He later served at All Saints and St. Martin Church in Buffalo.

In 1965, Father Vogt was appointed assistant director of the missionary apostolate. He became an assistant pastor at St. Edmund in the Town of Tonawanda in 1970 and served as administrator of St. Francis de Sales in Buffalo from 1974 to 1981.

He first pastorate was at St. Bridget Church in Newfane.

He arrived as pastor at St. Francis of Assisi in 1994 and retired for health reasons in 2000.

Father Vogt was part of the Cursillo Movement and served on the Council of Priests. He also was a member and vice chairman of the Diocesan Liturgical Commission.

He moved to South Carolina in 2009.

Survivors include a sister, Diane Doody.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered at 10 a.m. next Saturday in St. Francis of Assisi Church, 150 Broad St., City of Tonawanda, with Auxiliary Bishop Edward M. Grosz presiding.
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Wilbert G. Brant, served roles in labor relations

December 20, 2013, 3:21 pm
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Oct. 3, 1926 – Dec. 3, 2013

Wilbert G. “Chief” Brant, of Williamsville, a labor leader and a standout baseball player in his youth, died Dec. 3 in St. John the Baptist Hospice House. He was 87.

Mr. Brant came to Buffalo from Oshawa, Ont., in 1946 and turned down a contract offer from the Boston Braves to become a bus driver for what was then Niagara Frontier Transit.

He was president of the 1,450-member bus drivers union, Division 1342, Amalgamated Transit Union, from 1970 to 1972. During his tenure, drivers staged a massive call-in that shut down the bus system for one day to protest a series of violent incidents involving high school students.

After that, Mr. Brant pursued a career in labor relations. He was labor liaison for the United Way, the March of Dimes and the Union Pacific Railroad. He also took part in the new field of employee assistance, which helps people on the job with personal problems.

In 1975, he left Buffalo to become labor director of the labor-management task force on the national staff of the AFL-CIO. There he worked to get companies and unions to set up employee assistance programs, focusing on alcoholism. He was honored for his work in the field by the EAP Digest and the National Alcohol Congress of EAP. He was inducted into the National EAP Hall of Fame.

Although he never played pro baseball, he played locally at the amateur level for many years. He was inducted into the Western New York Softball Hall of Fame in 1984. He also coached softball teams.

After retiring in 1989, Mr. Brant concentrated on his other passion, golf. He played and served as a caddy and ranger in Buffalo and Florida until last year. He was longtime caddy for leading local amateur golfer Bob Rosen.

His wife of 40 years, the former Connie Alleca, who also was a bus driver, died in 2010.

Survivors include two daughters, Karen Ernst and Judy D’Erba Graser; and a brother, Clayton.

Services were private.
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Area Deaths

December 20, 2013, 4:36 pm
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John K. “Jack” Adrian, died Dec. 16.

Janet Y. (Gephardt) Barber, died Dec. 16.

Jeanne (Marquis) Bartholomew, 83, formerly of Amherst, Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus soprano, choir director for Christ United Methodist Church, Amherst, died Dec. 15.

Arthur W. Brese, of Hamburg, died Dec. 18.

Teresa M. (Raimondo) Bundy, of Lancaster, died Dec. 19.

Alice J. “Elsie” (Kasprzak) Buttino, of Sardinia, died Dec. 19.

Fannie (Laporta) Chiarmonte, died Dec. 19.

Frederick J. “Fred” Crimi Sr., of Amherst, died Dec. 18.

Glenn H. “Jack” Daniels, Vietnam War Army veteran, died Dec. 18.

Marie (Wagner) Gaulin, 83, died Dec. 20.

Charles F. Gaylord, of Hamburg, died Dec. 18.

Renata S. (Scognamiglio) Giacobbe, died Dec. 19.

Arthur E. Gundlach, of Snyder, died Dec. 19.

Ruth (Ross) Harris, 77, formerly of Buffalo, retired marketing account representative for U.S. Postal Service, died Dec. 16.

Patricia A. (Maier) Kader, of Clarence, president of Amherst Garden Club and Red Hat Society of Clarence, died Dec. 18.

Suzanne M. (Kelly) Koestler, of Boston, died Dec. 19.

Phyllis M. (Meyers) Kruse, 89, of Springville, died Dec. 19.

Howard J. Lowitzer, of Kenmore, died Dec. 19.

Robert W. Maclaughlin, of Hamburg, died Dec. 19.

Marie D. (Buccilli) Malark, died Dec. 20.

