The Buffalo News - Obituaries

Feb. 18, 1924 – Jan. 14, 2014

Neil A. Gowans, of Cheektowaga, a retired design engineer for Trico Products, died Tuesday in Beechwood Continuing Care Wesley Rehabilitation Center, Getzville. He was 89.

Born in Buffalo, he was a graduate of Bennett High School and St. Petersburg Junior College in Florida, where he studied art. He also studied in the University of Buffalo fine arts program.

Mr. Gowans served in the Army Air Forces in World War II with the 343rd Fighter Group in Attu, Alaska, attaining the rank of corporal.

Returning from service, he studied art in Florida, then came back to Buffalo, working as a design engineer at Buffalo Forge, then for 42 years at Trico, where he held four windshield wiper-related patents. He retired in 1998.

A lifelong artist, he created many paintings, sketches and computer designs.

Nicknamed “Skin” because he was always thin, he was active in George F. Lamm Post 622, American Legion.

His wife of 63 years, Dorothea M. Gilmour Gowans, died in 2011.

Survivors include three daughters, Susan Marczak, Gail Schragel and Jackie Root; a son, Scot; five grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren.

Services will be at 9:30 a.m. Saturday in Dietrich Funeral Home, 2480 Kensington Ave., Cheektowaga.

Nov. 5, 1941 – Jan. 15, 2014

Marion Evelyn Faller, of Clarence, a renowned documentary photo artist and professor of photography at the University at Buffalo, died Wednesday in Hospice Buffalo, Cheektowaga, after a short illness. She was 72.

Born Marion Sudol in Passaic, N.J., she was selected as Miss Polish America in a national pageant in 1960.

She earned her bachelor’s degree at Hunter College and a master of fine arts degree from UB.

Ms. Faller taught at Hunter College, Marymount Manhattan College and Colgate University, then came in 1982 to UB, where she taught studio and history courses. She retired in 2006.

Exhibiting frequently in galleries here and across the nation, she was subject of a solo exhibit in 2006 in the Burchfield Penney Art Center, to which she donated 199 of her photographs and artworks in 2012. Her photographs also are included in many other public collections.

Drawn to everyday phenomena – she documented ethnic markets, Christmas and Halloween displays and the contents of her teenage son’s pockets – she was praised by former Buffalo News Critic Richard Huntington for her “art of artlessness.”

In a statement about her art in 2002, she wrote: “My work is about how individuals and communities visually express their values, their interests and their sense of what is important and beautiful.

“The subject matter is usually close to home – homes, yards, small businesses and community buildings such as schools or churches. ... Much of my photography addresses the various ways we celebrate holidays and respond to the changing seasons.”

The Burchfield Penney Art Center and George Eastman House in Rochester have placed memorial tributes to her and her photography on their websites and are planning future exhibits of her work.

Her husband, avant-garde filmmaker and digital art pioneer Hollis Frampton, died in 1984.

Survivors include a son, Will; a sister, Barbara Schroeder; and a granddaughter.

Committal services in Forest Lawn will be private.

March 8, 1919 – Jan. 7, 2014

Eugene R. Burgess Sr., of Hanford Bay and Hamburg, a teacher, coach and guidance counselor, died Jan. 7 in Buffalo Veterans Affairs Medical Center. He was 94.

Born in Port Jervis, he attended Alfred University on a track scholarship and set several track records there. He joined the Army Air Forces in 1941 and served as a navigator during World War II.

He finished his bachelor’s degree at Alfred in 1946 and his master’s degree in education in 1949, then returned to active duty with the Air Force in the Korean War, attaining the rank of captain.

Returning from service, Mr. Burgess worked as a counselor with the Veterans Administration in Buffalo, then taught high school science and math.

He went to Silver Creek Central School in 1956, beginning as a teacher, then becoming a guidance counselor. He was director of guidance when he retired in 1983.

He worked with the state Education Department to develop new guidance certification standards, coordinated seminars for high school students at Fredonia State College and pursued studies at the University at Buffalo.

He also helped form the Northern Chautauqua Federal Credit Union for teachers and staff in the Silver Creek and Forestville schools in 1969, served as treasurer from 1970 to 1983 and was on the board of directors for many years.

He coached track and cross country teams at Silver Creek and officiated at events with the Western New York Track and Field Association for more than 50 years.

He was a life member of the Chautauqua County Guidance Counselors Association, a member of the Blessed John Paul II Senior Club and a former member of Lambda Chi fraternity. He also was a devoted American Red Cross blood donor.

A passionate sports fan, he also enjoyed music, theater and investing.

His wife of 44 years, Jeannette L. Stephens Burgess, died in 1986. He was married in 1993 to the former Ursula Hamusa.

