Faculty News submitted

by GCHS Class of ‘59ers


 

George J. Gearhardt

 

 

 

 

 

 

George J. Gearhardt, 82, of Guilderland, died at home on Tuesday, August 31, 2010. Born in Albany, he was the son of the late Margaret and William Gearhardt Sr. George attended Vincentian Institute and Siena College where he received his B.A. and M.A. He was a veteran of the Korean War, having served in the U.S. Navy in Bainbridge, Md. Mr. Gearhardt taught at the high school in Wells, N.Y., then at Guilderland Central High School, serving as business department chairman from 1957 until retiring in 1983.

 

He was a partner in Young Holidays Travel in Guilderland. An avid Rock Hound, George was a past-president of the Capital District Mineral Club Inc. He is survived by his wife of 43 years, Barbara Gearhardt and children, Debra (Lawrence) Castell of Saratoga Springs, Janet (Raul) Bastiani of Esperance, Donna Gearhardt (Keith) Healey of Hoboken, N.J., Peter W. (Isabel) Meyer of Bedford, Mass., Richard Meyer of Guilderland and John Gearhardt of Clifton Park; along with 11 grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren and several nieces and nephews. He is predeceased by his brothers, William Gearhardt of Delmar and Donald Gearhardt of Albany; wife of 15 years, Mary Young Gearhardt; and his son, Michael J. Gearhardt of Guilderland.

 

Calling hours will be 4-7 p.m. Friday, September 3, 2010 at New Comer Cannon Funeral Home, 343 New Karner Rd., Colonie (Rt. 155-south of Central Ave). A memorial service will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Community Hospice of Albany County, 445 New Karner Rd., Albany, NY 12205-3809 or to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. To leave a special message for the family online, visit NewcomerAlbany.com.

 

 

Frank Joseph Andreone

1927 – 2006

 

 

Frank Joseph Andreone, 79, a resident of Las Vegas and former GCHS teacher, departed this life on Sunday, June 11, 2006 at the Nathan Adelson Hospice after a long, courageous battle with renal disease. Frank was born in Utica, N.Y. on April 23, 1927, the only child of Joseph and Mary Andreone. He attended the State University at Albany, N.Y. and pursued a teaching career in the field of American history and later Asian studies. In 1962, Frank was awarded a Ford Foundation Scholarship and studied for one year at the East-West Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. That opportunity created a deep interest in Japanese culture, which continued throughout his life.

 

Frank taught at Guilderland Central High School in Guilderland, N.Y. and later moved to Las Vegas, where he continued his professional career at the University of Las Vegas College of Education until 2002. Frank was highly respected and loved by both his students and fellow colleagues throughout his teaching career. He was an inspiration to the many students he supervised in the education field.

 

He is survived by four stepsons, Steven, David, Peter and Christopher Dozois; two grandchildren, Matthew and Scott Dozois; and several cousins in the Utica, N.Y. area. He was devoted to his wife Barbara, who passed away in 2005 after a long illness. A private cremation was held and Frank's ashes, together with those of his beloved wife Barbara, will be scattered along The Marginal Way in Ogunquit, Maine, a place they enjoyed visiting during their years together.

 

Friends may make donations in Frank's memory to the Nathan Adelson Hospice in Las Vegas, 3391 N. Buffalo, Las Vegas, NV, 89129 or to the National Kidney Foundation, Inc., 30 East 33rd Street, New York, NY 10016.

 

 

Kent, former teacher, dies (June 27, 1996)


ALTAMONT — Irene E. Kent, 92, of Danvers Road, died Saturday in St. Clare's hospital in Schenectady. Mrs. Kent was born in Clay, (Onondaga Co.) She graduated from Syracuse University in 1926, and taught for four years in various places around the state. She married Kenneth P. Kent on July 5, 1930. The couple moved to Altamont, where she taught at the former Altamont High School.

The math schedule was one course short of a full teaching load, according to Mr. Kent, and Principal Kent Burroughs asked her what history course she would like to teach. Her choice, ancient history, helped her when she traveled in Europe in later life. Mrs. Kent taught in Altamont until the birth of her daughter, Myma, in 1938. She then took 15 years out to raise Myrna and her son Duane. During those years she was a Cub Scout den mother and a Girl Scout leader.

She returned to teaching in 1953, moving the next year to the new Guilderland High School. She taught there until she retired in 1970, serving as Chair of the Math department. For 11 years, Mrs. Kent received national scholarships to study math at the Evening Division of Union College. She especially improved her skills at the so-called "new math," a method of math teaching introduced in the late 1950s and early '60s.

In 1969, she received the Community Leader of America Award. She was a member of St. John's Lutheran Church. She bowled for many years in a league at the Weaver Lanes in Altamont, and walked miles every morning until she was 80 years old, Mr. Kent said.


Survivors include her husband, Kenneth P. Kent; a daughter, Myrna L. Myers of Marshfield, Mo.; a son, Duane C. Kent of Mobile, Ala.; two sisters, Nettie Gray of San Diego, Calif, and Florence Pollack of Syracuse; four grandchildren — Katherine and John Meyers of Marshfield, and Lisa and Jason Kent of Phoenix, Ariz.; a great-grandchild, Seth Stewart of Marshfield; and several nieces and nephews. A memorial service will be held at 6 p.m. Sunday in St. John's Lutheran Church, Maple Avenue. Memorial contributions may be made to the Church's memorial fund, 142 Maple Ave., Altamont, NY 12009. Arrangements are by Fredendall Funeral Home, Altamont.

 

 

Margaret Davis Knouse receives award (November 2, 2000)


The Capital District Senior Issues Forum this year recognized 48 seniors age 85 or older at its third annual lifetime achievement awards ceremony. They include inventors, a physician, nurses, religious leaders, salespersons, industrialists, homemakers, rights activists, philanthropists, caregivers, scholars and educators.

Margaret Knouse of Slingerlands has taught at three levels of the educational system: English literature at Bluefield College, Virginia; first grade at Albany Academy for Girls, and 11th- and 12th-grade English at Guilderland High School.

Since 1945, Knouse has belonged to the First Presbyterian Church of Albany and is a former

deacon. She has been an active volunteer in Albany and a world traveler, while finding time for gardening, golf, bridge, and storytelling.

Knouse was in the first Albany Institute of History and Art (where she is a member of the Women's Council) group to go to the Soviet Union after it was opened to the West. She has two children and three grandchildren.

 

 

Please submit news items to Dick Conklin at conch@keysy.com