In Memoriam - Stephen Vagi

Stephen Vagi, 81 Rockport, MA —

Stephen Vagi, 81, of Rockport, husband of Dolores (LaMarre) Vagi, passed away on June 8, 2012 in the NSMC Salem Hospital in Salem, MA.

Stephen was born in Hungary, on October 19, 1930, the son of the late Stephen and Maria (Kliedl) Vagi.

He was awarded a Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship in 1958, to begin his Ph.D studies in mathematics at MIT and finished his Ph.D studies at the University of Chicago. His career spanned nearly forty years as a Professor of Mathematics at DePaul University in Illinois. In 2002, in honor of his retirement, a conference entitled, “Harmonic Analysis: Calderon-Zygmund and Beyond”, was sponsored by DePaul University and the National Science Foundation. In 2001, Stephen and his beloved wife, Dolores, co-owned and ran, The Seafarer’s Inn, at Marmion Way, up to the present. They had the pleasure of meeting wonderful people throughout the years and acquired very dear friends in Rockport.

He is survived by his wife, Dolores, whom he had shared 29 years of marriage, one daughter, Laura Miller and her husband John, two grandchildren, John Benjamin and Lauren Anne Miller, all of Mt. Pleasant, SC, a sister-in-law, Julia Knowles and her children, of Charlevoix, MI, and many Vagi family cousins living in England and New Zealand. He also leaves his most dear friend of more than 50 years, Adam Koranyi and his lovely wife, Anna, of Tenafly, NJ.

ARRANGEMENTS: Visiting Hours in the Burgess & Mackey Funeral Home, 201 Main St. Rockport will be held on Saturday, June 16, from 9:30-11:30, with remembrances of his life at 11:30. Family and friends are cordially invited.

Burial will follow at 12:15 p.m. in the Beech Grove Cemetery in Rockport.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in his memory to: The Rockport Library Gift Fund, 17 School St. Rockport, MA 01966, or Old Garden Beach Assoc., c/o Debbie Whiting, 30 Marmion Way, Rockport, MA 01966 or The Rockport Music Education Fund, c/o Nathan Cohen, 24 Jerdan’s Lane, Rockport, MA 01966.

Online condolences may be given at: www.greelyfuneralhome.com

Gloucester Times,  June 13, 2012, online

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Dear Colleagues,

It is with sorrow that we have learned of the death of Stephen Vagi.
Dr. Vagi taught in the Mathematics Department from 1962 until his
retirement in 2001.  He passed away on June 8 at the age of 81 in
Rockport, Massachusetts.  He is survived by his wife, daughter, two
grandchildren, and many extended family and friends.

Dr. Vagi was awarded a Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship in 1958, to
begin his Ph.D. studies at MIT, and finished his Ph.D. at the University
of Chicago.  Upon his retirement after nearly 40 years of service,
DePaul and the National Science Foundation sponsored a conference in his
honor, "Harmonic Analysis: Calderon-Zygmund and Beyond."

Visitation will take place on Saturday, June 16, from 9:30 - 11:30 a.m.,
with remembrances of his life at 11:30, at Burgess & Mackey Funeral
Home, 201 Main Street, Rockport, MA.  Interment will follow at 12:15
p.m. at Beech Grove Cemetery in Rockport.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Rockport
Library Gift Fund; the Old Garden Beach Association; or the Rockport
Music Education Fund.  Online condolences may be submitted at
http://www.funeralnetessentials.com/site/greelyfuneralhome/content_main.
html.

Our sympathy goes to the family, friends, and university colleagues who
mourn the passing of Dr. Vagi.  May he rest in peace.

Mission and Values email, June 13, 2012

New Theatre Building

If you haven't been on the Lincoln Park Campus for several months, you may not know that construction has begun on a new Theatre School building.

View from corner of Racine and Fullerton

View looking north on Racine towards Fullerton

 Bob Janis provides specifics on the building:

• It is approximately 164,000 gross square feet in size 
•  It is five stories tall 
•  It will contain several roof gardens along with a LEED rated green roof 
•  It is designed for LEED silver rating 
•  It will house a 250 seat thrust theater and a 100 seat flexible theater 
•  It will house all of the Theatre School’s teach out facilities, shops, storage requirements, faculty  &  administrative offices, student lounge & gathering spaces and other support requirement 
•  It was designed by the internationally renowned firm of Pelli Clarke Pelli (Cesar Pelli) 
•  It is DePaul’s first full basement dig and construction on any project at LPC in the past 30 years (we have avoided the high and significant water table which comes into play at 6.5’. it is very costly to build into that condition) 
•  The skin of the building will be cut Turkish limestone panels and glass, which based on the designed cantilevers and how the façade articulates in and out is a most difficult installation 
•  Construction is slated to be complete in July of 2013 

Also check out the Construction Cam!  Click on "Live Cam" when you get to the page.

Construction photos courtesy: Elaine Beaudoin
Architectural images courtesy: DePaul University

Kristin Lietz: Carrying on the Work of St. Vincent de Paul

Following Dick Houk’s funeral mass at St. Athanasius in February, Nancy Rospenda, Joan and I were talking with Mary Lietz, Gerry’s widow.  Mary, who serves as assistant principal of the parish school, and Nancy were sharing stories about their children who roomed together at DePaul.  I mentioned that I saw in the parish bulletin that the Lenten collection for April 1 would support the missionary work of Kristin Lietz in Mexico.   Mary then shared with us the moving story of Kristin’s continuing commitment to doing the work of Vincent de Paul.

 

Kristin graduated from DePaul with a degree in psychology in 1989. While at DePaul she took  courses in Spanish and spent a quarter-term in the DePaul program in Merida, Mexico.  Following her graduation from DePaul, she received a master’s degree in counseling and guidance from Loyola University.  Combining her commitment to assist others and her love of Spanish, she worked for a few years with Hispanic women in Cicero.  Desiring to do more, Kristin then made a commitment in 2000 to spend a year working in an orphanage in Mexico.  This led to a five-year commitment.  

While working at the orphanage with young girls, she realized that little was being done to prepare them for life beyond menial labor and early marriage.  As a result, she took up the challenge of Vincent, to do more.  With little in terms of financial support, she founded a program to assist young women who desire to continue their education.  The project is called Centro De Compartimiento.  It is designed to assist young women from rural areas of southern Mexico to become leaders in their communities. 

The program provides access to education, personal and spiritual development courses within the program, and service to the community.  The program’s intent is to prepare Servant Leaders.  Room and board is provided for young women between the ages of 12 to 23 who have to leave their rural homes if they wish to pursue their educational goals.  Besides providing access to education, the program “hopes to give the students access to personal insight to be able to find their purpose in life and have a mission and vision for the future.”  

Presently, the program supports two houses, each with seven young women.  Kristin is in charge of one of the homes, Casa Isabel.  The program is funded by private foundations and individual donors, mainly from the U.S.   Casa Isabel is located in Espinal, an urban area of 100,000, in the midst of the largely rural state of Oaxaca, located on the southern coast of Mexico.  For more information please visit the program’s two websites: in Spanish, www.centrodecompartimiento.org and in English, www.casaisabel.org. 

Over the past five years Kristin has struggled not only to continue but also to expand her work, to walk in the footsteps of Vincent de Paul.  In addition, she has two adopted daughters, 4 and 12.   Gerry and Mary are very proud of Kristin, as are we.  

Dick Meister