O’Reilly backers face tight deadline

I got this information recently from Bev Cottle:

Meeting tonight will focus on plans designed to keep Kingston high school open.

By MARK GUYDISH

mguydish@timesleader.com

“If the Catholic Church does not put the effort into educating the next generation of Catholics, we don’t have much of a future in this area.”

Raphael Micca 2006 O’Reilly graduate

The Bible studied by every Catholic school student says God created the world in six days. Well, as of this morning, that’s the same amount of time left for supporters of local Catholic high schools to pull off a minor miracle: save three schools slated for closing this June.

For Bishop O’Reilly proponents, the big push starts tonight.

“We can’t afford to just have a general discussion,” said attorney Tom O’Connor, who helped set up a 7 p.m. meeting for O’Reilly supporters at the Independent Fire Hall in Kingston. “We have to get to work. Hopefully we’ll produce something and arrange another meeting fairly quickly.”

O’Reilly supporters are a bit behind those who have rallied to save the other two Catholic high schools in Luzerne County that would close under a proposal announced Nov. 14. A small group of Seton parents met informally at the Pittston school on Saturday, while a much larger crowd – more than 600 by one organizer’s estimate -- crammed the cafeteria at Bishop Hafey High School in Hazleton last week.

Under the plan released by Wisconsin-based Meitler Consultants Inc., those three schools would merge with Bishop Hoban in Wilkes-Barre, and all students would attend the new combined school in the existing Hoban building. When the proposal was unveiled, Alan Meitler said the next step was to get public input before finalizing the plan in January. That input is supposed to come primarily from groups set up by the diocese, but a groundswell of grassroots supporters sprung up within days of the announcement. Since then, the diocese issued a deadline for any counterproposals: Dec. 4

O’Connor said O’Reilly supporters haven’t held a meeting yet because things developed too quickly. “We just thought we wouldn’t get anybody” to attend an earlier gathering.

Tonight’s meeting will include a brief introduction and overview, with the crowd breaking up into subgroups to hash out details of specific issues, O’Connor said. “This is to listen to the parents, hear what they want, not to say, ‘Here’s what it’s going to be.’”

While any realistic options are welcome, O’Connor said two ideas already floating around will be on the table: converting O’Reilly to a pre-kindergarten-through 12th grade school, or merging O’Reilly with Seton.

The first idea is possible, he said, because at one point the O’Reilly building housed “well over 1,000 students.” The building has 352 students in grades seven through 12 this year, according to the diocese Web site. “Why couldn’t you put the elementary students on one floor?” O’Connor asked.

The merger with Seton was first brought up after the meeting of that school’s supporters Saturday. Ron D’Eliseo, one of the parents who spearheaded the meeting, said it included some O’Reilly parents who were open to the idea of merging the two schools into the Seton building. “Although we don’t have 100 percent buy in, we all agreed we’re not going to be able to save all the schools. And we think it’s more beneficial if we utilize the Seton facility.”

O’Reilly is carrying some debt, needs some expensive maintenance, has no real endowment fund and has a comparatively inactive alumni association, D’Eliseo said. Seton, on the other hand, has been running in the black, needs no major repairs, has a solid endowment fund and an annual alumni contribution drive, though he conceded that last one needs to be beefed up to make the school more viable.

D’Eliseo also said Seton draws students from as far north as Old Forge and Moosic, and that those students are unlikely to travel to O’Reilly or Hoban if Seton closes. He believes that if just half of O’Reilly students transfer to the Seton in a merger, the school would be able to keep classes small while enhancing curriculum offerings.

Raphael Micca, a 2006 O’Reilly graduate who launched three Web sites to contact supporters, isn’t fond of that idea. Stressing that he “doesn’t want to hurt anyone,” he respectfully suggests that O’Reilly offers more academic programs. “I think (Seton) is a wonderful school, but they don’t pull as many people from the region because of that.”

Ideally, Micca said, all four schools should stay open. “If the Catholic Church does not put the effort into educating the next generation of Catholics, we don’t have much of a future in this area.”

All three expressed their sympathy for Bishop Hafey parents. At least O’Reilly and Seton are relatively close to Hoban. Hafey is 25 miles away, making it unlikely students will be willing to enroll in a consolidated school at the Hoban location. Even the alternative -- Marian Catholic in Tamaqua, part of the Diocese of Allentown -- is 12 miles in the opposite direction.

