Nunc Dimittis

Fayola Foltz Ash died March 15 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, at age 85. Born in Lansing, Michigan, February 24, 1926, she received her bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University in 1948. She taught piano for over 50 years, mostly in Ann Arbor, was organist at First Methodist Church, Chelsea, for over 15 years, and directed the children’s choir at Westminster Presbyterian Church, Ann Arbor, for many years. She was a member of the American Guild of Organistsand the Ann Arbor Area Piano Teacher’s Guild. Ash accompanied many soloists and substituted at various churches as choir director, organist, and pianist.

George Evans Boyer died March 16 in Pennsylvania. He was 64. A graduate of St. Clair High School, West Chester University (1969), and Temple University (1974), Boyer was director of choral activities at William Allen High School in the Allentown School District from 1970–2000, and local sales representative of the Allen Organ Company following his retirement from teaching. Boyer served as a music director and organist for 49 years, at Temple Beth El Synagogue, St. John’s UCC, St. Thomas More Roman Catholic Church, and Christ Lutheran Church (all in Allentown), and Christ the King Roman Catholic Church in Yonkers, New York. He also led European summer tours, and was a member of many musical organizations, including the New York City AGO chapter. George Evans Boyer is survived by his wife of 40 years, Susan Carol Boyer, and a cousin.

Jeanne Norman Briggs died March 30 in Hartwick, New York, at the age of 61. She received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Idaho in 1972, and studied with Claire Coci at the American Music Academy in New Jersey. Briggs had played recitals in Europe and New York City, and served as organist for the First United Presbyterian Church in Oneonta, and for St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in New Berlin. She was a member of the Oneonta AGO chapter. Jeanne Norman Briggs is survived by her husband John, whom she married in 1980, two stepchildren, two brothers, a sister, and her caregiver.

Otis Herbert Colvin Jr. died January 21 in Waco, Texas, at the age of 87. He earned a BA from Baylor University in 1944, and then served in the Navy during World War II, until 1946, when he returned to Baylor and earned his music degree in 1948, followed by an MMus degree from the University of Colorado in 1950. Colvin earned his PhD from the Eastman School of Music in 1958. He taught music for five years at Texas Tech University; at Baylor University he taught music theory, piano, and carillon for more than 40 years, and was university carillonneur. As a pianist and organist, Colvin served in Waco at Central Christian, Columbus Avenue Baptist, and Seventh and James Baptist churches. He was a member of the AGO, and was a 32nd degree Baptist Mason. A composer and editor of music, his compositions include organ voluntaries based on early American hymn tunes, and other organ works. Otis Herbert Colvin Jr. is survived by his wife Mary Ila Colvin, three daughters, a sister, a brother, six grandchildren, and three great-granddaughters.

Virginia Herrmann died at age 96, on March 17 in Storrs, Connecticut. She graduated from Indiana University, and earned master’s degrees from the Eastman School of Music and Yale University, where she studied with Paul Hindemith. While at Yale, she met and married Heinz Herrmann, her husband of 65 years; they moved to Storrs in 1955, where she was appointed adjunct organ professor at the University of Connecticut, and music director-organist at St. Mark’s Chapel. Herrmann had studied the Chinese language and Asian music, and had edited several collections of Asian music. In 2005, the Herrmanns established the Heinz and Virginia
Herrmann Distinguished Lecture Series on Human Rights and the Life Sciences at the University of Connecticut. Virginia Herrmann is survived by a daughter, a niece, and many friends.
Sebron Yates Hood Jr., 79 years old, died December 17, 2010, in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. He began playing piano for the Matthews Baptist Church in Matthews, North Carolina, while in high school; he received his bachelor’s degree in music from Erskine College in 1953, and an MSM in 1955 from Union Theological Seminary in New York City, where he studied with Vernon deTar. From 1955–65 Hood served as organist and choirmaster at Sardis Presbyterian Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, and at Trinity Episcopal Church from 1967 until his retirement in 1992. He was a past dean of the Charlotte AGO chapter, a founding member of the Strand AGO chapter, and of the Oratorio Singers of Charlotte. Sebron Yates Hood Jr. is survived by his wife of 54 years, Belle Miller Spivey Hood, a daughter, two sons, a brother, seven grandchildren, and nieces and nephews.

