Joseph Cannata, retired elementary teacher, passed away in on May 23 at the age of 93. Joe began his 22 year Northport career in 1963, starting out at Larkfield Elementary School teaching 4th and 6th grade, moving to Bellerose Avenue in 1967, where he continued teaching 4th grade through his retirement in 1985. Before coming to Northport he taught in Lynbrook, New York and Wilton, Connecticut. 

Joe loved science, and especially the space program. In 1968 he developed, organized and found funding for a two-week long summer aerospace program for students to learn about America’s involvement in air and space. He coordinated guest lecturers and field trips to some of Long Island’s most important aerospace facilities.  The highlight was a trip to Grumman Aerospace in Bethpage, NY where his students saw through glass windows the assembly of the Lunar Module “Eagle” which went on to bring the first humans to the moon.

He is remembered fondly by his grandchildren and grandnieces, one of whom said of her uncle, “… when he spoke with you, he made you know that he was genuinely glad to see you and valued your presence. He had a way of affirming your own observations, which allowed for quite a memorable exchange.

A funeral mass was held on May 27, followed by burial at the Long Island National Cemetery in Farmingdale.

Hank Kasven, retired middle school teacher, passed away on May 26 after long illness. Hank served on the R-UTN Executive Board and as a UTN building rep for many years. He taught at several elemetary schools, Northport Junior High School, and later at Northport Middle School. Hank is survived by his wife, Jacki, and daughters Sarah and Nicole.

He was a force to be reckoned with and will be sadly missed by all who knew him. A private family funeral will be held on Friday, May 28. Jacki and family will be sitting Shiva at home on Monday, May 31 and Tuesday, June 1.

Condolences may be sent to Jacki Kasven at
23 Westminster Road Syosset NY 11791
Donations may be made in Hank’s name to the Northport Student Scholarship fund or to Island Harvest.

Peter Stacheki, retired Northport High School social studies teacher, passed away on May 22. Peter was born in 1943 and was pre-deceased by his wife Kathey. He is survived by his sons Christopher and Timothy, their wives, grandchildren Audrey and Lyle, brothers Charles and Richard and sister Linda Sendlenski. 

Pete taught Social at Middleville prior to teaching at the high school, where he also served as the ombudsman. As ombudsman he was dedicated, caring and always helped students to better understand their rights and responsibilities as students.  

Visiting 2-5 & 7-9 PM at the Nolan Funeral Home, 5 Laurel Ave., Northport, NY on Saturday May 29, 2021. Words of remembrance will begin at 8 PM. Cremation will be private.

If any members would like to share memories of Peter, please email [email protected]

I’ve taken four courses from USFSP (Univ. South Florida, St.Petersburg in subjects far from my specialization.  They made me work very hard to learn difficult material and especially to figure out how to use the internet to access  libraries, discussion groups, etc. on line. 

Dorothy Cappadona, East Northport Middle School, Social Studies and Asst. Principal

The pandemic caused disruption to everything including the simple procedure of renewing one’s membership in R-UTN. The returns dragged out over many months and too many failed to arrive. Since  I am the Membership Chair, the isolation and the extra time available turned me into a kind of Bureau of Missing Members. Using e-mails, snail mail, telephones and help from other Board Members, repeated contact attempts were made. The results and the appreciation of the people we reached made it a very rewarding activity.

Judy Bensimon, Elementary Teacher Dickinson Avenue and Northport Middle School, R-UTN Executive Board Membership Chair

Dr. Renee O’Brien, Professor of Photography at SUNY Adirondack has been the Chair of the Technology Division during this academic year and next year will lead a newly created division as Chair for the Arts, Media and Culture Division. It’s an exciting venture for Renee who has been teaching at the college beginning part time in 1999. As life took another turn, she was hired in 2008 to move the analog photography program into a digital program. With the success of the photography and graphic arts program, she’s looking forward to facilitating this new interdisciplinary division.

Renee O’Brien
Photography Teacher, Northport High School