Margie Tracy
It is with deep sadness that the family of Margie Tracy announces her quiet passing June 24. She was 45.
Mary Eugenia Marguerite Tracy was born February 21, 1968 to Rosemary and Joseph Aloysius Tracy Esq., at home in Rye. Margie, as she was known, attended Resurrection School and graduated from School of the Holy Child. She received a law degree from Suffolk University in Boston and practiced corporate and contract law. As a lawyer, she could see the crux of an issue, its path forward, and execute it with pure logic and force. Along with this focus, she also had an easygoing charm and openness that attracted many people.
Her family said, “We remember her luster, much like a pearl, which she is named after — a beautiful, single entity, formed in the heart of the oyster, a pearl, we’ve sadly lost. We will miss her brilliance, love of law, and most of all her kindness and generosity.”
Ms. Tracy is survived by her daughter, Keelyn, her ex-husband Michael Crowe, and six loving sisters and brothers, Regina Tracy-Semmes, Mary Elizabeth “Emie” Barnes, William “Moses” Tracy, Joseph A. Tracy Jr., Rosemary Tracy Maxfield, and Michael Tracy. Her parents predeceased her.
She will be missed by her family, friends, and nephews and nieces, Shawn, Shelby, Heather, Abigail, Charlie, Kevin, Dylan, Ryan, Cameron, Carleigh, Colby, Jack, Madeline, and Myles.
A funeral mass was celebrated at Resurrection Church July 18.
Donations may be made to the Mary Eugenia Marguerite Tracy Memorial Scholarship Fund, c/o Jane DiGangi, Director of Donor Relations, Suffolk University, 73 Tremont Street, Boston, MA 02108.
Frank Johnson
Frank Erland Johnson passed away on July 19, after a valiant struggle with a number of health ailments. He was 79.
Born on April 28, 1934 in New York City to Carl and Margaret Johnson, Frank attended New York City Schools and The City College of New York.
On September 6, 1958, he married Carol Anne White at Resurrection Church.
Mr. Johnson enjoyed deep personal and professional attachments to his adopted hometown of Rye. For over 40 years, he was a volunteer member of Poningoe Hook & Ladder Company. He was a parishioner of Resurrection Church and was a dedicated member of The Knights of Columbus. He also maintained a strong connection to his roots in the Bronx as a lifelong member of the Inwood Canoe Club.
In 1990, he retired from BP, having spent over 35 years as a cartographer in the oil industry. Shortly thereafter, he joined The Rye Police Department, retiring in 2001.
He will be remembered for his love of dogs, storytelling, Irish music, and his sense of humor.
Mr. Johnson was predeceased by his beloved wife Carol, and his sisters, Doris J. Schwake and Ruth J. Adriansen. He is survived by 14 nieces and nephews: Barbara B. McHugh (Balston Lake, N.Y.), Corinne B. Weber (Harrison), W. David Ball (Fairfield), Diane B. Brendel and Andrew C. Ball (Rye), Mary Ann West (Westport), Peter D. West (Stamford), Philip W. West (Fairfield), Robert Schwake (Pompton Plains, N.J.), Ann Marie Glinka (The Woodlands, Texas), Donna Cicoria (Denville, N.J.), Carol Dwyer (Etowah, N.C.), Susan Lowe (Fresno, Calif.), and Lorraine Adriansen (Littleton, Colo.), and a bevy of grandnieces and grandnephews.
Visitation will be held on Thursday, July 25 at Graham Funeral Home from 4-8 p.m. A funeral mass will follow on Friday, July 26 at 10 a.m. at Resurrection Church.
Donations in his memory may be made to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital.
Richard Klass
Filmmaker, entrepreneur, and author Ric Klass of Rye passed away July 9 in New York City after a brief illness.
Richard Loren Klass was born in Columbus, Ohio, on January 6, 1946. His mother, the former Helen Rosenthal, was a homemaker; and his father Louis owned Hilltop Jewelers and Bexley Office Machines in Columbus. He worked side by side his father, whose confidence in him made Mr. Klass feel that he could do anything.
He graduated from Bexley High School in 1964. After receiving a Bachelor of Science in Aeronautical/Astronautical Engineering from MIT in 1968, he went to California to work as a guidance and controls engineer for the Apollo Project at McDonnell Douglas, North American Rockwell, and Northrup Corporation. At night, he attended University of Southern California, earning a Master’s in Aerospace Engineering in 1970.
