Obituary: Mae Marie (Musillami) Sweeney - Class of 1968

MADISON - Mae Marie (Musillami) Sweeney passed away on Sunday, Sept. 27, 2009, after a courageous battle with cancer. She was born on Nov. 3, 1950, to Frank and Jean (Delaney) Musillami. She married Thomas Sweeney on April 16, 1977. Mae was a lifelong Madison resident. Her most treasured job was being mother to her three beautiful daughters, and being grandma to her precious granddaughter. Mae was a member of the Italian-American Women's Club of Madison, where she served a number of years as a board member. Mae touched the hearts of many people. We will always remember her for her ability to make people laugh, her kindness and generous heart, and the strength, grace and determination she showed in fighting her terminal illness. She is survived by her husband of 32 years, Tom Sweeney and their daughters Shannon, Colleen and Angela Sweeney, and their granddaughter Ashlyn Marie. She is further survived by her mother, Jean Musillami; her brothers, John, Frank Jr. (Marsha), Joseph (Joni Schwenn) and Patrick (Candy McVay); her sister, Debby (Rick) Hillebrand; her sister-in-law, Mary Sweeney; and brother-in-law, John (Sandy) Sweeney. She is also survived by numerous nieces, nephews and dear friends. She was preceded in death by her father, Frank Musillami Sr.; and her mother and father-in-law, John and Josephine Sweeney. A Memorial Service will be held Friday, Oct. 2, 2009, at 11 a.m. at ST. JOSEPH CATHOLIC CHURCH, 1905 W. Beltline Highway, Madison, WI 53713. A visitation will be held prior to the service beginning at 10 a.m. Our family wishes to express our sincere gratitude to the staff at the UW Hospital Palliative Care Unit and the staff at HospiceCare for their kindness and care.Cress Funeral and Cremation Service 6021 University Ave. (608) 238-8406

Originally published in the Wisconsin State Journal on September 30, 2009; submitted by Michael Vahldieck (Class of 1968)

Note: Mae graduated from West, but attended Central through 1967. She is pictured as a junior in the 1967 Tychoberahn

Obituary: Anthony L. "Tony" Russos

DEERFIELD - Anthony L. "Tony" Russos, age 87, died on Thursday, Sept. 17, 2009, at the Stoughton Hospital. He was born in Milwaukee on June 20, 1922, the son of Louis and Fannie (Anagnostopoulos) Russos. He graduated from Madison Central High School. Tony and his father, Louis, owned and operated the Cat N Fiddle Tavern in the Town of Blooming Grove. He served in the Marine Corps from 1942 to 1946. Tony married Helen Pappas of Ripon on Aug. 26, 1951. He would always tell everyone that he had married Helen because she knew the good fishing spots on Green Lake. And, yes, she really did. In 1954, he joined the Dane County Sheriff's Department where he started out in the "old" jail. When the department moved into the City-County Building, he worked in Administration, Civil Process, and was in charge of Boat Patrol and the Dane County Range. He retired at the rank of lieutenant. After the death of his father, the Cat N Fiddle was sold and they built a home on Lake Monona in 1961. In January 1981, Tony and Helen retired from the Sheriff's Department and moved to the Town of Presque Isle, north of Boulder Junction. There they enjoyed fishing and hunting, snowmobiling, boating and Tony's hobby, woodworking. In November 1995 they returned to the Madison area and settled in the Town of Sun Prairie near Cottage Grove and again built a new home. In 2003, they sold their home and moved into a condominium in Deerfield where Helen continued to be Tony's caregiver. In 2008, Tony went to live at Skaalen Nursing Home in Stoughton. Tony was a lifetime member and past president of the Wisconsin Law Enforcement Officers Association, Sheriff's and Deputy Sheriff's Association, life member of VFW Post 7591, past chairman of the board of Dane County Credit Union and district governor of GAPA (Greek-American Progressive Association). He attended the Smith-Wesson Gun School in Springfield, Mass., was a member of the Blooming Grove Volunteer Fire Department, past member and president of Presque Isle Sno Bunnies, past commander of the Madison Power Squadron, past president of the Fish and Wildlife Club of St. Germain, past president of Natural Lakes Owners Advancement Assoc., past president of Madison Sno-Drifters, and past member of the Wisconsin Governor's Snowmobile Council. Tony is survived by his wife, Helen; daughter, Niki (Joe Harris); and son, Ted. He was preceded in death by his parents; and his St. Bernards, Heidi, Puddles and Rascal. At Tony's request he will be cremated and there will be no funeral services. There will be a private burial at Roselawn Memorial Park at a later date. Memorials will be made to the Dane County Humane Society, 5132 Voges Road, Madison, WI 53718, in memory of Tony. Gunderson East Funeral and Cremation Centers 5203 Monona Drive (608) 221-5420