In addition to his wife, survivors include two sons, Stephen and Joseph; three daughters, Ann Conklin, Linda and Julie Sabrosky; three stepsons, Dr. Wolfgang Miggiani, Victor Miggiani and Christian Miggiani; a stepdaughter, Rose Pavolko; a sister, Muriel Spordone; 15 grandchildren; 14 stepgrandchildren; and 20 great-grandchildren.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered at 10 a.m. next Saturday in Blessed John Paul II Catholic Church, 2052 Lakeview Road, Lake View.

Jan. 11, 1922 – Jan. 14, 2014

Richard H. Geitner, longtime owner of Angola’s historic movie theater and a pilot during World War II, died Jan. 14. He was 92.

Mr. Geitner was born in Silver Creek. He attained the rank of first lieutenant with the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II, and as a B-17 pilot logged more than 1,300 hours in the air on missions in Europe and Africa.

Upon returning home, he met his future wife, the former Bernice Leisner. The couple settled in Angola, where Mr. Geitner owned and operated the New Angola Theater from 1948 until his retirement in 1995. He also leased and operated the Grandview Drive-In Theatre.

He was a member of Most Precious Blood Catholic Church and Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Mr. Geitner enjoyed hunting, fishing and gardening. He played trumpet with local bands and was known as a good storyteller.

Besides his wife of 63 years, Mr. Geitner is survived by two daughters, Nancy Dallaire and Linda Adams; two sons, Lawrence and Thomas; six grandchildren and a great-granddaughter.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered at 11 a.m. today in Most Precious Blood Church, 22 Prospect St., Angola.

July 8, 1923 – Dec. 23, 2013

Salvatore Louis D’Auria, former president of the Optimist Club of Buffalo and a veteran of World War II, died Dec. 23 in Buffalo VA Medical Center. He was 90.

Mr. D’Auria was born in Buffalo and most recently lived in Williamsville. After serving with the U.S. Army’s 71st Evac Hospital during World War II, he returned home and sold sporting goods and real estate. He also worked with movie theaters.

In 1972, he earned his master’s degree in education from Niagara University and became a teacher and mentor.

He was a member of the Romulus Club and was president of the Optimist Club in 1989-91. He was proud of having shot a hole-in-one at Grover Cleveland Golf Course on July 11, 1989.

His wife, Laura, is deceased.

He is survived by two daughters, Irene, and Dian Tucker; two sons, John, and Rick Magro; three sisters, Virginia Smaldino, Josephine Dwyer and Carm Smith; and three grandchildren.

A memorial service will be at 1 p.m. next Saturday in Unitarian Universalist Church of Amherst, 6320 Main St.

Steven D. Arnold, of East Aurora, died Jan. 14.

Michael P. Barton, of Tonawanda, died Jan. 14.

Edward Bayer, of Orchard Park, died Jan. 12.

Anna M. (Dudak) Boskat, 86, seamstress and retired secretary at University at Buffalo, died Jan. 14.

Stanley P. Bratek, of Hamburg, died Jan. 14.

Bruce Charles Brucato, 60, died Jan. 15.

Joanne L. Capone, died Jan. 15.

Jerry Ciesielski Jr., died Jan. 14.

Cheryl A. DeGlopper, of Tonawanda, died Jan. 14.

Frank S. Dettelis Jr., died Jan. 14.

Voit C. Drankhan, of Hamburg, member of the Ismailia Temple and Western Star Lodge 1185, died Jan. 15.

Dorcas D. Dubicki, of Lancaster, died Jan. 10.

William G. Everest, of Niagara Falls, died Jan. 13.

Ronald W. Fechter, of Cheektowaga, died Jan. 15.

James P. Feldmeyer, 58, of Tonawanda, died Jan. 14.

Christine (Seggio) Fullone, of Brant, died Jan. 14.

Richard H. Geitner, of Angola, died Jan. 14.

Christopher A. Godus, of West Seneca, died Jan. 8.

Lloyd O. Griffin, died Jan. 13.

Eleanor J. Hondzinski, died Jan. 14.

Annie S. (Craig) Hunter, of Cheektowaga, died Jan. 10.

Nancy L. Hutchinson, 70, died Jan. 9.

Edward M. Kaszubowski, of Boston, former monk for Abbey of Gethsemane and St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, died Jan. 15.

Irene C. Kowalski, died Jan. 15.

Carol K. (Kaiser) Lawrence, of Cheektowaga, died Jan. 14.

Deborah A. (Evens) Link, died Jan. 14.

Frances Manka, died Jan. 15.

Patricia G. (Russo) Matyjaszek, of South Buffalo, died Jan. 14.

Shawn M. Mesler, of Depew, died Jan. 14.

Frank C. Militello, of Williamsville, died Jan. 15.

Helen B. Mumme, 91, of North Tonawanda, died Jan. 14.

Robert Elwood Murray, of Grand Island, died Jan. 13.

