October 26, 2006 Issue                                       

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©2006 The Chestnut Hill Local

From our readers

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Ellen Dillon

Educator, activist

Ellen Dyas Dillon, educator, Catholic activist, and longtime resident of West Mt. Airy, died Oct. 21 at Sacred Heart Manor. She was 97.

Born in West Philadelphia during the administration of William Howard Taft, Miss Dillon moved with her family to a row home on Carpenter Lane in the mid-1920s, an address that she occupied until 2001.

Miss Dillon attended Germantown High School, the Philadelphia Normal School, and the University of Pennsylvania, where she received a bachelor of science in education in 1931.

After graduating Penn, Miss Dillon began her career with the School District of Philadelphia, a career that spanned nearly 50 years and included assignments at the C.W. Henry School, Carpenter Lane and Greene Street, and the Anna L. Lingelbach School, Wayne Avenue and Johnson Street. Miss Dillon counted among her distinguished students the Nobel Laureate Howard Temin.

A devoted Catholic, Miss Dillon was an active member of the Catholic Evidence Guild, an organization brought to the United States by the eminent authors and publishers Frank Sheed and Maisy Ward. Founded in London in 1918, the Catholic Evidence Guild was dedicated to the spread of the Catholic faith through street-corner evangelization. Miss Dillon participated in guild activities, spreading the faith at such places as McPherson Square in Kensington and St. Malachy Church in North Philadelphia.

Miss Dillon was also a member of the Catholic Philopatrian Literary Society, a columnist for the Catholic Standard and Times, and a founding member of St. Madeleine Sophie Parish, where she served as lector until a few years before her death.

When not teaching or occupied with church affairs, Miss Dillon enjoyed vacationing at the Jersey shore. A longtime resident of Bayshore West, a development in West Cape May, Miss Dillon always thought of Cape May as her second home.

A funeral Mass was celebrated on Wednesday, Oct. 25, at St. Madeleine Sophie Church in Mt. Airy. Interment was at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery.

Anthony Murdock Sr.

Anthony Murdock Sr. of Warminster, formerly of Mt. Airy, died on Oct. 20.

Mr. Murdock was predeceased by his wife, Margaret Murdock (Kirk). He is survived by daughters, Barbara and Nancy; sons, Anthony Jr. and John; ten grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

A funeral Mass was celebrated at Holy Cross Church in Mt. Airy on Oct. 24. Interment was at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery.

In memory of William (Bill) Starrett Armour who passed October 10, 2005.

Your loving family, son William Settle Armour, Daughter Katheryn Ann Armour, and Daughter Barbara Armour Brown and family (Heather, Meaka, David and great grand son Roland).

Carolyn C. von Stade

Carolyn C. von Stade, 77, died on Oct. 14 at Cathedral Village, after a lengthy struggle with Alzheimers disease. Born in Louisville, Kentucky, she was the daughter of Robert M. Carrier and Carolyn M. Field. Mrs. von Stade grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio and was a graduate of Miss Doherty School where she later served on the board. She went on to Smith College and graduated in 1950. She married Frederick H. von Stade of Old Westbury, New York in 1951, and they raised four daughters.

Besides her devotion to her family, Mrs. von Stade was an avid gardener and won numerous awards for her creative floral arrangements. She was a longstanding member of the Garden Clubs of Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio. In addition, Carol was a member of The Colonial Dames of America and served as the Regent from Ohio from 1981-1992. During her tenure as Regent, she was deeply committed to the preservation of George Mason’s historical house, Gunston Hall, in Mason Neck, Virginia.

Mrs. von Stade is survived by her beloved husband, Fred, and her four daughters, three sons-in-law, and nine grandchildren: Dudley Mason and her husband, Alex, and their two sons, Taylor and Christopher of Owings Mills, Md.; Carol von Stade and her two daughters, Perry and Reade, of Philadelphia; Francie Downing and her husband, John, and their three daughters, Addie, Sarah, and Lily, of New Vernon, N.J.; and Melissa Colina and her husband, Juan, and their two daughters, Allie and Kathryn, of Philadelphia. In addition, Mrs. von Stade is survived by her sister, Robin Carrier, of Beaufort, S.C.; and her half-sister, Elizabeth Hyslip, of Louisville, Ky.

A memorial service will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, January 12, 2007, at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in New York City. Gifts in Mrs. von Stade’s memory may be made to The Gunston Hall Regents’ Fund, c/o Gunston Hall, 10709 Gunston Road, Mason Neck, Virginia, 22079. Attention: David Reese.

John Mastroni

John Mastroni, 57, of Chestnut Hill, a longtime administrator and adjunct faculty member at Montgomery County Community College, died of pancreatic cancer Oct. 19 at the Keystone House in Wyndmoor.

