Terrier Volume 76, Number 1 - Spring 2012 | Page 20

The Heart of St. Francis — Giving Back

Class Notes

Frank ’67 and Mary Cannistra

1940s

A

son of an Italian immigrant and one
of six children, Frank Cannistra ’67
grew up working in his father’s shoe
repair shop. He says, “St. Francis provided
me with an affordable college education in a
supportive environment. It was the critical
base that I used to build on to transition
from the early years to the life I envisioned.
It provided that base in an outstanding
fashion. It also provided a set of lifetime
friends. And it was absolutely critical in
terms of what I wanted to accomplish.”
After graduating in 1967 with a degree
in math, Cannistra served in the military,
then spent more than 20 years working in
the Information Technology Department
at Nabisco. He left Nabisco to work at
Computer Sciences Corporation and retired
as a partner in its federal consulting practice.
Cannistra fondly remembers his St. Francis
years, particularly his participation in the
Math Club and his years in Alpha Phi Delta
fraternity. Coming from a large high school,
Frank was drawn to St. Francis because of its
small class size. He also didn’t have the option

“ ollege for me
C
is what I needed
to live the life
I wanted to live.”
of going away to college and
this local college was ideal
for him. He remarks, “College
for me is what I needed to live
the life I wanted to live.”
The Cannistras have not
forgotten their roots and they love to give
back. For years they have helped pay tuition
for as many as six students a year at various
Catholic schools in Paterson, NJ. Recently,
they started doing the same thing for a
student at St. Francis.
Looking back on 41 years of marriage, the
Cannistras said that providing their children
with educational opportunities was one of the
great joys in their life. Their two daughters
attended Princeton and have gone on to

attend Oxford and Harvard
Law School. Cannistra said,
“We feel blessed that we live
the life that we dreamed
about.”
They also wanted to help
others. “I think it’s
important to try to help
others, and that is what my
wife and I have tried to do
… That is how the world
works; everybody should
try to help each other.” He
added, “It doesn’t have to
be a lot. Even with a small amount of money,
you’d be surprised how significant it could be
in a student’s life.”
Cannistra believes that, “St. Francis still
provides an educational opportunity for the
working people of New York City and that
is a tremendous thing to do.” He knows this
from his own personal experience, noting,
“I have a tremendous amount of gratitude for
St. Francis for what its done for my life.”

Philip Harris, Ph.D. ’48 is proud to announce
the release of his new books, Transforming Work
Culture and Developing High Performance Leaders.
He is also celebrating the eighth edition of his
book, Managing Cultural Differences.

1960s
Joseph T. Ponessa ’62 has retired as a professor
at Rutgers University but continues to guest
lecture and consult. He enjoys having time to
pursue his hobbies of photography and woodworking. He and his wife, Joan, have three children
and six grandchildren.
Charles L. Novak ’63 recently visited fellow alum
Bill Karnbach ’61 at his home in Torreviega, Spain.
Charles greatly enjoyed his visit to ’their lovely
village and country’, and is very grateful to both
Bill and his wife, Mercedes, for being such
gracious hosts.
Charles L.
Novak ’63
and Bill
Karnbach ’61

John ’66 and Diane Tiernan

A

lthough he graduated in 1966, John
Tiernan still follows the St. Francis
basketball squad and goes to a game
or two each year. He played for the freshman
basketball team while at St. Francis and talks
enthusiastically about how the varsity made
it into the National Invitation Tournament
in 1963 while he was attending college and
hopes the team will one day make it into
the NCAAs tournament.
Majoring in Business Management,
Tiernan also credits the school for its

academics: “Going to St. Francis provided
me with the opportunity to go to college.
It provided a good education and it still
does today.”
After graduation, Tiernan went to work
on Wall Street, starting off at a trading desk.
He moved on to fixed income sales, working
at HSBC for more than 35 years until he
retired. But retirement wasn’t for John,
and he went back to work. He now works
at Daiwa Securities.
Tiernan credits his business classes at
St. Francis for “helping me understand the
totality of the busin ess,” but did note that on
Wall Street you really learn on the job. He also
recalls enjoying non-business classes, such as

“ oing to St. Francis
G
provided me with…
a good education and it
still does today.”
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history with Professor Mike Casey and
philosophy with Professor Nicholas
Fiorenza. In addition, he made life-long
friends while at St. Francis.
The Tiernans have donated to St. Francis
for more than 20 years and have left money in
their will that will go to the athletic department to help fund a basketball scholarship.
Tiernan said, “I decided to leave something in
my will because the school helped me become
successful in what I do and I wanted to give
back to kids who are in the same situation.”
Tiernan believes that the St. Francis
expansion and its new buildings will help
shape its future. “When I played basketball,
the team played in an armory in New York
City. We didn’t have a gym and now they have
their own gym.”
However, Tiernan remarks that basketball
is just a small part of why St. Francis is so
important to him. “St. Francis provides an
excellent education and serves a tremendous
purpose for inner-city kids.”

