Eugene Hoyne Clark, known to his friends as Gene, died suddenly on March 2. Born December 12, 1929, in La Crosse, Wisconsin, he graduated from La Crosse Central High School in 1947; he went on to Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, where he earned his bachelor of music degree in 1951 and his master’s in 1952. In October of that year he was inducted into the U.S. Army and was sent to Korea, where he directed prize-winning choral groups. He was honorably discharged in 1954.
Upon release from the military, he relocated to San Francisco and taught choral music for the San Francisco Unified School District. He also held organist/choir director positions in several Bay Area churches, including St. Francis Lutheran Church and Lakeside Presbyterian Church in San Francisco, St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Oakdale, and Woodside Village Church in Woodside. In later years he was substitute organist/director in many Bay Area churches.
Ronald Cross died February 21 in Staten Island, New York, at the age of 84. A native of Fort Worth, Texas, he earned a B.A. degree from Centenary College and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from New York University. A Fulbright fellowship supported his studies at the Venice Conservatory, Chigi Academy, and the universities of Siena, Vienna, and Florence. Cross taught at Notre Dame College, Staten Island, from 1958–68, and at Wagner College, Staten Island, from 1968 until his retirement. A member of the New York City AGO chapter, he had previously served as dean of the Staten Island chapter. He had served St. Paul’s-St. Luke’s Evangelical Church in Staten Island as organist-choirmaster.
Arlene Heywood Howes, age 77, died February 28 in Longmeadow, Massachusetts. Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, she graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1956. Howes served for 38 years as organist-choir director at Calvary Presbyterian Church, Enfield, Connecticut, directed the handbell choir of the Second Baptist Church in Suffield, and performed with the Springfield Symphony Chorus in Massachusetts for more than 40 years. She was a longtime member and former treasurer of the Springfield AGO chapter. Arlene Heywood Howes is survived by three daughters, three grandchildren, and four stepchildren.
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