Cyril Griffin (1933-2017)
Cyril J. Griffin, 84, of Beacon, died Aug. 1, 2017.
Born Apr. 26, 1933, in Burlington, Vermont, he was the son of Cyril Joseph and Aline (Colby) Griffin. He married Elizabeth Joan Green in 1951 in Long Beach, California. in 1951. He graduated from the U.S. Air Force Intelligence School in Denver and served four years preparing weekly briefings for commanders responsible for the New York City to Washington, D.C. air-defense zone.
In 1958, he earned a bachelor’s in theater arts / motion pictures, with a minor in history, from UCLA and also did two years of graduate work. He was a copywriter for Putnam Publishers and J. Walter Thompson in New York City.
In the late 1960s he developed a visual art form; projecting and dissolving two still slide images with manual controls to provide “flow,” as if it were film. His company, Prometheus Productions, located above the Filmore East, produced for corporate clients and the New York State Council on the Arts.
In 1971, he married Mary Curtis Ratcliff, a founding member of Videofreex. He was adopted by Leonard Crow Dog and his father Henry Crow Dog of Rosebud, South Dakota and recorded audio, video and photographed at Crow Dog’s Paradise, the “Trail of Broken Treaties,” the burning of Custer and inside Wounded Knee.
He is survived by his children: Janet Griffin of Wingdale; Jim Griffin of Kent, Connecticut; Lisa Weems of Marblehead, Massachusetts; Tracy Griffin of Boston and Erin Griffin of Pittsburgh; six grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Services were private.
Ivan Hayden (1929-2017)
Ivan R. Hayden, 88 of Heuvelton, Vermont, died July 24, 2017, at his home under the care of his family and Hospice of St. Lawrence Valley. He was employed for 25 years at the Brunetto Cheese Co. in Beacon before moving to Heuvelton to work at the Losurdo Cheese until his retirement in 1991.
Born Mar. 6, 1929, in Hinesburg, Vermont, he was the son of Archibald and Hazel (Atherton) Hayden. He attended Hinesburg High School and on Nov. 4, 1950, married Lillian Mae Place, who died in 2002.
He is survived by children John Hayden (Michelle) of Wallkill; Joseph Hayden (Kyong-He) of San Antonio, Texas; Donna Ballard (Walter) of Heuvelton; Arlene Kummer (John) of Winchester, Virginia; Angela Bailey of Springfield, Virginia; a brother, Raymond Hayden of Essex Junction, Vermont; a sister, Nina Sprano of Hinesburg, Vermont; 11 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.
A celebration of life service will be held in the fall in Vermont. Memorial contributions may be made to the Hospice and Palliative Care of St. Lawrence Valley, Route 11, Potsdam, NY 13676.
Thomas Henderson (1961-2017)
Thomas Michael Henderson, 56, of Utica, died July 20, 2017, at his home, surrounded by family and friends, after a long battle with cancer. Among his survivors is his mother, Ursula Henderson, and his brother, Bill Henderson (Michelle), both of Beacon.
Thomas was born at the U.S. Naval Station in Madagascar, Rabat, Morocco, on April 22, 1961, the son of William Joseph and Ursula E. (Polte) Henderson. He served in the U.S. Air Force from 1979 to 1983.
For 31 years, Thomas was an officer with the New York State Department of Corrections, retiring in 2015. He was an avid Mets and Giants fan.
Besides his mother and brother, he is survived by his sons Michael Brand (Abbey) of Rhode Island and Army CPL Joseph Henderson (Layla) of Georgia; and two grandchildren, Jaiden and Grayson.
A memorial service was held on July 31 at the Heintz Funeral Home in Utica, followed by burial at Calvary Cemetery in Utica. Memorial donations may be made to St. Francis Di Paola, 152 8th Ave., Frankfort, NY 13340.
Rose Jackson (1925-2017)
Rose L. Jackson, 91, a longtime resident of Fishkill and Dutchess Junction, died at her home on July 31, 2017.
Born in Harlem on Aug. 6, 1925, she was the daughter of Isabella (Hillary) Shaw and her stepfather, George Shaw.
As the first generation of the great Southern migration, Rose was a child of the Harlem Renaissance. She won art and writing contests at Wadleigh High School for Girls (now Wadleigh Secondary School for the Performing & Visual Arts). One of her first jobs was in the commercial art department of an advertising agency.
After marrying Philip Aaron Jackson (who died in 1992), she moved to Beacon to raise a family and work as an inspector at Chemprene, Inc. She continued to paint until her death, and her works were included in shows at the Howland Cultural Center, the Howland Public Library and at Chase Bank. Rose enjoyed many hobbies, including gardening, reading, thrifting, and attending theater.
Rose is survived by her children: Shabazz Jackson (Josephine Papagni) of Clintondale; Jody Jackson Satriani of Poughkeepsie; Marie Jackson of Beacon; and Warren Jackson of Medford; her grandchildren, Alicia Jackson, Kitama Seeger Jackson, Moraya Seeger DeGeare, Justin Jackson, Khadijah Jackson, Yadira Sims, and Keith Sims; her great-grandchildren, Gabriella Williams and Raiden DeGeare; her sisters Felicia Walker (Walter) of Hopewell Junction and Marcia Ballard (Walter) of Cary, North Carolina; and her uncle, John “J.C.” Halmond of Washington, D.C.
A memorial celebration will be held on Aug. 18 from 2 to 6 p.m. at the Beacon Elks, 900 Wolcott Ave., in Beacon. Memorial contributions may be made to Hudson River Playback Theatre, c/o Jody Satriani, 1089 Main St., Fishkill, NY 12524.
Richard Peters
Richard A. Peters, 67, of Poughkeepsie, died in hospice care at the Lutheran Care Center in Poughkeepsie, after a brief bout with cancer.
Born in New York City, he was the son of Otto W. and Anna Marie Peters of Maspeth, Queens. In 1966, at the age of 16, he graduated from Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan. He earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering in 1970 and a master’s degree in transportation planning and engineering in 1974 from the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn. In 1975, he earned his professional engineer license.
He married his wife of 42 years, Nancy Graf, at St. Jacobus Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Unaltered Augsburg Confession, in Woodside, Queens. They had first met as teenagers in their church youth group.
Rich spent 39 of his 43 years working for the New York State Department of Transportation in Region 8 (Hudson Valley), including 20 years working produce working transportation systems for Dutchess, Ulster, Orange, Rockland, Westchester, Putnam, and Columbia counties. In 2013, he retired as regional planning and programming manager.
His team’s accomplishments include the direct interchange between I-84 and the New York Thruway, the direct connection to Stewart Airport from I-84 via State Route 747 at Drury Lane, and the revitalized Beacon-Newburgh Ferry.
He attended monthly, work-related meetings in the North Tower of the former World Trade Center every second Tuesday, except for Sept. 11, 2001, when he decided to attend an afternoon meeting elsewhere in the city.
Besides his wife, Richard is survived his daughter Elizabeth Harris (Jon), two granddaughters, Ellen and Keira, and his sister, Linda Maline of Maspeth, Queens.
A funeral service was held on Aug. 7 at Our Savior Lutheran Church in Fishkill, with burial at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Maspeth, Queens. Memorial donations may be made in Richard’s name to Our Savior Lutheran Church, 1400 Route 52, Fishkill, NY 12524, or to a charity of one’s choice.