Sarah Fant Jones died March 26 in Union, South Carolina. She studied at Converse College and Union Theological Seminary School of Sacred Music in New York City. She had served as organist for area churches that included Cane Creek Presbyterian Church, the Episcopal Church of the Nativity, Grace United Methodist Church, and First Presbyterian Church. A member of the Spartanburg AGO chapter, Jones and her family helped to secure the 1954 III/30 Schantz organ at the First Baptist Church of Union; in 1995 the instrument was restored and expanded by Schantz. Sarah Fant Jones is survived by four nephews.

David A. Pizarro, 79 years old, died February 23 in Nyack, New York. He studied at Yale University School of Music, where he earned a BMus in 1952 and an MMus in 1953; he was the recipient of a Fulbright grant from 1953–55 at the State Academy of Detmold, Germany. Pizarro had studied organ with Norman Coke-Jephcott, Michael Schneider, and Marcel Dupré. A visiting faculty member at the University of North Carolina in 1960–61, Pizarro held positions at North Carolina State College, Durham, in 1962–65, and was on the faculty of the Longy School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1965–71. He served as organist-choirmaster at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church on the campus of Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, from 1972–74, as master of the choristers at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in 1974–77, and as organist at Emanuel Lutheran Church in Pleasantville, New York, 1983–96, and Sinai Temple in Mount Vernon from 1985–89. Pizarro was a member of the Royal College of Organists, a fellow of Trinity College of Music, London, and the Westminster AGO chapter; he had served the Durham AGO chapter as dean from 1962–65.

John Albert Stokes died May 15 in Princeton, New Jersey. Born December 21, 1937, he lived in New Brunswick and Princeton. He served in the U.S. Coast Guard from 1961–1964. A self-taught musician, organist, and composer, Stokes worked as a pipe organ builder and piano tuner. For many years he served as organist for the Sayreville United Methodist Church. He was a member of the Middlesex, Monmouth, and Central Jersey AGO chapters. His compositions were played at many AGO members’ recitals, including a favorite Ode to St. Lucy’s Day. In addition, his skills as an organ builder were used for education, giving demonstrations and presentations to colleagues, providing old pipes for educational purposes. John Albert Stokes is survived by a brother and a sister.

Fayola Foltz Ash died March 15 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, at age 85. Born in Lansing, Michigan, February 24, 1926, she received her bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University in 1948. She taught piano for over 50 years, mostly in Ann Arbor, was organist at First Methodist Church, Chelsea, for over 15 years, and directed the children’s choir at Westminster Presbyterian Church, Ann Arbor, for many years. She was a member of the American Guild of Organistsand the Ann Arbor Area Piano Teacher’s Guild. Ash accompanied many soloists and substituted at various churches as choir director, organist, and pianist.

George Evans Boyer died March 16 in Pennsylvania. He was 64. A graduate of St. Clair High School, West Chester University (1969), and Temple University (1974), Boyer was director of choral activities at William Allen High School in the Allentown School District from 1970–2000, and local sales representative of the Allen Organ Company following his retirement from teaching. Boyer served as a music director and organist for 49 years, at Temple Beth El Synagogue, St. John’s UCC, St. Thomas More Roman Catholic Church, and Christ Lutheran Church (all in Allentown), and Christ the King Roman Catholic Church in Yonkers, New York. He also led European summer tours, and was a member of many musical organizations, including the New York City AGO chapter. George Evans Boyer is survived by his wife of 40 years, Susan Carol Boyer, and a cousin.

Jeanne Norman Briggs died March 30 in Hartwick, New York, at the age of 61. She received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Idaho in 1972, and studied with Claire Coci at the American Music Academy in New Jersey. Briggs had played recitals in Europe and New York City, and served as organist for the First United Presbyterian Church in Oneonta, and for St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in New Berlin. She was a member of the Oneonta AGO chapter. Jeanne Norman Briggs is survived by her husband John, whom she married in 1980, two stepchildren, two brothers, a sister, and her caregiver.