Gertrude P. (Villforth) Musial, owner and manager of Buffalo Book Store in Amherst and Lockport, died Jan. 9.

Robert E. Nerber, formerly of Orchard Park, died Jan. 8.

John H. Papenberg, of Lackawanna, died Jan. 15.

Frank J. Pierowicz, of Depew, died Jan. 12.

Barbara Reid, 96, formerly of Buffalo, died Jan. 8.

Norman Roth Sr., died Jan. 15.

Catherine M. (McGee) Schaefer, of Cheektowaga, died Jan. 15.

William J. Shriver Jr., of Cheektowaga, died Jan. 11.

Rudy John Sliwa, 43, died Jan. 12.

Lillian M. (Chase) Stanley, 95, died Jan. 10.

Edward R. Strasser, retired vice president at Metal Locking Services, died Jan. 15.

Elizabeth L. (Burkard) Tredo, died Jan. 13.

Doris (St. Onge) Van Norman, died Jan. 8.

Dawn M. (Grier) Weaver, died Jan. 16.

Lucy E. (Ventura) Wiltse-Lamoreaux, of West Seneca, died Jan. 16.

Anthony Wozniak, died Jan. 13.

Cecilia F. (Kuczka) Wozniak, of Cheektowaga, died Jan. 12.

Paul M. Wysocki, of Middlebury, died Jan. 12.

Jeanne N. (DeWeaver) Ziccardi, of Marilla, died Jan. 12.

June 30, 1920 – Jan. 11, 2014

Dr. Charles W. Bishop, an emeritus professor of medicine at the University at Buffalo, died Jan. 11 in his Amherst home after living with prostate cancer for more than a decade. He was 93.

Dr. Bishop was born in Elmira and earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Syracuse University. He earned his Ph.D. in biochemistry at the University of Rochester, where he was a research associate on the Manhattan Project during World War II.

Dr. Bishop joined the UB School of Medicine in 1947 as an instructor in biochemistry and medicine.

In 1955, he was awarded a National Institutes of Health fellowship to study at the University of Glasgow, Scotland. On his return, he expanded his earlier research into the cause of gout to the metabolism of red blood cells and blood preservation. He also was head of the Clinical Chemistry Laboratory at Buffalo General Medical Center.

Dr. Bishop founded the Blood Information Service and published more than 65 research papers, along with co-editing the book, “The Red Blood Cell.”

Syracuse University presented him with the Dean of Arts and Sciences Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2004 and the SU Club of WNY named him a Distinguished Alumni in 2006.

Dr. Bishop was interested early on in medical informatics and computer use in diagnosis, and he created the system “Framemed, a Framework for Medical Knowledge.” He recently was promoting the use of electronic personal health records that people could carry with them at all times.

He was a member of the American Chemical Society, American Physiological Society, American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Dr. Bishop’s wife of 64 years, the former Beverly Petterson, died in 2008.

Survivors include a son, Geoffrey; and a grandson.

Services will be private.

Oct. 7, 1925 – Jan. 16, 2014

John T. Manyon, who helped turn Blue Shield from a small local health insurer into a major force in health care, died Thursday after a short illness. He was 88.

Mr. Manyon was born into a Greek immigrant family in Endicott, and spoke only Greek when he started school. He learned to speak English and went on to graduate from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, with a degree in mathematics.

He began his career with Security Mutual Life Insurance of New York in Binghamton. In the early 1960s, he moved his family to Buffalo to accept a position as an investment officer at Liberty National Bank & Trust Company. There he oversaw the reserve funds of Blue Shield of WNY and sat on the insurer’s board of directors. In the late 1960s, he became board president.

He led the board through a conflict in the 1970s with Blue Cross of WNY, which had a contract to market Blue Shield’s insurance programs. The dispute led to resignations from the board by a number of physicians, who were replaced by community leaders and physicians who agreed with Blue Shield’s position to hold down reimbursement costs and premiums.

Mr. Manyon recognized the importance of healthy lifestyles, and under his leadership Blue Shield created an annual run and supported many other health initiatives.

During his tenure, he expanded the plan’s customer base, contracted to process Medicare Part B claims and formed a team to set up a claims processing facility in Binghamton, adding over a billion dollars a year in volume to the company’s business.

Mr. Manyon also was involved in area cultural organizations. In 1986, he and his longtime companion, Helene Petrakis, were asked by the president of Chautauqua Institution to be part of a group visiting what was then the Soviet Union. This interchange was the prelude to the unprecedented visit in 1987 by 300 Soviets who came to Chautauqua for a week.

In 1986, the independent Blue Shield Plan of Northeastern New York was merged into the Western New York plan in a deal Mr. Manyon crafted.

Mr. Manyon retired in 1992. Shortly afterward, Blue Shield merged with Blue Cross of WNY. Mr. Manyon is survived by two daughters, Andrea and Ellen; three sons, Theodore, John Peter and Samuel; and three grandchildren.

Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Monday in the Hellenic Orthodox Church of the Annunciation, 146 West Utica St. An additional service will be held in Endicott, where Mr. Manyon will be buried.

Hiroo Onoda, an Imperial Japanese Army officer who remained at his jungle post on an island in the Philippines for 29 years, refusing to believe that World War II was over, and returned to a hero’s welcome in the all but unrecognizable Japan of 1974, died Thursday in Tokyo. He was 91.

His death, at a hospital there, was announced by the Japanese government.

Onoda, a second lieutenant, was one of the war’s last holdouts: a soldier who believed that the emperor was a deity and the war a sacred mission; who survived on bananas and coconuts and sometimes killed villagers he assumed were enemies; who finally went home to the lotus-land of paper and wood that turned out to be a futuristic world of skyscrapers, television, jet planes, pollution and atomic destruction.

Onoda, a small, wiry man of dignified manner and military bearing, seemed to many like a samurai of old, offering his sword as a gesture of surrender to President Ferdinand E. Marcos of the Philippines, who returned it to him.

And his homecoming, with roaring crowds, celebratory parades and speeches by public officials, stirred his nation with a pride that many Japanese had found lacking in the postwar years of rising prosperity and materialism. His ordeal of deprivation may have seemed a waste to much of the world, but in Japan it was a moving reminder of the redemptive qualities of duty and perseverance.

It happened with a simple command: Onoda’s last order in early 1945 was to stay and fight. Loyal to a military code that taught that death was preferable to surrender, he remained behind on Lubang Island, 93 miles southwest of Manila, when Japanese forces withdrew in the face of a U.S. invasion.

After Japan surrendered, that September, Onoda, an intelligence officer trained in guerrilla tactics, and three enlisted men with him found leaflets proclaiming the war’s end but believed they were propaganda tricks. They evaded U.S. and Filipino search parties and attacked islanders they took to be enemy guerrillas; about 30 inhabitants were killed in skirmishes with the Japanese over the years. One of the enlisted men surrendered to Filipino forces in 1950, and two others were shot dead, one in 1954 and another in 1972, by island police officers.

The last holdout, Onoda — officially declared dead in 1959 — was found by Norio Suzuki, a student searching for him in 1974. The lieutenant rejected Suzuki’s pleas to go home, insisting he was still awaiting orders. Suzuki returned with photographs, and the Japanese government sent a delegation, including the lieutenant’s brother and his former commander, to formally relieve him of duty.

In Manila, the lieutenant, wearing his tattered uniform, presented his sword to Marcos, who pardoned him for crimes committed while he thought he was at war.

He was already a national hero when he arrived in Tokyo, met by his aging parents and huge flag-waving crowds. More than patriotism or admiration for his grit, his jungle saga, which had dominated the news in Japan for days, evoked waves of nostalgia and melancholy.

The 52-year-old soldier spoke earnestly of duty and seemed to personify a devotion to traditional values that many Japanese thought had been lost.

“I was fortunate that I could devote myself to my duty in my young and vigorous years,” he said.

Asked what had been on his mind all those years in the jungle, he said: “Nothing but accomplishing my duty.”

After his national welcome in Japan, Onoda was given a military pension and signed a $160,000 contract for a ghostwritten memoir, “No Surrender: My Thirty Year War.” In 1975, he moved to a Japanese colony in São Paulo, Brazil, where he raised cattle. In recent years, he lived in Japan and in Brazil, where he was made an honorary citizen.

Aug. 5, 1925 – Jan. 18, 2014

Peter N. Cavaretta, a teacher for 30 years in Sweet Home Central schools, died Saturday at Fox Run in Orchard Park. The former Amherst resident was 88.

Born in Buffalo, he graduated from Lafayette High School and entered the U.S. Army during World War II. He was injured twice, earning two Purple Hearts, and each time returned to battle.

After the war, he enrolled at Niagara University and transferred to Canisius College, where he earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees.

Mr. Cavaretta was a national service officer for AMVETS for several years before he started teaching at Sweet Home schools. He was chairman of the middle school science department and was very active in the Western New York Science Congress.

In 1971, Mr. Cavaretta ran for Erie County executive against Edward V. Regan in the Conservative Party’s primary.

After retiring from teaching in 1987, he joined the Red Cross as a CPR instructor for several decades. He also was a volunteer at Buffalo Veterans Affairs Medical Center, where he was recognized for more than 7,500 hours of service. He was an ecumenical minister and an acolyte, and he helped at senior citizens meetings at St. Gregory the Great Catholic Church. He was chosen as one of St. Gregory’s Twelve for outstanding service to the church.

He also belonged to the Disabled American Veterans, as well as several professional organizations and golf leagues.

