Sal Passamano

In case anyone is still reading this, I just came across Mr. Passamano’s obituary in the Register Citizen (copied below). He was a very kind chemistry teacher. Our sympathies go out to his family.



The Register Citizen (registercitizen.com), Serving Torrington, CT

Obituaries

Salvatore Passamano, on Nov. 28, 2009. New Britain Memorial and Sagario Funeral Home.

Thursday, December 3, 2009

HENDERSON, Nev. - Salvatore L. Passamano, of Henderson, Nevada, formerly of Norfolk, Connecticut, died Nov. 28, 2009, following a long battle with Alzheimer’s Disease. He was born Sept. 1, 1927, in New Britain, the son of the late Frank and Josephine Passamano.

He attended St. Mary’s School in New Britain and graduated from New Britain High School. He later received degrees from the University of Toledo, the University of Hartford and St. Joseph’s College. Mr. Passamano was, for many years, a chemistry teacher at Northwestern Regional High School. He also taught at Northwestern Connecticut Community College. He was a U.S. Army veteran, having served in Japan following World War II.

He is survived by a longtime companion, Tamsen Andrews; five daughters, Rosemary Dahlen of Barkhamsted, Anna Hall of Torrington, Josine Mason of Visalia, Calif., Jacqueline Passamano of Brunswick, Ga., and Leslie Murphy of Amenia, N.Y.; a step-daughter, Vicki Hancock; a brother, Russell Passamano; Frank Warner; and many grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by a daughter, Frances; two sisters, Angeline Bonola and Mary Welch; and a brother, Louis Passamano.

The family requests that, in lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Regional School District # 7, for a memorial fund to aid students in the science department.

Funeral services will begin on Saturday, Dec. 5, 2009 at 9 a.m. from the New Britain Memorial & Sagarino Funeral Home, 444 Farmington Ave, New Britain, followed by the funeral liturgy at 10 a.m. in St. Ann Church. Burial with Military Honors will follow in St. Mary Cemetery, all in New Britain. Calling hours will be held Friday, Dec. 4, 2009 from 5 to 8 p.m. at the funeral home (Directions:I-84, right off exit #37, 1 1/2 miles on right) please visit www.newbritainsagarino.com to express an online tribute.

http://www.registercitizen.com/articles/2009/12/03/obituaries/doc4b1744416c9e1548934653.prt

© 2009 registercitizen.com, a Journal Register Property

Ed Sluzenski

I just read that Mr. Sluzenski died on May 16th. I have fond memories of Mr. Slu from seventh grade. Our sympathies go out to his family. His obituary from the Winsted Journal is below.

Edward V. Sluzenski May 23, 2008

BARKHAMSTED — Edward V. Sluzenski, 78, died peacefully at home May 16, 2008, surrounded by his family, after a courageous battle with cancer. He was the husband of Lorrie Sluzenski for 50 years.

Born on March 26, 1930, in Norwich, he was the son of Frances (Kulbacki) and Joseph Sluzenski.

He attended the University of Connecticut, graduating with a degree in both education and physical therapy. He taught seventh-grade science at Northwestern Regional High School for 33 years and also practiced physical therapy at the former Winsted Memorial Hospital.

Mr. Sluzenski enjoyed skiing, gardening, hiking, canoeing, traveling and good food. He also enjoyed the successes of the UConn women’s basketball team over the last several years.

In addition to his wife, he is survived by three daughters, Karen Sluzenski and her husband, Michael O’Connor, of Etna, N.H., Janet Sluzenski of Bethesda, Md., and Beth Mangini and her husband, Michael, of New Hartford; four grandsons, Cole and Samuel Hartnett and Christopher and Joshua Mangini; and several nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great- nephews. He was predeceased by sisters Irene Wood and Helen Pillar. 

A celebration of Mr. Sluzenski’s life will be held Saturday, May 24, at Crystal Peak, 164 Torrington Road (Old Route 8), Winsted, at noon.