Otis Herbert Colvin Jr. died January 21 in Waco, Texas, at the age of 87. He earned a BA from Baylor University in 1944, and then served in the Navy during World War II, until 1946, when he returned to Baylor and earned his music degree in 1948, followed by an MMus degree from the University of Colorado in 1950. Colvin earned his PhD from the Eastman School of Music in 1958. He taught music for five years at Texas Tech University; at Baylor University he taught music theory, piano, and carillon for more than 40 years, and was university carillonneur. As a pianist and organist, Colvin served in Waco at Central Christian, Columbus Avenue Baptist, and Seventh and James Baptist churches. He was a member of the AGO, and was a 32nd degree Baptist Mason. A composer and editor of music, his compositions include organ voluntaries based on early American hymn tunes, and other organ works. Otis Herbert Colvin Jr. is survived by his wife Mary Ila Colvin, three daughters, a sister, a brother, six grandchildren, and three great-granddaughters.

Virginia Herrmann died at age 96, on March 17 in Storrs, Connecticut. She graduated from Indiana University, and earned master’s degrees from the Eastman School of Music and Yale University, where she studied with Paul Hindemith. While at Yale, she met and married Heinz Herrmann, her husband of 65 years; they moved to Storrs in 1955, where she was appointed adjunct organ professor at the University of Connecticut, and music director-organist at St. Mark’s Chapel. Herrmann had studied the Chinese language and Asian music, and had edited several collections of Asian music. In 2005, the Herrmanns established the Heinz and Virginia
Herrmann Distinguished Lecture Series on Human Rights and the Life Sciences at the University of Connecticut. Virginia Herrmann is survived by a daughter, a niece, and many friends.
Sebron Yates Hood Jr., 79 years old, died December 17, 2010, in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. He began playing piano for the Matthews Baptist Church in Matthews, North Carolina, while in high school; he received his bachelor’s degree in music from Erskine College in 1953, and an MSM in 1955 from Union Theological Seminary in New York City, where he studied with Vernon deTar. From 1955–65 Hood served as organist and choirmaster at Sardis Presbyterian Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, and at Trinity Episcopal Church from 1967 until his retirement in 1992. He was a past dean of the Charlotte AGO chapter, a founding member of the Strand AGO chapter, and of the Oratorio Singers of Charlotte. Sebron Yates Hood Jr. is survived by his wife of 54 years, Belle Miller Spivey Hood, a daughter, two sons, a brother, seven grandchildren, and nieces and nephews.

Sarah Fant Jones died March 26 in Union, South Carolina. She studied at Converse College and Union Theological Seminary School of Sacred Music in New York City. She had served as organist for area churches that included Cane Creek Presbyterian Church, the Episcopal Church of the Nativity, Grace United Methodist Church, and First Presbyterian Church. A member of the Spartanburg AGO chapter, Jones and her family helped to secure the 1954 III/30 Schantz organ at the First Baptist Church of Union; in 1995 the instrument was restored and expanded by Schantz. Sarah Fant Jones is survived by four nephews.

David A. Pizarro, 79 years old, died February 23 in Nyack, New York. He studied at Yale University School of Music, where he earned a BMus in 1952 and an MMus in 1953; he was the recipient of a Fulbright grant from 1953–55 at the State Academy of Detmold, Germany. Pizarro had studied organ with Norman Coke-Jephcott, Michael Schneider, and Marcel Dupré. A visiting faculty member at the University of North Carolina in 1960–61, Pizarro held positions at North Carolina State College, Durham, in 1962–65, and was on the faculty of the Longy School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1965–71. He served as organist-choirmaster at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church on the campus of Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, from 1972–74, as master of the choristers at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in 1974–77, and as organist at Emanuel Lutheran Church in Pleasantville, New York, 1983–96, and Sinai Temple in Mount Vernon from 1985–89. Pizarro was a member of the Royal College of Organists, a fellow of Trinity College of Music, London, and the Westminster AGO chapter; he had served the Durham AGO chapter as dean from 1962–65.

