Remembering some deceased members of the Class of 1960

Click on photo of Pete Cybriwsky to enlarge it

By Frank Barning

Our September 19th blog entry included the names of the deceased members of the class of 1960. Some were good friends, some were acquaintances, others I hardly knew or did not know at all. But no matter what, they are all sisters and brothers to me.

As you can see from the comments that follow, Pete Cybriwsky is fondly remembered. The gals think of him as a great dancer, the guys as a fabulous baseball player. To me he was a wonderful person with a great sense of humor. I remember his wonderful stories about playing minor-league baseball for team in Dothan, Alabama. That Pete died in his 20s and left behind a widow and three children is tragic. His wife, the former Kathy Thomas, was in junior high at Division and attended a Catholic high school.

I went off to Hofstra in September 1960 with three on the list, Mimi Brunette, Carole Arnesen and Janet Goldberg. Mimi, who never married, was a dear friend. Her smile was captivating. It chokes me up to think of her. Carole was a fabulous student and I remember that her dad was a disabled World War II veteran and that they lived behind the Northside School fence.

Janet Goldberg, who also never married, might be someone who few will remember clearly. Not me. She was a close friend in college and beyond. Both of us were deeply involved in the Hofstra newspaper and after college the old Chronicle gang, as we were called, often had parties together. Janet and I were both interested in harness racing at Roosevelt Raceway and often drove to the track together.

Stephen Zwerling was the first kid I met when we moved to Levittown in 1954. He, and others, were so welcoming to the new boy from Queens. We kept in touch over the years and my mother, who worked at the Nassau County Medical Center, often saw Steve and his wife (the former Sue Eisenberg class of 1961) there. So, I got updates on their family and his job as a deputy with the Nassau County Sheriff's Department. My classmate Don Davidson went to Steve's funeral nearly two years.

We know of 29 people from the Class of 1960 who are no longer living. At the bottom of this page, their is a list of 1960-62 deceased. We do not claim that it is complete.

Here are remembrances from some early Division Avenue people:

Jonmaire Giles (formerly Joan Corless): Pete was my protector/big brother, and I loved him, he was always there for me. He was so much more than his abilities. I didn't come to our 10-year reunion because he wouldn't be there.

Bette Connah McErlean: When I think of Pete Cybriwsky, I remember what am amazing dancer he was and how all the girls wanted to be asked to dance by him. He could have been on American Bandstand. It's sad to lose our classmates at such an early age, but it is good to remember them and how they have left impressions on all of us. Perhaps when we see these names we can share some of our fond memories.

Gary Symington Parker I remember a baseball game when I was rushing to home plate and slide into catcher's glove very hard and he wasn't very happy. He started beating up on me and guess who came to my rescue, Pete! I'll never forget his coming to the rescue of a freshman on his varsity team.

Ann Crescenzo Fazzino Pete was an awesome guy. I remember dancing with him at a sock hop and saying to myself. "I hope that I can keep up with him." He was such a great dancer.

Phyllis Hirsch Smith So many fond memories of those who have passed especially Mimi, Chris Wilkens, Ann, Mary, John "Twinky" Sweeney. I feel blessed to have grown up in Levittown.

Arnie Galeota I remember taking my first little league at bat against Pete Cybriwsky. Terrifying experience. Yes every day we have to count our blessings.

Jerry Reichert: This list makes me count every day as a blessing.

IN MEMORIAM

Class of 1960
Carole Arnesen
Richard Bachman

Diane Brown

Mimi Brunette
Pete Cybriwski
Edward Fink
Carolynn Flohl
Bruce Garabrant
Janet Goldberg
Daniel Huntley

Joan Kerrigan Koster
James Kinane
Ann LaMar
Stephen Lilienthal
Louis Lopez

Neal Manly
Eileen Maxwell

Sterling Morrison

Pat Miscovsky Noonan

Daphne Nylund
John Sweeney
Jeanne Tlockzowski
Ray Wenz

Christine Wilkens

Stephen Zwerling

Class of 1961
Al Baldwin

Bob Burner

Sheldon Dambrot

Al DiLorenzo

Frederick Ehrlein

Leo Grant

Ken Hefele

Gail Leistman

Linda Merritt

Glen Molyneux

Peter O’Driscoll

Michael Shaughnessy

Tom Toscano

Class of 1962
Charles Adams

Janice Becker

Gail Brown

John Connelly

Ralph Del Piano

Gerard Farge

Carolyn Greves Lincer

Joe Hochen

Joe Panarello

Bob Rolston