Two local icons remembered

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November 1, 2009

Both died over weekend

By DAN HEATH The Press Republican Sun Nov 01, 2009, 10:28 PM EST

PLATTSBURGH — Two community icons are being remembered fondly after they died this weekend.

Former Clinton County Historian Addie Shields, 93, died Saturday, and former Plattsburgh State Music Professor Dr. Angelo LaMariana, 94, died Sunday.

Ralph "Pete" Conroy, former president and current vice president of the Adirondack Youth Orchestra, knew both well. He was saddened to learn of the two deaths after he returned to the area Sunday.

"I found I lost two good friends before noon," Conroy said. "They both lived long and productive lives. They were both very strong-willed characters with a good sense of humor."

COMMUNITY ASSET
In addition to a good friend, Shields was a valuable asset to the community, he said, with an incredible knowledge of local genealogies. She also had a great understanding of how people lived in the past.

"She could read the landscape and local geography and give you a real understanding of how people existed," Conroy said.

That is evident in her most recent book, "Survival of Families in Beekmantown, N.Y. in the first half of the 20th Century."

MUSIC PRESENCE
Conroy said LaMariana gave his daughter, Sophia, violin lessons when she was a child. She later performed with LaMariana during the early Christmas Mass at St. John's Church.

While he was never officially involved with the Adirondack Youth Orchestra, LaMariana was always willing to help in a pinch. A number of his students played in the orchestra.

"He has been a presence in the music life of the North Country since the 1950s," Conroy said.

Plattsburgh State Associate Music Professor Jo Ellen Miano said she first met LaMariana when she joined the faculty in 1994. He would attend the Champlain Valley Oratorio Society (now Champlain Valley Voices), which she conducted.

"He was always very supportive of my work," Miano said. "It was always a pleasure to get a compliment from Angie because he had a keen ear and a high standard."

When LaMariana retired from Plattsburgh State in 1984, a music room on the first floor of the Myers Fine Arts building was named after him. More recently, he had the Angelo LaMariana String Library named in his honor.

Miano said she was pleased to hav e been part of a reception for him, two years ago, with friends and neighbors in attendance and performances by a number of his former students.

"I'm happy he was able to stay so engaged right to the end," she said.

LaMariana was an avid fly fisherman, and well-known for his ability to walk long distances around the city, even at an advanced age. He was also dedicated to the American Diabetes Association and willing to discuss his own struggles with the disease.

STRONG DEDICATION
City of Plattsburgh Historian Jim Bailey and his wife, Anne, have known both LaMariana and Shields for many years. They were formerly neighbors of LaMariana on West Court Street.

"Ann and I were both quite privileged to be reasonably close to both of these people," Mr. Bailey said.

Mrs. Bailey said their lives call to mind Tom Brokaw's book, "The Greatest Generation."

"These people were definitely from a generation with very strong values and dedication to the community," she said.

Two years after coming to the area, Mr. Bailey boarded for two years at the turkey and dairy farm Shields ran with her husband, Francis. He always marveled at her strength as the two of them and one hired hand ran the operation.

Shields carried on the turkey farm with Francis until he died. She was appointed Clinton County historian in 1978 and held that post for 30 years until she retired in 2007.

Shields is listed in the Who's Who of American Women and belonged to many historical associations.

"She had a determination about her. She was very strong in mind and body," Mrs. Bailey said.

That was what helped Shields rally so many people to the causes she found important, she said.

Plattsburgh Noon Rotary Club President Bonnie Black said she's known LaMariana during her 20 years with the club, while his membership goes back more than 40 years.

"He was always so vibrant. You'd never know his age by his thoughts, his energy, his zest for life," she said.

He got the club to focus on the seniors without family in the area's skilled-nursing facilities every year. When the money was collected, LaMariana was the one who got the personalized gifts that showed those seniors they weren't forgotten, Black said.

Those efforts are again under way.

"This year will be a little bittersweet without him standing there," she said.

E-mail Dan Heath at: dheath@pressrepublican.com