Those We Lost in 2013

Among the Huntingtonians lost this year were:

Willie Lee Gadson, March 10. The Huntington wrestling star went on to win two junior college national titles for Nassau Community College, and then captured two Big Eight championships and All-American honors at Iowa State as a junior and senior. He later coached college and high school wrestling in Michigan and Iowa. He was 59. 

Catherine T. England, April 12. The retired judge was a legal pioneer,  the first woman to sit on the bench of the State Supreme Court and the Family Court in Suffolk County. She was also the first woman to serve as president of the Suffolk County Bar Association. She was 97.

Samuel Robert Lewis Sr. and Viola Rosalie Lewis, May 11. The former Huntington Station couple died 10 hours apart. They had been married 65 years. He was 87; she was 82. 

Lawrence A. Kushnick, June 3. The attorney was chairman of the Huntington Township Chamber of Commerce and active in many causes around town. Among his many civic projects was the chairmanship of the Long Island Fall Festival. He was 51.

Andrew Joseph Garafalo, June 25. The Whitman graduate was killed when his motorcycle struck a car on Woodbury Road. He was 21. 

Carmen Meilssa Gotay, Ray Vega, June 29. The two teenagers were killed when their car struck a tree in Melville. Vega had graduated from Huntington High School a week before; she was a student at the school. She was 17; he was 18.

Kenneth A. Deegan, July 2. The prominent attorney had served on the Town Board and the Huntington Board of Education. He was 75.

Peter Walden Sr., July 20. The freelance photographer shot photos for several publications, including Patch and Newsday. The Greenlawn resident was 61.

Jennifer Rosoff, Aug. 1. The director of sales at Triplelift, an online advertising firm, fell to her death from the 17th floor of her apartment building in Manhattan. She was a 1996 graduate of Walt Whitman High School. She was 35.

Shirley Frederic, Nov. 10. The 1941 graduate of Huntington High School traveled the world, first as a musician with the USO in World War II and then as a violinist with the San Antonio Symphony for 46 years, where she served as first chair of the second violins. She was 89.

Cody Taddonio, Dec. 8. The Lloyd Harbor resident was a student at Cold Spring Harbor High School, where he was captain of the wrestling team. He was 17.