Obituary: Therese A. Ninesling

Therese A. Ninesling
Therese A. Ninesling, a life long resident of Great Neck, passed away suddenly on April 24, 2010 in Florida. She was preceded in death by her parents, Henry L. and Tessie Cissik Ninesling. She is survived by her sister Ellen Colandro and husband Joe; two nieces, Christine Coandro and Suzanne Colandro; a nephew Joseph Colandro; an aunt; many cousins; eight godchildren; and many friends.

Obituary: Anne P. Croce

Anne P. Croce

Anne P. Croce, 84, passed away on April 22, 2010. Born in Staten Island, NY, on March 7, Anne Croce lived most of her life in the New York area. A resident of Roslyn for over 50 years, Mrs. Croce spent most of her adult life as a community activist who was deeply involved in philanthropic endeavors. If there was an event to be organized, a parade to be run, or a charity in need of fundraising, Anne Croce would be there leading the charge. She was personally involved with myriad organizations in the Roslyn area and throughout the Town of North Hempstead, including: the American Heart Association; Roslyn Little League; the Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship Program; the Village of East Hills; the Ronald McDonald House; St. Mary’s CYO and so many others.

Obituary: Frances Rudman

Frances Rudman
Frances Rudman, 97, of Great Neck, born June 26, 1912, died on April 3, 2010 in Highland Park, IL, after a long and productive life. She is survived by her children, Jerry Rudman of Highland Park, IL, Stephanie Joseph and her husband William of New York City, Michael Rudman of Sands Point; 9 grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren.

An accomplished pianist, she was an arranger and copyist with the big bands during the ’40s and worked with Ella Fitzgerald, the Paul Whiteman Orchestra and Vincent Lopez Band. She and her late husband, Jack, founded National Learning Corporation in the 1950s, the first publishers of books to help applicants pass civil service licensing examinations, MCATs, LSATs, GREs and thousands of other tests. She continued to work at National Learning in an executive capacity nearly every day until her 95th birthday.

Obituary: Risha Rosner

Risha Rosner
The staff of the Great Neck Library mourns the passing of our friend and colleague, Risha Rosner, who passed away on March 31, 2010, after a long illness. Mrs. Rosner worked as a reference librarian at the library for 35 years and as the reference assistant department head for 22 years. She had a special talent for understanding the Great Neck community, a community in which she had lived most of her married life – its history and the type of books the public was interested in reading. She helped organize the library’s local history collection, overseeing the creation of a Great Neck History room to house the library’s growing collection of local history. She will be sorely missed. Risha was a very knowledgeable librarian, much admired by her co-workers.

Obituary: Harold Julius Freedman

Harold Julius Freedman

Harold (Hal) Julius Freedman, 93, of Great Neck, passed away on March 5, 2010. He was born in 1916 in New York City, the eldest child of the late Alan Eliot Freedman and Marie Barrach Freedman. Hal grew up in Fort Lee, NJ, and Brooklyn, before moving to Great Neck as a teenager. He attended New York Military Academy of Cornwall, NY, and earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering at Georgia Tech in 1939. Hal’s pioneering work in motion picture sound processing for Twentieth Century Fox included recording sound tracks for such films The Late George Apley, Northside 777 and Kiss Of Death. He later worked on other pictures including The Sound of Music, Cleopatra and The Bridge at Remagen. Hal’s many professional accomplishments included establishing DeLuxe’s sound department. Later, with the advent of Cinemascope – he designed, installed and oversaw a new sound department for reproducing the magnetic sound tracks required by that process. Hal was a Life Fellow of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers and a member of the Will Rogers Motion Picture Pioneers Foundation.

Obituary: Lewis S. Hollins, Esq.

Lewis S. Hollins, Esq.

Lewis S. “Poppy Lew” Hollins, Esq., died on March 3, 2010. Born in 1911, he was raised in Maryland and New York. He graduated from Brooklyn Law School and was a partner in Hollins, Avrach & Clark. He served in Europe during WWII as a sergeant in Army Intelligence. He found Signal Stat (developer of automobile hazard warning lights and directional signals). He was a member of the National Highway Safety Council and served as a trustee of Temple Beth El of Great Neck.

Beloved husband, father, grandfather, brother and friend, he is survived by and sorely missed by his daughter Peggy and her fiancé Ronald Spiegel; his daughter Elizabeth and her husband Dr. Bruce Gilbert; his grandson Jason and his wife Julianna Gilbert; his granddaughter Danielle Gilbert; and his sister Beatrice Chaprack.

