One of the foundation’s spring grant requests was by Amherst Central School Distict’s Family Support Center.
Marlana Howard, LCSW, School Social Worker sent us a nice thank you note for helping fund the center’s lending library.
“Thank you again for choosing the Amherst CSD Family Support Center as a recipient of one of your generous Alumni grants. This grant helped get our SEL Lending Library off the ground. As a result of the Alumni Association grant we were able to purchase 204 books and have received several other donations from Amherst families.
As a grant recipient, we wanted to report back some of the measures taken towards the establishment of the SEL Lending Library, aside from the purchase of books. Those include:
Maintaining our Amazon Wish List for families to peruse and donate if they are interested in contributing.
Acquiring some new bookshelves to accommodate new books.
Purchasing a stamp to mark the cover of each book to identify it as property of Amherst FSC’s
Creating a comprehensive database that lists all of the books that we have and breaks it down so that we are more easily able to recommend and lend books to families based on specific issues they or their children may be struggling with and based on their age ranges.
Developing a lending library agreement that will be utilized for every family who wants to borrow a book.
Below we have included some photos and a screen shot of the database. Unfortunately, the photos are not with the new bookshelves yet.“
Grants like this are made possible because of the generosity of Amherst Alumni and their donations. If you are interested in donating to the Amherst Central Alumni Foundation to help fund grants like these, visit https://www.amherstalumni.org/Donate.htm.
(By Michael Chardack ’77) In early March of 2024 a group of ACHS Class of ’77 graduates assembled in Park City, Utah for the 3rd annual ski trip class reunion hosted by alumni Rick Porter. A good time was had by all, despite the respiratory illness (Covid negative) that swept through several of the attendees. The snow was good and the smiles, laughter and camaraderie was in abundance during the 4 day event. Tower 77 and Polaris 74 year books were present at the reunion and were reviewed in depth as each member chimed in on information about our fellow classmates, past and present.
On that note, we all discussed and remembered Yuri Hreshchyshyn and wondered where he was and what he was doing? His recent passing shed light upon his life and accomplishments and answered most of our questions. Our hats are off to Yuri, and we are all proud that a person who came from our High School could have such a positive impact on so many lives.
Although the dates for the 2025 reunion have not been selected as of this email, all who wish to participate are welcome to join.
Viewing from front left: Ned Falk, Atlanta, GA; Tony D’Angelo, Columbus, OH (Eggert Road Alumni), Kevin Patrick Maloney, Miami, FL; Steve Nisberg, New Jersey, NYC suburbs; Peter Gordon, Sandy, UT; John Kim, Stowe, VT; Bruce Kohrn, Amherst, NY; Peter Mercer, Boulder, CO; Mark Hichar, Boston, MA; Rick Porter, Vero Beach, FL and Park City, UT; Michael Chardack, Salt Lake City, UT; Alex K. Local friend of the gathering.
Yuri Hreshchyshyn, 64, tireless volunteer, pillar of the local Ukrainian community
By Dale Anderson – Buffalo News | “You embody everything good about our community,” now-retired Rep. Brian Higgins declared in December when he paid tribute to Yuri Hreshchyshyn on the floor of the House of Representatives in Washington, D.C.
Mr. Hreshchyshyn gave his support, his sweat and his vision to numerous community improvement and development initiatives. He played his most prominent role, however, as a pillar of the local Ukrainian community.
The son of Ukrainian immigrants and longtime president of the Buffalo chapter of the Ukrainian American Congress of America, he diligently promoted Ukraine and its culture while developing affinities with the General Pulaski Association and other Eastern European groups locally.
He put together a Buffalo contingent to serve as international election inspectors in Ukraine’s elections in 2014 and again in 2019, when current President Volodymyr Zelenskyy won.
“I got, as always, some friends interested in taking the trip with me,” Mr. Hreshchyshyn told an interviewer in 2019, “and this time around, it’s five of us.”
Following the Russian invasion in 2022, he led fundraising efforts and assembled numerous shipments of aid to the beleaguered nation. He also helped bring Ukrainian families here after they were displaced by the war. One of those families were his cousins. He arranged for them to live in his mother’s house in Williamsville.
For his efforts, the Ukrainian World Congress awarded him its St. Volodymyr the Great Medal in 2023 “for exceptional contribution to the development of Ukrainian life in the diaspora and the development of the Ukraine.”
He continued his efforts until shortly before he died April 8 at the age of 64 after a lengthy illness. He had organized a rally in support of aid to Ukraine in Niagara Square on March 3.
Expressions of appreciation for him and his work for Ukraine and the community poured in following his death.
Erie County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz and State Sen. Sean Ryan hailed him as a leader on X, formerly Twitter. Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper noted on Instagram that he inspired many as a volunteer. On a memorial page, a friend wrote: “Yuri provided an unparalleled, tireless example of what it truly means to be of service to others.”
Born in Buffalo, Yuri B. Hreshchyshyn was the eldest of five children and the son of Dr. Myroslaw Hreshchyshyn and Lidia Warekha Hreshchyshyn.
