Mrs. Somerville

While most of the bios on these pages are about teachers, what happened when those teachers could not make it to work?  The school arranged for a sub to take charge of the class.  And when you say Hillsdale and substitute teacher, one person comes to mind to former students of a certain age.  That would be Mrs. Somerville.  Now, of course, if you knew her, no description is needed.  But I will proceed to describe her for those who do not recall her.  She was a very slim, tiny lady with a short haircut, very feisty and quick witted who was the main substitute for the elementary and high schools in Hillsdale for well over 30 years.  She seemed to follow you as you went through the school system.  She was the main constant during one's years of education.  Her daughter said she got into substitute teaching as she had six children and preferred subbing for its ability to give her flexibility in case of her kids being sick etc.  That and the fact she loved the variety.  As a teacher, one tends to get bored with the same class and instructions day in and day out, year in and year out.  This way, she saw different kids just about every time she subbed and would be teaching different subjects.  She loved the interaction with the kids.  Now, due to her tiny stature, kids would initially sieze on the opportunity to give her a hard time but she was quick with a witty comeback and never got mad, instead defusing any situation with a friendly smile and that always settled things down.  Once you knew her, you never challenged her again.  She was like a school mom as you saw her all the time and she was always engaging.  After we left PV she continued to sub for many years and was forced to retire about 2004.  That did not keep her out of the public eye as she was also a gate attendant at Stonybrook swim club where she continued to run into "old" students like myself and they she would reminisce about the old days and catch up.  She and her husband were big PV sports fans and followed the teams through the years.  She moved from her Hillsdale home to a condo in Park Ridge for several years.  She battled esophageal cancer in retirement which is not a surprise given her smoking habit, but in true Mrs. Somerville style, she was stronger than she looked and beat back the cancer.  About the age of 85 she moved to Rhode Island to be near her daughter Dale and son Kevin and  lived at an assisted living facility there.  She did suffer from some dementia but never lost her sense of humor and kindness.  In March of 2014 at age 89, she fell and broke a hip and passed away later that month on March 31.  RIP Mrs. Somerville and thanks for the memories.

Carol Crikelair

Mrs. Crikelair was a Spanish teacher at Maywood Junior School for one year before she came to PV in 1971.  She was quoted in the school newspaper in 1971 that two things influenced her decision to come to PV.  They were the proximity of the school to her home and the fact she enjoys working with older students.  She said she had a wide range of interests including ballet, modern dance, piano, sewing, skiing, sailing and painting.  She attended Wilson College in Pennsylvania and majored in Spanish and art history.   At the time she was enrolled in some courses at Fairleigh Dicknison University.  Leslie Goddin tells me that during highschool Mrs. Crikelair taught modern dance at the Westwood Elks, a location her father secured for her.                                                                Mrs. Crikelair did not stay long at PV and I think she was gone by our senior year.  Hopefully it was not because of us:)  She had not been heard from for many years until a fellow student ran into a relative of hers and found out what became of her.  It seems she and her husband became successful real estate investors and did quite well.  She left teaching at the point we last saw her and never looked back.  I recall how annoyed she was with me in particular because I did not live up to my abilities and she was right.  However, she should not have allowed me to sit in the back near a couple of good looking girls who managed to distract me.  One day she held a spelling bee of Spanish words and we all lined up in the front and took a turn.  Miss a word and you sat.  Well, she knew I usually got bad grades on tests but what she didn't know is I did not apply myself (I was lazy) and could turn it on at will.  I was the next to last to get a word wrong and she was flabbergasted and said to me, "Robert, I do not understand it, you get D's and F's on  your tests but are able to outlast almost everyone in the spelling bee".  I just shrugged my shoulders, but I wanted to tell her I was not going to embarrass myself in front of the class.  She would be surprised to know I got A's in Spanish at Bergen (my parent's were paying for it so I paid attention) and can sort of communicate with my Spanish speaking workers until they start talking too fast:)  Of all the teachers listed, I hope she someday reads this:).  I do not know where Mrs. Crikelair and her husband live but at as far as I know, they are alive and well.

Mary Piscopo

Mrs. Piscopo was one of the lunch ladies and the mother of fellow student Frank Piscopo.  Frank tells me his mom is still active and I believe she is 85 and enjoys trips to AC.  She recalls her days at PV with fondness and remembers us all.  She says hi to everyone.

Joan Schanzenbach

Mrs. Schanzenbach was one of the school secretaries and the mother of fellow student Andrea Schanzenbach.  Some of us Hillsdale residents may remember her husband Charles, who was a little league coach and a very competitive one at that.  Mrs. Schanzenbach passed away in 1989 at age 57 from an unknown cause.  Years later, I met one of her sons in law at my brother's house warming party in Hackettstown.  It is a small world.

Donald Hageman

Mr. Hageman I believe was a related arts teacher but which one I do not recall.  He was married to Linda Hageman but they later divorced.  He went on to teach at Pascack Hills from which he retired in July of 2006.  He will be 66 this year and I believe lives in Honesdale, Pa. after living in Montvale and Clifton.

Rick Holdt

Mr. Holdt was, I believe, a social studies teacher during our time at PV.  He only was there for a about a year.  He had been raised in Paramus, N.J. where he was an all state guard.  By the time he went to college at North Carolina State, he had grown to 6 foot, six inches and played forward.  He was on the championship team of 1973 with David Thompson and a few other players who went on to the pros.  He began his career at PV that fall.  He was gone by our senior year.  I do not recall what he did after but I believe he may have gone back to North Carolina, either to teach or coach.  I cannot say right now.  He lives in Hickory, North Carolina with his wife and is 64 this year.  He is in the Paramus hall of fame as well as the North Carolina State hall of fame.

Catherine Daly

Ms. Daly was a library clerk at PV.  She retired from there in February of 1987 and will be 89 this year.

Dorothy Battey

Ms. Battey was a guidance secretary at PV.  She retired from there in November of 1989.  She will be 86 this year.

Frances Kroeckel

Mrs. Kroeckel was the speech therapist at PV.  She retired from there in July of 1998.  I believe she is widowed and will be 75 this year.

Ruth Post

Mrs. Post was one of the school nurses when we were at PV.  She retired from PV in July of 1996 and is 82 this year.  Her husband and I are related through our common ancestor, Captain Adrian Post, who was North America's first hostage negotiator when he was able to use his friendship with the local Indian tribes in 1655 to negotiate the release of about 150 hostages taken by the Indians in their rampage from Albany to New Amsterdam when they killed about the same number of settlers.  Their rage was induced by the settlers killing an Indian maiden in Harlem after she picked an apple off a tree in an orchard there.  It was the straw that broke the proverbial "Camel's back".  Every home from Albany to New Amsterdam (now Manhattan) was burned to the ground.  Trust me when I say they had it coming.

Louise Arigot

Mrs. Arigot was a cafeteria aide when we were at PV along with Mrs. Bonfiglio.  She was the mother of fellow classmate Karen Arigot.  She lived on Kinderkamack Road with her husband Rich.  Both were involved with the volunteer fire department, he as a firefighter and she was in the ladie's auxilary for many years.  She could, until recently, be found manning a booth at the fireman's annual carnival in town and also marched for years in the town's parades.  I just spoke with her today, June 30, and she told me she recently had some health issues but recovered.  She is battling a balky hip and does not want to have a hip replacement (who does).  She did not recognize me at first but after a moment knew me by my eyes.  That is a first but she knew me since I was born.  She also said she was the first lunch aide to be hired by the school.  She recalled that Libby Durie and her sister used to leave their lunch trays under their tables and she used to kid them that she'd get even.  One day years later, she looked out to see Libby's husband, Keith Durie, picking up her garbage as he worked for the DPW.  To her, that evened the score.  She says hi to everyone and will be 87 this year.

Eugene Paolucci

Dr. Paolucci was the chairman of the guidance department while we were at PV.  He subsequently left to join the Ramsey, N.J. school system likely in the same capacity.  He retired from the Ramsey school system in January of 2007 and resides there with his wife.  He will be 73 this year.

Bobby Freeman

Mr. Freeman was a longtime guidance counselor at PV.  He retired in July of 1994.  His real name really is Bobby and his middle name is Mayo.  As you can probably guess, he was likely born in the south and currently resides in Florida having apparently also lived in Georgia and will be 84 this year. (2017)

Corinne Mergler

Ms. Mergler was a gym teacher at PV while we were there.  She continued on there until her retirement in July of 1997 after 33 years of teaching.  She and her husband William lived in River Vale and Old Tappan and in retirement they moved to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina where they appear to have lived for some time.  She will be 74 this year.

Rona Weissman

Ms. Weissman was a science teacher at PV when we were there, having started teaching during our time there.  At some point, she left PV and started working for the West Milford Township School system from which she retired in July of 2013.  She lives in Wanaque, N.J with her husband Steven and will be 67 this year.

Vicki Stewart

Ms. Stewart was the daughter of Mrs. Stiefel.  She studied at Ithaca College and was an English teacher at PV.  She apparently was divorced and she and Mr. Ricciardi began a relationship and married.  They had two sons.  The two left teaching at PV and moved to either Massachusetts or Connecticut where I am told they started an ice cream store.  The marriage and the store both dissolved and the two went their ways and remained friends it seems.  Both remarried and Mr. Ricciardi had a daughter with his new wife and Ms. Stewart had no children by her new husband, William Tapply.  She is now and has been for some time a self employed author and editor and is well regarded as such.  She is also a revered adjunct professor at Clark University.  Her two sons with Mr. Ricciardi are now adults and successful entrepreneurs and all three now live in Los Angeles.  Ms. Stewart/Ricciardi/Tapply was widow- ed about 6 years ago according to Peter Ricciardi.  She will be 65 this year and can be found on facebook.

Joanne Goldweber

Ms. Goldweber was an art teacher at PV while we were there.  A favorite with the students, I seem to recall that there were either going to be cutbacks in staff or she was not going to be offered tenure.  A revolt ensued by the students to keep her and they won their cause.  She continued on at PV and retired in July of 2002, suppos- edly after 25 years, which does not add up, unless she had been released at the time I mentioned above and then rehired at a later date.  I can't say.  On her linked-in site, she states she is a retired art teacher doing art stuff and enjoying herself.  She lives in Hillsdale (I did not know that) and is 74 this year.  She can be found on facebook.

Peter D'Angelo

Mr. D'Angelo was a music teacher at PV while we were there.  He came to PV due to being a friend of Doc Doolittle according to an article in the "Warrior" school newspaper.  I had him and I have to admit, I do not know a thing about music in any capacity except being able to listen to it.  Somehow, if I recall correctly, Mr. D'Angelo passed me with a B.  I must have been mistaken for some other kid to get that grade in music.  All kidding aside, Mr. D'Angelo led the marching band which in many cases, outshined our football team at halftime of the games.  He was from Paterson, N.J. and a veteran.  He had gone to Manhattan School of Music to study the clarinet from 1964 to 1966 and graduated from there.  I find he left PV some time after we graduated to become a music teacher in the Nutley, N.J. school system from which he retired in July of 2004.  He now lives in Wayne, N.J. with his wife and is 73 this year.

Christine Van Lenten

Ms. Van Lenten was a special education teacher at PV when we were there.  She continued on there until July of 2011 in the same capacity.  I saw a photo of her in the local paper when she retired and she had not changed much in appearance in the interim.  She taught for 38 years.  She lives in Glen Rock and will be 64 this year.