Robert W. Sheehan
’63 and his wife,
Patricia, are proud to
announce the arrival of
their first grandchild,
Gabriel Francis, born
this past January in
Newport News, VA,
to Christine and
Pablo Villagra.

Bernard J. Casserly ’64 has been retired since
2004 after spending 45 years in banking and
finance.

William J. Oakes ’70 is semi-retired and working
part time at the Bayonne Economic Opportunity
Foundation, which is a non-profit social service
agency. There he assists clients in obtaining rental
and energy assistance and helps the Foundation
with its food pantry.

George R. Mayer ’65 is happy to report that
he could ’not handle retirement’ and now has
a thriving part time mediation and arbitration
business. He also celebrates his wonderful
marriage of 45 years, and is grateful for his
two beautiful grandchildren.

Bro. Leonard Conway O.S.F. ’71 celebrates his
40 years of service at St. Francis Preparatory
School of which 25 were spent as Principal.

John F. Witkowski ’65 and his wife, Minerva, are
now both retired and spend their winter months
in Florida with their family and young ones.
Mary E. Hines ’67 has been named to the Irish
Education 100 by The Irish Voice newspaper.
The list recognizes the top figures in higher
education in North America who are of Irish
heritage. Mary currently serves as President of
Carlow University in Pittsburgh, PA.
Thomas J. Killeen ’69 has recently been
appointed to the Community Development
Corporation of Long Island’s Board of Directors.
He will serve a three-year term. He was also
elected to the board of CDC’s affiliate, CDCLI
Funding Corporation. He is also a member of the
Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees of
the Long Island Alzheimer’s Foundation, and is a
past Chair of the organization; a member of Hofstra
University’s Honors College Advisory Board; an
affiliate board member of the Nassau Physicians’
Foundation; a member of the Board of Directors of
the Long Island Community Chest, Inc.; Secretary
and a member of the Board of Directors of the
Patriot Group, Inc.; a participant in the Volunteer
Lawyers Initiative for Catholic Charities and a
mentor to the Long Island Elite.

1970s
Thomas B. McManus ’70 announces the birth of
his granddaughter, Lola Grace McManus, born this
past April to Chris and Jackie McManus. She joins
brothers Sean and Timmy, who are six years old
and four years old, respectively.

Vincent Pitta ’72 was
recently honored at this
year’s Peggy Browning
Fund Awards Ceremony
in NYC for his decades
of work as a labor
attorney in particular on
behalf of private and
public sector unions in
the fields of law enforcement, facilities management, healthcare and education. Vincent is
Managing Partner of Pitta and Giblin, LLC.
Arthur Raimo ’73 is President of Academy of the
Holy Names in Tampa, FL.
Vincent A. Bagarozza ’76 is now Vice President
and Chief Loan Officer of Center Bancorp, Inc.,
parent company to Union Center National Bank.
He also serves as Senior Vice President and
Chief Loan Officer of UCNB and leads its
commercial lending team.
Gail K. Naughton ’76 is now a member of the
Board of Advisors of Perminova, a developer of
web-based software for the nation’s leading
cardiology centers. Gail is currently CEO and
Chairman of Histogen, Inc., a regenerative
medicine company she founded in 2007 to develop
novel treatments for conditions ranging from hair
loss to cancer.
Kenneth M. Freda ’77 is Managing Director of
Executive Sounding Board Associates, Inc., where
he is responsible for practice development and for
contributing to the management of turnarounds,
workouts and bankruptcy engagements.

Christopher McClure ’07
Christopher McClure ’07 a member of the St. Francis Men’s Water Polo
and Swim teams is now working at the Harlem Link Charter School.
Last year he arranged for the students to receive t-shirts from the
College. “The students were extremely excited to get them and could
not wait to put them on. They wore them with pride throughout the
school all day,” said McClure. “Many of these students don’t have much
at all and school is something that they see as a safe and comfortable
place to go every day. These t-shirts not only brightened their day, but
helped initiate our conversation about the importance of academics and
the road to college.”

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