Survivors include his wife, the former Therese Gorzynski; two daughters, Linda Scamurra and Madeleine “Mimi” Wood; a son, Bruce; a sister, Jean Cross; six grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered at 10:30 a.m. Monday in St. Gregory the Great Church, 200 St. Gregory Court, Amherst.

Sept. 12, 1934 – Jan. 10, 2014

Dr. Donald L. Morton, a son of an Appalachian coal miner who gained renown as a surgeon for helping to develop a widely used technique for detecting and treating certain kinds of cancer, died Jan. 10 in Santa Monica, Calif. He was 79.

The cause was heart failure, his family said.

Even as Morton did groundbreaking work, he was also known as one of the last physicians to treat the actor John Wayne in 1979, when Wayne was in an advanced stage of stomach cancer. He later had a founding role in what is now the John Wayne Cancer Institute in Santa Monica.

Morton, who grew up without electricity or running water in West Virginia, made his way to the forefront of global cancer research and treatment with a focus on melanoma, a type of skin cancer. He would have it himself in the late 1980s and detected it early enough to have it surgically removed. He helped save countless others from it, too.

“Dr. Morton’s discoveries have profoundly changed the treatment of human cancer,” the American College of Surgeons said in 2008 when it gave him an award for innovation in surgical technique.

In the late 1970s, while working as chief of surgical oncology at the University of California, Los Angeles, Morton helped develop a technique called a sentinel lymph node biopsy.

In the past, doctors trying to determine whether cancer had spread to lymph nodes had to remove large numbers of nodes.

It was a serious operation with lasting side effects, yet 80 percent of the time it proved unnecessary because no tumor was found. Morton believed many of the operations could be avoided.

“Dr. Morton’s idea was that a tumor would migrate first to one lymph node, the way water running down a mountain flows into one lake before flowing downstream to others,” Andrew Pollack wrote in a 2003 profile of Morton in the New York Times. “By injecting dye into a patient’s tumor, he hypothesized, doctors could trace the spread pattern and find that node, which could then be removed. Only if that node had cancer would others be excised.”

The technique proved successful, and it was adapted for breast cancer cases and other cancers.

Morton helped develop the technique while also pursuing his long-held dream of creating a vaccine for melanoma.

Beginning in the 1960s, he began experimenting with a vaccine that was intended not to prevent cancer but to harness the body’s immune system to attack cancer cells once they have developed. In the following decades, he became one of the top grant recipients from the National Institutes of Health, and he helped set up a private company, CancerVax, which raised money to conduct trials of the proposed vaccine, called Canvaxin.

– New York Times

April 6, 1921 – Jan. 17, 2014

Josephine L. Fichera, of Buffalo, an executive secretary for the Buffalo District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, died Friday in Hospice Buffalo, Cheektowaga. She was 92.

Born in Buffalo, Miss Fichera was a graduate of Grover Cleveland High School.

In Miss Fichera’s 36-year career with the Army Corps of Engineers, she advanced from the typing pool to become chief secretary to a succession of commanding officers. She was known for her toughness and her skills as an administrator.

She enjoyed bowling and swimming and was a world traveler.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered at 9:30 a.m. today in Holy Cross Catholic Church, Maryland and Seventh streets.

Jan. 31, 1931 – Jan. 19, 2014

Chris Chataway, the British runner who helped Roger Bannister achieve the first sub-4-minute mile then broke world records himself and became a member of Parliament and a Cabinet minister, died Sunday in London. He was 82.

He had been fighting cancer for two years, his son Mark told the Associated Press.

Chataway was best known for helping Bannister, his fellow Oxford graduate and good friend, break the supposedly unbreakable barrier in the mile. For months, Bannister, Chataway and Chris Brasher trained together to prepare for the attempt.

It came on May 6, 1954, at the Iffley Road track in Oxford, an hour outside London. According to plan, Brasher, a steeplechaser, led for the first two of the four laps. Chataway, primarily a 5,000-meter runner, led for the third lap and a little beyond. With 300 yards to go, Bannister raced by and finished in 3 minutes, 59.4 seconds, an achievement that made the front page of newspapers around the world.

The three ran a victory lap together, and Bannister subsequently said many times, “We had done it, the three of us.”

While Bannister’s record was monumental, it was also fragile. In June that year, John Landy of Australia lowered it to 3:58.0 in Turku, Finland. He gave much credit to the runner who pressed him for most of the race – Chris Chataway.

That summer, Chataway set a world record of 13:51.6 for 5,000 meters. In a 10-day period a year later, over the same London track, he set world records of 13:27.2 and 13:23.2 for three miles. He also ran a mile in 3:59.8.

Chataway was not as successful in the Olympics. In 1952 in Helsinki, he was leading on the last lap of the 5,000 meters, fell back to second, tripped on a curb and fell and finished fifth. In 1956 in Melbourne, he finished 11th. After that, he retired as a runner.