Jacqueline Bakal

Ms. Bakal was a math teacher at PV while we were there.  I cannot say how much longer she was there as she is listed as retiring in 2008 from PV but her salary for her pension indicates she left a long time before that.  She left to work at Felician College's Rutherford campus from 2000 to 2014 where she became the director of the mathematics lab and the developmental mathematics coordinator.  She retired from that job in July of 2014 and will be 69 this year.  She was known for helping students, being patient and making her class fun.  She lives in Lodi, N.J.

Charles Binder

Mr. Binder was a math teacher at PV when we were there.  He was born in 1943 and retired the minute he was eligible to do so in July of 1998.  He then went on to become a teacher at Ramapo College of N.J. where he taught for 5 years, retiring from there in March of 2003.  That job was con- venient because he lived in Oakland and Mahwah while he was a teacher.   He and his wife Iris, who was a teacher at PV in the 1960s and 1970s but whom I do not know, then retired to Mooresville, N.C. where they live today with their son Charles Binder Jr.  Mr. Binder is 72 this year.

Theodore Hoffman

Mr. Hoffman was a math teacher at PV when we were there.  I recall he helped lead a blood drive by recruit- ing students to sign up for it and chaperoning them to the site in Paramus where the blood was donated.  As I am doing his bio I realize why he possibly was involved as he was and is from Paramus.  I recall I had not signed my permisison slip for donating the blood the day we did so and I told him about it.  He just replied with a smile and a wink, "you signed the permission slip, right Bob?"  I got the message and said yes.  I am getting woozy now but not from thinking about donating blood but by the fact it was over 40 years ago.  Egads!  Mr. Hoffman retired from PV the minute he was eligible in July of 1999 at age 55.  He is now 71 and lives with his wife in Paramus, N.J.

Jordan Kart

Mr. Kart was a foreign language teacher when we were at PV.  I believe he taught German.  He was born in 1924 in Manhattan, N.Y. and raised there.  I think he came to PV while we were there as I do not recall him at all but I may be mistaken.  He likely retired from teaching in the 1980s.  It appears he lived in Fair Lawn until about 1994 when he removed permanently to Delray Beach, Florida.  He likely already had a second home there as he married in Palm Beach, Florida on Dec. 4, 1987 to his likely second wife, Marian Baum.  Prior to living in Fair Lawn, it appears he lived in Richmond, Virginia and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  Mr. Jordan Harold Kart died on May 25, 2010 in Delray Beach, Florida at the age of 86.  His survivors are not known at this time.

Florence Brooks

Mrs. Brooks was a longtime guidance counselor at PV.  If memory serves me well, I believe she started out as a gym teacher.  Her son contacted me on Feb. 19, 2017 and confirmed that she did start as a gym teacher but later completed her Masters Degree and transferred over to the Guidance Department.   She was a helpful person but as I recall, the career room in the library was not.  Do you recall you had to fill out a questionaire about yourself and your interests.  Mine resulted in career possibilities of forest ranger or garbage man, due, I assume, to my interest in the outdoors and nature.  It was not much help and that was about as much guidance as I got but things turned out OK.  Her son said that her "tick" was  not the result of any accident as some had thought and occurred on its own. Mrs. Brooks was born in 1921 and her son said that when his mom retired she moved from Hillsdale to Westwood and then to Maryland where she passed away from cancer complications in 2012, leaving behind ten grandchildren and fourteen great grandchildren. 

Raymond Fusco

Mr. Fusco was from Woodcliff Lake and went to Park Ridge High School.  He was a gym teacher while we were at PV.  He was the football coach from 1972 to 1974 (notice the time frame and who he coached) We were seniors when the football team suffered the worst drubbing to Pascack Hills in school history, 46-0.  I recall that rainy, muddy game like it was yesterday.  The only thing the team did well was show up at the right field.  Fans of Pascack Hills taunted us by spray painting the final score on the concrete wall on Piermont Avenue near the school.  Apparently Mr. Fusco did not work in N.J. long enough to earn a pension there.  I do not know what he did after leaving PV but I believe he is living in Bradenton, Florida and if so, is 70 this year.  

Peter Ricciardi

 Mr. Ricciardi was a new teacher while we were at PV.  He grew up in town and played in the local little league.  He taught social studies and coached basketball.  He was a cool guy (does anyone use that word anymore) and could take our ribbing.  He participated in the student/faculty basketball games.  He did not teach for long at PV before he left with his new wife, Vicki Stewart, who was a fellow teacher and daughter of Mrs. Stiefel, also a teacher at PV.  They left teaching to move to either Connecticut or Massachusetts to start an ice cream store.  They had two sons together before divorcing at some point.  Their ice cream business also melted and they went their separate ways but appear to have remained friendly with each remarried and Mr. Ricciardi appearing to have had a daughter with his new wife.  He and his new family were both listed in Mrs. Stiefel's obituary in 2004, so it appears they all got along.  Mr. Ricciardi just sent me an email on Aug. 13, 2015 that he turned 60 last September and filled me in with what has transpired in his life.  He says he is still working and parenting his beautiful 17 year old student/athlete daughter with his wife Kathleen, who he has been with for 25 years.  He spent 10 years running AAA sports teams including a stint as the president of an NBA D league team.  He is now a marketing and branding consultant with clients on both coasts.  His two sons with Vicki Stewart are now adults and successful entreprenuers living in Los Angeles as does the former Ms. Stewart.  Pete says life is good.  He will tell me more when I get a chance to call him soon.

Brenda Hiney

Mrs. Hiney was a math teacher at PV.  I don't have any particular stories to tell about her but I do have one that I believe happened in her class.  One day, Meredyth Bowler stood up and announced she learned something important over the weekend and wanted to share it.  She showed us how to cure hiccups with a foolproof method.  She was right, as it has worked every time since.  Mrs. Hiney started at PV before we were there, however, she retired in August of 2000 after twenty years. Perhaps she took a break from teaching at some point.  I do know her husband was ill and passed away in 1988.  She lived in Ridgewood with her husband and then later remarried to a fellow with the last name of Troisi.  They moved to Park Ridge, N.J. where they live today.  Mrs. Hiney is 75 this year.

Eileen Wall

Ms. Wall was an English teacher at PV for 25 years, beginning in 1968 and retiring in July of 1993.  I do not think it wrong in saying she certainly stood out among the faculty for several reasons.  First, she had been a former nun who seemed to have tired of the Catholic church.  I recall her stories and one in particular in which she admitted that she and other nuns snuck beer under their habits into their living quarters.  She admittted that nuns were human too.  I recall her outspoken personality and in particular for women's rights.  She could be blunt and didn't miss a trick or a student goofing off.  If I recall correctly, she helped direct some of the student plays and led the debate teams.  Sometimes, class discussions took weird turns but usually had to do with English.  I recall how one such discussion, led by her, was about how so many authors and poets died at age 44, the age she was that year.  She then went on about death and there was no way to escape decomposition.  Kind of nuts but looking for her I found students recall "crazy" Ms. Wall, but in a fond way.  I recall seeing her in the park in Hillsdale years after we graduated but have not seen her in many years as she retired in 1993.  "Crazy, unforgett- able" Ms. Wall, is now 86 and lives in Ramsey, NJ, having also lived in Naples, Florida since she retired. UPDATE- Ms. Wall passed away Jan. 2, 2017 in Florida at the age of 87.  Her obituary said little other that the prior sentence.  I expected a grander obit given her outsized personality.  Comments by students on facebook confirmed the facts written above.  RIP Ms. Wall.

William Graziano

Mr. Graziano was an art teacher at PV while we were there.  He continued on as such for many more years, retiring in July of 2009.  He lives in Emerson, N.J. and will be 69 this year.

Blanche Sampietro

Mrs. Sampietro was a guidance counselor at PV.  It appears she did not work long enough to earn a pension as she is not listed in the NJ pension system.  She and her husband Donald live in Northvale, N.J. and she is about 75 years old. 

Frank Sullivan

Mr. Sullivan was the long time vice principal of PV.  He was born in 1935 and was a veteran of one of the armed branches but probably not during war time, though I cannot say for sure.  He was the school enforcer of rules and regulations, a thankless task if ever there was one, and was known for his conservative style.  In one infamous moment at the student get together in senior year to vote on things like most popular etc.,  Joe Gariano made his  way to the stage and announced that he would like Mr. Sullivan to take a walk on the wild side.  That moment is probably remembered by more students than any other.  I also recall, that he caught Elliot Levy and myself outside the school as we planned to hit a certain person with a pie.  I had the pie in my hand but when I saw him, I hid it behind me.  He asked us why we were there and I quickly responded that we were getting autographs of teachers.  He accepted that and wished us a happy summer and future.  We thanked him and went on our way.  And the rest, as they say, is history.  It took them a while to figure out who threw the pie and let me say here, if I ever find Russell Perry, he is going to get a pie himself for turning us in :).  Mr. Sullivan must have really enjoyed his job or needed the money, as he worked at PV for 40 years, retiring in July of 1999.  He is one of the few who didn't leave immediately after putting in the minimum time to get a pension and then retire.  He became the acting principal after Joseph Poli passed away suddenly in the late 1980s but I do not believe he retained the title.  I believe he may live in Midland Park, N.J.  He will be 80 this year.  Hard to imagine an 80 year old Frank Sullivan.  I wonder if he ever took up Gariano on his advice!

Alan Demers

Mr. Demers started at PV while we were there.  He was a social studies teacher and was only about 23 when we knew him.  I recall he made the mistake of putting something in his hair on his first summer vacation as a teacher and whether it was intentional or not, his hair became much lighter.  The mistake was in denying he had done something which only caused more kidding from the students.  I don't think he did that again.  He took early retirement in February of 2001 and still lives in Montvale, NJ with his wife.  He will be 65 this year.

George Heidenreich

Mr. Heidenreich was a longtinme social studies teacher at PV.  Early in his career, I believe he coached football but I don't believe he was coaching anything when we were there.  He was a veteran, likely of the Korean War conflict given his age or perhaps served in between WW II and the Korean War, I can't say.  I never had an encounter with him, so no stories from me to be told.  He retired in July 1985 and at some point, moved to Naples, Florida, where he lives today at the age of 86.  Interestingly, there was another fellow with the same name living in Naples until he passed away in 2012.  What are the odds with a name like that?

Victoria Franke

Ms. Franke was an English teacher at PV, beginning about 1970.  She retired in July 2000 after 30 years and still works there as a substitute teacher.  She has lived in Teaneck, N.J. for some time.  She will be 68 this year.

Donald Doolittle

Mr. Doolittle, AKA as "Doc" (guess why?), was a long term health teacher at PV.  He grew up in town and was a star ball player as a student at PV.  He studied at Monclair State and went on to work at PV, retiring in May of 1999 after about 33 years there.  He was an assistant football coach for some years.  He was well known around town and played in the men's softball league for decades, the last time being around age 50 when he played for one of my teams.  He and his wife moved to Mount Pleasant, S.C. at some point and is where he lives today.  He will be 71 this year.  He was the younger brother of Vernon Doolittle, the social studies teacher.

Claire Tackney

Ms. Tackney started her career as a social studies teacher at PV in 1973. She was part of the women's lib movement as I recall and was the first woman I can recall meeting who kept her maiden name.  Her married name is Digrazia and it sure confused us for a while as she was called both by some for a bit.  Her teaching style was a bit unorthodox as I recall but I can't say why it was in this space.  She retired from PV in July of 2005 after 33 years.  She and her husband have lived on Taylor Street in Hillsdale for many years where she raised her family and I used to see her at Stonybrook but not for some time now.  She will be 67 this year.

Yvette Kohn

Ms. Kohn was a special education teacher at PV and continued on there for many years as such, retiring in July of 2010 after 39 years.  She continues to be a substitute teacher at PV since her retirement and I assume it is as a special education teacher.  She still lives in Hillsdale though I can't say I have ever run into her but I wasn't looking for her so I may have and did not know it.  She will be 66 this year.