Arrangements were made by Riverside-Nassau North Chapels, Great Neck. Services were held March 5 at Temple Beth El of Great Neck.

Obituary: Captain Mary E. McWilliams, USCGR Ret.

Captain Mary E. McWilliams, USCGR Ret.

A native of Brooklyn, Captain Mary E. McWilliams, of Great Neck, served on active duty in the US Coast Guard for two years during WWII, performing duties in the Intelligence and Legal Divisions in Washington, DC, and Cleveland, OH. Returing to school after the war, she completed work for a BA from Brooklyn College (1949) and an MA from Teachers College, Columbia University (1950). Her teaching career includes service in the elementary and secondary schools of New York City and 21 years in the Great Neck public schools, from which she retired in 1975.

Paralleling her teaching career, Captain McWilliams was continuously assigned to Coast Guard Reserve units in the New York area from 1951 until her retirement in 1979. Because of the policy restrictions on assignment of women during those years, her duties were mainly administrative. In 1971 she was appointed commanding officer of a Reserve unit – a first for women in the Coast Guard. As a result of both internal and external pressures, the Coast Guard began examining its traditional policies concerning enlistment and commissioning of women, and, in 1972, established an indoctrination school for women petty officers at Yorktown, VA, and appointed Captain McWilliams commanding officer. In 1973, following House of Representatives hearings, at which Captain McWilliams testified, prior restrictions concerning the enlistment and commissioning of women in the Coast Guard were removed.

Obituary: Ruth Schneck Martin Davis

Ruth Schneck Martin Davis

Ruth Schneck Martin Davis died on Feb. 28, 2010. Born in Great Neck on Dec. 3, 1922, she was a daughter of Moses R. and Jessie Lauretta Ellard Schneck. Mrs. Davis graduated from Great Neck High School and Catherine Gibbs Secretarial School in New York City. For many years she was employed by the Great Neck Public School System and retired in 1965.

She was married to John C. Martin on Nov. 17, 1941. He predeceased her on April 21, 1965. On March 12, 1966 she married Strahan Davis who predeceased her on May 10, 1994. In the early 1970s, the Davis’ began to spend summers in Mountain View and wintered in Florida. Later they moved to WHippleville.

Mrs. Davis was a member of All Saints Episcopal Church in Great Neck and a former member of St. Catherine Guild of All Saints Episcopal Church, St. Marks in Malone and the Episcopal Church Women of St. Marks and the Malone Golf Club.

Surviving are a son and daughter-in-law, David B. (Georgianna) Martin of Newburn, NC; two daughters and two sons-in-law, Mrs. Thomas (Joanne) Kemp of Malone and Mrs. Michael (Peggy Ann) Lorello of Waterbury, VT; 11 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren. She was predeceased by a son James J. Martin and sister Jay Williams.

Arrangements were made by the Spaulding Funeral Home, Malone. Funeral service held at St. Marks Episcopal Church, Malone. Interment All Saints Episcopal Cemetery, Great Neck. Memorial gifts may be given to All Saints Episcopal Church, Middle Neck Rd., Great Neck, NY 11021-5009 or St. Marks Episcopal Church, Malone.

Obituary - Alex Eliassof

Alex Eliassof

On Jan. 28 2010, Alex Eliassof, an original founding member of A & D Offset Printers, Ltd., which opened in the early ‘80s, passed away. Coincidentally, it was on his 89th birthday. Alex was a very well-known, liked and respected man. He will be missed very dearly by family and friends and will forever remain in their hearts and minds. Alex was also a member of many clubs and organizations.

Alex was a WWII veteran in the United States Navy.

Alex is survived by his wife Nina (Sarah) Eliassof; his son Mark Eliassof; grandson Adam Eliassof; and granddaughter Tara Eliassoff.

Obituary: William Biel

William Biel

William Biel, former English teacher and track and field coach at Great Neck South Senior High School and English professor at Hofstra University, passed away at age 82 on Jan. 24, 2010. After his retirement from teaching, he continued to coach track at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and Garden City High School.

Born in Canton, OH, he starred in football and basketball in high school and played for Ohio State and Northwestern Universities. He went to the 1949 Rose Bowl with his Northwestern team. As a young man, he was a camper, counselor and mountain guide at Camp Paradox in the Adirondacks.

He leaves behind his wife and three children and a lifetime of devotion to his students and his profession. Donations may be made in his honor to the Special Olympics, www.specialolympics.org, 202-824-0373.