In Memoriam

ALUMNI

EDITH ANNE (BINNEY ’45) METCALF

Anne Metcalf died at home in Sewickley surrounded by her family on Wednesday, August 10, 2022. She was the beloved wife for 45 years of the late William B. Metcalf III; mother of Edith (Metcalf ’72) Gingras,

Kathleen ’73, Christine ’74, Mary ’76,

Brooks ’86, and the late William B. Metcalf IV ’80. She is also survived by nine grandchildren.

VIRGINIA (SNYDER ’48) CITRON

Virginia Citron passed away Monday, April 25, 2022, at the age of 89. She died peacefully at home in Delray, Florida, surrounded by her family. She was born in Wheeling, West Virginia, raised in Sewickley, attended Sewickley Academy, went on to graduate from The Masters School, known to many as “Dobbs,” and continued her education at Briarcliff College. Her parents were William Cordes Snyder, Jr., President and CEO of Blaw-Knox Steel Corporation, and Virginia Harper Snyder, and she had a younger brother, William Cordes Snyder III ’50 (deceased). She was married to James H. McGraw III from 1952 to 1976. In 1993, Ginny married Thomas Citron. She leaves behind four children, Virginia S. McGraw, James H. McGraw IV (Jane Love), W. Scott McGraw (Catherine Delahunt), and David D. McGraw (Elizabeth Frank). She was the proud grandmother of eight grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

CHARLOTTE (O’NEIL ’51) OLIVER

Charlotte Oliver passed peacefully at her home in Vero Beach, Florida, in June just shy of her 86th birthday. She was surrounded by her three sons, Edward (Ted) of Victor, Idaho; Stoddard (Stoddy) of Bedford Hills, New York; George (Geep) of Sewickley; and her beloved miniature dachshunds, Tulip and Taffy. She was the only child of Edward and Lydia O’Neil. Affectionately known as “Cha Cha,” she was born in Pittsburgh on June 3, 1936, and was raised in Sewickley, attending Sewickley Academy. Charlotte was also an alumna of Garrison Forest School in Baltimore, Maryland, and Bennett College in Millbrook, New York. She spent much of her life in Wilson, Wyoming. In addition to Charlotte’s sons and stepdaughters, she is survived by daughter in-law, Catherine E. Oliver (Stoddard); grandchildren John Morgan Oliver, Edward O’Neil Oliver, Jr., George Potter Oliver, Jr., Lydia Harper Oliver, Henry Morgan Oliver, Felix Augustus Oliver; step-grandson, William Gray DeTeso; and greatgrandson, Xander Oliver.

SARAH RACHEL BROOKS (COOKE ’66) THORN

Sarah “Brooks” Thorn died in her sleep on Sunday, October 2, 2022, in Charlottesville, Virginia, due to complications from Alzheimer’s disease. She was born on May 20, 1947, the daughter of Horace Brooks Cooke, Jr. and Rosella Wendt Cooke. Her grandparents, who raised her, were Horace Brooks Cooke and Elizabeth Cooke of Alexandria, Virginia. Brooks attended Sewickley Academy, St. Agnes School in Alexandria, and Virginia Commonwealth University. She is survived by her husband, Arthur K. Thorn of Silver City, New Mexico; her stepdaughter, Allison Sedwick of Washington, D.C.; brothers, Roland Brooks Cooke of Sao Paulo, Brazil, and Skip Noyes of Rancho Cordova, California; and her sister, Robin Threlkeld of Rancho Cordova, California.

SCOTT MONTGOMERY FERGUSON ’70

Scott Ferguson passed away on February 19, 2022, at age 69, from complications due to COVID. He is survived by his wife, Emiko; his two children, Caer (Sam McCracken) and Niall; his granddaughter, Kimiko; his siblings Jeanne (Ferguson ’72) Fansler (Thomas), Alan Ferguson ’74, and Robert Ferguson (Jayme Brown), nieces, nephews, cousins, and many extended family members and friends. A longtime resident of Santa Monica, California, Scott worked in and supported the arts, a passion that was rooted in his first band at SA, The Jades (with original founding bandmates Doug Rice ’70, Tom Stinson ’70, and Jeff Gray ’70). While he spent the bulk of his career producing music for others, he never created an album of his own works. As a tribute to Scott, Caer, Niall and Emiko put together a sampling of Scott’s original tunes as well as a few covers. You may listen to his first solo album, Blackjack Daisy, released posthumously, at scottmferguson. bandcamp.com.