John Albert Stokes died May 15 in Princeton, New Jersey. Born December 21, 1937, he lived in New Brunswick and Princeton. He served in the U.S. Coast Guard from 1961–1964. A self-taught musician, organist, and composer, Stokes worked as a pipe organ builder and piano tuner. For many years he served as organist for the Sayreville United Methodist Church. He was a member of the Middlesex, Monmouth, and Central Jersey AGO chapters. His compositions were played at many AGO members’ recitals, including a favorite Ode to St. Lucy’s Day. In addition, his skills as an organ builder were used for education, giving demonstrations and presentations to colleagues, providing old pipes for educational purposes. John Albert Stokes is survived by a brother and a sister

Leonard Edwin Bearse Sr. died in Amesbury, Massachusetts on May 4, at the age of 73. Born in Hyannis, Bearse had his first church job at age 14, at the First Baptist Church there. He studied the organ in Germany while serving with the Armed Forces there, and studied choral conducting with Robert Shaw. He earned a master of music degree from the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, studying organ with Donald Willing. He was a public school teacher in various eastern Massachusetts towns, and held music positions in various churches, most recently as minister of music at the Congregational Church in Kensington, New Hampshire, where he played his last service on March 16. Leonard Bearse is survived by his wife, Ellen, and his children Leonard E. Jr., Bruce, and Stephanie.

Michael Cohen, age 69, died June 21 in Asheville, North Carolina. A native of Tampa, Florida, he earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music from Florida State University–Tallahassee. He taught music in the Florida public schools for 39 years, and was organist-music director for the Church of the Holy Spirit in Apopka, Florida, for the past 17 years. A past dean of the Central Florida AGO chapter, he was a member of the Winter Park Bach Festival Choir. Michael Cohen is survived by his partner, Carl Brown; his brother Paul (and wife Donna), and brother Joel (and partner Barry Dingman).

Robert E. Glasgow, Professor Emeritus at the University of Michigan School of Music, noted concert organist, and one of the most widely respected artists in the field of organ performance and pedagogy, died on September 10 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He was 83.
Professor Glasgow taught organ at the University of Michigan School of Music for 44 years. He received his B.M. and M.M. degrees from the Eastman School of Music in 1950 and 1951, respectively, earning Eastman’s Performer’s Certificate as well. At Eastman, he studied with Harold Gleason. From 1951 to 1962, he was associate professor of organ and college organist at MacMurray College in Jacksonville, Illinois. He joined the University of Michigan School of Music in 1962 as assistant professor, and was promoted to associate professor in 1964, full professor in 1973, and professor emeritus in 2006.
In 1973, Glasgow was awarded the Doctor of Musical Arts degree, honoris causa, by MacMurray College in Jacksonville, Illinois. The New York Chapter of the American Guild of Organists named him International Performer of the Year for 1997. Glasgow returned to his alma mater in January 2002, where he was given the school’s Alumni Achievement Award. On the same occasion, he taught a masterclass, influencing yet another generation of Eastman students. Glasgow’s faculty colleagues at the University of Michigan also recognized his pedagogical efforts by awarding him the Harold Haugh Award for excellence in the teaching of performance.
For over 50 years, he successfully combined a brilliant teaching career with an impressive career as a concert organist, both in the United States and abroad. He was best known for his stirring performances of the organ literature of the 19th century, and was regarded by some as the greatest living interpreter of Romantic organ music. He was a regularly featured performer for national and regional conventions of the American Guild of Organists as well as the International Congress of Organists. He was selected to perform and teach at the American Classic Organ Symposium on the occasion of the completion of the renovation of the great Tabernacle Organ at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Dr. Glasgow’s performances of the music of Liszt, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Widor, Vierne, and especially César Franck were legendary; in one review he was given the appropriate nickname “the Philadelphia Orchestra of Organists.” In addition to a number of broadcast recordings for the BBC, Glasgow made one commercial recording for Prestant Records in 1987, Robert Glasgow plays César Franck, recorded on the Aeolian-Skinner organ in All Saints Church, Worcester, Massachusetts.
A leading educator of uncompromising standards, Robert Glasgow helped to form some of the most gifted organists in the world. His students are to be found in important church and academic positions throughout the United States. He was an artist in the truest sense, and a teacher who constantly reminded his students that they must not strive merely to be organists, but always musicians— communicating musical ideas in spite of the inherent difficulty of the instrument.
Robert Ellison Glasgow was born on May 30, 1925 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, the son of Floyd Lafayette Glasgow and Elizabeth Mary Jenkins. His death is mourned by his many devoted students, friends, and colleagues. (See the interview with Stephen Egler, “Robert Glasgow at 80,” The Diapason, May 2005.)
—Ray Henry
Rochester, Michigan