But Hafey may have garnered the biggest support. Pat Owens, a parent who helped organize a meeting last week, pointed out that those who attended pledged $35,000 that very night. There is another private meeting of alumni scheduled for Wednesday. “There are several fundraising programs going on, with the intent to try to raise – if the bishop allows us to stay open – in excess of $1 million.”

Owens noted that community leaders have spoken out strongly in support of Hafey, including Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta, Hazleton City Council, the local chamber of commerce and CAN DO, an industry development nonprofit corporation.

“There is a lot of enthusiasm to keep Bishop Hafey open,” Owens said. “We’re trying to come up with a rational business plan.” In fact, the group is so optimistic they are hoping to submit the plan by Dec. 1, the Friday before the deadline. The school, he noted, has run in the black for three years after a shaky stretch, while still paying $60,000 a year toward the diocese for a loan taken to get through rough financial times.

All four argued that closing three high schools would not necessarily strengthen Catholic education in the area, as promised by Meitler. In fact, it could deal a critical blow, they said. Closing Hafey, Owens said, would likely mean losing most of the 380 students there, simply because they would be unwilling to travel to Hoban or Marian.

Noting that high school students often get involved in other church activities, including teaching Sunday religion classes to youngsters, O’Connor said that, in closing the schools, “you start to get a ripple effect,” losing the students who help keep other parish efforts going.

Shuttering three high schools could shatter confidence in the whole Catholic school system, already shaken by repeated elementary school closings in recent years. “The biggest reasons enrollments are down is not costs,” D’Eliseo argued. “It is the negative publicity and insecurity about potential closings.”

And the new plan only adds to that uncertainty, failing to provide concrete recommendations on tuition and curriculum in the newly consolidated high school, O’Connor said.

“There are so many unanswered questions.”


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Supporter Websites

• www.myspace.com/saveseton

• www.petitiononline.com/saveschs/petition-sign.html

• www.leavenocatholicstudentbehind.com/

• www.petitionspot.com/petitions/savebor/

• www.bishoporeilly.org

• www.myspace.com/savebor

Proposal to keep O'Reilly open

Hello everyone,

I've been remiss at keeping the weblog updated but I wanted to let you know that a fellow alumni has a MySpace page dedicated to the effort of keeping O'Reilly open. I'll try to be better at posting anything I get from him on a timely basis in case it involves meetings, etc.

Here is the most recent message, unfortunately too late for anyone interested in going to the meeting, but still informative:

Attention supporters of Bishop O'Reilly High School:
There is a very important meeting for all parents, students, alumni,
friends and supporters of Bishop O'Reilly as well as the Region 6 family
of Catholic schools on Tuesday, November 28 at 7:00 PM at the
Independent Fire Company Hall on Sprague Avenue in Kingston. We need
your support! Have you heard the Seton parents proposal? I attended
their meeting and voiced my concerns about it, but they seem set on
gaining half of O'Reilly's enrollment in order to survive. In other
words, save Seton at the expense of Bishop O'Reilly. We can't let that
happen. Come to the meeting prepared. Read the Meitler recommendations
and the Seton proposal. Be ready to counter both proposals!

For more information, please visit the new website dedicated to saving
Bishop O'Reilly at www.bishoporeilly.org. I posted my thoughts on the
Seton proposal in a blog entitled "Why We Reject The Seton Proposal" at
www.myspace.com/savebor.

Please spread the word about the meeting and do plan on attending. Make
sure everyone knows about, be they parents of O'Reilly students,
alumni, or just friendly supporters. Bishop O'Reilly needs your help!

Thank you,
Raphael Micaa
webmaster, bishoporeilly.org

Bishop O'Reilly to Close

Beverly (Yakus) Cottle has been sending me some articles about the closing of Bishop O'Reilly which is expected to happen at the end of this academic year. Below are articles from various news sources, one of which includes a quote from Beverly. I've also got a link to the full report, called the Meitler Recommendations for Lackawanna Wayne Counties.

It's sad for me to hear about the closing of the Catholic schools and churches around the valley. First it was the Catholic elementary schools citing falling enrollment and rising costs and now it's the high schools. At first I was looking for someone or something to blame, then I realized there were just too many causes for this condition to lay blame on any single cause. So I'll just take some of the blame myself for having moved away from area, like many others have done, searching for better employment opportunities.