Adam Miga, 71, of Cheektowaga, Air Force veteran, past chief and exempt member of Pine Hill Hose Company 5, died Dec. 18.

Rose A. (Bevilacqua) Nickle, died Dec. 19.

Rev. Robert W. Peck, 75, of North Tonawanda and Newfane, died Dec. 16.

Julia M. (Pordan) Pelczynski, 93, died Dec. 19.

Mary Jane (Nowakowski) Repec, died Dec. 18.

Maizie Ricks, died Dec. 16.

Eugene A. Rose Jr., 77, died Dec. 15.

Herman P. “Harry” Sambora, of Hamburg, served during World War II with the 77th Infantry Division and life member of VFW Hamburg Post 1419, died Dec. 20.

Carl N. Schlez, died Dec. 18.

Joan (Schwartz) Uschold, of Town of Tonawanda, died Dec. 19.

Patricia A. (McKay) Velna, of Kenmore, died Dec. 18.

David Grant Weaver, 25, SUNY Buffalo State graduate, entrepreneur, graphic artist, videographer, and DJ, died Dec. 5.

James W. Ziegler, of North Tonawanda, died Dec. 19.

Irene J. (Wojtowicz) Wrobel, of Depew, medical records employee at Erie County Home and Infirmary, died Dec. 19.
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Sister Joan Marie Kwiatkowski, longtime educator

December 20, 2013, 5:47 pm
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March 31, 1914 – Dec. 20, 2013

Sister Joan Marie Kwiatkowski, a Franciscan Sister and longtime educator, died Friday in Colette Hilbert Care Community, Hamburg. She was 99.

Born Joan Kwiatkowski in Milwaukee, she entered the Congregation of the Franciscan Sisters of St. Joseph on July 28, 1930, as a postulant. Sister Joan Marie professed her final vows on July 16, 1935.

She entered the teacher training program at Holy Family College in Philadelphia before transferring to Marywood College, Scranton, Pa., where she earned a bachelor’s degree in education.

For 68 years, Sister Joan Marie was an educator at schools including St. Hedwig and Queen of Angels, Detroit; Corpus Christi, Buffalo; St. Hyacinth, Auburn; St. Stephen, Shamokin, Pa.; St. Josaphat, Milwaukee; Queen of Rosary and Holy Rosary of Pompeii, Kenosha, Wis; St. Casimir, Baltimore; Mater Dolorosa, Holyoke, Mass.; and St. Sebastian, Dearborn Heights, Mich., where she also served as school librarian from 1998 through 2001.

In addition to teaching, she was principal at St. Stanislaus, Trenton, N.J.; St. Stanislaus, Kewanee, Ill.; Sacred Heart, Danbury, Conn.; and St. Charles Borromeo, Milwaukee.

In May 2003, Sister Joan Marie joined the Sisters in the Colette Hilbert Care Community.

Sister Jean Marie’s colleagues said she was fun to be with, enjoyed life and had a keen sense of humor.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered at 9:30 a.m. Monday in the convent chapel, 5229 South Park Ave., Hamburg.
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Robert Rausche, singer, storyteller, electrician

December 21, 2013, 2:34 pm
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July 12, 1936 – Dec. 19, 2013

Robert Rausche, a Buffalo native, great-grandfather, choir singer, electrician and storyteller, died in Lake Suzy, Fla., Thursday. He was 77.

“Our house was always filled with laughter,” said Sandra Wierpert, his daughter. “He always had a story to tell, always had a joke, always had a smile.”

Mr. Rausche was the son of German immigrants, a former Marine and past commander of AMVETS Post 7 of Akron. He spent most of his life in Lancaster before moving to Florida a couple of years ago.

A former member of the Lancaster Volunteer Ambulance Corps, he was also a lieutenant and director of Townline Fire Hall in Lancaster.

In addition to working as an electrician, he was a retired salesman for Buffalo Wire Works. His hobbies included singing in the Lancaster Presbyterian Choir and playing guitar.

He raised his family with his late first wife, Diane, to whom he was married for 36 years. When their children were growing up, they used to take everyone out for Friday night fish fries at Wilkinson’s Lounge, where he would sing and play guitar with his band. In the summers they went to Allegany State Park, where Mr. Rausche loved to take out his guitar and sing “On Top of Old Smoky.”

He is survived by his second wife, Patricia Bahl-Rausche; two daughters, Carol Habarth and Sandra Wierpert; a son Norman; grandchildren and great-grandchildren. A local memorial service will be held at St. Adalbert’s Cemetery. A date has not been set.
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