Tom Irwin ’84 🐯, Comedian, will perform at The Caz in Buffalo on December 6th.
For more information and to purchase tickets, click here.
Tom Irwin, 1984 Amherst Central High School Grad, is a national touring comedian based in Los Angeles California. He is a founding member of GIs Of Comedy. Tom has been featured on Talk Of The Nation, This American LIfe, and performed his one person show “25 Days In Iraq” at The White House in Washington DC. Featuring Mike Wilson of Austin TX (Austin High / Standup Empire) and special musical guest Jeff Senn of Nashville TN (Wynona Judd / Trisha Yearwood / Paul Brandt). GET OFF THE COUCH! for Tom Irwin & Friends Comedy & Music Tour 2025!
Sarah Rogers Lempko, 64, of Buffalo, NY, passed away peacefully on November 2, 2025, after a week surrounded by loved ones.
Sarah was known for her kindness, warmth, and easy smile, the kind of person who made everyone feel welcomed. Growing up, she was a fun-loving athlete, a nurse, and a great friend and sister. Later, she devoted her life to her children, with constant involvement across practices, swim meets, PTA events, and more. She loved them deeply.
In recent years, Sarah found peace and friendship through her AA community. She was the first to welcome anyone new and was always ready with a smile and care. She loved the beach and a good sunset, simple joys that reflected her open heart and gentle spirit.
She is survived by her children, Marissa, Michael, and Morgan Lempko, her siblings, and many close friends who held a special place in her heart.
Relatives and friends may visit PERNA, DENGLER, ROBERTS FUNERAL HOME, 1671 Maple Rd., Williamsville, NY 14221 on Thursday (November 6, 2025) from 11am to 1pm. A memorial service will immediately follow at 1pm.
Sarah will be deeply missed by all who knew her and remembered for her warmth, humor, and love.
Frank Lewis Obituary Originally Published by Legacy Remembers on Sep. 16, 2025.
Frank Wellington Lewis III, of Savannah, Texas was born August 29, 1941, to Frank Lewis, Jr., and Martha Watson Lewis in Buffalo, New York. He passed away Sept. 11, 2025, from complications of long-term dementia, surrounded by his family.
Frank spent his early years in Amherst, NY, attending Amherst High School where he, at 6’5″, was active in athletics as well as orchestra, in which he played the bassoon. He was a Boy Scout who proudly earned the ranks of Eagle Scout and Silver Aviation Explorer. He attended Michigan State University where he was an officer in the People’s Church College program and a member of Delta Chi fraternity and Les Gourmet. While there, he met Judy Pugh, whom he followed to UT Austin in 1964 after graduation from MSU.
They married in 1965, and Frank taught history and coached basketball for two years in Holland, NY. He then began a career in professional Scouting with the Boy Scouts of America in 1967 that lead to 34 years as a BSA executive or director in five councils, primarily in the area of Exploring, in New York, New Jersey, Missouri, and Texas, where he was National Director of Aviation Exploring with the National BSA Council in Irving, Texas. After retirement, he continued volunteering for 15 years with the BSA National Events “Black Shirts” team, during which time he was program director for the 2005 National BSA Jamboree. He and Judy volunteered at the Fox Theater in St. Louis for 14 years and multiple other events in the city.
Frank was a man of many hobbies. He was a private pilot, amateur blacksmith, avid genealogist, traveler, and actor and backstage tech crew member in community theaters across the country. He enjoyed all kinds of music and played the guitar and banjo. One of Frank’s greatest joys was to light up his house and yard at Christmas-hoping that it could be seen in outer space!
Frank and Judy have three children. He is survived by a brother, William (Chris) Lewis, wife Judy, daughters Wendy (Jay) Young and Stephanie (Mike Van Winkle) Lewis, and son Frank Lewis IV, as well as grandchildren: Evie, Charlotte, and Sam Young and honorary grandson, Bradley Sykes. He will be missed by many in-laws, nieces, nephews, cousins, and countless other friends and relatives. He was preceded in death by his parents, his brother, Robert Lewis, sister, Judy Speer, and step-sister, Sandy Dolan.