His father, who came to Buffalo in 1957, was a medical scientist and professor of gynecologic oncology and obstetrics at the University at Buffalo Medical School. He introduced the use of chemotherapy in gynecological oncology in the U.S. in the 1960s.
His parents maintained close contact with relatives in their homeland and were active in the Ukrainian community locally. Mr. Hreshchyshyn and his siblings spent Saturdays as children in lessons on Ukrainian culture, language and dance.
He was a 1977 graduate of Amherst Central High School, where he was a member of the Computer Club, and earned a bachelor’s degree from UB.
He worked for a time as a paramedic for Gold Cross Ambulance Service. He later joined the staff of the Erie County Department of Social Services and became an inspector in 2007.
A South Buffalo resident with a home on the banks of the Buffalo River, he was an Erie County Democratic committeeman and was active with the Buffalo Cooperative Federal Credit Union.
The longest-serving director on the board of the Central Terminal Restoration Corp., he did volunteer maintenance work for 20 years and manned a payloader to install trees along the promenade leading to the terminal.
He also planted trees with numerous community groups, helped build community gardens and cleaned up vacant lots. He taught young people how to cut grass and trim shrubbery.
He had an abiding interest in civic initiatives. He contributed a design for expansion of the Peace Bridge, suggested a trolley route through the Cobblestone District using abandoned railroad tracks and advised officials on Buffalo’s Green Code.
Mr. Hreshchyshyn was a volunteer for the United Way of Buffalo and Erie County, the East Side Garden Walk Committee and the annual Buffalo News Kids Day. He also was the contact for Buffalo’s two Sister Cities in Ukraine, Drohobych and Horlivka.
Survivors include three sisters, Marta Hreshchyshyn, Nadia McQuiggan and Kusia Hreshchyshyn; a brother, Adrian; his best friend, Allison Robinson; her children, Tyler and Alexis; and several nieces and nephews.
A funeral liturgy will be offered at 1:30 p.m. Saturday in St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Church, 308 Fillmore Ave.
Music-loving John Forrest, 67, passed away on January 7th after a courageous 18 year long battle with pulmonary fibrosis. John was born on August 3rd, 1956 to Herbert and Nancy Forrest in Fort Erie, Ontario. After his education, he worked in cutting tools for 35 years at Niagara Cutter in Buffalo and Tool Alliance in Fort Myers, FL as a Vice President of Sales. He married Elizabeth McElligott in 1987 and enjoyed a happy marriage of nearly 37 years. John is survived by Elizabeth (Buff), his daughters Sarah Gruber (Louis Gruber), Genevieve Forrest, Caroline Forrest, Tessa Forrest (Marshall Comden), his brother Tom Forrest, grandchildren Emily Gruber, Julie Gruber, Jake Gruber as well as many nieces and nephews. A Visitation will be held Friday January 26th, 2024 from 10am- 12pm at The Dietrich Funeral Homes, Inc., 2480 Kensington Ave., Amherst, NY. A Celebration of Life will be held immediately following this visitation at 12pm. Celebrations will resume on Friday night 6 PM at Eagle House Restaurant at 5578 Main St in Williamsville. Online condolences may be made at http://www.TheDietrichFuneralHome.com
Published by Buffalo News from Jan. 21 to Jan. 23, 2024.
John Ziebarth passed away peacefully in New York City on February 13, 2024 from complications of Parkinson’s.
John was a true bon vivant; enjoying a life full of extraordinary travel, good wine, good friends, and bad puns. He had a twinkle in his eye, a naughty joke at the ready, and we feel certain John is the only patient at Weill Cornell Hospital to ever serenade his visitors with the Chicquita Banana song.
John was born on Flag Day, June 14, 1938 in Buffalo, NY. He attended Hamilton College and Wagner College, graduating with a degree in microbiology. While at Hamilton, his special skill set was duly noted and he was elected house social chairman of the Delta Upsilon fraternity.
John earned a graduate degree from the American Institute of Foreign Trade (now the Thunderbird School of Global Management of Arizona State University). John worked at Proctor and Gamble in the US, Marseille, and Brussels, and at The Clorox Company, and finally as an international business consultant for several decades.
A master of languages including French, German, Portuguese, and Iowish (what they speak in Iowa), John embraced new experiences and new people with relish. He was an avid reader (non-fiction only, please), a classical music aficionado (Bach, of course), a life-long baseball fan (go, Yanks!), a NYT crossworder (in pen, and why bother until Thursday), a birder, a volunteer, an official Know It All New Yorker, and he delighted in fine dining while still appreciating a burger at Parnell’s or coffee with the guys at Tal Bagel.
John is preceded in death by his parents Walter E. and Helen Magill Ziebarth; first wife Ann Thomas
Ziebarth, siblings William Ziebarth (Marion); Walter Ziebarth (Marjorie); and Marjorie Krayer (William), and second wife Connie Miller Welch. He is survived by his brother Paul (Jackie) and a slew of beloved nieces and nephews, his stepdaughter Amy (Chris) and their children Jeffrey, Katherine, and Patrick Nylander.
Tiger Tracks 