The town where I live now (Greeley, CO) opened up its first Catholic elementary school about 5 years ago, and it has an enrollment of about 120 students. It's the only one in a 50 mile radius. There are no Catholic High Schools in all of Northern Colorado despite a combined population of over 250,000. :-(

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From Diocese of Scranton Website:
Diocese to Decide Fate of Catholic Schools

Tuesday, November 14, UDPATED: 9:50 p.m.
By Jon Meyer and Bianca Barr

A plan developed for the Diocese of Scranton proposes to close several Catholic schools in Luzerne County, including three of the four high schools.

A group that's been studying Roman Catholic education in our area developed the plan. It was unveiled Tuesday night during a meeting at Genetti's in downtown Wilkes-Barre.

A similar meeting will be held Wednesday night at St. Mary's Center in Scranton. Recommendations for Catholic schools in Lackawanna and Wayne Counties will be unveiled.

The plan for Luzerne County involves moving from a parish-based school system to one that is regional in nature. Bishop Joseph Martino called the plan "very radical in some ways. It is very new for the 21st century and, at the same time, very transforming. It's going to permit us to go from what we have right now, which may not help us sufficiently, into something altogether new and improved."

Enrollment numbers in Luzerne County show Catholic elementary schools are down 1,700 students since 2000. High schools lost 500 students, bringing the total to more than 2,000 empty seats in five years.

In light of declining enrollment and rising costs, the consultants recommend closing three of the four Catholic high schools in Luzerne County. Bishop Hafey in Hazleton, Bishop O'Reilly in Kingston, and Seton Catholic in Pittston would close. Only Bishop Hoban in Wilkes-Barre would remain open, but with a new name.

"I don't particularly like that idea, and I don't think a lot of my classmates will end up going there," said Shane Ostroski, a junior at Seton Catholic. "I am not too sure what I will do, but what we've been talking about in class, many of them say they would go to a public school."

The plan also recommends trimming the number of Catholic elementary schools in Luzerne County from 14 to 10. The Sacred Heart and St. Boniface schools in Wilkes-Barre would be phased out. Pope John Paull II in Nanticoke and Sacred Heart in Dupont would be closed.

"The school is the heart of the parish," said Fr. Joseph Verespy of Sacred Heard in Dupont. "So, if the school does in fact close along the line, it would really affect the way the parish operates."

The recommendations that come out of Tuesday and Wednesday night's meetings are not final. The Diocese of Scranton will study the report and the schools and make a final decision in January on which, if any, schools will close.

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Proposal: O’Reilly, Seton, Hafey to close

Students would attend updated Hoban. Several elementary schools may shut.

By MARK GUYDISH, Times Leader


WILKES-BARRE – Bishop Hoban as the lone Catholic high school in the county, forcing Hazleton students to travel either 25 miles north to Wilkes-Barre or 12 miles south to Tamaqua. No more St. Boniface elementary in Wilkes-Barre, no more Sacred Heart in Dupont or Wilkes-Barre, no more Pope John Paul II in Nanticoke, and the combination of Regis in Forty Fort and Sacred Heart in Luzerne.

And no more parish schools. They would all fall under the jurisdiction of a newly created regional school board overseeing all of Luzerne County.

That, in a nutshell, is the preliminary proposal for local Catholic schools under the long-awaited report and recommendations from Wisconsin-based Meitler Consultants Inc., which calls for consolidating Bishop Hafey in Hazleton, Seton Catholic in Pittston, and Bishop O’Reilly in Kingston into an expanded and updated Bishop Hoban.

The man who outlined the plan at a press conference Tuesday, Alan Meitler, did not speculate on how many students the diocese would lose by closing three high schools, but the math is simple. Last year the four schools had 1,383 students in grades 9 through 12. Meitler said they expect the new school would have about 1,000. Translation: A loss of nearly 400. “There would be substantial savings, but more importantly we will be able to offer academic courses, programs and opportunities not available in all the schools,” Meitler said.

Much of that loss of students, presumably, would come from closing Bishop Hafey, where there were 263 students last year. Pressed multiple times about what some might consider an abandonment of Hazleton high school students, Diocese School Superintendent Joe Casciano conceded that there is no way to counter such a negative response. “If there wasn’t an emotional attachment (to the school), we’d be more concerned.”

He also tried to cast the plan as providing an option, rather than simply closing the lone Hazleton Catholic high school. The diocese wants to make an arrangement with the Diocese of Allentown that would allow Hazleton Area students to attend Marian Catholic in Tamaqua as if they were from Marian’s area and supporting parishes.

