Second Induction Ceremony October 1, 2010 2010 Honorees |
Pelham Hall of Honor
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Pelham, NY - Five natives and residents of Pelham (NY) will be inducted into the Pelham Hall of
Honor at a ceremony to be held in Pelham Middle School October 1, 2010, at 7PM.
The Honorees are Rosemary Foley, Juliane Gallina, Lt. John Lance Geoghegan, Lt. Col. Eli Page
(“Tim”) Howard, Jr., and Sergeant William C. Zarnfaller.
“Without question, the stories of our five honorees this year meet the standard that they be
extraordinary,” comments program director, Kenneth Kraetzer. “We started this program so that
stories like these will be better known and remembered. These honorees are true role models that
we all can be proud of.”
Plaques bearing each honoree’s likeness and brief bio will be presented to the Pelham School
District for display in the High School with scheduled presenters to include NY State Assemblyman
Bob Castelli, Westchester Director of Veterans Services Vito Pinto, former NYS Assemblyman Ron
Tocci, representatives of both Morgan State University and Widener University, and a
representative of The Pelham Picture House.
The Pelham Hall of Honor Program Committee was established in September 2008 and dedicated
to honoring outstanding graduates of the Pelham school district and longtime residents of Pelham.
Nominations are open to the community, and voting members are comprised of the program’s
committee and representatives from various Pelham organizations.
Complete biographies and further information about the program can be found on the Program’s
Facebook page or at www.LegionPost50NY.com. Anyone with more information to contribute on
these honorees can contact Ken Kraetzer at 914-450-9554 or KGK914@aol.com.
The program is sponsored by the Lieutenant Commander (LCDR) Florence Lahey Ollinger USN
Foundation. LCDR Lahey was a native of Pelham (NY) and graduate of Pelham Memorial High
School (1937). She studied for her RN at St. Vincent's Medical Center, was commissioned an
officer of the U.S. Navy in 1943, and served on active duty for 27 years. In retirement she married
Solomon Ollinger, taught at Salve Regina College (Newport, RI), and was honored as a founding
member of the Women's Military Memorial in Washington, D.C. She died in 2007.
PELHAM HALL OF HONOR 2010 HONOREES
ROSEMARY FOLEY is a prize-winning Pelham playwright. She joined the Manor Club in 1995,
declared its theater a gem, and went to work on its rehabilitation. Calling herself an ''unofficial
drama angel,'' she wrote, directed and produced plays to be performed as fund-raisers. Her
''Frolics '97'' was based on the story of how the Manor Club became a women's club.
Rosemary has written over 70 plays for ''women who are no longer ingénues.'' Works by Women
chose her as one of the ten best women playwrights. Her plays have won awards and been finalists
in many festivals, and one, Oh, Promise Me, was produced as a film and screened at the Big Apple
Film Festival in NYC. She is a member of the Dramatists Guild, Theatre Artists Workshop, and
former member of Equity and the Screen Actors Guild.
JULIANE GALLINA was the first woman to be named brigade commander by the U.S. Naval
Academy (Annapolis, MD) in 1991, making her responsible for the daily military activity of the
academy’s 4,300 midshipmen and serving as chief liaison between them and academy officers.
Juliane was also the coxswain of the women’s crew team and a member of the track and lacrosse
teams while at the academy. She graduated with the class of 1992.
Post graduate degrees include an MS in Electrical Engineering from George Washington University
(2006) and an MS in Space Systems Operations from Naval Postgraduate School. Her
responsibilities include JRAC Seminar Leader at National Defense University, Deputy Program
Director at SSG, and Deputy Program Director at National Reconnaissance office.
LT. JOHN (“JACK”) LANCE GEOGHEGAN, US Army, grew up in Pelham the only son of John J. and
Camille D. Geoghegan. He was a 1959 graduate of Iona Prep and Brigade Commander (Class of
1963) at Pennsylvania Military College (now Widener University). He married Barbara Weathers
Geoghegan on June 13, 1964, and they travelled to Tanzania to work as missionaries with Catholic
Relief Services. It was there that Jack earned a Master's Degree in International Relations from the
University of Pennsylvania.
Daughter Camille was born June 8, 1965, and John was deployed to Vietnam August 18, 1965. He
was killed November 15, 1965, attempting to rescue one of his men. The incident was described in
the book “We Were Soldiers Once …and Young,” by Harold Moore and Joseph Galloway. The
movie by the same name was released in 2002, with Chris Klein portraying Jack, and Keri Russell
portraying Barbara. His funeral mass was held at St. Catherine's Church in Pelham, and he was
buried at St. Mary's Cemetery in Danbury (CT).
