Shelter Island Reporter obituaries: Aldredge, Armine, Halama, Woodworth
Alison Aldredge
Alison Aldredge, a teacher at the Peconic Community School, passed away on July 5, 2015, while traveling in Oregon with her husband.
She would have been 52 on July 8.
Alison was a beloved member of the Southampton community for nearly 20 years, having moved there from Larchmont, New York in 1997. A graduate of Rollins College, Alison earned a master’s degree in early childhood and elementary education from Manhattanville College. She devoted her life’s work to teaching young children and left an indelible mark on hundreds of families as a Pre-K teacher at the Ross School in East Hampton and in recent years at the Peconic Community School in Aquebogue.
Alison is survived by her husband, Matthew Aldredge, her three children, Margaret, Alex and Hayden Aldredge, her father and stepmother, Michael Coles and Edie Landeck of Shelter Island and her siblings Caroline Scudder of Shelter Island, Isobel Coleman of Locust Valley, Richard Coles of Harrison, New York and Douglas Coles of Palm Beach, Florida.
A celebration of Alison’s life will take place later this summer. Her family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Peconic Community School in memory of Alison, PO Box 273, Aquebogue, NY 11931, [email protected].
Donna Marie Armine
Donna Marie Armine of Holbrook passed away on July 2, 2015 in her 54th year.
Donna Marie was the loving daughter of Bill and Rosemarie Aston and sister of Jeff Aston (Monica) and Laura Barnoski (Ed). She was the cherished aunt of Jeffrey, Brandon, Ariana, Zachary, Nicholas, Dakota and Jacob and the beloved friend of Annie.
Henry Halama
Henry Halama, born in 1929 in Czechoslovakia, passed away June 20, 2015, at the age of 86. He loved Long Island and lived here most of his adult life including Shoreham, Shelter Island and Amagansett.
As a child, Henry dreamed of becoming a poet; however, his fight against communism forced him to escape from his beloved country in 1948. He traveled with his dear friend Milan Ondrich through Germany, Sweden and eventually to Canada. In 1958, he was invited to Brookhaven National Laboratory, where he worked for the next 34 years. He published many scientific papers and was known internationally for his research on high energy physics.
After his retirement, Henry began painting landscapes in pastels and oils. He captured many of his favorite places on the canvas, including mountains he had hiked and waters he had paddled. In addition to writing poetry and birding, he began to lead trips in his newer hobbies of butterflies and mushrooms. He moved to Woodstock, New York, in 2004 to be close to one of his passions: skiing. He spent as much time as possible on the slopes, never discouraged by poor conditions, just thrilled to absorb the wind in his hair and Mother Nature all around.
In 2013, Henry published a compilation of his poetry since 1965 entitled “Henry Halama Poems.”
It includes this later poem:
END GAME
Slowly, as the twilight creeps in,
time is trying hard to take away from me
my pleasures one by one.
So far it seems, as if some invisible force,
some inner strength perhaps
is slowing his progress.
Autumn like other seasons has his charms
as Keats so well expressed
in “mists and mellow fruitfulness.”
Deep in my soul I hear a voice:
‘Let falling leaves be messengers of hope
not of despair. Let muted golds and singing reds
give a new meaning to your days!’
I think of unchanged starry nights,
their velvet darkness, the endless loves
they generously gave, when I was young.
Yes, a few coveted pleasures pass me by,
but many more remain to lure a smile
on a cloudy morning’s frowning face.
Yes, Life is good and may be better still.
Henry is survived by his loving partner, Jane Schmitz; his daughter Caroline Ford and her husband, Roger Ford; his son, Henry Halama and his partner, Patty Malloy; his daughter Vlasta Benedict and her husband, Marc Benedict; his grandchildren, Matthew Ford and Nalo and Corrina Benedict; and his great-grandchildren, Brayden and Brice Ford.
Henry was a passionate man with infinite energy. Jane and Henry pursued their interest in classical music, attending many concerts at Bard and Maverick, the Met Opera’s Live at Time & Space Limited (TSL) and choral concerts. He particularly enjoyed “Doug Fox’s Opera Night” on WMNR and phoned in his reaction each week.
Henry was fascinated by cosmology, spending hours looking up at the stars. His love for the cosmos became an inspiration for research, his poetry and his painting.
Henry hiked all the Adirondack peaks with his daughter Caroline to become a “46er” at the age of 62. He went on to become a member of the “3500 Club.” He loved the snow and Hunter Mountain and taught all his kids to ski.
To know him was to know speed.
Henry was happiest outdoors with binoculars around his neck. Whether in a canoe, on a mountaintop, in a tent, in the woods, in a meadow or sitting beneath the stars in front of a fire, immersed in nature was where he loved to be. No matter what conditions life had to offer, there was always a patch of blue sky for Henry.
Susan R. Woodworth
Susan R. Woodworth of Shelter Island and Murray Hill, New Jersey, passed away at age 70 on July 3, 2015, after a long illness.
She is survived by her husband, Jay, daughter, Marian Vonella (Robert) of Freehold, New Jersey and son, Nicholas (Jillian) of St. Johns, Florida and three grandchildren, Hayley Vonella and Emma and Liam Woodworth.
Susan was born in East Orange, New Jersey and raised on Shelter Island. She was the daughter of Alice Fiske and stepdaughter of Andrew Fiske, who was the 16th Lord of the Manor at Sylvester Manor.
Susan attended public school on the Island. She graduated from Emma Willard School in Troy, New York and from Western College in Oxford, Ohio, now part of the University of Ohio system.
She and her husband owned the “Creek Cottage” on the Island from 1970 until September 2014. She and her family lived in Summit, New Jersey for 36 years before moving to the Murray Hill section of New Providence in 2010.
Susan was a member of St. Mary’s Episcopal Church. In Summit she was a member of Calvary Episcopal Church, where she sang in the choir and the Calvary Chorale. Susan was a sustaining member of several organizations in Summit. She was also a member and chapter president of P.E.O. International, a philanthropic organization for the advancement of women. Susan was a Patron of Carnegie Hall and a supporter of the Shelter Island Public Library and Historical Society, as well as several public television and classical music radio stations.
She was an avid rug hooker and a member of two guilds, the Anne Arundel Guild in Maryland and the Hunterdon County Rug Artisans Guild in New Jersey. She loved attending week-long workshops and catching up with friends’ projects. When not rug hooking, Susan could be found curled up with a good book or in the kitchen baking for friends or functions.
A memorial service will be held in early August at Calvary Episcopal Church, 31 Woodland Avenue, Summit, New Jersey. Phone: 908-277-1814.