Originally published in the Wisconsin State Journal on September 20, 2009

Obituary - J. Martin "Murphy" Wolman - Class of 1937

BOULDER, COLO./ MADISON - J. Martin "Murphy" Wolman died Saturday in Boulder, Colo. on the 66th anniversary of his wedding to Anne Paley Wolman. Anne died in 2004, and Murphy moved to Colorado a year later to be with his four children. Murphy spent his entire professional career as a newspaperman at the Wisconsin State Journal, beginning in 1932 as a newsboy and retiring as publisher in 1985 at age 65. Office lore has it that Murphy was originally paid out of petty cash, and that no one has ever owned up to actually hiring him. When he returned from military service, he joined the business staff, later becoming general manager, and then publisher. He become involved with the Journal's Empty Stocking even before he was put on the payroll, and remained dedicated to it throughout his years in Madison. Earlier this summer, he told his daughter he had been dreaming of the Empty Stocking Club, but not of work. After the death of their eldest daughter, Jane in 1967, Anne and Murphy founded Youth Services Incorporated, which now runs the Empty Stocking Club. In recent years, Murphy made a donation to Youth Services, which was used to create a special fund to benefit poor schoolchildren in Southern Wisconsin. Among his many other community involvements, he was especially fond of Vilas Park Zoo, and Edgewood College. Murphy is survived by his children, Nicky Wolman, Ruth Henderson, and Lewis Wolman, all of Boulder; Jon Wolman of Detroit; and their spouses. He was a grandfather of 10, and great-grandfather of 7. He is also survived by his sister, Esther Kaplan; sisters-in-law, Ida Haaker and Estelle Wolman; brother-in-law, Meril Stein; and numerous nieces and nephews. All will remember him as the "go to" guy in the family for help or advice. Services will begin at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2009 at TEMPLE BETH EL, 2702 Arbor Drive. Donations can be made to: The Jane Wolman Memorial Youth Fund c/o Beth El Temple, 2702 Arbor Dr. Madison, WI 53711 or the "Murph and Anne Wolman Fund for Children" c/o the Madison Community Foundation, 2 Science Court, Madison, WI 53711-1088.Cress Funeral and Cremation Service 3610 Speedway Road (608) 238-3434

Originally published in the Wisconsin State Journal on September 15, 2009

Note: The photograph accompanying this obituary is from the 1936 Orange & Black (the name for the Madison Central High School yearbook in the 1930s). It appears on a page listing the staff for the upcoming school year. The relevant excerpts from the text are here:

Mirror Announces 1936-1937 Staff Appointments

Martin "Murphy" Wolman, present business manager and member of the sports staff, will head both editorial and business departments as executive editor of the 1936-37 Mirror. Previous, the editor and business manager have been high positions in the paper. In the new executive The Mirror hopes to build for more coordination between the two staffs. he will also be in charge of make-up, working in connection with the managing editor and committee of copyreaders.

Central Journalists Honored

Martin Wolman, because he spent hours -- tedious as well as interesting and valuable -- in directing, soliciting, and planning copy for advertisements; because he did a good job reporting sports; because he was always willing to help out in any department.

J. Martin "Murphy" Wolman's Class year is based on information from the 1937 Orange & Black yearbook, where his photograph is among those of the graduating seniors. You may view the page with his senior photograph, as well as the rest of the 1937 yearbook, on the Central Alumni Flickr photostream.