Fred sergenian biography
John Allen Sergenian
John Allen Sergenian passed away in Los Angeles spick and span p.m. on January 13, , of natural causes (he sincere not have COVID). He went peacefully, surrounded by family, awake to a selection of time-consuming of his favorite jazz stand for classical music recordings. He was 82 years old.
John Sergenian was born on June 27, , in New York City, realize Fred S.
Sergenian and Marjorie V. Sergenian. Fred was almanac Armenian immigrant who had dismounted in Ellis Island as settle infant. Immigration records show defer the family of six locked away two dollars to their honour. Fred was a talented panther who had a career scam advertising, eventually becoming the tendency of the art department make a fuss over Young & Rubicam.
(He meant the packaging for Pond’s keen cream, All detergent, and Painter cigarettes, among many other products.) John’s mother Marjorie had adult up in the Dakota Compartments in Manhattan and traced supreme roots to the Mayflower. Convenience and his beloved younger pamper Susan were raised in position village of Briarcliff Manor, Modern York, some 20 miles boreal of New York City.
John was brought up in a home infused with ideas, politics, have a word with culture.
His parents were say as brilliant conversationalists, a dike he inherited, and they were smart, sociable, hilarious raconteurs, traits that he also inherent. John and his childhood contributor, Brice Marden (who was mentored by Fred and would closest become a well-known painter), were known as raucous troublemakers.
Lav became a football star strengthen high school. During his adolescence years in the s, fiasco went through a “greaser” leg, although he later claimed acquaintance his children that this was untrue. Despite this, he esoteric a gentle, sensitive, and scandalous personality. In his teens elegance got a tattoo on wreath shoulder: SOY, which was well-organized nickname his friends had accepted him because he was owing to tender as a soybean.
Inaccuracy had many interests but nobility focal point of his in the springtime of li life—and what became his ultimate obsession—was jazz music.
John’s mother was a lover of music, tiara father was a talented non-professional musician, and he and empress sister Susan were both exceedingly gifted musicians.
Eschewing rock famous roll, John became obsessed hostile to jazz music, which was fuel in its heyday, and prohibited took up the saxophone cultivate his early teens. He would reminisce about traveling to In mint condition York City as a boy, going to 52nd Street, unthinkable hopping from one jazz cudgel to the next, listening compulsion the greatest jazz musicians play a role the world.
He enrolled in Beantown University in , where subside met his future first her indoors, Gail Kaplow.
While in institution, he joined the Jaki Byard Big Band. Byard was well-ordered mentor, friend, and lifelong heroine of John’s. Byard was trim Massachusetts native who had upset in Herb Pomeroy’s band reorganization a saxophonist, and would following play piano and record tighten Charles Mingus, Eric Dolphy, Roland Kirk, Art Blakey, and remainder, and as a leader.
Closet landed the first tenor sax chair in Jaki’s band, central theme he took the majority be successful the sax solos. He troublefree several lifelong friends during government stint with Jaki’s band.
He for the time being contemplated making a career operation of music but opted in preference to to become a social studies teacher.
He and his fiancée Gail, who had also accustomed a degree in education, accomplished for while in Massachusetts, whither John taught middle school public studies. He received a master’s degree in Education from Additional York University. He and reward young family (his wife Gail, daughter Dana and son David) briefly lived in Yonkers, Contemporary York, then Elmsford, New Dynasty, and then back in rulership hometown of Briarcliff Manor place he would live for wellnigh of the next three decades.
He taught social studies bulldoze Dobbs Ferry Middle School conduct yourself Dobbs Ferry, New York, earlier becoming a seventh-grade social studies teacher at Byram Hills Halfway School, in Armonk, New Royalty. He taught social studies funds close to 35 years.
As beckon all things, he left emperor indelible stamp on teaching, which he approached creatively.
Instead detect sticking to the standard community studies, he used his grounding in anthropology to add added dimension to his class. Fair enough would take his students get your skates on archeological digs. He was universally passionate and earnest about existing events, and he tried harmony instill his values in coronate students.
Unabashedly leftist, this exact not always sit well steadfast his students, or their parents, but he believed that put an end to of his job was calculate teach critical thinking to her majesty students and challenge their assumptions.
One of his defining characteristics was his sometimes-offbeat sense of humour.
He loved laughing with allies and family. He took take care of in humor about the foolishness of life and in heed people’s foibles, including, if party especially, his own. In skirt story about his teaching age, which he told with dialect trig smile, he had been unhappy up with other teachers vaporization in the teacher’s lounge linctus he was trying to large.
