This
is a page where
classmates may leave
notes and/or pictures
concerning their
deceased friends
at York High
School. To
leave such a
tribute --- send your
notes and photos
or whatever --- as an
e-mail addressed to
me, Bruce Downey, at
hdowney@vt.edu, and
they will be included below in
the order they are
received...
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OTHER
NOTES:--- Note
Number 6:
Remembering
Fred Bosselman:
I knew Fred in our York High School years together (1948-1952), but only tangentially at best. I
remember Fred as being one of the select few of the more-serious-minded students whom
we all could count upon when the chips were down. His interests were varied and broad---
especially so when it came to the Thesbian side of things, for he would volunteer to
have a part in virtually every school play that came along--- whether from the lighting
and sound production side of things backstage, or up-front, out there on stage as the actor
he longed to be. There was another side of Fred, as well, for he was a true leader in our
School government. And true to his perserverence among us, Fred became President of our
Senior Class in 1952. And it was under his able skills that we were able to hold it
together and become the individuals we were each destined to become after our graduation
in June, 1952. Fred went on to become a trusted attorney, whose accomplishments were
legendary throughout his lifetime. He will be greatly missed by all who ever knew him.
H. Bruce
Downey, York
'52
OTHER
NOTES:--- Note Number 7:
Remembering
Peter Sonderegger:
On 8/22/2012 8:16 PM, Peter;s wife, Shirley Peipol Sonderegger (also York '52 @ sjsonderegger@aol.com), wrote:
Bruce,
How in the world did you find out so quickly?? Yes, I'm sorry
to say Peter passed away very early Sunday morning at Hope Hospice here in Fort
Meyers. He had been in the hospital for two weeks, on rather a roller coaster condition - some good
days, some not so good, and at the end, well you know. I was
with him for a good deal of the time, but he was so
uncomfortable and in pain, I couldn't ever wish he would
continue. I am very sad he is gone, but cannot wish him to
live with all of these problems. As you all know, he had
Alzheimer's for about 6 years, and it caught up with him. I
will love him dearly as long as I live--- we were married 57
years.
Shirley
OTHER
NOTES:--- Note Number 8:
Remembering
Ralph Hampton Lane:
On 2/15/2014 12:53 AM, Dick Leonard, York '52 wrote to me of the death of Ralph Hampton Lane, York '52:---:
Bruce,
I don't know if you're aware that Ralph Lane died in Racine February 6th. A Resurrection Mass was held on the 10th.
I've been in Cabo San Lucas for a couple weeks & the wi-fi leaves something to be desired. He told me he was terminal in an e-mail last week that was slow in coming through. Ursula's note arrived this afternoon. Apparently it was a quiet passage & all the arrangements were in place. Ralph would have been 80 on June 6th.
My address book is at home, but I think Ursula's address is 6429 (??) Charles St., Racine WI.
Ave atque Vale.
Dick
:
On 3/4/2014 9:00 AM, Carolyn Larson Jordan, York '52 wrote to me of Ralph's death as follows:---:
Bruce,
I also wanted to say something about Ralph Lane and our history and his great musical talent. He and I have remembered this many times over the reunion years. He played a fabulous French Horn for years. We did a performance together when we both were late teens or early 20s. Most French horn players I have known over the years have a yearning to play a fabulous Schubert work "Auf Dem Storm" for Soprano and French Horn. I was working on it and asked Ralph if he wanted to play it with me. And so we did. It was an amazing time to perform it. Many years later he told me he had played from memory. An amazing feat. What would he have done if I made a huge mistake and we didn't know where we were? Well I didn't and he didn't and it was a wonderful memory for us Because of that performance, I have sung it 3 more times over the years, each time with different happy horn player. The last time was in 2009. I'll see if I can get a DVD of it.
My goodness.. Such a motor mouth. Thanks for listening. I just wanted to point out how gifted and diverse Ralph was.
That's all.
:
Carolyne
:
Sent from my iPhone
On 3/4/2014, Wayne Mahood, also York '52, wrote Carolyne as follows:---:
Dear Carolyne,
That was a nice tribute to Ralph. I'll always remember Ralph hauling his French horn to Lincoln School when we were in 4th grade. He wasn't much bigger than the instrument But he parted with it briefly when we went to Scout camp in Wisconsin when we were in junior high.