Elaine Constein

Mrs. Constein was the head librarian at PV.  She used to come out into the library constantly to shush us and to tell us only one person to a carrel.  OK, I never heard that word before she said it either and I have not heard it uttered since.  She retired from PV in July of 1992.  She appears to live in Haledon, NJ and possibly is involved in or supports the Hackensack River Keeper organization.  She will be 78 this year.

Palmira Bonfiglio

Mrs. Bonfiglio, AKA "The Gray Fox" was the longtime lunch room attendant who partnered with Mrs. Arigot.  They were moms to students in our class, being Laurie Bonfiglio and Karen Arigot.   Mrs. Bonfiglio was born in NYC.  She raised her family in Hillsdale.  She was known as "The Gray Fox" by us for her gray hair and the way she wore it.  It was sort of a compliment by us.  Typical of lunch room attendants, she took a lot of ribbing and grief but she had a great sense of humor and occasionally gave it right back to whomever was kidding her.  She had to put up with food fights and the like.  Though not in our class, I recall Bob Hayden was a favorite tormentor.  In one memorable incident (there were many), a new kid who I believe was from Chicago and a year ahead of us, had a penchant for the school hamburgers (remember them?)  A group of us, including Joe Talamo and Hayden, bet him a dollar each that he could not eat ten of them within a set amount of time.  He took the bet and went to collect his burgers from the kitchen.  While he was gone, Talamo and Hayden said to the rest of us, when he gets back, if he finishes eating the burgers in time, everyone point to the guy to your right and say, "he'll pay you".  Well, he did finish the burgers in the agreed upon time limit and we all pointed to the guy to our right and said, 'he'll pay you."  Well, this fellow got mad and somehow spilled Talamo's orange juice all over him.  Pushing and shoving ensued and Mrs. Bonfiglio intervened.  The end result was we were told by Sulyma that for two weeks we all had to sit in the principal's office after we finished lunch.  This leads to another great story that because of political correctness, can't be told here, but ask me.  It is pretty good.  Mrs. Bonfiglio could be spotted around town over the ensuing years and I ran into her once a few years before she died.  I asked her if she knew what we called her and she did not but smiled at the thought.  She did not remember me but she said that was a good thing because it meant I was not a trouble maker.  She said that she enjoyed her job there and was always bumping into former students around town.  She died on Nov. 7, 2012 at age 85, almost exactly one year after her husband.  They still lived in Hillsdale.  She was survived by her two daughters, three of four grand-children and three great grand-children.  Interment was in Cemetery of the Ascension in Airmont, N.Y.

Eileen Fay

Mrs. Fay was a cafeteria worker and the mother of classmate Kerry Fay. I recently spoke with Kerry and she says her mom lives in a nursing home but was able to attend Kerry's daughter's wedding recently and had a good time.  She will be or is 87 this year.

                                                        Marilyn Bohlke

Mrs. Bolke was in charge of keeping track of attendance.  She retired in 1997.  Now widowed, she lives in Marco Island, Florida and is 79 this year.

Edward Doublier

Mr. Doublier was the building superintendent at PV.  I mention him here due to a special honor regarding his dad as I will explain below.  Mr. Doublier was born in Fort Lee, N.J. in 1912 to parents of French origin.  He graduated Fort Lee High School and later resided in Tenafly, N.J.  He was a Navy veteran of World War II.  He was a reserved, bald headed man who had an office in the wing that houses the gym and nurse's office.  It was out of the way and you really had to know where it was to find it.  Like a racoon that only comes out at night, you rarely saw Mr. Doublier during school hours.  He was a target of some student's jokes due to his quiet demeanor.  If my information is right, he also had a career in other fields before being the superintendent.  Now for the surprise reason I mention him.  His father, Francis Doublier, and his father's siblings were born in France.  Francis was born a cripple so his father's father intended him to get a job that did not require him to walk much.  Little did he know what would happen.  The grandfather died in an accident when his Francis was 12.  At the time the family resided in Lyon, France.  Francis and three siblings then all became employed by Antoine Lumiere in his factory.  They were employed at the beginning of the company's film activity. (they were the first in history to make films) Francis claimed to be in the very first film ever made called, "Sortie des Usines" where he rode a bicycle wearing a straw hat.  He then went on to be a promoter and filmmaker for the Lumiere Cinematographe, traveling the world over.  He is credited with being the world's first newsreel filmmaker.  His very first trip was to Russia to both film and show his films.  His first showing was in St. Petersburg on May 17, 1896 to show the very first films to be seen in Russia that day when he presented a Lumiere program.  But the real reason he was in Russia occurred three days earlier when he filmed the coronation of Tsar Nikolas III.  Special permission had to be obtained by the French embassy from a suspicious Russian government before he could set up his stand from where Francis and Charles Moisson recorded the first movie pictures to be recorded in Russia.  They were also there two days later to record the presentation of the Tsar to the people, when a stand gave way, panic ensued and thousands were trampled to death.  Doublier's and Moisson's cameras faithfully recorded the scene but the films were confisc- ated.  Doublier continued to travel throughout Europe for a few years exhibiting the Lumiere Cinema-tographe and filming.  In 1900 he returned to France to assist at the Lumiere exhibit at the Paris Exhibition.  In 1902 he went to the U.S. to work at the Lumiere North American Company plant in Burlington, Vermont before moving to Fort Lee, N.J. where he was to remain, continuing to work as a film laboratory technician.  I wonder if the film department at the school knew this?  Edward Doublier helped researchers over the years tell the story of the early film history.  So now we know what he was doing holed up in that little office :)  Who would have known?  In a side note, Mr. Doublier hired my brother and myself to rip out the school lockers the summer after we graduated.  Just the two of us ripped them all out and without air conditioning, I might add.  The purpose was to add smaller lockers so you could have more of them for an increase in future students which never did pan out.  It made me appreciate working for oneself where you can set your own wage.  Mr. Edward J. Doublier died in 1998 at age 86, still residing in Tenafly.

Eugene Connors

Mr. Connors was the learning disabilities consultant at PV.  He retired from that post in Nov. 1999 and will be 72 this year.

Jack Wasdyke

    Mr. Wasdyke was a long time resident of Saddle Brook,N.J. where he attended Franklin and Helen I. Smith Elementary Schools and was a member of the last class from Saddle Brook to graduate from Lodi High School in the class of 1960.  He graduated Fairleigh Dickinson University in 1964 and completed post graduate degrees at William Paterson University and Montclair University.  He began his teaching career at Edison School in Union City and followed that by working at Pascack Valley where he was the reading coordinator when we were there.  He then went on to work at Pascack Hills and Bergen Community College.  He became the principal of Franklin Elementary School in Saddle Brook in 1978 and later served as Saddle Brook High School vice principal, curriculum director, acting superintendent of the Saddle Brook public school system and finally as principal of Helen I. Smith School.  He retired in 2000.  During his tenure at PV he was a track and field coach where he coached shot put and discus.  I vaguely recall Bill Rosen-berger, Rick Cordova and Chuck Frahm out on what is now the practice field throwing the shot put.  Mr. Wasdyke also had a distinct way of talking if you recall.  He was also the vice president of the Saddle Brook Free Public Library board of trustees and served as the Township of Saddle Brook Hisotrian.  He was the author of the book, "Saddle Brook: A Portrait of Our Past", as well as the author of historical articles on the Township website.  He had a true love of his home town.

    Sadly, Mr. Wasdyke died the day before our 40th reunion, on October 16, 2015, as a result of complications from a hernia surgery.  He was 73 years old and was survived by his wife Catherine and two daughters, three grandchildren and his canine companion, Moonshine.

Mary Stuckey

Ms. Stuckey was a new home economic teacher in our senior year having graduated from Longwood University in 1974.  She was the sister of our classmate, Paul Stuckey (who later became a cop in Hillsdale).  Apparently, she did not continue on at PV and left at some point.  From 2002 to 2014 she was a family and consumer sciences (read- home economics) teacher at Bloomfield High School in Bloomfield, N.J. and retired last year from that job.  Apparently never married, she was from Clifton and currently lives in Saddle Brook, N.J.  She will be 63 this year and can be found on facebook.

Charles Stellingwerf

Mr. Stellingwerf was a music teacher at PV when we were there.  He retired from PV in  July of 2005.  In retire- ment, he lives in Exmore, Virginia and is a member of a band called "Off the Hook".   You can find him and the band on facebook.  He will be 70 this year.

William Collins

Mr. Collins I believe taught mechanical engineering or something like that when we were there.  He retired from PV in July of 1997.  There are too many William Collins around the country to be able to specify which one is him but he is living and will be 74 this year.

Patrick DeRosa

Mr. DeRosa was the chairman of the related arts department when we were there.  He lived in Lodi, N.J. while teaching, retired in January of 1990 and now lives in Lauderdale by the Sea, Florida.  He is 86 years old this year.

Kenneth Yasny

   I could not find much about Mr. Yasny but was fairly sure he had not continued on at PV for long after we left.  It turns out I was right and an unknown person saw his information on this site and contacted him.  He has sent me an update as to what has happened in his life since we saw him and more.  Though he sent me a very detailed history, I am editing it somewhat here.  Believe me, it was longer than this:)

   He says he was born in NYC in 1952 and at age 2 moved to Italy with his family.  There he learned to speak Italian through movies.  He became fond of ice cream, pizza and candy and learned how to get it from sympathetic adults.  However, he developed various ailments from these dairy products which in time led to an interest in how the body works and nutrition.  He returned to the U.S. with his family and lived in Hillsdale where he attended PV.  About sophomore year he decided he wanted to be a doctor   He says he always had an interest in science and took extra classes at PV such as chemistry and biochemistry.  He graduated form PV in 1970.  In 1972 while visitng his sister in California who was a vegetrian, he was converted and his noticed his ailments all improved. He then attended Trenton State University from which he graduated in 1974 with three majors in education, psychology and biology.  He took three majors so that he could help patients learn about their bodies and symptoms, he could learn to have a good bedside manner and know a person's mindset and of course learn how the body works.  His theory was that a doctor and patient form a team as opposed to simply doctor treating patient.  At the end of 1973 though, he noticed he was uncomfortable attending classes related to surgial technigues, gross anatomy and cadaver dissection.  Realizing this did not jive with being a doctor he took a break from school and began teaching high school as well as continuing on in graduate school.  In 1974 he took a job at PV where he taught shop and here he had a chance to try out nutrition on his students.  He saw amazing results as he watched student's acne and weight problems improve, anxiety, depression and attention deficit disorders melted away and noticed better self esteem.  At this time (1974) he began taking classes at Montclair State towards becoming a registered dietician.  When he was not given tenure in 1977 (400 students protested his non renewal) he packed up his truck and moved to near Beverly Hills.  He started a weight loss company which he named Beverly Hills Weight Managment.  He later started Nutrition Works.  He was a pioneer in nutrition counseling and developed a curriculum specifically for a degree in nutrition counseling.  He developed a core curriculum for all state colleges in California.  In 1981 he graduated Ryokan College with his doctorate.  Since that time he has written books, counseled untold paitents from all walks of life and since 1983 to the present was the co-founder of Esteem Corporation which deals with eating disorders.  In 1988 he became director and developed a complete health clinic with 65 practioners from over 30 modalites of health and healing.  He consults for Colon Health Society and Health Springs.com.  He works for a skincare manufacturer to come up with an internal formulation to work in conjunction with topicals.   Books he has written include: "Talk to Me Body", "For the Love of Body", "What Men and Women Should Know About Communication", "Put Hemorrhoids and Constipation Behind You" (naturally:)) and says more are to be written.  He has been a guest speaker on over 300 radio shows, been featured on several television talk shows and hosted more than 20 television shows on the LA Cable Network.