LT. COL. ELI PAGE “TIM” HOWARD, JR., US Army, was an outstanding multi-sport athlete at PMHS
(Class of 1946), where he co-captained the undefeated 1945 PMHS football team. “Tim” served in
the U.S. Marine Corps and then joined his Pelham friend and teammate, Eugene “Dippy” Evans, at
Morgan State College in Baltimore (MD). He was quarterback and co-captain of Morgan’s 1949
National Champions, a four year letterman in both basketball and football, and named the first
Cadet Commander in one of the first ROTC programs conducted at an African-American institution.
The son of a WWI veteran, Tim went on to be commissioned an Army officer, and served in
Vietnam where he was named Commander of the 3rd Battalion of the 196th Light Infantry Brigade
during his second tour of duty. His helicopter was shot down on August 19, 1969 during a battle so
fierce it took U.S. forces five days to fight their way to the crash site. There were no survivors. Lt.
Col. Howard, Jr., is interred at section 39 of Arlington National Cemetery near the gravesite of his
father. He is honored on panel 19W row 68 of the Vietnam Wall, and was named to the Morgan
State Athletic Hall of Fame in 1974.
SERGEANT WILLIAM C. ZARNFALLER, US Army, the son of Mr. and Mrs. William C. Zarnfaller of
747 Pelhamdale Avenue, was a football, basketball player and track performer at PMHS (Class of
1943).
Enlisting in the U.S. Army, assigned to the 99th Division, called the "Battle Babies" because their
average age ranged from 18 to 20. He was sent overseas in August of 1944, one of a group of
men picked for their expertise in all kinds of arms. He was awarded the Distinguished Service
Cross for actions resulting in the capture of 67 Nazis and the killing of seven others near Ellingen,
Germany. The DSC is the Army's second highest award for courage, after the Medal of Honor, and
was personally presented by Gen. George S. Patton, Jr. Upon returning to the States after the
war, he attended Columbia University and New York University Law School, was a member of the
Westchester Bar Association, past master of Winyah Masonic Lodge in Pelham, and chaplain of
Pelham Post 50 of the American Legion. In addition to the DSC, he was awarded the Silver Star,
American Service Medal, and the Purple Heart.
He died at age 57 on October 23, 1981, and is survived by his wife, a son and daughter.
Honor at a ceremony to be held in Pelham Middle School October 1, 2010, at 7PM.
The Honorees are Rosemary Foley, Juliane Gallina, Lt. John Lance Geoghegan, Lt. Col. Eli Page
(“Tim”) Howard, Jr., and Sergeant William C. Zarnfaller.
“Without question, the stories of our five honorees this year meet the standard that they be
extraordinary,” comments program director, Kenneth Kraetzer. “We started this program so that
stories like these will be better known and remembered. These honorees are true role models that
we all can be proud of.”
Plaques bearing each honoree’s likeness and brief bio will be presented to the Pelham School
District for display in the High School with scheduled presenters to include NY State Assemblyman
Bob Castelli, Westchester Director of Veterans Services Vito Pinto, former NYS Assemblyman Ron
Tocci, representatives of both Morgan State University and Widener University, and a
representative of The Pelham Picture House.
The Pelham Hall of Honor Program Committee was established in September 2008 and dedicated
to honoring outstanding graduates of the Pelham school district and longtime residents of Pelham.
Nominations are open to the community, and voting members are comprised of the program’s
committee and representatives from various Pelham organizations.
Complete biographies and further information about the program can be found on the Program’s
Facebook page or at www.LegionPost50NY.com. Anyone with more information to contribute on
these honorees can contact Ken Kraetzer at 914-450-9554 or KGK914@aol.com.
The program is sponsored by the Lieutenant Commander (LCDR) Florence Lahey Ollinger USN
Foundation. LCDR Lahey was a native of Pelham (NY) and graduate of Pelham Memorial High
School (1937). She studied for her RN at St. Vincent's Medical Center, was commissioned an
officer of the U.S. Navy in 1943, and served on active duty for 27 years. In retirement she married
Solomon Ollinger, taught at Salve Regina College (Newport, RI), and was honored as a founding
member of the Women's Military Memorial in Washington, D.C. She died in 2007.
PELHAM HALL OF HONOR 2010 HONOREES
ROSEMARY FOLEY is a prize-winning Pelham playwright. She joined the Manor Club in 1995,
declared its theater a gem, and went to work on its rehabilitation. Calling herself an ''unofficial
drama angel,'' she wrote, directed and produced plays to be performed as fund-raisers. Her
''Frolics '97'' was based on the story of how the Manor Club became a women's club.