Christopher John Chataway was born Jan. 31, 1931. He became the first news anchor on the air for ITN, Britain’s first commercial television network, and soon moved to the BBC as a behind-the-scenes executive.

In 1958, he was one of four Britons who inspired the creation of the World Refugee Year.

As a Conservative politician, he served from 1959 to 1974 as a governmental minister, a member of Parliament or a London local administrator. After that, he was a bank executive. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1995 for his service to the field of aviation, after working as chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority.

Besides his son Mark, Chataway’s survivors include his wife, Carola; a daughter, Joanna; three other sons, Matthew, Adam and Ben; and a stepson, Charles Walker.

For years, Chataway was unhappy with the path the Olympics had taken, and what he saw as the shift from the Olympic ideals. In 1959, he wrote in the New York Times Magazine: “Are the Olympic Games a force for good or ill in international relations? The answer is probably that they are not much of a force at all. They are worthwhile for what they are: the best sports meetings in the world.”

“In my experience,” he added, “the average athlete does not run, jump or throw for the greater glory of his country. He does it to satisfy himself, to meet his own competitive urges, to prove something to nobody but himself. My motive force was purely personal, never patriotic.”

Chataway started running again in his late 50s. At 64, he ran a 5:48 mile on the Iffley Road track, his first race there since Bannister’s sub-4-minute mile. John Hartley, Chataway’s television colleague, said Chataway had told him that as he stood on the starting line this time, he calculated that in the 41 years between those 2 miles, he had absorbed 400 pounds of tobacco and 7,000-plus liters of wine.

Chataway, Bannister and Brasher remained close until Brasher died in 2003. In 2004, at age 73, Chataway ran a 10-kilometer race in 49:08.

The race was the Chris Brasher Memorial. The starter was Bannister.

– New York Times

Feb. 21, 1927 – Jan. 18, 2014

NIAGARA FALLS – Joseph M. Promowicz, an Army veteran and professional baseball player in the St. Louis Cardinals organization, died Saturday at home. He was 86.

Mr. Promowicz attended local schools and worked as a baler at Kimberly-Clark before joining the U.S. Army. He served as a logistics clerk for the 333rd Division during the occupation of Japan after World War II. He was selected to be part of an Army baseball team, pitching against other armed services teams to entertain troops across Japan.

After returning from the Army, he began his career as a professional baseball player for his hometown Niagara Falls Citizens, where he excelled as a pitcher and outfielder. He was later drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals organization and played for the Lynchburg Cardinals. He was recruited by former major league pitcher and friend Sal Maglie to join him on the Drummondville Cubs in Quebec.

Mr. Promowicz returned to Niagara Falls to be closer to his family and started working as a pipe fitter for Hooker Chemical Co. He also was a star player in local industrial baseball and basketball leagues.

An avid sportsman, Mr. Promowicz enjoyed horse racing and owned several trotters that ran at racetracks along the East Coast.

He also enjoyed fishing and spending time with his family.

Survivors include his wife of 66 years, the former Florence Zaremski; a daughter, Judy Cwierley; two grandchildren; and a great-grandchild.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered at 10 a.m. Wednesday in Divine Mercy Parish, 24th and Niagara streets.

April 6, 1949 – Jan. 17, 2014

Michael G. Lyons, of South Buffalo, a supervisor for the Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority and a longtime member of the city’s Planning Board, died Friday in Niagara Hospice after a brief illness. He was 64.

Born in Detroit, Mr. Lyons moved to this area as a child.

He was a graduate of St. Francis High School in Athol Springs and earned a bachelor’s degree from the University at Buffalo.

Mr. Lyons worked as a counselor for the Erie County Department of Social Services from 1972 to 1978.

He began his career with the Housing Authority in 1979 and, at the time of his death, was preparing to retire as supervisor of energy and utilities.

He had been a member of the Buffalo Planning Board since 1978 and had served as treasurer of the East Buffalo Civic Association.

Mr. Lyons also was a Democratic committeeman for East Lovejoy for many years.

Survivors include his former wife, the former Donna Deery; a daughter, Katherine Witt; two sons, John and Joseph; six brothers, Patrick, Thomas, Peter, Paul, Dan and John; five sisters, Mary Sullivan, Ann Logel, Alice Messina, Peggy and Ellen; and five grandchildren.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered at 11:30 a.m. today in Our Lady of Charity Parish, 65 Ridgewood Road.

Oct. 13, 1960 – Jan. 18, 2014

Natalie P. Kaufman, an administrator for Kaleida Health, died Saturday in her Clarence Center home after a long battle with ovarian cancer. She was 53.

Born Natalie Turner in Buffalo, she was a 1978 graduate of Williamsville South High School and earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing from D’Youville College in 1982.

