In Memoriam

Florence Fidell, a driving force in the early days of the UFT’s Paraprofessionals Chapter, went on to serve as a coordinator of the Palm Beach office of the Retired Teachers Chapter and was active in the RTC’s political operation in Florida...

During her 40-year teaching career, Antoinette Messina often used her knack for connecting with children and her love of languages to help her immigrant students learn English...

Irina Karpova, an adaptive physical education teacher with a gift for reaching her District 75 students and spreading joy throughout her school, died on June 28, 2022, after a battle with breast cancer. She was 58...

Linda Green became a teacher at PS 154 in Harlem because "she wasn't feeling fulfilled" working as a 911 operator with the NYPD, according to a friend. She taught 2nd and 3rd grades at the school for 17 years, the last several years while battling cancer...

Gail Denise Lord, a paraprofessional at PS/IS 206 in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, was “a light to all who knew her, bright and warm,” said her brother, Afinju McDowell...

John Russiello, a retired attendance teacher and football coach who spent 28 years working for the New York City Department of Education, died on Dec. 1, 2021, of cancer. He was 78...

Norma Trivelli, a longtime language teacher at IS 240, Andries Hudde JHS, in East Midwood, Brooklyn, died of natural causes on Nov. 9, 2021, in Leesburg, Florida. She was 88...

Milton Polsky was a superlative English teacher with an exuberant passion for writing, theater, social justice and getting others involved in the most inclusive way possible. He brought that fervor not only to the classroom, but also to the Si Beagle...

Helene R. Yarmus was a dedicated and beloved educator, teaching 5th-grade students at PS 41 in the Bronx for many years before becoming a mentor to new teachers in District 11, also in the Bronx...

Darshanand D. Ramdas took a pay cut in 1997 when he left his job as an airline mechanic to become a teacher at the Bronx Engineering and Technology Academy. He did so for personal reasons and never regretted it...

Helen C. Arvanitis, who taught at public schools in Harlem and Queens, died on Aug. 15, 2021, in Danbury, Connecticut. She was 95...

Loida Allison Lester loved teaching in the Brownsville, Brooklyn, neighborhood where she spent most of her life. " She wanted to make a meaningful contribution to the community in which she was raised," said her sister Dr. Lynn Lester...

Rose Rita Barry, a UFT member for 50 years and a teacher in a family of teachers, died on Aug. 7, 2021, after a long illness. She was 93...

Melissa Vanessa Hall, a kindergarten teacher at PS 152 in the South Bronx, "worked with passion, integrity and determination, making such an impact on the lives of the students and families she served," said Chapter Leader Jasmine Chandoo...

During her 30-year career as a social studies teacher, Anna was a mentor to both teachers and students at Lehman HS and later at Walton HS in the Bronx, said her daughter, Karen Osborne. She was passionate about social justice issues and, after retiring in...

Nicholas Farinacci, a retired industrial arts teacher, died on July 2, 2021, of cardiopulmonary arrest. He was 98...

Founding UFT member Jeannette "Jeanie" Ritter, 84, was remembered by a former friend and public school colleague as the "epitome of the qualities we hope for in a teacher: intelligent, compassionate, witty, creative and curious."...

Vidalina Martinez was a UFT member for 20 years, and most recently worked at the Bronx Aerospace Academy HS, where she was a bilingual special education paraprofessional since 2011. “She was very dedicated to the students,” said Chapter Leader Georgina...

Marcella Neil-Simpson was an occupational therapist to scores of students over her decades of work at Q752, the Queens Transition Center, a District 75 school with four sites...

Matthew Jensen, widely known as the “mayor” of PS 110 in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, was a beloved English as a Second Language teacher who “had a connection to everyone in the building,” said his colleague, special education teacher Genevieve La Riva...

Eileen Shostack, a retired teacher and a UFT member for almost 50 years, will be remembered for generations at Manhattan’s PS 75, the Emily Dickinson School, where the library has been dedicated in her memory. The school’s staff honored Eileen’s many years...

Barbara Miller was a warm and welcoming teacher who found joy in helping students from other countries feel at home at PS 19 on Staten Island, where she taught for 10 years...

Donald Isoldi loved sharing his passion for music — both while he was a math and business teacher at Harry Van Arsdale HS in Brooklyn, and later as a retiree teaching Si Beagle courses on different musical genres, including the Big Band era and the doo-wop...

Rhoda Frohlinger retired more than 30 years ago, in 1990, but some of her students still remember their "favorite 3rd-grade teacher."...