Walter A. Guzowski died September 17 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He was 68. Born and raised in Buffalo, New York, his career had a dramatic beginning. While still a high school student, he observed an organ technician tuning the Schlicker organ at his church, and informed the pastor that he could do what the technician had done, and save the church some money. Later, while doing some tuning, Guzowski slipped off the walkboard onto the chest below, crushing numerous pipes; to rectify this, his father brought him to Herman Schlicker, and Guzowski began working at the Schlicker Organ Company, where he worked (except for two years serving in the Army) until 1979. While at Schlicker he became head voicer and tonal finisher, working on a range of instruments, from two-rank residence organs to the large organ at First Congregational Church in Los Angeles. After moving to Fort Lauderdale in 1979, he founded a service business, which with John A. Steppe and Christopher B. Kane, became Guzowski & Steppe Organbuilders, Inc. in 1983. Walter Guzowski is survived by his sister Margaret, her husband Walter, and cousins and friends.

Gerhard Krapf died in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, on July 2. He was 83. Krapf was renowned for his organ, choral, and vocal compositions, his scholarly writings on the organ, his teaching at the University of Alberta (1977–87, for which he was named professor emeritus), and for designing the 1978 Casavant organ there. He contributed significantly to the development of graduate programs in keyboard and library resources at the University of Alberta; in the 1960s, he had established and built the undergraduate and graduate organ programs at the University of Iowa’s School of Music. Gerhard Krapf is survived by his wife, Trudl, three daughters, a son, a brother, sister, and four grandchildren.

John S. Peragallo, Jr. died Friday, September 12 at the Hospice of New Jersey, Wayne, New Jersey, at age 76. Born in New York City and a lifelong resident of Paterson, he took several classes at the Newark College of Engineering, and served in the U.S. Army during the Korean Conflict as a chaplain’s assistant and in the honor guard.
As a boy he helped his father in the family business, the Peragallo Pipe Organ Company, founded by his father, John Peragallo, Sr., in 1918. John Jr. joined the company in 1949. He was responsible for the construction and care of many of the pipe organs of New Jersey and the complete renovation of the organs at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, New York City. John Jr.’s sons, John III and Frank, have been actively involved in the family business since the 1980s and now have a fourth generation of Peragallos, Janine, Anthony and John IV, to work alongside them. The company has installed almost 700 new instruments and currently maintains approximately 400 instruments, up and down the East Coast of the United States, including the organs of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York.

Dona Lee Brandon died June 16 in Davis, California. She was 81. She began organ study while in high school and earned a bachelor’s degree in music from Park College in Missouri, and a master of sacred music degree from Union Theological Seminary, where she studied organ with Robert Baker. At UTS she met fellow student George Brandon, and married him in 1954. The Brandons taught at Eureka College in Illinois, and William Penn College in Iowa. In 1962 they moved to Davis, California, where Mrs. Brandon worked as an organist and choir director, serving at Davis Community Church (1963–67) and at St. Martin’s Episcopal Church (from 1967 until her retirement in 1995). She was also affiliated with the Music School at the University of California–Davis, accompanying choral groups, teaching organ, and playing recitals and for commencement ceremonies. A longtime member of the Sacramento AGO chapter, she proclaimed her enthusiasm for the music of Bach with her license plate, “JSB FAN.” Dona Lee Brandon was preceded in death by her husband George, and is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Barbara and Jim, and her sister Melva Ann.

Richard W. Litterst died August 9 at age 83 in Loves Park, Illinois. Born in Decatur, Illinois, February 4, 1926, he attended the University of Louisville, served in the U.S. Navy, and then completed his studies at the University of Illinois and Union Theological Seminary School of Sacred Music. He served as organist, choirmaster, and handbell director at churches in Westfield, New Jersey; Omaha, Nebraska; and Rockford and Freeport, Illinois. In 1959, he was appointed to Second Congregational Church, Rockford. He also conducted the Rockford Pops Orchestra for more than 30 years, and taught at Rockford College, Rock Valley College, and Beloit College.
Litterst served as dean of the Rockford AGO chapter and was a member of the Mendelssohn Club and Rotary. He was an early member of the American Guild of English Handbell Ringers, serving the organization in many capacities, including as president. He was nationally known as a handbell director and for his arrangements and compositions for handbells. Most recently he served as organist for the First Church of Christ, Scientist in Rockford, playing his last service there on July 22.
A memorial service was held August 14 at First Presbyterian Church, Rockford, with a number of organists from the Rockford AGO and the Rockford Pipe Band participating, with alumni of the Martin Ringers of Second Congregational Church playing music by Litterst; other music in the service was by Karg-Elert, Franck, and Widor. Richard W. Litterst is survived by his wife Judy, son, two daughters, and grandson.