DAVID ALAN GRIFFIN, SR. ’71

David Griffin, Sr., lost his brief battle with pancreatic cancer at Transitions HospiceCare in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Tuesday, February 3, 2015, at age 61. David was born August 14, 1953, in Sewickley to Percy Ward and Nell Reinken Griffin. He graduated from Roanoke College in Virginia in 1975, and on August 2, 1980, he married Mary Frances Clark in Greenwich, Connecticut. David is survived by his wife; son, David Griffin (Katie) of New York, New York; daughter, Margaret Griffin of Durham, North Carolina; sisters, Barbara Wiltshire ’66 (Richard) of Richmond, Virginia, and Jane DeMatteis (Denny) of Raleigh; uncle, Dean Griffin (Etta Ray); and aunt, Sarah Marks (William) of Westminster, Maryland; and many loving nieces, nephews, and other relatives.

JAMES E. SCIOSCIA ’83

James E. Scioscia passed away on August 26, 2022, surrounded by family, after battling a long difficult neurodegenerative disease. He was the son of the late Dalia Jean and the late Joseph A. Scioscia, Sr; brother of Joseph A. Scioscia, Jr. ’74 (Alisa), Oreste Scioscia ’77 (Clotilde),

Bridget (Scioscia ’78) Scherder

(Philip), Stephen Scioscia ’79 (Stephanie), and Christine (Scioscia ’86) McLean; and is also survived by many nieces, nephews, and cousins. Known as Jim - Jimbo - Chet to family and friends, he was a graduate of Duquesne University with a degree in business administration.

JOHN CHRISTIAN DAVID LECORNU ’08

On Wednesday, May 11, 2022, John Christian David LeCornu passed away at the age of 31. He was born at Sewickley Valley Hospital on August 18, 1990. After graduating from Sewickley Academy, he received his bachelor’s degree at Temple University in Philadelphia. He lived in Austin, Texas, for the past nine years working as a Senior Strategist at Shareability. Christian (aka Chricky, Tinky, Soup) is preceded in death by his Grandma Jane, Uncle Tony, and Aunt Sue. He leaves behind his dad, John, and mom, Susan, sisters, Amanda and Justine, and brother, Josh, as well as grandparents, AJ Williams, Jr, Claudia and Martin LeCornu, and aunts, uncles, cousins, niece and nephews. The family are asking that those who knew him well would share written remembrances and pictures with amanda.lecornu@gmail. com.

FAMILY OF ALUMNI

MARGARET ORR CHILDS, mother of

Margot (Childs ’60) Cheel, Christine

(Childs ’66) Palmer, Tom Childs ’70, and Isabel Childs ’76 SUSAN CRAIG, wife of George Craig ’59, mother of Nancy (Craig ’84) Garvey, and Jim Craig ’86

BEVERLY ANNE POLING

CUMMINS, mother of Marina Anne ’05 and Michael Kalis ’07, stepmother of Daniel ’01 and Ian Cummins ’05 R. JACKSON FRY, father of Charles

Fry ’77

CORA ALICE GEBHARDT, mother of

Lisa (Gebhardt ’79) Turner, Ronald

Evans Gebhart, Jr. ’80, and Joy

Gebhardt ’91

SUSAN R. KOPF, mother of Rob Kopf ’84, Tom Kopf ’88, and Maggie (Kopf ’91) Standish; grandmother of RY ’12, Max ’27, Jarrod, and Silas Kopf

MARTHA SHORTER “MIMI”