Good luck with the jazz singing and good luck to Carolyne Anne
Wayne
On 3/4/2014, Dave Buswell, also York '52, wrote Carolyne as follows:---:
Carolyne:
I, too, remember being in P.M. Keast's aggregations with Ralph and his French Horn nearby. I learned somewhat later that Ralph's chosen instrument is the most demanding of the brass family, and its prominence in the Overture to Tannhauser is one of the reasons that opus is among my favorites.
Dave
LIFESTORY:
Ralph Hampton Lane, of Racine, Wisconsin, died in Racine on February 6, 2014 at the age of 79 years. He was the son of the late Thomas Clinton Lane and the late Georgia Marie Lane (née Hampton), of Elmhurst, Illinois and Boca Raton, Florida. Born in Elmhurst, Illinois, on June 6, 1934, he graduated in 1952 from York Community High School, where he was President of the local chapters of the National Honor Society and the International Thespian Society.
He was educated at the University of Rochester, where he studied history and music (A.B., 1956), and at the Harvard Law School (LL.B., 1959). He served in the U.S. Army for two years, giving concerts throughout Europe as the conductor of the Seventh Army Symphony Orchestra. Returning from service in 1961, he practiced law in Chicago for four years with the firm of Defrees and Fiske and then undertook graduate studies in music at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, receiving a Master of Music degree in 1966 and serving thereafter as an officer and instructor in the school, a horn player in the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, and the conductor of various church choirs and community orchestras.
Appointed in 1970 as Professor of Music and Dean of the Conservatory of Music at Lawrence University of Wisconsin, he served briefly in those capacities before being invited to the law department of S. C. Johnson & Son, in Racine, where he served as a trademark attorney for sixteen years. During much of that period, he was also the conductor of the West Suburban Symphony Orchestra (Hinsdale, Illinois) and of the Wheaton Summer Symphony, and also conducted the Notre Dame Symphony Orchestra, the Northwest Indiana Symphony Orchestra and guest conducted several others in Illinois and in Arlington, Virginia. He served also as Vice Chairman of the board of directors of the American Symphony Orchestra League, as well as a board member of the United States Trademark Association. In Racine, with encouragement and generous support from the community, he and friends founded Opera Racine, which was active from 1977 through 1981. He conducted all of its performances.
Taking the early retirement option from S.C. Johnson & Son in 1987, he accepted the invitation of Foley & Lardner to establish a trademark practice in its home office in Milwaukee, where he served as head of that practice group for a decade. During that time, he was listed in several editions of The Best Lawyers in America. Retiring from Foley & Lardner in 1997, and soon tiring of retirement, he entered the Chicago firm of Pattishall, McAuliffe and, to avoid the daily commute to Chicago, in 1999 established his own trademark practice in Racine, which continued into 2013. In 1999 he also established Philharmonia Racine, an orchestra giving training to young musicians, and in 2004, expanded it into the Milwaukee Summer Philharmonia, comprised mostly of professional musicians of greater Milwaukee, which he led until his death.
Mr. Lane continued throughout his life in the study of history, most especially music history and European history. He and his family traveled frequently in Europe, as an extension of those studies.
He is survived by his wife, Ursula (née Retzlaff), whom he met during his military service in Europe, by his sons David (Nancy), of Rochester, New York, and Thomas (Minerva), of San Francisco, California, and by grandchildren Evan Lane and Kelsey Lane, both of Rochester, New York, and Spencer Lane, of San Francisco, California. He and Ursula celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary on May 11th, 2013.
Funeral services will be held at St. Michael’s Episcopal Church, 4701 Erie St, Monday February 10, 2014, 2014, 12:00 p.m. noon, with Rev. Dustin M. Fecht officiating. Visitation will be held at church on Monday from 11:00 a.m. until time of services at noon.
Speaking of the hymn I was only recently recalling, "Just as I am", Ralph Lane last wrote us on January 23 2014, effectively bidding us all of his "goodbye", as you remember this message from his e-mail to
Carolyne Larson Jordan, York '52, in reference to Carolyne's and Austins's remembrance of their song leader of long ago--- Dick Fellows, father of our Betty Fellows, York '52, of the Methodist Church in Elmhurst, IL --- as Ralph wrote this...
Dear Carolyne,
How well we remember! Those of us who were in the group you mentioned will surely never forget Dick Fellows
and his encouraging leadership of the singing. This is especially so for me, in that he and his wife Alma were close
family friends. Reminders of this deeply moving hymn will always be welcome – especially just now when, as you say,
Carolyne, the time dwindles.