A private family memorial service will be held, and in lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Boy Scouts or a local community theater of your choice. The family invites you to celebrate Frank’s memory in your own way. He was always willing to help others and is remembered as a good and sweet man who adored his family (and the Buffalo Bills!) We shall greatly miss our “gentle giant”.
Buffalo’s Waterfront Renaissance recounts how the opening of the Erie Canal in 1825 catapulted Buffalo to become one of the most important hubs of commerce and industry in the country. The book also highlights the environmental and social consequences of this rapid development—specifically, how industries took over the waterfront, leading to severe contamination and limiting public access to the waterfront for decades.
Buffalo’s once-polluted waterfront began a remarkable transformation in the early 2000s, largely driven by citizen initiatives. The first step in the recovery was the environmental cleanup and restoration of the Buffalo River spearheaded by the nonprofit Friends of the Buffalo River (now Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper), which over time made the river corridor a destination for recreation and an increasingly appealing area in which to live and work.
The book also chronicles how the Canalside Project was made possible by the lawsuit the Preservation Coalition of Erie County filed against Empire State Development Corporation and how ESDC’s consultant attempted to justify keeping the Commercial Slip buried by floating the bizarre theory that the stones that lined the Commercial Slip would “blast apart” if exposed to the air after having been buried so long. The theory was initially taken seriously by the court but was debunked when interviews with geologists at the University at Buffalo revealed it had no scientific basis. In the end, the state agreed to uncover, reconstruct and re-water the Commercial Slip and make it the centerpiece of Canalside.
Another controversial state waterfront agency plan called for a large Bass Pro retail outlet to be built on the footprint of the historic Central Wharf which overlooked Buffalo’s Harbor during the Canal Era. Four months after a rendering of the proposed project appeared in the Buffalo News the plan was scrapped due to an outpouring of public opposition. A publicly beneficial outcome brought about as a result is the 1000-foot-long waterfront promenade that now provides uninterrupted public access to the waterfront.
Other Inner Harbor initiatives and outcomes described in the book include:
The restoration of the 1828 lighthouse at the entrance to the Inner Harbor by the Buffalo Lighthouse Association;
The Buffalo Maritime Center’s commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the Erie Canal by building a replica of the Seneca Chief canal boat that Gov. DeWitt Clinton boarded and traveled on from Buffalo to New York Harbor in 1825 to mark the opening of the canal;
The acquisition, restoration and installation of a historic carousel at Canalside by Buffalo Heritage Carousel, Inc.
Ric and Kathy Hilliman’s purchase of a 73-foot schooner, which they brought to Buffalo, renamed Spirit of Buffalo, and began offering visitors the opportunity to sail out onto Lake Erie from the Commercial Slip.
More recent events described in the book that pertain to the Outer Harbor are particularly worthy of attention. A “Blueprint Plan” for the Outer Harbor developed by ECHDC in 2014 called for the development of 2100 new housing units (mostly condominiums) with retail and commercial space mixed in. A coalition of nongovernmental organizations was formed (called Our Outer Harbor) to oppose efforts by the state agency to privately develop the Outer Harbor. A series of open houses held to solicit public input regarding what should happen made clear that public opinion was strongly against privately developing the Outer Harbor. Heeding that citizen input, ECHDC abruptly changed course and developed a new plan that called for most of the Outer Harbor to be developed and improved as park and open space.
Recounts how preservationists and environmentalists ultimately succeeded in forcing the state waterfront agency to scrap its initial plans for developing the Inner and Outer Harbor, and to embrace new approaches that greatly expanded opportunities for the public to use and enjoy the waterfront.
If you are interested in purchasing the book, click here.
_________________________________________
If you have alumni news you would like to share with the Amherst Alumni community, email alumni@amherstschools.org.
A reception will be held on Thursday, October 23rd, at 5:30-7:30 pm at Sean Patrick’s Emerald Isle Banquet room at 3480 Millersport Hwy., Getzville, NY 14068, for our Distinguished Alumni and Educator Emeritus Awards. The cost for the reception is $40.00.
.jpg)
Tiger Tracks 