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David Anthony Cole
David Anthony Cole, Ph.D., 60, artist and husband of Dr. Susan A. Cole, president of Montclair State University, died on Wednesday, April 19, after a long battle with pulmonary fibrosis.
Dr. Gregory A. Waters, vice president for Institutional Advancement and deputy provost of MSU, described Mr. Cole as "an irrepressible spirit, a great wit, and a man of enormous personal generosity," adding that "He loved laughter, good conversation, and helping people to see things in new ways. He touched many people on campus and throughout the Montclair community."
Mr. Cole was born in Charleston, S.C., and grew up in the South, New England, the Pacific Northwest, and England.
He received his undergraduate degree in philosophy from Princeton University, and his master's and doctoral degrees in critical theory from Bran-deis University.
For more than nine years, Mr. Cole taught English at the City University of New York, before taking up his life's passion as an artist.
Lorenzo Pace, director of the Art Galleries at MSU, spoke of Mr. Cole's generosity as an artist.
"He was one of the most warm, generous artists I've ever met. The way he gave away his art without ever expecting anything in return is a gesture we all can learn from."
Mr. Cole's work, primarily the artist's books and correspondence art, can be found in collections around the world, including the Museum of Modern Art library and Franklin Furnace in New York City; the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris; the Getty Center and the Stanford University Library in California; the Sackner Archives in Florida; the Victoria and Albert Museum in London; the Canadian Postal Museum Archive in Hull; the Hviodowre Art Library in Denmark; and the Nomad Museum in Lisbon.
His most recent exhibitions have included a show of his large "Shroud" paintings at the Ice House in Minneapolis; inclusion in an exhibition of Artists Books at the Brooklyn Museum in February of this year; and a recent collaborative exhibition with Despo Magoni at the Pratt Institute.
Mr. Cole was working on a catalog for his upcoming on-campus exhibit "In-Gathering."
The forthcoming show, which will open on May 22 and run through July 21, will feature Mr. Cole's work, including his colorful one-of-a-kind hand-painted wooden paint stirrers.
For his wife's MSU presidential inauguration, Mr. Cole collaborated with the Freespace Dance Company to present "The Great Spirit Shroud," featuring 14 of his canvasses.
"He wanted his shrouds - these beautiful, vibrant canvas paintings - to come to life through this collaboration with us," said Maureen Glennon of Freespace. "They did just that."
Mr. Cole is survived by his wife, Susan; his children, Simon and Alexa; a daughter-in-law, Laura; and a granddaughter, Sonia.
A funeral service was held on Friday, April 21, at Wien and Wien Memorial Chapel in Hackensack.
The family requests that donations be made, in lieu of flowers, to the Musical Instrument Fund at the Montclair State University Foundation, 1 Normal Ave., Upper Montclair, NJ 07043.
Alfred J. Pignataro
Dr. Alfred J. Pignataro, 96, of Lincroft, died on Thursday, April 13, at the Riverview Medical Center in Red Bank.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., Dr. Pignataro was a lifelong resident of Montclair, prior to his move four months ago to Lincroft.
Dr. Pignataro received his bachelor's and dental degrees from St. Louis University.
He did his internship at the Jersey City Medical Center, and his residency in oral surgery.
Serving in the U.S. Army Air Force during World War II, Dr. Pignataro attained the rank of major in the Medical Division.
Dr. Pignataro was an oral surgeon for 57 years, with a practice in Jersey City, before his retirement in 1995.
He also had been attending oral surgeon at the Jersey City Medical Center and chief oral surgeon at St. Francis Hospital, Jersey City.
Dr. Pignataro's last position was on staff at Pollack Hospital, Jersey City, as the attending oral surgeon.
He was assistant pro-fessor of oral surgery at Seton Hall School of Medicine and Dentistry, and assistant director of oral hygiene for the Jersey City Board of Education.
A past president of the Jersey City Medical Center Alumni Association and the N.J. State Society of Oral Surgeons, Dr. Pignataro was a member of the Hud-son County Dental Society and the N.J. and American Dental Associations.
He was a trustee of the Metropolitan New York Society of Oral Surgery, and a member of both the American Society of Oral Surgery and the American Society of Anesthesiology.
Dr. Pignataro was a communicant of St. Leo the Great Roman Catholic Church in Lincroft, and a former communicant of Immaculate Conception Church in Montclair.
Predeceased by his wife, Frances (nee Scerbo) in 1997, Dr. Pignataro is survived by three sons, Alfred J. Jr. of Lincroft, Robert J. of Radnor, Pa., and Richard M. of Middletown; eight grand-children, Christine, Alfred, Mark, Michael, Joseph, Amy, Nicholas and Lisa; and one great-grandson, Vin-cent.
Funeral services were held on April 17, at the John F. Pfleger Funeral Home in Middletown, N.Y., with a Mass offered at St. Leo the Great Church in Lincroft, and interment in Immaculate Conception cemetery, Montclair.
Joyce Ann Massaro
Joyce Ann Massaro, 54, of Montclair, died on Sunday, April 16, at her home.
Mrs. Massaro was born in Newark, and lived in Belleville before moving to Montclair 26 years ago.
She earned her nursing degree from Mountainside Hospital School of Nursing in 1956.
Mrs. Massaro worked as a registered nurse in the Essex County area.
Surviving Mrs. Massaro are her husband, Paul Allan; a son, Christopher P.; a daughter, Jessica B. Reissig; a brother, Richard J. Fieramosca; and one grand-child.
A Mass for Mrs. Massaro was offered yesterday in Immaculate Conception Church.
Ralph C. Christiansen
Ralph C. Christiansen, 93, of Manitowoc, Wis., died on Sunday, April 16.
Family graveside services will be held in Buffalo, N.Y.
Mr. Christiansen is a former resident of Buffalo, Upper Montclair, and Richmond, Va.
He is survived by a son and daughter-in-law, Peter and Diane Christiansen of Manitowoc
Evelyn Van Horn
Evelyn Van Horn, 88, of Ridgewood, died on Monday, April 10.
Miss Van Horn was a direct descendant of both George Soule, who came to America on the Mayflower in 1620, and Josiah Hornblower, who brought the first steam engine (now located in the Schuyler Copper Mine, Belleville) to the United States in 1752.
Born in Jersey City, Miss Van Horn lived in Upper Montclair for 40 years before moving to Ridgewood in 1961.
Miss Van Horn was a graduate of Montclair High School in 1929 and of the Traphagen School of Fashion, New York City.
She worked for a French fashion designer in New York, and later entered the field of retail, employed by Hahne and Co., Kresge-Newark, and Elizabeth Arden.
After her relocation to Ridgewood, Miss Van Horn worked at The Party House, retiring in 1986.
As a young woman, Miss Van Horn was a member of the Camp Fire Girls, and later belonged to the 200 Club of Upper Montclair's Woman's Club.
She attended the First Congregational Church in Montclair.
Miss Van Horn was predeceased by her parents, Albert and Josephine Merseles, and a sister, Muriel Legg.
She is survived by her sister and brother-in-law, Helen E. Cluthe Sinkway and Jon G. Sinkway of Glen Rock; and her cousins, Marjorie Van Horn of Rydal Park, Pa.; and Frank Hornblower Merseles Jr. and his wife, Betty, of Ponte Vedra, Fla.
A funeral service was held on April 14, at the C.C. Van Emburgh Funeral Home in Ridgewood.
Interment was private, at George Washington Memorial Park in New Jersey.
Because Miss Van Horn was an avid gardener, who loved flowers to surround her home, the family would appreciate that flowers be sent to surround her now, in lieu of donations.