I wish to send warm greetings and best wishes to all of you and to tell you all how grateful I am for the continuing
fond remembrances. What a wonderful start we all had together in our shared early environs, and how glad I am
that we could stay in touch like this throughout the many happy years.
What a magnificent group!
And Carolyne, thank you once again for your lovely Auf dem Strom. We may pass, but Schubert lives.
Kind regards,
Ralph Lane
You are encouraged to go to this website at http://www.lifestorynet.com/memories/97218
and sign Ralph's guestbook. And, if you wish to leave a eulogy there, you may do so, as I have just done:---
"Ralph Lane, York '52, has died. Born on June 6, 1934, he died on February 6, 2014, just short of
his 80th birthday. I first met Ralph in our 4th-grade when he began his musical career as a very
good French horn player--- and I as a trumpet player. In Mr. Keast's Bands, Ralph sat next to
Jimmy Dame, also in fourth grade. Both played right through York High School in Elmhurst, IL,
just as I continued throughout our high school years as a trumpet player, sitting next to John
Bartmann, also a lifetime musician of some note, eventually playing lead trumpet for the Queen City
Jazz Band in Colorado.
Later, Ralph took on a dual role in the business world, becoming an accomplished attorney as well
as a musician of some note, graduating from the Harvard Law School in 1959. Many years later,
at our 50th York H.S. Reunion in 2002, I spoke with both Ralph and his charming wife of now
50-years---Ursula Lane--- about the highlights of each of our lives, wherein I mentioned my own
panic attacks, occurring as they did in 1987 from working as hard as I did while at my last
employer, Virginia Tech. It was then that Ralph confided that he too had experienced panic
attacks upon first seeing his own father in his coffin. He was simply overwhelmed at the time.
In trying to remember who Ralph Lane really was, I'm drawn back to where we first met--- in
the fourth grade at the Elmhurst Elementary School Band, led by Mr. Keast. In addition to his
award winning Bands of both Elmhurst and Park Ridge, IL, anyone playing for Mr. Keast also
learned of a variety of the moral values shaping each of us into the kind of persons we were
yet to become, for Mr. Keast was a teacher, through and through. I believe Mr. Keast was in
large part responsible for both the respect and knowledge that Ralph Lane was to epitomize
throughout Ralph's dual professional life as both a musician and an attorney.
And like others who knew him along life's way, I shall always admire Ralph Lane for the quiet
demeanor that was always a part of who he really was--- for you see, Ralph too " was a teacher,
through and through."
...H. Bruce Downey, York '52**********
or send me an e-mail note for posting to this website here below...
OTHER
NOTES:--- Note Number 9:
Remembering
David Lee Kors:
On 1/26/2016, Nancy Kors wrote me of the death of her husband, David L. Kors, York '52:---
Hi Bruce,
I wanted to tell you that my husband, David Lee Kors passed away on Dec. 17, 2015. I know he enjoyed hearing from all his classmates through the years. He died of (GIST) Gastro-Intestinal Stromal Tumor. Cancer, of course. I wanted to pass the info on to all of you. After you inform everyone, please take his name off the e-mail list. Thank you so much. Nancy Kors
David's Obituary and Guest Book can be found by GOING TO:---
David Lee Kors was born in Hammond, Indiana on June 18, 1934 and went to be with his Lord and Savior on December 17, 2015 after battling GIST cancer for 3 years. Dave received his Bachelor of Science and Masters of Science degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University and Southern Methodist University, respectively. Over a 37-year career that spanned General Electric, General Dynamics, and finally Aerojet General, he contributed to historical NASA initiatives that included the Apollo Mission to the Moon and Space Shuttle programs. He was married to the love of his life, Nancy Jane Ansteatt, for 54 years. Together they raised three children. He is survived by his wife, as well as his sister Alice Ellefson. He was preceded in death by parents Ruth and John Kors, and sisters Doris Kors and Eileen Lloyd. His children include Jennifer (Dave) Leighton, Julie Abrams, and Jonathan (Jennifer) Kors, and grandchildren Elizabeth, Nicholas, Cameron, Arielle, Emmery, Taylor, Ashley, Joshua and Emily. Dave served as a Deacon and Elder at Fair Oaks Presbyterian Church, where he and Nancy were members for 30 years, after which they attended Faith Episcopal Church of Cameron Park. He was passionate about supporting Christian missions worldwide and also volunteered locally on the Rescue School District Board and with Habitat for Humanity. Dave's zest for the outdoors was manifested through his love of skiing, hiking, biking, camping and traveling. He never backed down from a good challenge, and was always planning the next great project. A Celebration of Life service will be held at Fair Oaks Presbyterian Church, 11427 Fair Oaks Blvd, Fair Oaks, CA, on January 15, 2016 at 11:00 am. A reception will follow. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to cancer research or a missionary of your choice in Dave's name.