    He lives in Encintas, California, having lived previously in Redondo Beach, California and is 62.   He welcomes contact by any means including mental telepathy:)

Thomas Williams

Mr. Williams was born in NYC and was the older brother of Rhys Williams.  He was a veteran of the Korean War where he earned the Purple Heart.  He later became a member of the original staff at PV in 1955.  He was a mathematics teacher and taught German.  He was a football coach early on, on a staff with Joe Talamo Sr.  He eventually became the chairman of the foreign language department.   I am told he was a hell of a teacher and I have no doubt he was.  I only had one encounter with him.  It occurred in the Spanish lab where we sat in booths and spoke into a microphone with headsets on.  Mr. Willams stood at the front and could listen in to your booth to see if you were doing what you were supposed to.  He listened to my booth and supposedly could hear nothing.  He angrily accused me of goofing off.  I stood up and told him the micro- phone must be broken and to try and listen in again while I spoke loud enough for him to hear me at the front.  He took my advice and to his chagrin, could not hear anything and admitted the microphone must be broken.  He apologized but from that point on I pegged him as a hothead.  I have heard from many that he was a great teacher but except for that day, I never crossed paths with him again.  He retired in July of 1994 after 39 years at PV.  He lived in Washington Township, N.J. and died on June 1, 2014 at age 83.  He was survived by his second wife, Karla Williams, who was a student when they started dating and which caused a ruckus in the community but after a suspension, he returned to teaching, married Karla and they lived happily ever after.

Karen Lyons

Ms. Lyons was a new science teacher at PV while we were there.  She continued to teach there until her retirement in July of 2011 after 37 years.  She will be 66 this year.  I do not know where she lives. 

Susan Forsstrom

Ms. Forsstrom was a math teacher when we attended PV.  She married after we graduated to a fellow with the last name of Daves.  She continued on at PV until her early retirement in July of 2005.  She was born in 1947 and will be 69 this year.  She appears to live in Warwick, N.Y. 

Barbara Glotzer

Ms. Glotzer was a math teacher when we attended PV.  She later left PV and went to work for the Ridgewood school system (not sure if it was the high school but I would assume so) and she retired from there in July of 2011.  She will be 64 this year and lives in Wyckoff, N.J.

Bart Dipaola

Mr. Dipaola was our acting super-intendent when we graduated.  He retired from the PV school district in July of 1994.  He was born in 1931 and will be 84 this year.  He lives in Wayne, N.J.  Hopefully, no one really knew this guy because if you did, it means you really messed up:)

John Ziemba

    Mr. Ziemba was a math teacher at PV while we were there.  He also was in charge of the computer club/class which had only a small membership of mainly male students.  They had a large computer that required cards with holes in them for code to operate.  I am sure many of us considered that class to be of no use to our future but I recall Mr. Ziemba, much like Dustin Hoffman's future father in law in the movie "The Graduate", who extolled the promise of plastics in the future, extolled the promise of computers in our future.  While both were right and they made a lot of money for many, both enterprises have caused a lot of harm and deaths.  9/11 would never have occurred without computers and now we are inundated about "hacking" of our vital information nearly every day.  Plastics have a dangerous chemical in them that causes prostate and breast cancer in men as well as other diseases which have long been known by our government but they do nothing about it.    In my search for Mr. Ziemba, I found him hard to locate.  I knew he did not continue on at PV but did not know what happened.  Leslie Goddin informed me she had lunch with him in NY in the 1980s and he had left teaching to work in N.Y. for some concern and then later may have returned to teaching. 

After much searching for Mr. Ziemba I located him on "Linked In".   He sent me an email confessing he "was guilty of having taught at PV from 1968 to 1979."  He taught math and computer science.  He then left to work for Raytheon Data Systems and Tandem Computers working at computer engineering, systems analysis and project management from 1979 to 1994.  He then returned to teaching from 1994 to 2015 at Glen Ridge, Northern Valley and Paramus where he taught math, physics, chemistry, meteorology and environment courses.  He retired from full time teaching in June of this year but still teaches SAT at night and also tutors.  He says his best memories are from PV and from 1998 to the present tutoring local students and teaching AP Physics at Paramus.  He lives in Old Tappan, N.J. and was interested in who was attending the reunion.                                                                                            

Kenneth Olsen

Mr. Olsen was a new math teacher at PV in 1971.  He originally taught 9th and 11th grades.  Before coming to PV he taught in Ridgewood for 4 years, two at the junior high and two at the senior high.  He had attended the University of Rochester and the State University of N.Y.  He went to Columbia University for his graduate studies. He said in  1971 that he was influenced to come to PV because he lived in Hillsdale and was acquanted with and liked the P.V. staff.  He was a pilot, enjoyed riding motor cycles and had a colection of handguns.  I cannot find him in the NJ Pension System which indicates he is deceased.  Rich Spielman recently informed me that he is indeed dead and died a few years ago.  The fact I find no survivor benefits being paid under his name indicates that if he was married, he was either divorced or his wife is also deceased or he never married.  My websites do not show a person until they are dead three years so he must have passed away in the last three years.

Joseph and Elizabeth Obrien

Mr. and Mrs. Obrien were fellow English teachers at PV when we were there.  Mrs. Obrien left before we graduated though I do not know why, perhaps to have a child.  I have been informed that Mr. Obrien did retire from PV a few years before 2004.  Since he does not show up in the NJ pension system data base, I have to assume he has passed away as I have been informed that he was ill some time ago.  Also, since his wife is not named as getting survivor benefits, I also have to assume she has passed away too.  The only caveat is that they divorced which would be the only way she could still be alive.  I cannot find them in the social security death index nor my other websites so I cannot give any other details.

Laura Bartos

Ms. Bartos was a foreign language teacher at PV while we were there.  She did not finish her career at PV and it appears she moved out of N.J. by 1988.  She has lived in Wisconsin, South Carolina and in Maryland for most of the time since 1988 where she has lived at various locations and still lives today.  I believe she was/is married and has a family but I cannot provide details.  Ms. Bartos will be 62 this year.

Laurence Linton

Mr. Linton was a biology teacher at PV, starting about 1962.  He was a lighthearted guy and liked to kid around.  His long running gag (I think it was a gag), was that he kept a monkey in his basement and he liked to mimic the sound of it in class.  We, of course, never got to see this monkey.  I wonder if it was a Rhysus monkey? (mispelled on purpose :)  No matter, I recall he liked to kid around.  He was in charge of the Ecology Club when we were there.  He retired in July of 1994 after 32 years at PV to his home in Upper Saddle River.  He also appears to split his time between there and a home in Sarasota, Florida.  He will be 76 this year.

   Update- I have been informed by Leslie Goddin that Mr. Linton became a nature photographer in retirement and is now living in Sarasota, Florida. I wonder if he still has a monkey?:)

James Cooper

Mr. Cooper was an earth science and biology teacher at PV.  He later married a fellow teacher who started at PV after we left.  Her name was Janice (???) and she taught Spanish.  He retired in July of 2001 and she retired in July of 2004.  They live in Ramsey, N.J. and appear to also have a home in Cape Coral, Florida.  They have at least one child.  Mr. Cooper, who may be a distant relative of mine (the name was originally spelled Kuyper and is Dutch) will be 72 this year.

Jessica Gaeta

Ms. Gaeta was a foreign language teacher when we were there.  It appears she left PV at some point to work for the North Bergen Board of Education where she retired from in June of 2006.  She lives in Union City, N.J. (formerly West Hoboken) and will be 71 this year.

Penelope DeCordova

Mrs. DeCordova was a foreign language teacher when we were at PV.  If the records I have found for her are all accurate then I have this to say: She retired from PV in September of 2001 after 18 years there.  This implies she took some time off from her teaching job as she was there in the 1970s.  She moved to Florida where she has lived in Hollywood, Coral Springs, Fort Lauderdale and currently at The Villages.  There is a record of a Penelope A. DeCordova marrying in Florida in 1990 but to whom I do not know.  Her middle initial was A.  I am not sure it is the same person, however a records check indicates the person living in The Villages is the same age and has the same middle initial as our teacher.  She also appears on facebook and if the same person I cannot ID her after 40 years.  This person belongs to a senior outfit of 200 senior twirlers.  At any rate, Penelope DeCordova will be 74 this year.

Nancy D. Koch

Mrs. Koch was a business teacher at PV while we were there.  It appears she left teaching at some point, likely to raise her family.  She retired in June of 2001 after only 10 years of service and judging by her salary, she may have been a substitute or part time teacher for that duration as her salary certainly indicates she was not a full time employee.  Mrs. Koch was born in 1937 and has definitely passed away.  I find a death record of some- one by that name, born in 1937, who passed away on Nov. 28, 2011 and is buried in Montecito Cemetery in Colton, San Bernadino, California.  If this is her, then her husband's name was Horst and she was 74.  She was survived by her husband.

Roger Bertin

Mr. Bertin was formerly known as Mr. Bernstein.  He changed his name about our senior year or very shortly thereafter.  I cannot say why he did so.  He was a science teacher and retired from PV in July of 1995 after teaching for 29 years.  He was an Army veteran and had lived in East Paterson which is now Elmwood Park, N.J.  He later moved to West Milford, N.J. where he lived when he died on April 21, 2006 at age 65.  I have more to add but my censors won't allow it :).

Linda Hageman

I find no one under that name in the NJ Teacher's pension system.  Thus, she either left teaching or perhaps could be known now as Linda Cozzens?  If so, she is 65 and living in Old Tappan, N.J. and/or The Villages, Florida.  I have been informed that she was Donald Hageman's wife and they subsequently got divorced and is known as Linda Cozzens which my source says is her maiden name.  If correct, she retired from PV in August 2007 and will be 64 this year.  Thus, the above information is correct.

Robert Gillow

Mr. Gillow was an English teacher at PV when we were there.  He retired in July of 1998 and will be 75 this year.  He has lived in Spring Valley, N.Y. for many years and is still there.

Sandra Bennington

Mrs. Bennington was an English teacher at PV during our time there.  She retired in July of 2000 and lives in Old Tappan, N.J. with her husband. She will be 76 this year.

Gladys Stiefel

Mrs. Stiefel was born in Jersey City, N.J. and was the wife of H. Irving Stiefel.  Together the couple ran the Sombrero Playhouse in Phoenix, Arizona and along with Milton Stiefel, also the Ivoryton Playhouse in Ivoryton, Ct.  She served as a Navy Wave in WW II and then taught English, first at Bogota H.S. and then at Pascack Valley where she appears to have retired after the 1974 school year.  Her daughter Vicki also taught at PV at the end of Mrs. Stiefel's career.  Mrs. Stiefel lived in Groton, Ma. where she died at home on Sept. 23, 2004 at age 94.  She was survived by her daugher Vicki Stiefel and her husband Bill Tapply, her grand-children Blake and Ben Stiefel Ricciardi (whose father was Peter Ricciardi), step grandchildren Mike, Melissa and Sarah Tapply and extended family, Peter, Kathleen and Summer Ricciardi.  The family remembered her incandescent smile and asked for donations to Smiletrain.org.

Karen Thielker

Mrs. Thielker was a foreign language teacher when we were at PV.  Her name was Ms. Kimak when she started but she married English teacher Richard Thielker while we were there.  She went on to leave PV about 1979 and went to work for the Franklin Lakes School district where she retired from in May of 2005 after 26 years there.  She and her husband raised two sons and a daughter.  The family lived in Ramsey where Mrs. Thielker still lives, having been widowed in February of 2013.  She is 68 this year.