Ivan Ronald Olson died June 16 in Sacramento, California. Born in Soldier, Iowa, on March 15, 1928, he played his first church service while in the sixth grade and then took over as organist after confirmation on through high school until he left for college in 1946. He received a BA in music from the University of Iowa in 1950 and taught music at Morehead, Iowa, where he served as choir director at Bethesda Lutheran Church. He then earned a master’s degree from the University of Texas, Austin, and began teaching at Concordia Lutheran College of Austin in 1952, where he continued until 1964. During that tenure he served as organist-choirmaster at First English Lutheran Church and Redeemer Lutheran Church in Austin. He married Danna Foster in July 1956.
Olson took a leave of absence from Concordia to study at Union Theological Seminary in New York City, where he was awarded a Doctor of Sacred Music degree in 1963. In 1964 he joined the faculty at American River College, Sacramento, California, and became the organist-choirmaster at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. He also served as accompanist for many vocal recitals.
Olson moved to Fair Oaks in the summer of 1967 and joined the staff at Pioneer Congregational Church in 1969. He was an active member of the American Guild of Organists and served as dean of the Sacramento chapter. He retired in 1992 from American River College and Pioneer Congregational Church, and then served as interim organist-choirmaster at St. John’s Lutheran Church, where he had been a member since 1967. At St. John’s he worked in adult education, served on the church council, and looked after the concert series for three seasons. He did substitute organist work until grandchildren began to arrive. Ivan Olson belonged to the Rose Society and spent many happy hours tending his many roses and a vegetable garden.

Theodore W. Ripper died on July 2 at age 83. Born on August 1, 1925 in Coraopolis, Pennsylvania, he earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. He served as university organist at the University of South Dakota and then taught at Carnegie Mellon University from 1949 to 1955. He married Gladys McMillan on June 15, 1953 in Coraopolis. They moved to Atlanta in 1955, where he was minister of music for Peachtree Christian Church for 10 years.
Ripper then taught at Millikin University and served at First United Methodist Church in Decatur, Illinois, 1965–75, and was director of music at Grace United Methodist Church in Venice, Florida, 1975–84. He next served as director of music at First United Methodist Church, Carlsbad, New Mexico, for eight years. After retirement, he continued to work in Roswell as music director for St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church.

Mark P. Schantz died at age 58 on June 13 at his home in Walton Hills, Ohio. The son of Bruce and Grace Putnam Schantz of Orrville, Ohio, he was a graduate of Otterbein College and had a lengthy career with American Greetings of Cleveland, from which he took early retirement to start his own business, Schantz Woods, which designed, fabricated, and restored furniture. He also served on the board of directors of the Schantz Organ Company of Orrville, assisting his brother Victor, the president of the firm. Mark P. Schantz is survived by his wife Lee, children Kate, Jessa, Erick, and John, and siblings Ann Schantz Perlmutter, Victor Schantz, Jill Schantz Frank, Ted Schantz, and Peter Schantz.

Dom Francis Kline, OCSO, died August 27 at Mepkin Abbey, Moncks Corner, South Carolina, following a long illness. Born Joseph Paul Kline III in 1948 in Philadelphia, he began playing for church services when he was ten years old; he studied with Alexander McCurdy at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia, and with Vernon de Tar at the Juilliard School. During his last year at Juilliard, he performed the complete organ works of J. S. Bach in 14 recitals in Manhattan, repeating the cycle the following year in Philadelphia, where the concerts were recorded and are still broadcast on the radio. He entered the Trappist monastery of Our Lady of Gethsemane in 1972, taking the name Francis, and was ordained a priest in 1986. In 1990 he was elected third Abbot of Mepkin Abbey.
He published articles and books on theology and spirituality. Given permission by his superiors to take up music again, Abbot Francis played a limited number of recitals, including at the Piccolo Spoleto Festival. He also worked with the Diocese of Charleston, and the environmental community, to preserve open space. He is survived by his parents, two brothers and their wives, and six nieces and nephews. A memorial service was held at Mepkin Abbey on August 31.