The Diocese of Scranton already has a similar arrangement for high school students in northern counties to attend a high school that actually sits in the Diocese of Rochester, he added.

Meitler and others repeatedly stressed the recommendations are preliminary and that the next step is to receive input and options from committees set up at each school involved. Final recommendations and decisions would be made in January. Meitler also said he couldn’t offer ways for people to alter the proposals, but encouraged “rational, clear and compelling ideas and facts” in any alternatives.

The plan as it stands now calls for the new regional system to be set up and the high schools merged by the start of next school year. The new regional system would create greater accountability by putting most control of the school system into the hands of lay people, Meitler said.

It would also level tuition across elementary schools, and spread parish subsidies among all churches, rather than the current system that has one or several parishes supporting a nearby school. Meitler said it was too early to suggest details of such a plan, but that the idea would be to make sure the amount requested from each parish is equitable.

Most of the recommendations for elementary schools are not as immediate, routinely suggesting that a year or more pass while details are worked out and buildings are prepared for school mergers. The proposals are:

• Trying to sell Bishop Hafey High School and use the money to build a new, larger elementary school to accommodate the 504 students currently attending two separate Hazleton buildings grouped together as “Holy Family Academy.” If Bishop Hafey cannot be sold, it could be converted to handle the elementary students. That second choice is not a simple proposal, though. Rooms, furniture and even toilets must be kid-sized under such a plan.

• Look into setting up a pre-kindergarten to grade three or grade six school as part of St. John Bosco Parish in Conyngham. The report notes that St. John Bosco and nearby Good Shepherd “have sufficient base of school-age students to support an elementary school” if parents want to support one.

• Close Pope John Paul II – one of only two schools in the nation named after the late pope – in Nanticoke, but keep the early childhood center open. The report notes the school has $162,000 in debt and that some of the supporting parishes will almost certainly be consolidated.

• Eventually merge St. Boniface with St. Aloysius. The two schools, barely a mile apart, “by themselves do not have enough enrollment to be viable long term. Although they are technically supported by a total of four parishes (three for St. Boniface) students come from “over 30 parishes.” The two schools started this year with combined enrollment of 340 students, which would be too much for St. Aloysius, but it could be expanded, Meitler said.

• Work toward unifying SS. Peter and Paul in Plains Township and Sacred Heart nearby in Wilkes-Barre, first putting them under one administrator and eventually phasing out Sacred Heart.

• Add a full-day kindergarten class to St. Jude in Mountain Top, and continue trying to expand pre-kindergarten offerings. The report notes that St. Jude has an unusually high loss of students from sixth to seventh grade, and urges efforts to figure out why and reverse the trend.

• Market and recruit at Gate of Heaven in Dallas, where enrollment has dropped from 514 in 2000-01 to 325 this year.

• Combine Sacred Heart in Luzerne and Regis Elementary in Forty Fort, either by moving all students to the Bishop O’Reilly building, or splitting the grades so that one school handles lower grades and one handles higher grades. There is no recommendation on handling the special education students housed at Regis, the only diocese school in the county that has special education enrollment.

• The report called the recent reorganization of schools in the Pittston area “very problematic” – parents unsuccessfully sued to keep St. John The Baptist open. Under that reorganization in 2004, four elementary schools and Seton Catholic High School were grouped under “Region 7 (the diocese currently has eight school regions, four of them in Luzerne County; under the new system those four would be one region).

The report calls Region 7 “a regional system in name only” with many schools still operating independently. It recommends considering moving St. Mary Assumption students to another facility, possibly to an expanded Wyoming Area Catholic or to the former Oblate Seminary in Pittston. It also suggests the new marketing and retention efforts for Wyoming Area Catholic.

Meitler did not speculate on what will happen to employees of closed schools, and Casciano declined to say how the diocese would decide which ones are kept when schools merge. Casciano did note the diocese has about 350 teachers and administrators countywide, and that there is a natural turnover of up to 100 teachers a year. He said he hopes that, along with retirements, would help avoid having people involuntarily lose their jobs.

Meitler praised Bishop Joseph Martino and the diocese. “This diocese administration is being very proactive. It is being very courageous,” he said. The goal is not simply to save money but “to have money to spend on things we’re not doing here. … We want to come out of this plan truly with something better and something exciting.”