Richard Thielker

Mr. Thielker was born February 16, 1942 in Queens, N.Y. and graduated from Wantagh High School on Long Island and then from the University of Mississippi with a degree in English.  He served in the Army during the Vietnam War.  He went on to become a film and English teacher at PV for 35 years, retiring in July of 2003.  He lived in Ramsey, N.J. with his wife, the former Karen Kimak, who was also a teacher at PV and the couple married while we were there.  Sadly, Mr. Thielker died at age 70 on Feb. 6, 2013 at his home in Ramsey, likely from cancer.  He was survived by his wife, two sons, a daughter and a sister.

Doris Guerin

Ms. Guerin was a gym teacher at PV whom I cannot find much information on.  I think she retired early as I find a Doris Guerin living in Hohokus, NJ and is over age 65.  

Eileen Tepe

Mrs. Tepe was a long time gym teacher at PV.  As I recall, they had gym teachers for the girls and teachers for the boys.  I wonder if that has changed.  Does anyone know?  Mrs. Tepe was at PV for 38 years and retired in July of 2007.  She lives in Bergenfield on Greenbriar Road and I ran into her a few years ago at a teachers' award ceremony at the high school as my sister was one of the teachers being recognized as teacher of the year at her school.  She looked good and said she thought I looked familiar which is always a good thing after 37 years :)  She told me George Moran also lived in Bergenfield on Clinton Ave. with his son.  Her husband passed away in 2005 and she has two daughters.  Mrs. Tepe will be 68 years old this year.

Denise Dilongis

Ms. Dilongis was a teacher in the business department at PV.  I believe she was born in 1951 and possibly was graduated from Kent State.  I cannot find her anywhere.  There are only a couple of women with her name found in the white pages and they are too young to be her.  That's all I have on her.

Joann Klaus

Mrs. Klaus was a business teacher at PV.  She retired from there in July of 2005 after 38 years.  She has lived with her husband in Upper Saddle River, NJ for many years.  She will be 70 this year.

Richard Schwinge

Mr. Schwinge was a teacher in the business department while we were at PV.   I do not believe he continued teaching at PV nor anywhere else in N.J. as he does not appear in the N.J. pension system.  I find only two Richard Schwinges in the entire country, one is 72 and living in Patchogue, N.Y. and the other is 89. That is all I can find and the 72 year old is most likely to be him.

Carmita Hayes

Ms. Hayes was born in 1924 and grew up in Newburgh, Orange County, NY.  She began her career in 1951 but not at PV as it had not been built yet.  She eventually worked there as a guidance counselor and retired from PV in July of 1991 after a 40 year career.  She has lived in New City, NY for a very long time and never married it appears.  She is now 90 and will be 91 sometime this year.

Catina Bonica

Ms. Bonica was a long time phys ed teacher at PV who retired in July of 2004.  She lives in River Dale, NJ and will be 71 this year.

William Joosten

Mr. Joosten was a math teacher when we were at PV.  He first was graduated from Paterson State College in 1966 with a Bachelor or Arts Degree in Mathematics Teacher Education and was then graduated from the same school in 1969 with a master of Arts degree in Student Personnel Servics.  He then was graduated from Rutgers in 1979 with a Doctor of Education degree in Educational Theory.  He also worked at Bergen Community College as an assistant dean of students/professor of mathematics/ /coordinator of academic counseling from 1969 to 2001.  After we left he continued to teach math but in 1992 became a guidance counselor at PV until  his retirement in July of 2011.  He says he is happily retired at home in Paramus where he enjoys reading, working out, investing and parenting /grandparenting.  He is 72 years old.

Suzanne Barcaro

Mrs. Barcaro came to PV about 1960 as a Spanish teacher.  She retired early in April of 1977.  She lived with her husband Richard in Emerson, after which they moved to Florida, living in Pinellas Park.  Her husband died in 2005 at age 78. She is 82 this year.

Simone Kaufman

Mrs. Kaufman was a longtime French teacher at PV who retired in July 1998 after 27 years there.  She lived in Paramus while teaching and it appears she has since lived in Mount Laurel, NJ, Marlton, N.J. and currently in South Hampton, N.J.  She will be 80 on November 1, 2015.

Ralph J. Cavalucci

Mr. Cavalucci was born in 1929 and raised in Rutherford, NJ where he was graduated from high school.  In his senior yearbook in 1948, he was said to be known variously as "Cav", "Rudolph Valentino" and "A Lion among the Ladies" and  his ambition was to continue his education and play football at Cartarette Prep School.  He appears to have majored in Phys Ed and became a gym teacher at PV.  He also became the head football coach after we left (smart move:), taking over from Mr. Fusco and coaching from 1975 to 1986.   Mr. Cavalucci  retired from PV in July of 1992.  He also appears to have started a business called Cavalucci Construct- ion Company and his name is listed as its supervisor on its website but he is long since retired from that.  Mr. Cavalucci is still living in Park Ridge where he has lived for many years and will be 86 this year.

UPDATE- Mr. Cavalucci died in 2016 and I thinkhe was 87.  He had suffered from severe health problems for some time.  I believe his wife predeceased him by a year or two.  And I am not completely sure he was at PV whenwe were there but started in the fall after we left.  There was a big writeup in the Record and a Charlie McGill cartoon from his coaching days.  I think he had been a coach in the old World Football League and left that job to teach and coach at PV.  Wonder if he regretted that?:)

James Downs

Mr. Downs was born in 1927 and was an English teacher while we were at PV.  He retired from PV in July of 1989.  He is now 88 years old and lives in Suffern, N.Y.

Robert Sulyma

Mr. Sulyma was the co-vice principal with Frank Sullivan.  Later, Mr. Casperson would join them.  Must have been a lot of troublemakers after we left :).  He started teaching about 1958 and retired as vice principal in July of 1993 though I can't say if he spent all that time at PV.  Although I have plenty of stories about Mr. Sullivan, as for Mr. Sulyma I have but one that stands out.  One fine spring day in 1975, Frank Casamento bet Howard Dempsey five dollars if he would streak around the school butt naked.  Howard took the bet and after gym, changed out of his clothes by the rear gym entrance.  At the same time, rumors had spread around school that someone was going to be streaking near the gym.  A bunch of us went from lunch to the hallway outside the gym as we did not know exactly where to view this spectacle.   As we stood outside the gym, Mr. Sulyma came by and ushered us down the hallway and outside by the tennis courts.  As we stood outside, he began to give us a lecture about congregating in the hallways at lunch. He began to raise his hand for emphasis and as if on cue, Howard came running by at full speed with only his socks, sneakers and a ski mask on.  Sulyma, not expecting this sight, froze in mid sentence and all he could do was yell after Howard and say, "hey! hey! hey you!, come back here!"  Yeah, like he would stop and casually come up to him like that.  Sulyma went back inside to get help (Sullivan) and we followed Howard to the front of the school.  By now dozens of kids were leaving the cafeteria going to the back of the school as they also heard about what was to take place.  Girls shrieked, guys laughed and poor Howard, realizing he had nowhere to go, turned back and ran back to the gym.  He put on his clothes and entered the gym but by this time Sulyma had figured out where the culprit had come from and had Casperson with him and they encountered Howard as he entered and knew they had their man.  He was suspended for two days and that was it.  He had a little trouble getting his money from Casamento as I recall and I believe he had to turn Frank upside down to shake the money out of his pockets:)  Now back to Mr. Sulyma.  He went on to become the president of the Montvale Board of Education.  He took Mrs. Colon, one of the school's secretaries with him.  I used to work for her and just spoke to her daughter.  He lived in Montvale and will be 80 this year.  He moved with his wife Ann, to whom he was married since 1958, to Lawrenceville, Georgia in 2005 where they lived to the present day.  His wife died March 10, 2016 in Lawrenceville.

Maureen Demes

Mrs. Demes began her career at PV in 1957 and retired there in July 1991 as a long time math teacher.  She and her husband have lived on Grand Avenue in Montvale for many years.  I run into her several times a year at Davey's Locker Restaurant in Montvale and she and her husband are very friendly folks who chat with the other patrons who know them.  She is involved with the Montvale Women's Club and also is a member of the Park Ridge American Legion Auxiliary Unit 153.

Marilyn Hering

Mrs. Hering was a long time English teacher at PV and retired as such some years after we graduated.  In her retirement she became an author and has written two books.  One was called, "A Woman Possessed" which dealt with the abominable working conditions in the silk mills of Paterson.  The other was called, "A Woman Beloved" which dealt with the treatment of the mentally ill and the alcoholic at the turn of the century combined with a love story which takes many twists and turns.  She was one of three local self-publishing authors featured in the Record in April last year, which the paper followed up with an interview in June in the Pascack Valley Community Life.  She lives in Harrington Park, NJ, a town that is the last remnant of Harrington Township, a large area named after the ancestors of her husband in 1775, being so called due to more people of that name than any other living there. Being a genealogist myself, her husband, Susie Hering and myself are related.

Albert Kuehnapfel

Mr. Kuehnapfel was born in Jersey City, N.J. to Albert C. Kuehnapfel and Clara Coombs Zintel.  At the age of 16 he earned a private pilot's license.  Upon graduation from high school he joined the Navy Officer Cadet pro- gram where after four years he became a commissioned Naval officer and pilot.  He served from Nov. 18, 1949 to June 30, 1960.  He earned a college diploma and a master's degree in mathematics along the way and upon retiring from the Navy he became a math teacher at Pascack Valley in 1960, working there until his retirement in 1985.  He then began a life of fun and travel with his beloved wife Lola.  The couple had retired to the Wallenpaupack Lake Estates section of Lake Ariel, Pennsylvania at some point.  I recall Mr. Kuehnapfel  would try anything to motivate his students, including me, as I wouldn't apply myself.  He saw I was capable of being a better student then I let on and he offered a personal challenge to do better.  I did do better for a bit but then slacked off.  Sorry, Mr. Kuehnapfel.  It all worked out OK.  Mr. Kuehnapfel recently passed away on April 7, 2015 at the age of 87 at the Regional Hospital of Scranton, PA, following an illness.  He was survived by his wife of 66 years, three sons and their wives, a daughter and her husband, a brother and his wife and eight grandchildren.  Interment with military honors were held at Elmhurst Memoral Park in Pennsylvania.

Michael O'Brien

Mr. O'Brien was the long time social studies teacher, basketball and baseball coach at PV.  He was born in 1942 and came to PV in the mid 1960s.  He taught there until retiring in July of 1998.  He was a lifer when it came to coaching.  I recall when we had an award's cermony for baseball in 1972 and it was either Joe Talamo Sr. or Mr. Reeves who introduced him as our school's most eligible bachelor.  And a bachelor he has remained, likely due to his non ending love and devotion to coaching.  He coached both basketball and baseball for many years and even after retirement, he was the head coach of the Pascack Hills basketball program and possibly the baseball program.  He could also be found playing and coaching a men's softball team in Hillsdale for some years but has not done that in quite some time.  Currently, he is an assistant coach of the boys' basketball program at Pascack Hills and can frequently be found taking walks around River Vale and Hillsdale.  He is 73 this year and lives in River Vale where he has lived for quite some time.  I am sure many of his players recall the O'Brien stare which he gave you if he was pissed off.

