John Bligh
- Music teacher
Robert “Bob” Lanaghan, a longtime music teacher at Fort Hamilton HS in Brooklyn and a central figure in the school’s performing arts program, died on May 8, 2024, at the age of 59. The cause was melanoma.
Bob, an Iowa native, taught at the school from September 2001 through February 2024, when he retired due to his advancing illness.
UFT chapter advocate Kristen Brehm, a former Fort Hamilton HS chapter leader, said Bob was a gifted vocal teacher and artist who inspired students and helped his colleagues by serving on a number of school committees.
“He’s such a loss to the school,” she said. “He could take kids that were like ‘Ugh, chorus, I don’t want to be in chorus’ and get them to be singers.”
Brehm said Bob helped with anything she needed as the chapter leader. She and other former colleagues said he was driven by the tenets of his Buddhist faith, including fairness and equity. He was “kind but firm” and never yelled. “He was very calm in meetings, but he would say what needed to be said in a very clear and logical way,” she said.
Brehm paid tribute to him on Facebook on June 12, which would have been Bob’s 60th birthday. When she was in meetings with Bob, she was “guaranteed to have to fight back a few laughs when, from across the table, he would give me a subtle look to let me know that he, too, saw the absurdity and the humor in things,” she wrote.
Outside of teaching, Bob was a textile artist and designed his own yarn and fabric eco-prints, sang in the Choral Society of Grace Church in Greenwich Village and was a regular guest singer and organist with the Canoni Chorale at Christ Church in Cobble Hill. He was also an organist and pianist for other religious communities in Brooklyn over the years. Other achievements include performing as a conductor at Lincoln Center and organist at Oxford University in England. His last Carnegie Hall performance was in 2023.
The Fort Hamilton HS Drama Academy dedicated its spring musical performances in May to Bob for his longtime commitment to the Performing Arts program.
The spring concert chorus and mixed chorus performances also were a tribute to Bob. He had planned to attend them, but died three weeks before, said vocal teacher Rebecca Martinez, who stepped in for him while he was on leave and retired. He had selected one song for the concert chorus – David M. Child’s “Weep No More” – a piece he planned to have performed at his own memorial service.
“It was a really challenging piece, but the kids did it such justice and I think they realized the importance of what they were doing,” she said.
Martinez said Bob shared his knowledge with her when she began teaching at the school nine years ago, including about teaching and pedagogy, assessments and creating rubrics. “He would make you think about your process and your ‘why,'” she said.
Martinez, who is pregnant, said she will cherish one of the last gifts Bob gave her – a purple wrap he made with dyes from flowers he collected for his eco-prints.
“He took this with grace,” she said of his illness, “a lot of grace.”
Fort Hamilton HS drama teacher William Coulter said Bob was a great colleague and friend. Bob got the National Chorale to go to Fort Hamilton HS, provided opportunities for students to sing at Carnegie Hall and New York City Center and was the vocal director for the spring musical for more than 20 years.
Bob taught vocal training classes and worked individually with students who wanted to become professional vocalists or music teachers, and many of them have done so. “So many former students have said what an amazing person he was and how he helped them with their self-confidence,” he said.
Coulter said Bob treated people with compassion, joy and love and inspired him to become a Buddhist, too.
Roe Deyo, secretary for the Arts and Business Department, said Bob was kind, gentle, soft-spoken, caring, wise, talented and understanding, and was a close friend. “Bob’s heart was so full of love and was so giving,” she said.
The two had great conversations and laughs as they ate breakfast together in the Arts office most mornings, she said. “I miss him dearly and I don’t think I will ever connect with anyone the way we connected,” she said.
Bob is survived by his husband, Matthew Yanchuk; his siblings, Mark, Kevin, Matthew, Patrick, Brian and Mary; brother-in-law Mike Yanchuk; sister-in-law Patti Yanchuk; and nieces and nephews.
Recalling his life of compassion in his obituary, his loved ones said: “Bob’s memory can be honored through the everyday practices of kindness and enjoyment of music and beauty.”
Bob was so talented and as a teacher was able to bring out the best in his students. The music department at Fort Hamilton was well served by having him on staff Condolences to his husband and may he rest in peace
He was an awesome brother-in-law and uncle to our kids. We miss him so much. He always had fun things to say to make us laugh. Love you Bob!