Thursday, March 08, 2007

A first: double obit of unrelated people

Here's something utterly tasteless - how would you like to have your obit combined with somebody else's just because you worked for the same lousy employer?

Two C.W. Post professors die on same day

BY MITCHELL FREEDMAN

March 8, 2007

Two prominent faculty members at the C.W. Post campus of Long Island University died of cancer yesterday - music department chairman Christopher Culver and Jacqueline Frank, considered one of America's foremost medievalists.

Culver, 54, of Sea Cliff, who also was director of Jazz Studies, came to the Brookville campus in 2001, and was elected chairman of the department of music in 2003. He served as chairman of the C.W. Post faculty council in 2005 and 2006.

"He was a jazz trombonist and a wonderful teacher," said James McRoy, who lives in Huntington and heads symphonic winds at Post. "He was very dynamic. The students really enjoyed working with him."

McRoy said that, this summer, a student tour with a jazz ensemble and a vocal jazz ensemble that Culver helped organize will be performing in France. "The jazz ensemble has 18 members; he was responsible for it."

Besides his widow, Carrie, Culver is survived by an 8-year-old daughter, Madison. A memorial service for him is being planned at the campus Interfaith Center. McRoy said formal funeral services would be held on Saturday at 10 a.m. at Christ Church in Oyster Bay.

Frank, 61, of Great Neck, whose research dealt with the political implications of 12th century art in Western Europe and England, also was interested in the way Jews were depicted during that period. She specialized in Medieval stained glass and inscriptions, and had chaired sessions at international conferences on the study of the Middle Ages in both the United States and Europe.

She earned her bachelor's degree from Hebrew University in Jerusalem and her master's and PhD in art history from Columbia University. She is survived by her husband, Itzak, and their two children.

Funeral services for her will be held tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. at Riverside Memorial Chapel, 180 W. 76th St., in Manhattan.

C.W. Post is establishing memorial scholarships in the name of each of the professors through its Office of Development. Messages of condolence can be sent to the Dean's office, school of visual and performing arts, C.W. Post campus, Long Island University, 720 Northern Blvd., Brookville, N.Y. 11548.

Copyright 2007 Newsday Inc.

3 comments:

Stephen Miller said...

oops forgot to add link and credit. It's Newsday 3/8/07

http://www.newsday.com/news/obituaries/ny-lipost085122108mar08,0,2760822,print.story

Alana Baranick said...

This isn't a first, Steve. I've done a couple of double obits for unrelated people.

One was for two individuals who served on the same city council. The fact of their leaving the planet on the same day was the chief reason I wrote about them at all.

The second was for two bus drivers who died around the same time. I made sure their respective families didn't object before I wrote it.

That was a good story. The two men - Nick A. Mongulo and Kenneth L. Fiedler - were believed to have been the last of Cleveland's double-decker bus drivers.

I refer to it in the "Let Me Count the Ways" chapter of our book, Steve.

For anyone reading this who doesn't know, the book is "Life on the Death Beat: A Handbook for Obituary Writers," written by me - Alana Baranick - and Steve - Stephen Miller - and Jim Sheeler.

Marion Street Press - www.marionstreetpress.com - is the publisher.

Stephen Miller said...

Ok well I feel kind of dumb like Charles Barley, the NBA player who took issue with his own "autobiography" after it was published. But I still think it is tasteless to do double obits in the traditional obit style.