Jeff Jasper

Mr. Jasper had just started his teaching career at PV in 1971 and was lucky enough to have us entering the school as freshmen.  He had not long before returned from the Vietnam War and was seemingly part of the hippie movement at the time with his long hair, beard and mustache and his laid back ways.  He had a relaxed way of teaching and was easy to get along with.  He married his wife Lois, a fellow teacher at the school, while we we there.  He started his career in coaching actually wanting to be the head baseball coach and asked Joe Talamo to be a JV baseball coach.  Talamo, a conservative fellow out of the Vince Lombardi mold, tried to discourage this hippie looking fellow by asking him to coach the new girls' basketball team.  Jasper complied and after a short time, came back to Talamo and told him he no longer had an interest in being the baseball coach and was going to stick with the girls team.  The reason?  He said the girls showed more interest in listening and following directions and thus were easier to coach.  His first two teams did not do well (that was us) but he went on to finish in first place in the team's respective division 32 years in a row and now has over 900 wins, the state, if not country, record for wins, and is still at it today at age 70 and has no intention of quitting.  I think he teaches history now.  His wife retired in 2011 and they have two sons who are long since grown up.  He no longer drives his old jalopy :) and he lives on Arcadia Way in Hillsdale having previously lived for many years on Manson Place.  He and his wife Lois are doing well and he continues to run his basketball clinics each summer at PV. 

I should add two favorite memories I have of Mr. Jasper's class.  Once, while discussing the Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner, he asked the class why the crew had killed the albatross.  Paul Naprstek, who had a habit of laying on the window sill with his head in his hand and his eyes closed, raised his head and opened his eyes long enough to answer his first and only question all year by replying that the albatross was killed because he shit on the boat, which of course cracked us all up.  The other story was that Mr. Jasper told us about the time in college he and a friend were strung up naked to a telephone pole and covered with flour and left there by upper classmen.  They had to make their way back home sneaking through back yards when a cop drove by and did a double take.  He bought their story and let them go.

UPDATE- In March 2017, Mr. Jasper and the girl's basketball team won their division, sectional title and the state group title.  They lost in the first round of the Tournament of Champions where the group champions play each other but it is a bit unfair as the groups are made up of schools of different sizes and PV lost by about 20.  But it was another great season after a couple of seasons that, though good, were not up to the par of the past decades.  Jeff has no plans to retire as he loves what he does. 

Joseph Talamo

Mr. Talamo was from a poor family of immigrant fruit peddlers in West New York.  He put himself through Panzer College and NYU earning a master's degree in physical education at the latter.  He worked at first as a phys-ed teacher at West New York Memorial High School where he coached their freshman and JV football teams to a record of 115 wins and 2 losses.  He then became an original member of the staff at PV when it opened in 1955.  He became the assistant football coach at PV in 1955 and with 2 games left in the 1956 season, he became the head coach.  When he retired as head coach in 1960, he had a record of 33 wins, 2 losses and 1 tie.  This record got him a mention in Sports Illustrated.  After coaching football, he then coached the track team and ran up a record of 209 wins, 4 losses and 1 tie before retiring in 1965.  He said he retired from coaching as he could not relax unless he was winning and he was said to relive even those few losses he had on his stellar record.  His family always told him to forget it and relax.  In 1968 he wrote a book titled, Developing a Championship Team.  Mr. Talamo retired in July of 1982 from PV and from the Hillsdale school system in July of 1984.  He could still be found at PV football games for years after, parking himself near the corner of the end zone when not pacing back and forth following the game.  Here he encountered many of his former students who came to the games.  Later in life, he and his wife moved to Canton, Ohio to be near Joe Jr.'s family.  His wife predeceased him as did a daughter in the 1960s.  He died Sept. 4, 2014 at age 87 and there were writeups in the local papers.  On the night of his wake in Westwood, PV celebrated a rousing win over a top opponent and like old times, cars of students drove up the hill on Piermont honking their horns celebrating and perhaps somewhere, Mr. Talamo was enjoying another win.  The team went on to become state champions.  He was survived by his son Joe, a daughter , and their children.

Doris Armstrong

Mrs. Armstrong was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1924.  She married her hus- band in 1946 and they lived in South Bend, Indiana where they were founding members of the First Unitarian Church before moving to Ridgewood, NJ where they became active members of the Unitarian Society there.  She was an English teacher at PV for many years, retiring in February of 1985.  She was an easy foil for students and I recall one time in junior or senior year where we were assigned speaking parts for some book and some of us took diff- erent accents, including German, French, southern etc.  Well, this went on longer than we thought it would and we could hardly contain our- selves. Mrs. Armstrong suddenly shouted for us to stop because she did not believe we talked like that.  Good laugh was had by all except Mrs. A., who, if she was here, would probably laugh now.  Mrs. Armstrong died October 28, 2013 at age 89 in a senior facility in New Paltz, N.Y. where she spent her later years.  She was predeceased by her husband and a daughter and survived by her children and grandchildren.

Carol Nigro

Carol Nigro earned a bachelor's degree from St. John's University and a master's degree from Montclair State College in chemistry before becoming a chemistry teacher for 30 years in the Pascack Valley school district, spend- ing her early years at PV and ending it at Pascack Hills.  She was known for her approachable but sometimes quirky personality.  I recall one day that she was having trouble getting her words out.  I, who never was a wise guy or trouble maker, could not help but blurt out, "what's the matter, can't chew gum and talk at the same time?" She looked at me in disbelief and said something to the effect that of all people, that I could be saying something smart but she had a good laugh, as did the class.  She retired in 2002 to her home in Wyckoff, NJ where she was a member of the Woman's Club of Wyckoff and the NJEA.  She died Aug. 13, 2012 at the age of 69 after losing her husband the year before.  She was survived by her only child, a son whom I believe was born while we were at PV.

Michael Debevec

Mr. Debevec grew up in Cleveland, Ohio and graduated from Euclid High School.  He went on to Princeton where he was graduated in 1973.  While there he was a member of the tech crew and played clarinet in the marching band.  He then went on to teach science at PV for 10 years and then in Sierra Leone as a Peace Corps volunteer.  This latter experience altered the course of his life and inspired a love of spicy food, an anomaly in his hometown of Cleveland in the 1960s.  A friend arranged an interview for him at Colgate-Palmolive in 1985 and he worked there for 5 years, moving on to Unilever and then to SAP America where he did consulting which allowed him to teach willing students and be respected and well paid.  He became a go-to guy for pricing and variant configuration as well as a technical advisor for CRM Expert.  In 2004, Colgate sought his services and Debevec Consulting was born.  He spent 10 years on the Princeton Schools Committee in Bergen County, 7 as chair.  He lived in Bridgewater, N.J. when he died suddenly from a heart attack on Dec. 30, 2012 at the age of 61.  His wife said he still brought her flowers after 32 years of marriage, "just because my honey should have flowers".  He was said to be kind, generous and forever curious.

George Moran

Mr. Moran was born in 1939 and was the long time gym teacher at PV.  His career began in the early 1960s.  He coached baseball early in his career and later was the longtime coach of the boys and girls bowling teams.  Remember the "gremlin" lucky charm the girls bowling team had?  He taught driver's ed, as did the other gym teachers.  I recall how he had us practice our reaction time to a light turning green or red and hitting the brake or gas pedals.  Boy, that seems like last week.  I also recall how he had us carry Art Stone into the school from the softball field after Art dislocated his knee taking a mighty swing and missing.  His leg dangled at a gruesome angle and the girls screamed as we carried Art to the nurse's office.  Art says his leg is OK :)  Mr. Moran retired in July of 2000.  He lived in Fair Lawn when we were in school and later moved to Park Ridge, Montvale and currently lives on East Clinton Avenue in Bergenfield with one of his children.  I have not seen him in years.  I worked for him in the late 1980s doing his yard.  He was widowed years ago.  Both he and his wife are/were very nice people.  Mr. Moran will be 76 years old this year.

Lois Jasper

Mrs. Jasper was a single typing teacher at PV when we started there.  She married Mr. Jasper while we were in school.  They had two boys I believe and I am not sure if she took time off to raise them.  She continued to teach at PV and retired in July of 2011.  She and Jeff lived in Hillsdale on Manson Place for some years but now live on Arcadia Way in town.  Their boys are long since grown and attended PV.  I see her and Jeff around the area from time to time and she is well.  Their son Justin is an assistant basketball coach at Pascack Hills along with Mike O'Brien.

Frederick DeRobertis

Mr. DeRobertis was born in 1940 and was a longtime graphic arts teacher at PV.  He retired in July of 1998.  He is well known for his carvings of ducks which is a hobby of his.  He still lives in Westwood on Mill Street where some time ago he became sort of a gadfly to town officials, demanding they slow down the traffic on Mill Street.  They finally installed a redundant stop sign for a three way intersection.

Elwood Casperson Jr.

Mr. Casperson was born in 1934 and was the long time phys-ed teacher at PV.  He coached cross country track for many years and Andy Zucaro, Doug Weber and Tom McDonald were his star runners while we were there.  He seemed to be a quiet and reflective person with a very biting wit when the occasion required it.  I recall once, while doing situps near the basketball courts, someone commented on all the earthworms coming to the surface.  He replied that pounding the earth would bring them up, a good tip for finding bait for fishing.  I related this story to my young nephew once, not realizing my influence on a young mind and before you knew it, he was trying to raise up some worms.  His dad wondered what the heck he was doing and I told him the story.  Mr. Casperson was promoted to the position of vice principal after we left.  After his retirement in July of 1987, I think he lived in Henderson, Nevada and now I believe he lives in St. Petersburgh, Florida.  He formerly lived in Montvale.  He is now 81.

Robert Coyle Jr.

Mr. Coyle was our class co-advisor and a social studies teacher at PV.  He certainly seems to have lived a very full and busy life in his 41 years on earth.  In addition to being a teacher, he ran Walker Travel Agency and from 1985 to 1986 he worked in marketing management for Inter-national  Postal Marketing in Mont- vale, having left teaching before he worked there.  He lived in Paramus with his wife and six kids.  There, he seemed to be into everything.  He was a county committeeman and the former vice president of the Paramus Republican Club, was a member of the Paramus Board of Education, served on the Paramus Recreation Committee, was a member of the Paramus Tackle and Cheer Club, coached several boys basketball and girls softball and basketball teams and was president of the Junior Basketball League of Paramus.  In 1986 he was given Paramus' Man of the Year award.  He was a parishioner of Anunciation R.C. Church of Paramus.     Mr. Coyle died September 23, 1986 at age 41 and was buried in George Washington Memorial Park in Paramus.  He was survived by his wife Isabel, three sons and three daughters, his mom and two sisters.

Harold Saks

Mr. Saks served in the army during World War II and then went to Rutgers where he was graduated with a doctorate in education.  He became a longtime school psychologist at PV where he worked for 25 years.  He also was chairman of the Child Study Team at PV.  (Did anyone know we were being studied? I thought we were the ones doing the studying :) He was also the founding director of the Pascack Mental Health Center.  Mr. Saks was a longtime resident of Hillsdale and was living there when he died on Feb. 22, 2002 at age 75.

Richard Morra

     Mr. Morra, known as Rick to his friends, was born in 1951 and started his teaching career while we were at PV.  I believe he started about 1973 and taught Physics there for 28 years, retiring early in July of 2001. He coached football while we were at PV and I assume he continued doing that.  He lived in Woodcliff Lake with his wife Sally and enjoyed golfing, computers and cooking and was an avid sports fan.  He was a member of the NEA, NJEA and the American Association of Physics Teachers.  He died in July 2011 from prostate cancer at age 60 and was survived by his wife, her son from a previous marriage, two grandchildren, his mother and a sibling. 