Admitting he found the school system “confusing” when he became Bishop in 2003, Martino echoed the sentiment. He said he was concerned that some schools seemed to lose their Catholic identity – he cited the lack of religious decorations at Christmas – some were in serious need of repairs, and some were carrying unacceptable debt. He refused to place blame, opting instead to suggest that people may simply have gotten caught in an old system of running schools that doesn’t work anymore.

“As we move forward I hope people will not assault the messenger or get tied up in issue of methodology. I’m very, very concerned that people take the opportunity to be concerned about our schools, and not just about my school.”

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School news angers parents

BY WADE MALCOLM
STAFF WRITER, Citizen's Voice

11/15/2006

WILKES-BARRE — A distressed, angry look crossed Beverly Cottle’s face upon hearing the news.


Bishop O’Reilly — her alma mater and the school from which her son will graduate in the spring — will soon close if the Scranton Diocese carries out the recommendations made Tuesday night.

The Forty Fort resident arrived at the lobby of the Genetti Hotel & Conference Center with her husband, Bruce, at around 8:30 p.m., hoping to learn the fate of the Kingston high school.

“I think it’s such a sad statement on the day we open a casino, filled to capacity,” she said, referring to the huge crowd that attended opening day of Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs, “and our Catholic schools are empty.”

“I just don’t know where our priorities are,” she said visibly emotional and shaking her head.

She was not the only parent to point out the ironic timing of two landmark events in Luzerne County. Nor was she the only one disappointed when the rumors many had feared for months were finally confirmed.

Though the study released Tuesday only made recommendations, which are not final, some parents and students see the report as a kiss of death. They presume the diocese would follow through on the study’s advice and shutter schools they have come to love.

Mike Vitale has a daughter enrolled in eighth grade at Sacred Heart, Dupont, and a son in his sophomore year at Seton Catholic in Pittston. Both schools will be eliminated if the diocese follows the recommendations. He said the institutions have had an important impact on his family.

“One of the things I’ve always appreciated is the small scale of the schools, the closeness of the school environment,” he said. “My daughter has been with the same 18 or 20 kids since she started school.”

With the plan to consolidate the county’s four Catholic high schools into one, juniors at Seton Catholic, Bishop O’Reilly and Bishop Hafey in Hazleton face an awkward adjustment heading into a senior year removed from the experiences of their undergraduate years.

“I’m a little upset; I don’t want to leave all my friends,” said Sam Andrewscavage, a Seton Catholic junior and a member of the school’s baseball team. “I’m going to miss the school and I’m going to miss my team.”

Anticipating the emotions stirred by the sweeping recommendations, the diocese stressed how essential change was to the future of Catholic education in Northeastern Pennsylvania, unpleasant though it might be.

“I hope there will not be too many emotional outbursts,” the Most Rev. Joseph F. Martino said during a press conference. “What I think people are forgetting is that our schools are in terrible shape.”

While some were distraught their schools had closed, others were relieved to learn theirs were spared, such as Pat O’Brien, a mother of two students at Holy Rosary in Duryea, who knew she would “sleep a lot easier tonight.”

“All of us feel very badly for the students and the parents of the schools that were affected,” she said. “As happy as we are for our school, we are praying for them that they will be able to stay in a catholic school in Luzerne County.”

Hannah Update

I received this update from Beverly recently about the little girl named Hannah that was mentioned earlier in the blog.

Dear Prayer Warriors,

Below is an update on little Hannah. Please continue to lift her up to the Lord and pray for the Lord to send “Aaron and Hur to hold up (Hannah’s and Jessica’s, mom,) arms” like they did for Moses. May God be glorified through Hannah’s illness and HEALING!

Love and God Bless,

Beverly



Hi Bev --

Here's an update for you to see how Hannah's treatments are going. Please continue to keep her in your prayers the next few weeks. I can't begin to thank you enough for lifting Hannah and her family up at this time. I'm sure being surrounded with such powerful prayer is helping them get though this nightmare.

As usual, I will keep you updated...

Love

Donna




Dear Family & Friends,

Well, we spent Monday through Friday night at Children's this week.

It was definitely an adjustment. I learned sharing the bed with her is the best way to get sleep at night.

In the mornings, we drive to OSU and she has her radiation appointment. It is very short, and she is the first five-year-old they've ever had that did not have to be sedated. She is awesome.

She received daily chemotherapy while lying in bed w/me watching movies. The chemo drug was told to be a huge cause of diahrea, which she had NONE. She was nauseas a few times because her sense of smell is very intense right now, which is common when getting chemo/radiation. I call her wolf girl.