STEVENS LANIER, mother of Monro Lanier ’76 and Martha-Shorter

(Lanier ’81) Dougherty

JOEL L. LENNEN, father of Kerry Lennen ’12 and Molly Lennen ’15 MARY LHERON MEANS, mother of Lela Means ’89 and Pitt Means ’93

JOSEPH WILLIAM PAUL, JR., husband of former faculty Dolly Paul, father of Joseph Paul, III ’82 and Greg

Paul ’88

JULIAN W. PROCTOR, M.D., father of Danielle Proctor ’92 and Owen

Proctor ’10

JEAN CARLISLE ACKERMAN

ROBINSON, wife of Brooks

Robinson ’47

JOHN A. “JACK” SHOENER, M.D., father of Jackie Shoener ’72, Judy

(Shoener ’73) Semple, Jim Shoener

’75, and Jeff Shoener ’78

FORMER FACULTY

MARION KAY BRIGGS (formerly

Hessinger) Marion Kay Briggs of Escondido, California, formerly of Sewickley, passed away at home on Thursday, June 3, 2021, at age 84. She was born in Jamesburg, New Jersey, to the late George W. and Louise Gelbach Briggs. Ms. Briggs earned a B.S. in mathematics from Carnegie Mellon University and enjoyed a 22-year career teaching math at Sewickley Academy, where she was a dedicated and supportive educator. Ms. Briggs is survived by her children, Beth Stobbs (Gregory), Robert Hessinger (Rebecca), and Lynne Cooley (Bradford), as well as her five grandchildren.

MARGARET ROSE “JUDY” (SKEEHAN) LACKNER

Margaret Rose “Judy” (Skeehan) Lackner of Sheraden, passed away on Monday, April 11, 2022, at age 98. Judy grew up in Baden, Pennsylvania, graduated as valedictorian from Sewickley High School, attended Seton Hill College (now University) for a year in the footsteps of her sisters, and graduated in December 1943 from Margaret Morrison College (Carnegie Tech). She married the late Vincent F. Lackner, Sr. on September 13, 1947, and they eventually returned to Pittsburgh, settling in a house she occupied for over 72 years. Judy was commissioned as an Ensign in the Navy WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service). She rose to Lieutenant and was stationed in Baltimore and Washington, D.C. As Headmaster Clifford Nichols, her later boss at Sewickley Academy, once said, “Judy could have organized D Day!” A life-long learner, Judy entered the University of Pittsburgh graduate School of Library Science after her youngest child started school, and received her master’s degree in 1965. In 1966, she started work as Senior School Librarian at Sewickley Academy, where she stayed for 22 years. She was also faculty advisor to the school newspaper, The Seventh Pillar, which won countless awards during her tenure. Judy is survived by her children, Margaret Anne of Boston, Vincent Jr. (Anne Billiet Lackner) of Rosslyn Farms, and David ’75 (Lynn Steffan) of Gibsonia; and grandchildren, Christiana (Nicolas Perez) of San Francisco; Katarina ’05 (Alex Foss) of Franconia, New Hampshire; Ashley Cortright (Jimmy, and their daughter Chloe) of San Diego; Kyle ’00 (Leyla, and their daughter Beatrice) of Berlin; Jordan of Gibsonia; and Abigail (Maany Peyvan) of Washington, D.C. She was preceded in death by infant daughter Rosemary (1950) and son John ’72 (2020).

Flat Panther!

SNIPPITT SNAPPITT & SUBMIT IT

Cut out your very own Flat Panther and take him along wherever you go! Whether at the store down the street or in a city across the globe, snap a photo of you and your Flat Panther to show your Sewickley Academy pride.

Sewickley Academy Alumni

The Purpura family, parents Ryan (a Trustee) and Elizabeth, and children Matthew ‘33, Caroline ‘29, and Lauren ‘28, took their Flat Panther to Venice, Italy, this past summer. #flatpanther

James Smith and 354 others 26 Comments 24 Shares

Simply share your photo(s) via email to Alumni Relations at alumni@sewickley.org, and you may see yourself in an upcoming issue of Sewickley Speaking or on SA’s Alumni Facebook page.