The family expresses its deepest gratitude to all of the physicians and professionals at the Center for Cancer Care, who lovingly cared for Ed throughout his illness and his Hospice at Home team, who helped care for him in his final weeks.

Montano-Shea Funeral Home, New Hartford, has care of the arrangements. There will be no calling hours. Memorial contributions may be made to the Center for Cancer Care Fund, 200 Kennedy Drive, Torrington, CT 06790. Visit an online guestbook at montano-shea.com.

© Copyright 2008 by TCExtra.com

Winsted Journal article

New Link

Thanks to Jen Richardson ’87, you can now download the three-page pdf yourself, here. This contains (1) More information on the dinner dance and the open house (see the column at right); (2) a registration form for the alumni association; and (3) a reservation form for the dinner dance.

Class of 1978

Just in case you haven’t yet done the math, this is our 30th reunion year. So let’s take advantage of this 50th anniversary celebration and get together on May 31st and June 1st. Check out the post above and download the pdf with further information.

Buried Treasure

We made a couple of scores recently. The first is the program from that first graduating class (click on the pictures to make them a little bigger):




The second was access to that first yearbook:


It has, of course, plenty of juicy photos in it. But I’ve been embarrassed enough times by my kids looking through my own yearbook (’78) that I’ll restrain myself. I did notice that Mr. Passamano is sprinkled liberally throughout this book. I’m including here a couple of harmless unidentified group-shot pages, as well as the Future Nurses’ Club page, interesting because the club no longer exists.

September 14, 1958

Mary McDonald, a member of the first graduating class at Regional, saved a page from the Waterbury Republican of September 14, 1958, with a bunch of photos of the new regional school. She very nicely let us scan:


Yes, that’s Mr. Passamano in the middle.


...and Mrs. Kauppi...



...and Mr. Dyer.



Anyone know anyone else? Any stories to tell?

In Memoriam: Walt Landgraf

We were shocked to hear of the death this week of Walt Landgraf, biology teacher during our time at Regional, and very active member of the community since then. Here is his obituary from the Register Citizen, as well as an article about him from the same paper, and his obituary from the Hartford Courant.

Calling hours will be at the Pleasant Valley United Methodist Church in Pleasant Valley on Tuesday, July 31, from 7 to 9 p.m. A funeral for family and close friends will be held on Wednesday, Aug. 1, at 10 a.m. at the Pleasant Valley United Methodist Church, and a public memorial service will be held on Saturday, Aug. 4, at 10 a.m. in the auditorium of Northwestern Regional #7 High School, Winsted, CT. Montano-Shea Funeral Home, 5 Steele Road, New Hartford, has care of the arrangements.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the Barkhamsted Historical Society, Pleasant Valley, CT.

Visit an online guestbook at www.montano-shea.com.

We have also been saddened to hear of the passing of several other teachers of that era in the last few years: Jim Hughes, John Hansen, Alice Waldecker (April 15, 2005), and Jean Clark.

Fashion Hits the Hill

Okay, ’fess up. How did you look in your gym uniform?








Do you still have your letter sweater? or better yet, can you still fit into it?

Tell us your clothing memories in the comments below (click “COMMENTS”), and if you have pictures, e-mail Deb Reardon and let her know.

Deer Old School on the Hill

Do you remember the school song? Did you know we had a school song? It did have something to do with autumn leaves of gold.

Deb Reardon has a copy in a piano bench somewhere in the United States, but no guarantees... anyone?

Come Back to School

Can you remember any of your school days? We want to hear about them—we’ll introduce topics in upcoming posts, which you can add to in the comments.

Are you interested in participating in an alumni band? an alumni theater troupe?

Would you like to help bring back the variety show? Do you remember any of the emcees?

Do you dare play in an alumni soccer game?

If you’re interested in getting involved, please e-mail any of the steering committee members at right.