While at Children's, Hannah took a pic with her Dr. and myself in costume. She met a Jody Shelly from the Columbus Bluejackets hockey team and the mascot, Stinger.

Since we've been home, she has not complained of any chronic pain. She's playing with her brother, eating, drinking, getting good rest. We definitely needed the time at home to feel normal again.

Next week is another five day inpatient treatment plan. As soon as the doctors are comfortable with her reactions to treatment, we will be allowed to do much more of this on an outpatient basis. I cannot wait, because since we've been home, she's been so much better.

I have a whole new plan for staying at the hospital. I am bringing school work, art supplies and computer games. I am going to try and keep her drinking and eating enough to not need IV fluids, because when she's on them she doesn't want to eat, drink, or play because she's attached to the pump. Laying around makes her feel like a sick person! Since we've been home, it's like all this isn't even happening!



I know so many people are praying for Hannah. Please focus on this: THE DRUGS USED TO HEAL DO NOT HARM.

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Here is another update that came a few days later....

Dear Prayer Partners, I just wanted to pass along a heartfelt “Thank you!” It is from Jessica, Hannah’s Mom.

Pray without ceasing!

God Bless!

Beverly

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Hi Bev --

I got an email from my cousin Jessica yesterday (Hannah's mother) saying that she can feel the blanket of prayers covering them and she asked me to pass on her thanks to you and the prayer groups. Hannah is still doing fine with her chemo and radiation treatments. It's still not making her terribly sick nor is she losing her hair. Thank God! But we still have a few more weeks to go...

Love and God Bless,

Donna

My father-in-law

Folks,
I'd like to ask if you'd all pray for the repose of my father-in-law's soul. He passed away on Friday, and I'd like prayers for my family. I've added a copy of the obituary composed by himself, my wife, and sister-in-law. What a guy! Thanks!

Robert T. Mahar (Moe)
of Binghamton

Attention all ye citizens pay heed to what I say, for on this warm November 10th evening, Robert T. Mahar passed away. His cheerful morning face and his droll sense of humor will be sorely missed by all those who knew and loved him. He was predeceased by his parents, Leigh F. and Julia Mahar. He is survived by his devoted, understanding and patient wife of more than 50 years, Margaret McHale Mahar, Binghamton. He is survived by his seven children, R. Thomas and Elizabeth Mahar, Binghamton, Mary and David Mineno, Johnson City, Margaret and John Tobias, Binghamton, Leigh Mahar, Binghamton, Katherine Mahar and Dineshkant Parikh, Kingston, N.Y., Eileen and Thomas Mallon, Binghamton, and Julia Mahar, Binghamton. He is also survived by 16 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren; one sister, Mary Mahar Smith, Endwell; and several nieces, nephews, and cousins. He will be missed by his two cats, Daedelus and Psipsina, as well as several chipmunks, squirrels and blue jays in the neighborhood. He was a graduate of Binghamton Central High School, class of January 1943. He attended Alabama Polytech and Triple Cities College at Syracuse. He was a printer, proof reader and typesetter at the Binghamton Press and Sun-Bulletin for 37 years. He was a humble and proud veteran of WWII, who was wounded in action and a prisoner of war. He was a decorated hero having received the American Service Medal, Good Conduct Medal, World War II Victory Medal, European African Middle Eastern Service Medal, Combat Infantry Badge, Purple Heart, Bronze Star, New York State Conspicuous Service Cross and the Patron Saint of the Rhythm Method. He was a member of St. Thomas Aquinas Church, serving as usher, bingo worker and Holy Name Society member for more than 50 years. He was a proud member of the Broome County Ancient Order of Hibernians and served with his wife as Grand Marshall of the Binghamton St. Patrick's Day Parade, 1996. He was a member of the German Club and the VFW post 478. By his fine example, his children learned to accept all people, regardless of popular opinion. He played the harmonica and the accordion and he spent many creative hours with his family, singing along with Mitch. In lieu of flowers, buy a bag of peanuts for your backyard wildlife. Have a good laugh everyday, Carpe diem.
Funeral Services will be held at the J.A. McCormack Sons Funeral Home, 141 Main Street, Binghamton, Wednesday at 11:30 a.m. and at 12 Noon at St. Thomas Aquinas Church, where a Funeral Mass will be offered. Burial will be in St. Patrick's Cemetery, Whitney Point. The family will receive friends at the McCormack Funeral Home, Tuesday from 4-7 p.m.