Here is my entry in David's
on-line Guest Book dated January 28, 2016...
To wife, Nancy Kors, and family:---
I am one of David's oldest friends, for we go back to Hawthorne Junior High School together.
David's homeroom was #205, and mine was right next door in #207. And we graduated from
York High School in Elmhurst, IL together --- both, in the Class of 1952.
David was always a calm and decent man, devoted to his work, I'm sure. When he retired,
David expressed his appreciation for all that I was doing on the Internet for our York H.S.,
Class of 1952, and wanted to be informed of all that was going on among his classmates
at York. David and his wife, Nancy, attended many York High School Class Reunions over
the years. We shall miss David's interests and participation greatly.
...H. Bruce Downey, York '52, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina ...Bruce********
Here is Ralph (Punky) Steven's (York '52) entry in David's on-line Guest Book dated January 4, 2017...
I was a senior transfer student to York in '52 and didn't get to know David until the '50th - 60th reunions. He was a fine man and wish I'd known him longer.
...Ralph Stevens, York '52, San Jose, California ...Punky********
Here is Duane McCartney's (York '52) entry in David's
on-line Guest Book dated January 4, 2017...
My condolences to the family, no matter the reasons, even if I had entered into the guest book before - I enjoyed David's company and his usual good humor, and sneaky intelligence - a good and honorable man.
...Duane McCartney, York '52, Sanford, North Carolina ...Duane********
Here is Pat Peacock Ald's (York '52) entry in David's
on-line Guest Book dated January 6, 2017...
I also knew David in junior high school & high school. He was always a nice person & very mature.
~ Pat Peacock Ald, York '52, Taylor, Michigan ...Pat********
If your speakers are "on" and
your volume is "up" then you're
listening to... "Charlotte Church and Josh Groban singing 'The Prayer' "
E-mail your notes and
photos to Bruce Downey at
hdowney@vt.edu
David Lee Kors was born in Hammond, Indiana on June 18, 1934 and went to be with his Lord and Savior on December 17, 2015 after battling GIST cancer for 3 years. Dave received his Bachelor of Science and Masters of Science degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University and Southern Methodist University, respectively. Over a 37-year career that spanned General Electric, General Dynamics, and finally Aerojet General, he contributed to historical NASA initiatives that included the Apollo Mission to the Moon and Space Shuttle programs. He was married to the love of his life, Nancy Jane Ansteatt, for 54 years. Together they raised three children. He is survived by his wife, as well as his sister Alice Ellefson. He was preceded in death by parents Ruth and John Kors, and sisters Doris Kors and Eileen Lloyd. His children include Jennifer (Dave) Leighton, Julie Abrams, and Jonathan (Jennifer) Kors, and grandchildren Elizabeth, Nicholas, Cameron, Arielle, Emmery, Taylor, Ashley, Joshua and Emily. Dave served as a Deacon and Elder at Fair Oaks Presbyterian Church, where he and Nancy were members for 30 years, after which they attended Faith Episcopal Church of Cameron Park. He was passionate about supporting Christian missions worldwide and also volunteered locally on the Rescue School District Board and with Habitat for Humanity. Dave's zest for the outdoors was manifested through his love of skiing, hiking, biking, camping and traveling. He never backed down from a good challenge, and was always planning the next great project. A Celebration of Life service will be held at Fair Oaks Presbyterian Church, 11427 Fair Oaks Blvd, Fair Oaks, CA, on January 15, 2016 at 11:00 am. A reception will follow. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to cancer research or a missionary of your choice in Dave's name.
Here is my entry in David's
Here is Ralph (Punky) Steven's (York '52) entry in David's on-line Guest Book dated January 4, 2017...
Here is Duane McCartney's (York '52) entry in David's
Here is Pat Peacock Ald's (York '52) entry in David's