A registered nurse, Mrs. Kaufman worked at St. Luke’s Hospital in Cleveland, Millard Fillmore Hospital, Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital and Buffalo General Medical Center, where she was director of cardiac services and manager of patient flow.

She was instrumental in implementing the “Get With the Guidelines” program at Kaleida Health and was given a Gold Service Award for her work.

She retired in 2011 because of illness.

A member of Zion Lutheran Church in Clarence Center, she taught a confirmation class there.

She also volunteered to help survivors from Hurricane Katrina at the Astrodome in Houston.

Survivors include her husband of 30 years, David; three daughters, Valerie, Stephanie and Hollie; a sister, Laurie Knauf; and a brother, Anthony Turner.

Services will be at 9:30 a.m. Thursday in Zion Lutheran Church, 9535 Clarence Center Road, Clarence Center.

April 7, 1929 – Jan. 20, 2014

George K. Minton, a retired auto plant foreman, died Monday under hospice care in his Grand Island home after a struggle with cancer. He was 84.

The descendant of pioneer settlers of Wales and Wales Center, he was born in Buffalo and attended Burgard Vocational High School. He served in the Naval Reserve during the Korean War.

After working for Buffalo Tool and Die, Mr. Minton had a 35-year career at the General Motors Tonawanda Engine Plant, retiring in 1990 as a general foreman in inspections and a contract engineer.

A member of St. Stephen Catholic Church on Grand Island, he was active in Catholic Charities, the Holy Name Society and St. Stephen’s School. A member of the Knights of Columbus for more than 50 years, he was a grand knight of Mary Star of the Sea Council 4752, and a faithful navigator of Isaac Jogues Assembly Fourth Degree. He also served as a district deputy.

He was active in the Republican Party and was an election inspector.

A Grand Island resident since 1960, he volunteered with his wife for the Skating Association for the Blind and Handicapped, the Variety Kids Telethon and auctions to benefit the music program in the Grand Island schools.

He also was a member of the Buffalo Irish Center and Niagara Frontier Post 1041, American Legion.

An accomplished oil painter who favored Irish scenes, seascapes and portraits, he won awards locally and exhibited at the Lewiston Art Festival and the Elmwood Avenue Festival of the Arts.

He was a member of the Buffalo Fine Arts Society and the Grand Island Arts Society.

Survivors include his wife of 62 years, the former Eileen Everett; three daughters, Peggy Whitmire, Kathleen Watson and Barbara; twin sons, Paul and Peter; a sister, Carol Withrow; nine grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered at 10 a.m. Friday in St. Stephen’s Church, 2100 Baseline Road, Grand Island.

June 29, 1953 – Jan. 14, 2014

Michael Nowak, of North Tonawanda, who used his love of skydiving to raise money to help people with multiple sclerosis following his own diagnosis, died Jan. 14 in DeGraff Memorial Hospital, North Tonawanda. He was 60.

Born in Niagara Falls, Mr. Nowak was a graduate of LaSalle High School. The former truck driver was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis when he was in his mid-20s.

Mr. Nowak was in the first trial of Dr. Lawrence Jacobs in the use of interferon for the treatment of MS. His condition improved enough that was able to leave his wheelchair and walk with a cane.

A member of Frontier Skydivers, he had made 35 jumps in two years before he was hospitalized with MS. In his improved condition, he resumed his hobby through tandem jumps, with the legs of his jumping partner absorbing the impact.

Mr. Nowak participated in the inaugural Erie County Winter Carnival Charity Accuracy Meet at Chestnut Ridge Park in 1988. The entry fee of skydivers benefited the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Western New York, with the skydivers seeking pledges for each “fun jump” that followed.

He was a longtime volunteer for the MS Society of WNY and a member of the National MS Society.

In 1995, Mr. Nowak received the Clarkson Center’s “Courage to Come Back Award,” which recognizes ordinary people whose stories of determination in the face of adversity provides examples of hope to those who are similarly challenged.

His interests also included music, puzzles and, in recent years, sailing with Western New York Adaptive Water Sports.

Survivors include a son, Justin Rebon; a brother, Gene; a sister, Cynthia Farah; and three grandsons.

Mr. Nowak donated his body to the University at Buffalo’s School of Medicine.

A memorial Mass of Christian Burial will be offered at 9:30 a.m. Feb. 1 in Our Lady of Czestochowa Catholic Church, Oliver Street and Center Avenue, North Tonawanda.

May 15, 1936 – Jan. 14, 2014

John Gottlieb Bihr, a certified public accountant who operated a family grocery in Orchard Park for 30 years, died unexpectedly Jan. 14 in Mercy Hospital. He was 77.

Born in Buffalo, he was a 1955 graduate of West Seneca Central High School and earned a degree in accounting from the University of Buffalo in 1959. He served in the Army and the Army Reserve.