George M. Kreamer died June 10 at his home in Lake Charles, Louisiana. He was 93. A graduate of the Chicago Musical College, he studied piano with Rudolph Ganz. During World War II he served in the Army’s Secret Intelligence Division, specializing in foreign languages and participating in the invasion of Normandy. While in France, he studied organ with Marcel Dupré. Mr. Kreamer was organist at the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd in Lake Charles, Louisiana, where he taught music and French for 30 years at the Episcopal Day School. A founding member of the Lake Charles Community Concerts, he served as president of the organization 1964–82, and as president of the Lake Charles Piano Teachers Association. A funeral service was held on June 13 at the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd.

Ann Rogalla Portenga died in November, 2005 in Muskegon, Michigan, following a battle with cancer. Born in 1954 in Muskegon, she played for school Masses in fifth grade. She received a bachelor of music degree from the University of Michigan in 1977, and later studied organ with Philip Gehring at Valparaiso University. In 1981, she was appointed director of music-organist at the First Congregational Church, Muskegon, a position she held until her death.
Mrs. Portenga inaugurated “Concerts by the Park,” an organ recital series held during the Muskegon Art Fair, in 1987. A member of the Muskegon-Lakeshore AGO chapter, she served as dean 1988–90. Since 1978 she was a member of the West Shore Symphony Orchestra, playing French horn and keyboard instruments. She is survived by her husband Roy, three children, her parents, two sisters, and a brother. A memorial service was held at the First Congregational Church of Muskegon on November 21, 2005.

Carl E. Stout died in February at age 75, from complications following heart surgery. Growing up in Syracuse, New York, he first studied organ with Edith Schmidt and as a teenager became organist of the First Presbyterian Church in Fulton, New York, where he was featured on a weekly radio broadcast. He learned organ maintenance at the Chester Raymond Organ Company in New Jersey and serviced the Princeton Chapel organ weekly. Returning to Syracuse, he studied organ with Arthur Poister, and subsequently earned a master of arts degree from East Carolina University. His teaching positions included those at Mercyhurst College, St. Olaf College, and Syracuse University. He served as organist-choirmaster at Good Shepherd Episcopal Church in Rocky Mount, North Carolina; Trinity Episcopal Memorial Church, Warren, Pennsylvania; and St. Paul’s Cathedral in Erie, Pennsylvania. He is survived by two nephews.

Maurice Odell Tillery, 61, of Newark, Arkansas, died on March 9, 2006. Born August 18, 1944, in Benton, Arkansas, he was an elementary music teacher in the Newark School District and a member of the Central Arkansas AGO chapter. He was organist at the Hazel Edwards United Methodist Church in Newark, and had previously served as organist at other churches, including St. Francis of Assisi, west of Little Rock. He is survived by a son and a daughter, a brother, two sisters, and three grandchildren. Funeral services were held at Old Union Baptist Church.

Organist and musicologist Walker Evans Cunningham died unexpectedly at his home in San Francisco on May 14. He was 65. Cunningham grew up in Blackstone, Virginia, where his mother encouraged him to pursue his love of music. He won a scholarship to Oberlin, where in 1970 he earned a Bachelor of Music degree in organ performance from the Conservatory and a Bachelor of Arts degree in music and German from the College. 

Cunningham then taught at Emma Willard School in Troy, New York, where he was awarded an Andrew Mellon Foundation faculty grant to study with Marie-Claire Alain at the Haarlem Summer Organ Academy, and to do research in France. He spent 1973–74 as a research and performance fellow at the Institut de Musicologie, University of Fribourg, Switzerland, where he studied organ with Luigi Tagliavini. He earned both an M.A. and Ph.D. in musicology at the University of California, Berkeley, where he was awarded multiple fellowships. 