As a member of the team that participated in the Apollo 11 mission, the spaceflight that landed the first man on the moon, Mr. Klass received an Apollo Achievement Award from NASA.
He then returned to the East Coast to attend Harvard Business School, from which he earned an MBA in 1972.
Mr. Klass moved to Washington, D.C., and became director of market research for Carl Freeman & Associates, Inc., a publicly owned real estate company. He was a financial consultant to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
From 1975 to 1987, he was president and chairman of Magna Group, Inc., a real estate development company he founded that developed 14 subdivisions in the Washington area. At Georgetown University’s School of Business Administration, from 1983 to 1987, he was an adjunct professor and taught a course called Entrepreneurship.
After moving to New York in 1990, Mr. Klass became managing director of corporate finance for M.S. Farrell & Co., Inc.
But he returned to teaching, earning a Master’s in Education from Mercy College in 2003. He taught mathematics in public high schools in the Bronx, including a Gates Foundation-supported school. He wrote a memoir based on his experiences, “Man Overboard: Confessions of a Novice Math Teacher in the Bronx.”
While pursuing careers in aerospace, real estate, business, and teaching, his love of movies was never far from his mind.
As a student at MIT and Harvard, he was the movie reviewer for the school newspapers, and in the 1980s he was the film reviewer for two small D.C. newspapers. In 1989, he took the plunge and wrote, produced and directed a full-length feature film, “Elliot Fauman, Ph.D.,” which premiered at The Kennedy Center and later ran on Cinemax.
Returning to filmmaking, he wrote, produced, and directed “Excuse Me For Living,” a romantic comedy based on his novel of the same name; both the film and the novel were released in October 2012. The cast included Christopher Lloyd, Jerry Stiller, Robert Vaughn, and Wayne Knight.
Earlier this year, he was the recipient of three book awards: his novel “Excuse Me For Living” won first place for fiction in the Los Angeles Book Festival and was a finalist for ForeWord Reviews Book of the Year, in the adult fiction category. “Man Overboard” was a Montaigne Medal finalist in the Eric Hoffer Book Awards for the most thought-provoking title.
He was a member of the Writers Guild of America East and the Authors Guild.
On January 6, 1979, he married Anne Stadler, who was a publicist at Newsweek. The couple moved to Rye in 1990. Besides his wife, he is survived by a son, Joe of Morgantown, West Virginia, and a daughter, Hayley of Rye. His older brother Jim predeceased him.
Contributions in his memory can be made to MIT, for undergraduate scholarships, c/o Bonny Kellerman ’72, Director of Memorial Gifts, 600 Memorial Drive, W98-500, Cambridge, MA 02139.
John Nugent
Revered Rye High School coach and teacher John J. Nugent, of Oro Valley, Arizona, passed away June 26. He was 91.
Born in Lawrence, Massachusetts, he graduated from Ithaca College in 1950, receiving a B.S. and M.S. degree.
From 1962 to 1982, Mr. Nugent was Director of Athletics and Physical Education in Rye. He coached both the Rye High football and golf teams. In all, he spent 32 years teaching and coaching, retiring in 1982.
During his coaching career, he was honored with a number of awards, including Westchester County Football Coach of the Year in 1973, and the New York Daily News All Star Coach of the Year in 1975. In 1981, he received the Distinguished American Award from the Westchester chapter of the National Football Foundation. The following year, the Rye High School stadium was named for him.
In 1994, Mr. Nugent was inducted into the Westchester Sports Hall of Fame. In 1999, he was inducted into the Ithaca College Hall of Fame. He and his brother Tom, a former Florida State and Maryland University football coach, are the only two brothers in the Ithaca College Hall of Fame.
In 1989, he moved out west to Tucson.
Mr. Nugent is survived by his wife of 64 years, Jean; his four children, Susan Wolf, Eileen (Patrick) Finnegan, Mickey Nugent, and Patrick (Michelle) Nugent; nine grandchildren, James Wolf, Kimberly (Bryan) Luisana, Bryan Wolf, Kevin (Sarah) Finnegan, Daniel Finnegan, and Gabryella, Rodee, Ysabella, and Jayden Nugent; and two great-grandchildren, John and Mason Luisana.
A Celebration of Life was held July 5 at Vistoso Funeral Home in Oro Valley. Visit the online guestbook at www.vistosofh.com.