Rosemary has written over 70 plays for ''women who are no longer ingénues.'' Works by Women
chose her as one of the ten best women playwrights. Her plays have won awards and been finalists
in many festivals, and one, Oh, Promise Me, was produced as a film and screened at the Big Apple
Film Festival in NYC. She is a member of the Dramatists Guild, Theatre Artists Workshop, and
former member of Equity and the Screen Actors Guild.
JULIANE GALLINA was the first woman to be named brigade commander by the U.S. Naval
Academy (Annapolis, MD) in 1991, making her responsible for the daily military activity of the
academy’s 4,300 midshipmen and serving as chief liaison between them and academy officers.
Juliane was also the coxswain of the women’s crew team and a member of the track and lacrosse
teams while at the academy. She graduated with the class of 1992.
Post graduate degrees include an MS in Electrical Engineering from George Washington University
(2006) and an MS in Space Systems Operations from Naval Postgraduate School. Her
responsibilities include JRAC Seminar Leader at National Defense University, Deputy Program
Director at SSG, and Deputy Program Director at National Reconnaissance office.
LT. JOHN (“JACK”) LANCE GEOGHEGAN, US Army, grew up in Pelham the only son of John J. and
Camille D. Geoghegan. He was a 1959 graduate of Iona Prep and Brigade Commander (Class of
1963) at Pennsylvania Military College (now Widener University). He married Barbara Weathers
Geoghegan on June 13, 1964, and they travelled to Tanzania to work as missionaries with Catholic
Relief Services. It was there that Jack earned a Master's Degree in International Relations from the
University of Pennsylvania.
Daughter Camille was born June 8, 1965, and John was deployed to Vietnam August 18, 1965. He
was killed November 15, 1965, attempting to rescue one of his men. The incident was described in
the book “We Were Soldiers Once …and Young,” by Harold Moore and Joseph Galloway. The
movie by the same name was released in 2002, with Chris Klein portraying Jack, and Keri Russell
portraying Barbara. His funeral mass was held at St. Catherine's Church in Pelham, and he was
buried at St. Mary's Cemetery in Danbury (CT).
LT. COL. ELI PAGE “TIM” HOWARD, JR., US Army, was an outstanding multi-sport athlete at PMHS
(Class of 1946), where he co-captained the undefeated 1945 PMHS football team. “Tim” served in
the U.S. Marine Corps and then joined his Pelham friend and teammate, Eugene “Dippy” Evans, at
Morgan State College in Baltimore (MD). He was quarterback and co-captain of Morgan’s 1949
National Champions, a four year letterman in both basketball and football, and named the first
Cadet Commander in one of the first ROTC programs conducted at an African-American institution.
The son of a WWI veteran, Tim went on to be commissioned an Army officer, and served in
Vietnam where he was named Commander of the 3rd Battalion of the 196th Light Infantry Brigade
during his second tour of duty. His helicopter was shot down on August 19, 1969 during a battle so
fierce it took U.S. forces five days to fight their way to the crash site. There were no survivors. Lt.
Col. Howard, Jr., is interred at section 39 of Arlington National Cemetery near the gravesite of his
father. He is honored on panel 19W row 68 of the Vietnam Wall, and was named to the Morgan
State Athletic Hall of Fame in 1974.
SERGEANT WILLIAM C. ZARNFALLER, US Army, the son of Mr. and Mrs. William C. Zarnfaller of
747 Pelhamdale Avenue, was a football, basketball player and track performer at PMHS (Class of
1943).
Enlisting in the U.S. Army, assigned to the 99th Division, called the "Battle Babies" because their
average age ranged from 18 to 20. He was sent overseas in August of 1944, one of a group of
men picked for their expertise in all kinds of arms. He was awarded the Distinguished Service
Cross for actions resulting in the capture of 67 Nazis and the killing of seven others near Ellingen,
Germany. The DSC is the Army's second highest award for courage, after the Medal of Honor, and
was personally presented by Gen. George S. Patton, Jr. Upon returning to the States after the
war, he attended Columbia University and New York University Law School, was a member of the
Westchester Bar Association, past master of Winyah Masonic Lodge in Pelham, and chaplain of
Pelham Post 50 of the American Legion. In addition to the DSC, he was awarded the Silver Star,
American Service Medal, and the Purple Heart.
He died at age 57 on October 23, 1981, and is survived by his wife, a son and daughter.
For more information contact:
Ken Kraetzer at
914-450-9554 or kgk914@aol.com
Ken Kraetzer at
914-450-9554 or kgk914@aol.com