Josephine Casen, 87, of Farmingdale, died on Feb. 15, 1998, after an 11 year battle with leukemia. Mother of George and Drew. Grandmother of James. Arrangements were made by San Clemente Mortuary, San Clemente, CA. Interment George Washington Memorial Park, Paramus, NJ. A memorial service will be held on June 20 at 1 p.m. in the chapel of George Washington Memorial Park. The family requests that no flowers be sent. Edward F. Lawton Jr., formerly of Farmingdale, died on March 21, 1998. Owner and operator of the former Halesite Sunoco Station, Huntington and the owner and operator of Captain Carburator. He served in the US Army MP Unit during the Vietnam War receiving the National Defense Service Medal. Husband of Linda (Granata). Father of Michelle Lawton, Edward F. Lawton III and Adam G. Lawton. Brother of Jeanette Marie Reynolds, Beverly Verdi, Patricia Patrick, Mary Elizabeth Lawton and James D. Lawton. Stepfather of Michael Granata. Grandfather of two. Arrangements were made by the North Haven Funeral Home. Donations can be made to the Connecticut Hospice, 61 Burban Dr., Branford, CT 06405 or the North Shore Animal League.

Myra Elwell Van Nostrand died at the age of 94 at the Weston Hadden Convalescent Center in Bennington, VT on June 1, 1998. She was born on Nov. 8, 1903 in the Vermont farmhouse at the base of Harwood Hill in Bennington, the same house to which she retired some 65 years later. She was the oldest child of Elmer G. Elwell and Daisy Sanders Elwell. Her sister Ruby Elwell and brother George Elwell predeceased her.

Mrs. Van Nostrand was educated in the Bennington schools. She graduated from Bennington High School in 1922, salutatorian of her class. She then attended the University of Vermont, where she majored in French. She graduated from UVM in 1926 and later received a master's degree in French from Middlebury. Her education in French was enhanced by an extended trip to France where she could really practice the language.

She first began her teaching career in West Pawlet, VT, where she remembered that the annual salary was $1,000 a year. In order to advance, she decided to accept a teaching position in Farmingdale. She joined the faculty at Farmingdale High School in 1929, teaching French and Latin. It was there that she met her husband, Lyman K. Van Nostrand. They were married in March 1940. Two sons arrived shortly thereafter, Lyman in 1941 and Philip in 1943.

At that point she left her teaching career for an extended period and spent a good deal of time on community service. She was active in the local PTA and served as president in 1951. For 15 years she was a trustee of the Farmingdale Public Library and worked to secure a bookmobile for the district. She was also active in the Women's Club and served as a Den Mother for the Cub Scouts. She was also a Matron of the Order of the Eastern Star, Bethpage Chapter 661 and served as well on several committiees of the local Methodist church.

Mrs. Van Nostrand returned to teaching in the late 1950s, in part to send her sons through college, Lyman to Colgate University and Philip to Lehigh University. During this period she was designated as the Outstanding Teacher of Farmingdale. To recognize her excellency in teaching French, she received a "Certificate of Honneur" from the LI Assocation of Teachers of French. She continued in the school system until 1968, completing 25 years of teaching.

At that point she returned to Bennington to the house on Harwood Hill. Unfortunately, her husband passed away in 1971 shortly after the move back to Vermont.

She soon became active in the work of the local Methodist church. She served as president of the Methodist Women's Fellowship for one year, and served on the board of trustees for three years. She remained active in Church Women United for some 20 years, serving as president, secretary, publicity chair and also chair of Fall Learning Fellowship for 11 years. The Bennington Unit of Church Women United presented Mrs. Van Nostrand with the Valiant Woman Award, because of her dedicated service. She also participated in Circle 4 for over 20 years, was a member of the AARP and belonged to the American Association of University Women for some 20 years.

During the later years, she continued to travel. In addition to her earlier trips to France, Switzerland and Hawaii, in 1985, at the age of 81 she took a farm tour of Western Europe, which required a good deal of walking. She also took annual trips to Washington, DC and to Williamsburg, VA to visit her son and former teaching colleagues.

A few years ago, she wrote a history of the times she had lived through. Entitled The Twentieth Century Relived by Myra Elwell Van Nostrand, it recounted particularly what life was like in the early 1900s. She reminisced about this early period, from the time that Theodore Roosevelt was president.

In 1993, Mrs. Van Nostrand was honored at her 90th birthday celebration. Over 120 friends and relatives attended and wished her well. During the last few years, she lived at the Rivers Edge Community Care Center.

She is survived by two sons and their families, Lyman and Joan Van Nostrand of Potomac, MD and Philip and Marian Van Nostrand of Port Washington and her three grandchildren, Eric, Elyse and Daniel Van Nostrand. She is also survived by a nephew, George Elwell and his wife Lori of N. Bennington and three nieces, Deborah Arfken of Signal Mountain, TN, Catherine Elwell of Allentown, PA and Elizabeth Winter with her husband Lloyd Winter of N. Bennington.

A service of remembrance was held at the Methodist church in Bennington on June 5. Interment Grandview Cemetery, N. Bennington. Arrangements were made by the Hanson-Walbridge Funeral Home, Bennington. Contributions can be made in memory of Mrs. Van Nostrand to the First Methodist Church or the Bennington Rescue Squad, c/o the Hanson-Walbridge Funeral Home, PO Box 957, Bennington, VT 05201.