Mr. Bihr was an accountant at the Ford Stamping Plant from 1962 to 1970, when he and his brother Thomas opened a Bihr’s Food Shop on South Buffalo Street in Orchard Park.

Previously, he had worked with his father at the original Bihr’s Food Shop on Main Street in Williamsville and was co-owner and operator there with his brother from 1965 to 1975.

He became sole proprietor of the Orchard Park store after his brother died in 1996 and he operated the store until 2000, when he sold the business and retired. He continued to work in the produce department at Tops Market in Hamburg until last year.

An Orchard Park resident, he was a member of Ebenezer United Church of Christ.

His wife of 44 years, Mary S. Ray Bihr, died in 2007.

Survivors include a daughter, Gretchen Mullen; two sons, John C. and Matthew; two sisters, Winifred Answeeney and Kathryn; and seven grandchildren.

Services were Monday in F.E. Brown Sons Funeral Home, Orchard Park.

Robert G. Anetzberger, died Jan. 17.

Mary J. (Michele) Ansteth, 92, of Snyder, died Jan. 17.

Ralph J. Barone, 67, died Jan. 17.

Bertha B. (Nowak) “Dolly” Belz, 90, died Jan. 17.

David G. Bender Sr., of East Aurora, died Jan. 21.

Samuel Camm, died Jan. 14.

Arthur A. Cross, died Jan. 17.

Oscar W. “Bill” Ekberg, 92, died Jan. 20.

Delphine F. (Myszka) Gembka, of Depew, died Jan. 19.

Catherine M. (Hugar) Graham, of Buffalo, died Jan. 19.

Emil H. Hoch, 84, retired director of international education at SUNY Buffalo State, taught in Ethiopia and Korea, established international student exchange programs in Italy, England and Australia, died Jan. 17.

Gloria Ann Hugley, of Grand Island, died Jan. 15.

Natalie P. (Turner) Kaufman, 53, of Clarence, died Jan. 18.

Michael R. Koepf, of Lancaster, died Jan. 16.

Henry G. Kozlowski, of Cheektowaga, Korean War veteran, died Jan. 20.

Walter A. Lawton, 86, of Strykersville, died Jan. 20.

John P. “Jack” Maley, 81, of Clarence, died Jan. 20.

Florence J. Morrisard, died Jan. 19.

David E. Myers, of the Town of Tonawanda, died Jan. 20.

Ernestine J. Neurohr, died Jan. 20.

Carole F. (Hoch) Nicoloff, of Elma, died Jan. 20.

Peter Pazamickas, of Niagara Falls, died Jan. 19.

Elizabeth J. “Betty” Place, of Akron, died Jan. 20.

Harold W. Porter Jr., of Buffalo, Vietnam War Army veteran, died Jan. 19.

Rita R. (Podlas) Prabucki, of West Seneca, died Jan. 17.

Florence E. “Flo” (Palmer) Quinn, of Blasdell, died Jan. 20.

Alice “Kathy” (O’Donnell) Schaefer, died Jan. 19.

Robert M. “Sudsy” Seward, 74, retired Buffalo firefighter served 35 years, died Jan. 20.

Thomas Stainsby, 84, WWII Navy veteran, retired from Niagara Mohawk Power Corp., died Jan. 20.

Richard J. Stepien, 71, died Jan. 20.

Doris (Miller) Sullivan, 93, of Clarence, died Jan. 20.

Eleanor Walsh-Wertimer, 91, attorney and social activist, former associate at the Buffalo firm Kenefick, Cook, Mitchell, Bass and Letchworth, died Jan. 18.

Lillian V. Wilson, 82, former owner of Claytons Toy Store, died Aug. 28.

Brother Luke “Richard” Witt-mann, member of the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, died Jan. 20.

Neil A. Gowans, design engineer for Trico

Marion E. Faller, photo artist, UB professor

Eugene R. Burgess Sr., teacher, guidance counselor

Richard H. Geitner, 92, owned historic Angola theater

Salvatore D’Auria, former Optimist Club president

Area Deaths

Dr. Charles W. Bishop, 93, UB professor of medicine

John T. Manyon, helped transform Blue Shield of WNY

Hiroo Onoda, one of last Japanese WWII soldiers to surrender, dies at 91

Peter Cavaretta, longtime Sweet Home teacher

Dr. Donald Morton, who pioneered a cancer technique, dies at 79

Josephine L. Fichera, executive secretary for Army Corps of Engineers

Chris Chataway, British runner and politician, dies at 82

Joseph M. Promowicz, professional baseball player

Michael G. Lyons, Housing Authority supervisor

Natalie P. Kaufman, Kaleida administrator, nurse

George K. Minton, retired GM plant foreman

Michael Nowak, who resumed skydiving after MS diagnosis

John G. Bihr, CPA, operated family grocery

Area Deaths