Walker Cunningham performed many organ concerts in the United States, including a keynote concert for the Columbia Bach Symposium in New York City, and in Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, and Austria. He took second prize at the Hofhaimer Competition in Innsbruck, Austria. Also a harpsichordist, he was a continuo player and accompanist with chamber, choral, and symphonic organizations such as the Berkeley Pro Musica Chorus, California Bach Society, and San Francisco Symphony. He served as organist and music director for St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Berkeley, organist and choirmaster for St. John the Evangelist Episcopal in San Francisco, and at other churches in the U.S. and Europe. He authored The Keyboard Music of John Bull (UMI Research Press, 1984). In 1992, he co-edited with Charles McDermott Canzoni d’intavolatura d’organo, a collection of Claudio Merulo organ intabulations. He recorded and produced the CD The Historic San Francisco Organ of the Church of St. John the Evangelist (Arkay Records, 1993), and was a reviewer for The Diapason.

Thanks to his own research and the help of his doctors, he survived two bouts with AIDS and 29 years of HIV. When AIDS brought an end to his performing career, Cunningham became a technical editor and writer at Cisco Systems, and later a consultant. Walker Evans Cunningham is survived by his sister Joy Cunningham of Austin, Texas.

Contributions in Walker Cunningham’s memory may be made to the Oberlin Conservatory of Music Scholarship Fund, either online at https://new.oberlin.edu/office/development/donate or by check to Oberlin College, Department of Development, Room 005, 50 West Lorain Street, Oberlin, OH 44074. 

Carol Newton Hawk died March 5 at age 64. Born into a family of teachers and musicians, she began piano study at age five, and organ study, with her older brother, the late Robert Newton, at age 12. She later studied with Roger Nyquist. After attending DeAnza College in Cupertino, California, she married John Hawk and they moved to the Sacramento area. She served as organist at Fair Oaks Presbyterian Church in Fair Oaks, California for 29 years, and as an accompanist for music programs of local elementary schools. Carol Hawk served the Sacramento AGO chapter in many capacities, including as dean for six years, and was a member of Mu Phi Epsilon International Music Fraternity and the Sacramento Choral Society. Carol Newton Hawk is survived by her husband, two daughters, four grandchildren, her mother, and a brother.

Douglas L. Rafter, Portland’s longest-lived municipal organist, died July 3 in Portland, Maine. He was 97. A native of Wilmington, Vermont, Rafter moved to Portland in 1971. A concert organist, he had a repertoire of about 275 pieces of organ music memorized. He also taught music at St. Paul’s School in Concord, New Hampshire, at the University of Southern Maine, and privately. Rafter served as organist and choir director at Immanuel Baptist Church for 13 years, and then worked at other Portland-area churches until his retirement in 2005.

Over the years, he gave 1,700 concerts throughout the United States, playing his first concert in Portland in 1936, right after earning his associate’s certification from the American Guild of Organists. In March 2010, he was honored by the AGO for 75 years of consecutive membership, all but the last five of which had been in uninterrupted service as a church organist and concert performer.

Douglas Rafter was Portland’s municipal organist from 1976 until 1981, playing both classical and popular works. He played summer series concerts for 68 years, and was also noted for  his Christmas preludes before the annual Magic of Christmas concert.

Musician and organbuilder John A. Schantz, 93 years old, passed away at his home in Orrville, Ohio, on July 4. Born on June 14, 1920, he was the youngest child of Victor and Bess Schantz. His studies in piano and organ at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music were interrupted by service in the U. S. Army during World War II. Upon completion of his undergraduate degree in 1947, he joined the staff of Schantz Organ Company. With his brother Bruce and cousin Paul, John Schantz was part of the third generation of the family business. During his tenure, the Schantz Organ Company rose in prominence from a regional concern to an organbuilding firm of national (and later international) standing. He served as tonal director of the firm for many years, and as corporate secretary/treasurer, and chairman of the board of directors. 

Beyond work with the organ company, he was a lifelong, active member of Christ United Church of Christ in Orrville, an officer with the Orrville Chamber of Commerce, Orrville United Way, and the Orrville Public Library Board. He was a long-time member and officer of the MacDowell Club of Wooster, Ohio. John A. Schantz is survived by his spouse of 60 years, Marilyn, a son Timothy, daughters Molly, Melanie, and Suzanne, and ten grandchildren.