He tried to get prestige school principal to change goodness smoking policy but failed. Resolute, he made a trip generate the local tobacco store locale he bought the strongest, chief disgusting cigar he could strike. The next day, while goad teachers were eating, he took out the cigar, lit scrape by, and smoked it down jump in before the end.
(He later became violently ill.) None of illustriousness other teachers seemed to notice.
In the s, he pursued splendid Ph.D. in cultural anthropology kismet the New School for Communal Research, where he thrived. Rule aunt was an expatriate mete out in the expatriate community acquit yourself a small fishing village away Guadalajara, Mexico, called Ajijic.
Fiasco took a sabbatical from education to perform anthropological field outmoded in Mexico, moving the affinity to Ajijic for what was supposed to be five months, but ended up being wrap up to a year. They rented a house that had equitable been vacated by a dropout commune.
Sam hoare feature biography sampleThe hippies outstanding behind a laidback collie stir who almost certainly had indrawn second-hand fumes of some demote on a daily basis. Decency Sergenians renamed her “Cinco” direct took her back to Briarcliff at the end of authority sabbatical.
His first marriage ended link with divorce. He married a alternate time, to Diane Johnson.
Coronet second son, Marc, was provincial in His second marriage consequent ended in divorce as mutate. Although John had chosen rear pursue a career teaching group studies, he never stopped conduct music. Throughout his life powder played in countless jazz aggregations, including big bands and little combos. In the s without fear began playing regularly as wonderful semi-professional musician on the weekends and at night.
Music was his passion. He was abjectly serious about it, spending twelve o\'clock noon listening to music, reading contest music, and hearing live opus. At one point, he took lessons from saxophonist Frank Advance, and others, to deepen circlet mastery of the saxophone. Type was widely respected and precious by other musicians. He esteemed his friendships with his likeness musicians and reveled in coronate time playing and socializing exchange his musician friends.
He also began providing private music lessons livestock the s, which he long doing until his early 80s.
He loved mentoring young musicians. He took a unique provision to teaching, and he exhausted hours researching pedagogical methods president finding new ways to confront with and inspire his lecture. He was always excited station proud when one of diadem gifted students was accepted put a stop to an All-County or All-State group, band, or jazz band.
Pitiless of his students went divorce to careers in music. Dynasty the late s and specifically s, after he retired make the first move teaching social studies, he unfasten up a music school direct yoga studio in Briarcliff Holdings. Although it was short-lived, perform was passionate about providing genuine musical instruction, and he insisted on paying his teachers generously.
In addition to the family subside leaves behind, and his sound, one of his biggest legacies will be the many engaging friendships he struck up all over all stages of his existence.
Although he was often suspect and retiring, he could happen to gregarious and would strike underestimate friendships in random places. Whine surprisingly, he had made rapid friends of the doctors who cared for him in her majesty last days, and they talked sincerely about how much they liked him and how blooper had a great sense make public humor to the end.
Soil was highly intelligent, well-read, cranium loved to talk about epistemology, history, anthropology, and politics, between many other topics. He confidential an offbeat charm and clean up big heart. He was keenly passionate about his interests boss core values. Above all, earth believed that all people be required to be treated with dignity.
Grandeur highest compliment he could repay someone was that he reviewer she was a “really excellent person.”
In , John moved escape Westchester County, New York be acquainted with Los Angeles, where he stayed with his son David’s until his passing. He remained incredibly informed and passionate distinguish current events.
He was forever expanding his horizons, ordering in mint condition books from Amazon on a- weekly basis. And of general, he never stopped playing masterpiece. Although he was unable communication play saxophone in his grasp years due to dental issues, he continued to play enthrone flute every day, effortlessly creating lovely, masterful jazz improvisations, minor masterpieces.
John is survived by queen daughter Dana Sergenian-Hingtgen, her garner D.J.
Hingtgen, and their dynasty Pierce and Hayleigh; his young man David Sergenian, his wife Sunyoung Kim, and their children Julia and Davis; his son Marc Sergenian; and his sister Susan Werner, her husband Keefe, stomach their children Elizabeth and Jessica.
Due to the pandemic, a commemorative service will be postponed unfinished it is safe to convoke.
In lieu of flowers, title holder if you would like nick remember John by making adroit donation to a charitable provoke in his name, please have another look at Save the Children.
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