Alfred Lapaglia

     Mr. Lapaglia was the son of Italian immigrants and was likely born in Hoboken, NJ on January 15, 1927.  He resided there with his siblings and parents for some years.  His parents owned a florist shop there and their children helped run the place in their youth.  He joined the army about the time the atomic bombs were dropped on Japan and served from Aug. 9, 1945 to Feb. 3, 1947.  He became an English teacher at PV at some point and served as the co-chairman of the department when we were there.  He became a real estate agent somewhere along the way and worked as such after he retired from PV.  He lived in Old Tappan for many years with his wife and resided there when he died on Sept. 9, 2007 at age 80, having been widowed previously.  He had no children and I believe is buried in Holy Cross Cemetery in North Arlington, NJ 

Hubert White

Mr. White was an English teacher at PV.  He died in 2002 at age 84 in Pennsylvania.

Barbara Vander Horn

Mrs. Vanderhorn was a longtime english teacher at PV.  She was born in Ridgefield Park, NJ to Hilda and Curtis Wuthenow and was married to Ellery J. Vanderhorn who was a very distant relative of mine.   She was graduated from Fairleigh Dickinson University as an adult student graduating magna cum laude and began a career teaching english at PV until she retired which was not long after we were graduated.  Over many years, she and her husband traveled the world collecting momentos and precious memories.  She was devoted to her family and cared deeply for her dear friends.  She was a voracious reader and enjoyed bridge and the puzzle of the newspaper.  After retirement, she split her time between Venice, Florida and Allentown, Pennsylvania.  Though she taught English, I learned the definition of positive thinking in her class.  I recall she told the story of a close relative of some kind, perhaps an in law or uncle, who was 100 years old and an investor.  While gathered for a holiday meal, this fellow asked her husband where he thought IBM would be in five years.  Now that, she said with a smile, is positive think- ing.   If you recall, John Murano and a few of his friends took to singing in the back of her class and called themselves the "Vanderhorn Singers".  They could also be seen singing as they walked the hallways.  Mrs. Vanderhorn died Nov. 6, 2009 in Allentown, Pa. at age 94.  Her husband had died in 1991 and a daughter also predeceased her.  Her survivors included a son and his wife, a daughter and her husband, four grandchildren and six great grand children.  She was apparently cremated and services held in Allentown.

Barbara Sapienza

Barbara Sapienza was born in Manhattan and raised in Park Ridge where she was graduated from high school.  She went on to obtain advanced degrees from Trenton State College, Montclair University and a PHD in educational administration from Rutgers.  Barbara started as a typing teacher at PV in 1968 and about 1994 she was named principal.  She was devoted to the students and was said to say that she considered them to be her kids as she had none of her own.  She attended many school events and was often seen wearing the green and white school colors.  She was also well known to several generations of students for her well coiffed blond hair and high heeled shoes.  About 2007, she over saw a multi-million dollar overhaul of the school.  Barbara put off overdue double knee replacement surgery until she saw through the completion of the construction at the school.  Once finished, she had the procedure done at Hackensack Hospital.  Sadly, she developed a blood clot and passed away surrounded by family and friends on March 5, 2008 at age 63.  Her friends helped develop a garden behind the school off St. Nicholas and each spring it is ablaze with daffodils.  It is called Sapienza Gardens.

Rhys J. Williams

Mr. Williams was the long time earth science teacher at PV.  He was also at various times an assistant football coach and baseball coach at the JV level when we were there and possibly at other levels. He was the younger brother of Tom Williams who passed away last year.  Rhys was named after his great uncle, the Welsh character actor Rhys Williams, who was best known for being in "How Green Was My Valley", "The Bells of St. Mary", "The Adventures of Superman", "Perry Mason", "Mannix", "Mission Impossible", "The FBI" and many other films and TV shows. Rhys was and likely still is a character himself.  He was friendly and a no nonsense competitive guy who kids can relate to.  I recall several memories of Mr. Williams which stand out.  First, the first time we met him in class he paid homage to his predecessor who had recently passed away after battling diabetes, and though leaving him blind, still teaching to the bitter end.  He had a large photo of him on the wall.  I also recall once when taking a test, that Billy Kravitz had his book open on his lap.  Rhys was at the front of the class and spied Billy looking down at something.  He asked him what was on his lap.  Billy said "nothing" and with that Rhys came around to his aisle and said, "what's that on your lap"? and Billy feigned ignorance and looked down and said, "oh my God, how did that get there"?  Rhys yanked the book off his lap and said a few choice words.  Funny stuff.  He said he wanted us to learn without cheating because we were only cheating ourselves by doing so.  Once, while coaching our JV baseball team, in a game against Northern Highlands, we fell behind 8-0.  A player who will remain nameless, got up lefty instead of righty just for laughs.  This infuriated Rhys.  Upon returning to PV, as the bus emptied, he flung open the back door and threw all the equipment out in anger.  He turned to me and said he was upset with the team but not with me because he knew I gave a damn.  Finally, after graduation, I had thrown a pie into a teacher's face and he wrote in my yearbook that after all the training to develop my rifle arm, the only thing I used it for was throwing pies.  Classic Rhys.  I believe he was a member of "The Monotones" which I believe consisted of him, Mr. Jasper and Mr. Ganz who sang at a few of our class parties.  At some point, Mr. Williams started a flooring business, Rhys J. Williams Flooring Inc.  He sold it some years ago to Jimmy Campbell who lives on Evergreen Street in Hillsdale.  I think Jim worked for Rhys.  Mr. Williams retired from teaching in July of 2003 and is still active as an assistant coach for his daughter Megan's girl's softball team at Tenafly High School.  He married a fellow teacher named Aileen (I am not sure what her former last name was), either when we were still there or a little after that time. He is going to be 75 this year and lives in Washington Township with his wife.

Grant Stier

Mr. Stier was born in 1945 and was the long time shop teacher at PV.  While working there he started his own business in 1979 called Grant Stier Inc.,  a remodeling contracting firm.  Mr. Stier also participated in our student faculty basketball games along with many others.  I have bumped into him a couple of times over the years while in physical therapy and talked about some of his "favorite" students.  He lives in River Vale where he still runs his business.  He retired in January of 2006 at age 60.

Cosimo Dibartolo

Mr. Dibartolo, known by many  simply as Mr. D, was a longtime math teacher at PV.  He was also the wrestling coach for some years.  I recall in his homeroom, he would start each day reading us a clipping out of a segment the Record had on page two of unusual things that happened in the world.  One such article was of a fellow who went parachuting and his chute failed to open.  He landed in a field and not only did he survive but his only injury was a broken nose.  I remind him of this when I see him around town. While still working, he started a driver's ed business out of his home and at some point, our classmate, Ricky Burton, joined his business.  Mr. D retired some years ago but kept his business going.  He is retired from that but Rick Burton still works for him teaching kids to drive.  Mr. D can often be seen puttering around his yard and lives with his wife in Hillsdale near Beechwood Park.  Upon telling him of our upcoming 40 year reunion, he was in disbelief but said, if you feel old, how do you think I feel ;)

Dmytro Bodnarczuk

Mr. Bodnarczuk was born September 30, 1930 in Cherniatyn, Ukraine.  He emigrated with his parents to the U.S. at the end of World War II.  He served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War and years later received recogni- tion from Donald Rumsfeld as an American patriot for promoting peace and stability during the Cold War.  He earned his PhD in history and was a social studies teacher at PV for 25 years.  While teaching he lived in New City, NY and after retirement he moved to Albuquerque, NM with his wife.  He served as both post and national commander of the Ukranian American Veteran's Association.  He was a member of the Saint Peter and Paul Ukranian Church in Spring Valley while living in New City and was a member of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Albuquerque, NM while there.  He was said to love his family, a spirited debate and to entertain his grandkids by doing the "mouse".   Mr. Bodnarczuk died unexpectedly in his home on June 30, 2010 at age 79.  He was survived by his wife of 55 years, a son, four daughters, 12 grand children and four great grand children.  He is buried at Holy Spirit Ukranian Catholic Ceme- tery in Hamptonburg, NY and you can look him up at www.remembertheirstory. com

Larry Decaro

Larry Decaro was first spotted in the Hillsdale school system about 1966 or 1967 when he was training to be a gym teacher at Meadowbrook school.  He was not there long before leaving for the Vietnam War.  Upon his return, he started up at PV as a gym and health instructor and remained so the rest of his career.  He became the boys track coach early in his career and was quite successful, especially during the time we were in school.  His star runners were Tom McDon- ald, Doug Weber and Andy Zucaro.  Larry remained the track coach for many years.  In the 1980s he was named the liaison between the school and the police due to a severe drug problem in Hillsdale.   He retired from teaching about 10 years ago or so and has lived on River Dale Street in Hillsdale for many years with his wife Barbara, who was also a teacher.  Both are active in the community and Larry is involved with the American Legion on Legion Place.  Larry said he likes to shoot target practice, being an old army guy and visit his son in Rochester, NY.  He said to say hello to everyone and that they are doing well and planning an upcoming trip.

Robert Leonard

Mr. Leonard was born in 1932 and was the long time Spanish teacher at PV and was the head of the foreign language department when we were there.  He retired in August of 1992.  I believe he was fluent in several languages.  He tried to make the class fun and he tried to instill in us a his- tory of where we were from.  One day he asked each of us our last names and told us where our family likely was from, either overseas or in this country.  I did not understand how he could do that but now that I am a genealogist, I get it and do it a bit my- self, especially with this area's names.  I'd love to have a conversation about it now.  I also recall him, as well as other teachers, playing in the faculty /student basketball games.  If I am not mistaken, was there not a donkey-basketball game?  I seem to remember him especially, on a donkey.  Quite the sight.  But maybe I am mistaken.   I also recall how he had a good sense of humor and used it to tease certain students, particularly Mary Riley.  Mary says she believes the teasing stemmed from the fact that Mary's Godmother and Mr. Leonard knew each other and she believes Mr. Leonard knew her connection to his friend.  Mary did not know it until sometime later.  Thus, Mary believes he tried extra hard to get her to learn Spanish but, as Mary joked, all she remembers is, "me llamo es Mary".  She also recalled how he would rant about the evils of tobacco, due to the death of a beloved aunt from smo- king.  Of course he was right to do so and hopefully kept some of us from doing so.  I think Mr. Leonard also coached tennis but I could be wrong about that.  Mr. Leonard lived in Ridgewood while teaching and in retirement, split his time between there and Sea Isle City, NJ where his wife was from.  Later in life, he moved to Waldwick, NJ where he lives today at age 83.  His wife passed away in 2014 at age 73.  He has three children and some grandchildren and an interesting note to add is that his son, Robert Lawrence Leonard, is an actor and many of you will know him from his role as Dr. James Wilson on "House M.D." from 2004 to 2012.  He was also Neil Perry in the film "Dead Poet's Society" and has been in many other films, TV shows and Broadway plays since 1986.  I wonder if he knows Spanish?  Knowing Mr. Leonard, his kids probably spoke Spanish before they spoke English.

   An update on February 1, 2016.  Mr. Leonard's son was written about in the Record on Sunday, January 31 and in the article it stated his father was still substitute teaching at age 84.

Theodore Blumenberg Jr.

     Mr. Blumenberg was born in Hillsdale and was one of the few teachers to be born and raised there.  Others raised in Hillsdale were the Doolittles and Mr. Ricciardi.  He grew up on Oak Street.  He became a gym teacher at PV about 1961 and after we graduated he was named the head of the phys ed department.  I think that was about 1982 or 1983 when Joe Talamo Sr. retired.  While teaching, he spent his summers working with his father painting homes throughout the area.  There is a website called the Hillsdale Story Project where photos of the town and the Blumenbergs from the 1940s and earlier can be seen.      Mr. Blumenberg also coached wrestling, track and soccer.  He was the first soccer coach when the soccer program started about 1975, a program our class helped get started, so pat yourselves on the back class.  He became a wrestling referee after he gave up coaching and did that for 21 years.  He was awarded various awards for his dedication to wrestling and was named to the Pascack Valley Sports Hall of Fame.  He retired from PV in 1998 to his home in Park Ridge, N.J. to spend more time with his family. 

