Page 18 THE VILLADOM TIMES II • May 30, 2012 Obituaries Anne M. Christopher, nee Clayson, of Ridgewood died May 20. She was 83. She had been a cashier at the A&P in Ridgewood and Park Ridge for 27 years. She was a parishioner of Our Lady of Mount Carmel R.C. Church in Ridgewood, and a member of Project Pride in Ridgewood. She is survived by her children Bob and Gloria Christopher of Upper Saddle River; Linda and husband James Cosgrove of Ridgewood; Dave and Susan Christopher of Wyckoff; and Kathleen and husband Chuck Post of Nevada; 10 grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; and her siblings Robert Clayson of Pennsylvania and Andrew Clayson of Ohio. She was predeceased by her husband Robert J., her grandson Michael Post, and her siblings Winifred Reams and John Clayson. Arrangements were made by Feeney Funeral Home in Ridgewood. Memorial donations may be made to the Ridgewood Fire Department Scholarship Fund, 120 East Glen Avenue, Ridgewood NJ 07450. Ann Ames Deetz of Louisville, Colorado, formerly of Ridgewood, died May 10. She was 77. She received a bachelor’s degree in English from Colorado University at Boulder. She was a volleyball referee and substitute teacher in Ridgewood. She had been an immigration officer for 20 years. She is survived by daughters Rebecca Haskell of Colorado, Alison Taylor of Utah, and Sarah Edsall of Pennsylvania, 10 grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, and her sisters Liza Littlefield of Texas and Alison Ames and Katrine Ames, both of New York. She was predeceased by her parents Winslow Ames and Anna Rebecca Gerhard Ames, her sister Millicent Adamson, and infant sister Frances. Memorial donations may be made to The Heifer Project (www.heifer.org). A memorial service will be held June 9 in Boulder, Colorado. Anne Gera, nee Smolik, formerly of Glen Rock, died May 19. She was 87. She was a graduate of Hunter College, where she earned a bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education. Before retiring in 1982, she was a first grade teacher with the New York City Board of Education for many years. She was a member of Saint Michael’s Cathedral in Passaic, the Hunter College Alumni Association, the New York City Teachers Union, and the Glen Rock Library Book Discussion Group. She is survived by her children George Gera, Nancy Costanzo, and Michael Gera, seven grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren. She was predeceased by her husband George Gera. Arrangements were made by Vander Plaat Caggiano of Fair Lawn. Memorial donations may be made to a charity of choice. Andrew Gramaglia of Ridgewood died May 9. He was 20. He was a 2010 graduate of Ridgewood High School and Anne M. Christopher was attending Bergen Community College. He was a fouryear varsity letterman in wrestling, and was captain of the team his junior and senior years. He had lettered in track and field for pole vault. He is survived by his mother Nury Suarez, his father Anthony D., his brothers Christopher and Justin, his grandparents, aunts, uncles, and many cousins. Arrangements were made by Feeney Funeral Home in Ridgewood. Howard Hinchman Jr. of Ridgewood died May 19. He was 90. He was a U.S. Air Force veteran of WWII. He continued to serve in the Air Force until he retired as a lieutenant colonel. He was a pilot with TWA for 35 years. He was a member of the Ridgewood Hobbyist Club where he was the leader for over 10 years. He is survived by his wife Joyce (nee Newby) Hinchman, his children Jill Oliver of Ringwood and Judy Driscoll of Hillsboro, two grandchildren, and his sister Helen Burley of Spokane, Washington. Arrangements were made by Browning Forshay Funeral Home in Hawthorne. Virginia Lee Kelley of Ridgewood died May 21. She was 90. She is survived by her daughter Georgia Lee Arnt, six grandchildren, and 12 great-grandchildren. She was predeceased by her daughter Dixie Waligora, and her siblings James Dewey Kelley Jr. and Aida Kelley Battina. Arrangements were made by Feeney Funeral Home in Ridgewood. Memorial donations may be made to the Saddle River Chapter D.A.R., Attention: Jill Rousseau, 759 Mountain Avenue, Wyckoff, NJ 07481. Frederick M. Schoeffel of Ridgewood died May 21. He was a U.S. Army veteran. He had worked for Faber Cement Block for over 30 years. He was a member of Old Paramus Reformed Church, HILT, and Ho-Ho-Kus Seniors. He is survived by his wife Joan (Mooney), and his daughter Laura Inglis. Arrangements were made by Feeney Funeral Home in Ridgewood. Memorial donations may be made to the Old Paramus Church, 660 East Glen Avenue, Ridgewood, NJ 07450. V. Michael Talbot of Saddle River died May 20. He was 88. He was a U.S. Navy veteran of WWII. He was a graduate of Ridgewood High School and Lafayette College with a degree in electrical engineering. He was a project engineer/ manager and later vice president of Beach Electric Company, Inc. until 1995. After retiring, he worked as a consultant for PSE&G. He was a member of IBEW Union 52, Arcola Country Club and Brookside Racquet Club. He was survived by his wife June (nee Draesel) of Saddle River, his children Barbara Batten, Daniel Talbot, and Nancy Muldowney, and five grandchildren. Arrangements were made by C.C. Van Emburgh Funeral Home in Ridgewood. Memorial donations may be made to the Wounded Warrior Project, P.O. Box 758517, Topeka, KS 66675. Russian performers (continued from page 4) taken with Davis, whom the three Russians consider an international treasure. “He has been making a living for me for the past 25 years,” Smirnov. “Whenever I play in restaurants, the only think people want to hear is ‘Doctor Zhivago.’” Covering Russia’s nine time zones, Smirnov led the troupe and the audience from Saint Petersburg – Karokhina’s hometown – through his own former stomping grounds in Moscow, through the Cossack country along the Don, through the Ukraine and the Russian Jewish cultural center in Odessa, and on through the Urals – Moukhametov’s birthplace – to the Siberian Pacific. Moukhametov, who spent five years in the post-Soviet Russian Navy, celebrated his service with a rollicking, costumed sailor’s dance and a whistle that almost split the ceiling. Another huge hit was the ethnic Jewish “bottle dance” as seen in “Fiddler on the Roof.” He performed gymnastic contortions with an empty wine bottle perched on his hat, and never spilled a drop, or dropped the bottle. His unexpected appearance as a giant dancing bear was also a huge hit. “I don’t know how many Gypsies you have in Ridgewood, but we have a lot of Gypsies in Russia and we love their singing and dancing,” Smirnov said, and he and Karokhina performed both ethnic Jewish and Gypsy melodies. “Cossacks are famous here for their friendly character,” Smirnov noted wryly – and he sang a comic song about a drunken Cossack who said his beloved, Natalia, was too beautiful to live, and tries to take measures at a tavern. “In the end, Natalia will survive only because of the bad quality of Russian tableware – the fork bends and the knife breaks,” he added. The Ukrainian song shows the other side of love gone bad. The three Russians never ran out of stream, but when they ran out of time halfway through Siberia, they improvised a performance of Russian and ethnic songs interspersed with Israel’s “Hava Nagila,” Mozart’s 40th Symphony, and Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy,” perhaps in a spoof of the idea that everything was actually invented in Russia first. Finally, Karokhina played “Lara’s Theme” from “Doctor Zhivago,” strolling through the audience as she played, and brought misty eyes to many people who remembered the film. In the end, the audience simply wanted to speak to the three Russians or shake their hands. The three Russians were sorry to leave Ridgewood, and Ridgewood was sorry to see them leave. Reflecting on it all, Smirnov pondered the mysteries dear to the Russian heart, which loves a mystery wrapped up in an enigma. “This dancer is very good,” he said, reinforcing the obvious. “My other dancer went back to Russia. Now he owns a car wash in Siberia.” Howard Hinchman Jr. Ann Ames Deetz Virginia Lee Kelley Frederick M. Schoeffel Anne Gera V. Michael Talbot Andrew Gramaglia