An innovative administrator at MCCC and an adjunct English instructor in the college’s Humanities Division, Mr. Mastroni combined idealism, compassion and vision to make him an inspiring leader and effective instructor.

Known for his commitment to the college’s student-centered mission, Mr. Mastroni was instrumental in building and administering MCCC’s Learning Assistance Lab, a center where students receive supplemental tutorial instruction and have access to the latest computer technologies that the college has to offer.

A futurist in his thinking, Mr. Mastroni turned his vision to action in writing a Title III Grant, which resulted in a windfall of federal funding for the college. Funds from that grant made possible the Developmental Studies Lab, a computer-mediated learning center, where students can build skills in reading, math and English. Mr. Mastroni also co-chaired the Middle States Evaluation Team, which resulted in an exemplary report and full re-accreditation for the college.

An advocate for technology, Mr. Mastroni completed his M.S. in Instructional Technology at Philadelphia University, and became the college’s Director of Distance Learning. Using consensus building and field research to actively engage his colleagues, he was a leading influence in moving the college’s Distance Learning Program forward to meet the educational needs of the residents of Montgomery County.

Mr. Mastroni will be remembered for his deep commitment to student success, his democratic supervisory style, his belief in technology to advance education, his respectful manner with colleagues and students alike, and his tireless efforts to advance MCCC in its mission goals.

Mr. Mastroni also held a bachelor’s degree from LaSalle College, and a master’s degree from Villanova University.

He was a member of the Modern Language Association, the Pennsylvania Association of Developmental Educators, the Delaware Valley Writing Council and the Nathaniel Hawthorne Society.

A lifelong resident of Chestnut Hill, he was the son of John Mastroni and Anna Ney Mastroni,

Mr. Mastroni is survived by his sister, Louise Mastroni.

A Mass of Christian burial was celebrated at Our Mother of Consolation Church, 9 East Chestnut Hill Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19118.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Our Mother of Consolation Church at the above address.

Ruthanna Davis Hadley

Ruthanna Davis Hadley, 85, formerly of Mt. Airy, died October 18 at the Foulkeways retirement community in Gwynedd.

A life-long Quaker, her interests and passions ranged from the community of Quakers and intercultural understanding to education and music.

Mrs. Hadley was born in 1921 in Holguin, Cuba, where her father was director of a Quaker school. Her family returned to the United States in 1929, settling in Richmond, Ind. She graduated from Earlham College in 1943 and taught English, home economics, and music in the Wilmington, Ohio, public high school and at Moorestown Friends School in New Jersey before marrying Herbert M. Hadley in 1946.

The Hadleys lived in Washington, D.C., where Mr. Hadley was executive secretary of the Friends Meeting of Washington. In 1956, he was appointed executive secretary of the Friends World Committee for Consultation in Birmingham, England. Mrs. Hadley was deeply involved in her husband’s work, traveling to many parts of the world with him and opening her home to hundreds of international visitors. In one six-year period they hosted more than 500 overnight guests from 27 different countries.

They returned to the United States in 1962, living in Philadelphia where Mr. Hadley was head of the American section of the FWCC. Mrs. Hadley taught in Philadelphia public schools before joining the staff of the William Penn Charter School as lunchroom manager from 1965 to 1986, when she retired. As with most things, she saw the role of the lunchroom at Penn Charter as a palette for thoughtful hospitality and as an extension of the school’s Quaker education.

She was an active member of Germantown Friends Meeting in Philadelphia for the last 40 years. She served on the Westtown Friends School Committee, on the boards of Pendle Hill (a Quaker study center) and the Fairhill Burial Ground in North Philadelphia, and was clerk of the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting’s Nominating Committee.

She was a member and former president of the Germantown Branch of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom. At Foulkeways she chaired the Current Issues Committee and the Archives Committee.

An amateur pianist and violin player, Mrs. Hadley loved music. As a young woman, she conducted school orchestras, church choirs and ad hoc choral groups. For many years until her death, she was an active volunteer with Young Musicians Musicales, a group providing concert opportunities for talented music students in Philadelphia.

One of her prized accomplishments was the co-authorship with a friend, Hannah Taylor, in 1971 of Travellers Joy, a book of recipes, information, and anecdotes from the homes of Quakers around the world who had opened their doors and lives to visitors from abroad.

She is survived by a son, Stephen J. Hadley of Arlington, Va.; daughters Helen Hadley Dana of Needham, Mass., and Carol Hadley Brown of Philadelphia; a brother, Ray L. Davis, of Indianapolis, four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Her husband died in 1998.

A memorial Meeting for Worship will be held at 3 p.m. Sunday, November 12 at Germantown Friends Meeting, 47 W. Coulter Street, Philadephia.

Contributions in her memory can be made to: Friends World Committee for Consultation, 1506 Race Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102, or Young Musicians Musicales, 6127 McCallum Street, Philadelphia, PA 19144.