    UPDATE- on Sept. 30, 2015.  Mr. Blumenberg passed away on Sept. 26 at his home in Park Ridge, N.J. at the age of 76.  He had been in Atlantic City gambling and did not feel well and went up to his room.  When his wife returned he said he wanted to go home.  Turns out he was having a heart attack.  It was a surprise because he was always in good shape and I do not think he smoked.  As he was a former health instructor, I am also surprised he did not know the signs of a heart attack.  He is survived by his wife of 50 years, two sons, four grandchildren and a sister.  Visiting is Wednesday Sept. 30 at Spearing Funeral Home in Park Ridge.  Burial is at Westwood Cemetery.

   Mr. Blumenberg's dad passed in 2013 at age 95.

Mildred Degli-Antoni

Mrs. Degli-Antoni was a home ec teacher at PV.  She was born in Walla Walla, Washington on Sept. 6, 1916 and raised there.  She met her husband while he served his tour of duty at Okinawa and Atu, Alaska.  She had resided in Valley Cottage, NY and lastly in Tompkins Cove, NY.  She was a lover of nature who could often be found feeding chipmunks and woodchucks from her garden instead of chasing them away.  She died Apr. 3, 2008 at Nyack Hospital in Nyack, NY at age 91 and was survived by a daughter, sister and three grand-children.  Her husband Horace predeceased her.  She was cremated and she and her husband had a military funeral.

Daniel Hamilton

Mr. Hamilton was the coordinator of industrial education at PV while we were there.  He was born in Paterson, N.J. on Jan. 31, 1929.  His family name was Hameeteman but had been chang ed to Hamilton likely long before he was born.  The name was of Dutch origin and his family had been in the US for at least several generations.  Mr. Hamilton never made it to retire- ment, having died of cancer on Nov. 27, 1986.  He had been active with the Boys Scouts of America for 22 years, was a trustee of the Dr. David Gold- berg Child Care Center in Westwood and was a member of the Science of the Mind Center in West Nyack, N.Y.  He was a clown, literally.  He was known as "Dinkus the Clown" and was a member of the World Clown Association and the Clowns of America.  He also was a member of the Merry Makers 51, Bloomfield, NJ.  He was survived by his wife, two daughters, a son, a sister, and a granddaughter.  Mr. Hamilton was 57 and was cremated with his ashes buried at George Washington Memorial Park in Paramus with his parents.

Joyce McDevitt

Mrs. McDevitt was born in 1945 and was a native of Ridgefield Park, NJ.  She was graduated from Misericordia University in Dallas, PA in 1967.  She taught English at PV for 25 years and retired from there in July of 2009.  She lived in Emerson with her husband John and three kids.  She retired to the Schenectady, NY area.  She passed away at age 67 on April 28, 2013 at home and was survived by her husband John, a daughter, two sons and seven grandchildren.

Edward Kennedy

Mr. Kennedy was a 1935 graduate of Panzer School of Phys Ed and receiv- ed his master's degree from Rutgers in 1938.  He first worked in the Jersey City School system as a phys ed teacher and guidance counselor.  His career was interrupted by World War II in which he served.  Later in his career he became a guidance counse- lor at PV and retired from there in 1977.  He lived in Hillsdale while working at PV and after retirement moved to the Highland Lakes section of Vernon, NJ where he was a vice president and trustee of the Highland Lakes Community Association.  He died January 30, 1993 at age 80.

Harold Ganz

Mr. Ganz was born in 1943 and was science teacher at PV for many years, retiring in July of 2000.  He was also the tennis coach.  He, along with Mr. Jasper and I think, Mr. Williams, were part of a group that sang at our functions.  I do not recall the name they called themselves.  He has lived in Hillsdale for many years and can be seen most days walking around his neighborhood near Beechwood Park.  His son is also a teacher and tennis coach locally but I am not sure if he is at PV or Pascack Hills.

Willis Swales

Mr. Swales was born in 1926 and was the head of the science department.  At some point he became a real estate agent and also the mayor of Mont- vale.  I believe he did both while still teaching and continued with at least the real estate job into retirement.  He retired from PV in July of 1986 and died on Halloween in 2008 at age 82.

Ruth Snyder

Mrs. Snyder was the longtime nurse at PV.  She was born June 9, 1924 to Albert and Lorena Catterall in New Bedford, Massachusetts.  She was graduated from high school there and earned her RN degree at Columbia School of Nursing in N.Y., her BS in School Nursing and her Masters in Human Development from Fairleigh Dickinson University in NJ.  She worked as an emergency room nurse at Grady Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia before becoming the long time school nurse at Pascack Valley.   She married a doctor, William Howland and sett- led on Clinton Ave.  in Hillsdale and had a son and daughter with him.  She was widowed and remarried to Richard Snyder and was predeceased by him about 1983.  A very friendly person, students could be found hanging out in her office.  She was a fan of the Red Sox, UConn Women's Basketball, golf, tennis and horse racing.  In her later years, she moved to Enfield, Connecticut to be near her family.  She died April 6, 2008 at age 84 in hospice at Johnson Memorial Hospital in Connecticut.

Peter Youmans

Mr. Youmans served in the Navy during World War II after which he was graduated from Columbia Uni- versity. He became an English teacher in Leonia before joining the staff at PV in the same capacity.  I believe he was the co- chair of the English depart- ment at PV with Al Lapaglia.  He was an actor and director for the Leonia Players Guild and had appeared in the Broadway Play, "Life with Father". He died Aug. 2, 1995 at age 68.

 Arnold Peterson

Mr. Peterson was a graduate of Mont- clair State University and attended Columbia School of Education.  He served as an officer in the Army Med- ical Administration Corps during World War II.  He started his career in teaching in NJ about 1942 at Leonia High School where he taught for 13 years.  While there he was a wrestling coach and led his team to the state championship in 1954.  In 1955, he was appointed chairman of the math- ematics department of the newly opened Pascack Valley High School where he taught for 25 years.  He was also an adjunct professor of mathema- tics at Fairleigh Dickinson University for more than 30 years, taught and lectured at the University of Illinois, Wayne State University and Montclair State University.  He was a frequent speaker at the NJ Teachers of Math- matics Conferences and Conventions and reviewed magazines and books published by the American Council of Mathematics Teachers.  He was a resident of Ridgewood and Leonia during his teaching career and moved in retirement to Holiday City, Berk- eley Township and he died at the Holiday Care Center in Toms River, NJ on Sept. 9, 2006 at age 88 after a battle with alzheimers.  Shortly before his death he was inducted into the Bergen County Wrestling Coaches' Hall of Fame.

Frank Maffia

    I wonder if anyone knew of Mr. Maffia's background while we were at PV.  I never knew him but he had a career in the military before becoming a teacher.  Born in Italy in 1917, he joined the American Air Force in 1939 and was the Director of Military Supplies for 26 years, spanning World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam.  He then taught science, english and history in the Pascack Valley Regional School system for 18 years, retiring about 1983.  While teaching at PV, he lived in Paramus where he founded Cub Scout Troop 249 and Boy Scout Troop 249.  Upon retiring, he moved to Barnegat where he became a mem- ber of the board of education and was a substitute teacher at Southern Re- gional High School.  He was also a founder and financial secretary of Knights of Columbus Council 5680. Mr. Maffia died October 9, 1996 at age 78 in Toms River, NJ.

Joseph McKenna

Mr. McKenna was a longtime business teacher at PV from 1963 to 1988.  He lived in Little Ferry, NJ while teaching and later removed to Pomona, NY where he resided when he died May 1, 1998 at age 66.

Roy Luppinaci

     Mr. Luppinaci was an industrial arts teacher at PV for 28 years, starting about 1962.  As a youth, he played football at Nutley High School and was a starting lineman on the varsity as a freshman.  He went on to play freshman football, track and basket- ball at Montclair State before an injury ended his athletic career.  He once held the discuss record at Montclair.  He became the head football coach at PV in 1965 and remained through 1971, compiling a 34-20-2 record.  He won three Northern Bergen Interscho-lastic League and Group Two Champ-ionships and had two undefeated seasons.  He also was the organizer of the Montvale Athletic League Football program, a parishioner of Our Lady of Mercy Church in Park Ridge and a sales broker for Schlott Real Estate in Hillsdale.  Mr. Lupinacci was still teaching when he died January 19, 1990 at age 50 from myasthenia gravis disease and was buried at George Washington Memorial Park in Paramus.  He was survived at the time by his wife, daughter, two sons, his parents, and a sister.

Philip Goodyear

     Mr. Goodyear was a well loved physics teacher at PV for 34 years.  He was known for his friendly and encouraging demeanor and his catch phrase was telling students "good job!" He was a longtime assistant football coach at PV and I think he also coached baseball at some point.  He could be seen standing in the end zone at varsity games in later years and also was the announcer I think at some point, perhaps when we were there.  With his early receding hairline it seemed he did not age as the years went by.  He was known for his self- deprecating humor and his self- described clumsiness.  He had accidentally cut off his big toe while mowing a lawn at some point and had the toe reattached.  He would tell each new class this story and they would not believe him until he took his shoe and sock off to show them.  The lesson learned was not to cut the lawn in your bare feet.  Mr. Goodyear was known for his volunteerism and one day while setting the cones for a road race in Park Ridge he was hopping on and off a pickup or station wagon with its' tailgate down and he went to hop back on the tailgate but the vehicle had moved and he fell backwards and hit his head.  He went into a coma from which he would not be revived and died on June 10, 1997, at age 56.  There is a room dedicated to both he and Mr. Tedesco at the high school where they taught theoretical physics with hands on mechanical engineer- ing and construction and led the students in developing entries for an annual creative design challenge.  In the hallway by the door to this room is a plaque unveiled on the day it was dedicated and it ends the dedication to Mr. Goodyear by saying, "Good Job".  He was survived by his wife and children and was buried in a crypt at Garden of Memories in Paramus on the lower floor by the office.

Balkom Reaves

Mr. Reaves was born in Stamford, Texas in 1920 and served in the U.S. Army as a Master Sergeant in the Pacific Theater during WWII and received a Bronze Star and Purple Heart.  He later became a history teacher at Pascack Valley and was an original staff member when the school opened in 1955.  He later became the principal of the school.  He resembled LBJ and with his Texas drawl, he talked like him too.  Once, at an award's program in 1973, shortly after LBJ died, he assured the crowd he was not LBJ's ghost, which got quite a chuckle.  Some students might not believe that Mr. Reaves also coached some sports earlier in his career.  He retired about 1983 and was replaced by Joe Poli.  He moved to Escondido, California where he lived for 21 years.  There he enjoyed going for drives, traveling and visiting historical sites.  He died Oct. 12, 2004 at age 84.

Vernon Doolittle

Mr. Doolittle was the long time head of the social studies department at PV.  He was also the director of the jazz band there.  He left the school system before retirement age and moved to Goshen, N.Y. where he also taught in the Chester, NY school system.  He was a member and past master of Masonic Lodge 365.  In his spare time he loved to garden, listen to big band music and surf fish at the beach.  He moved to Myrtle Beach, SC at some point where he lived when he died on June 22, 2010 at age 71 from cancer, survived by his wife.