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School & Community News

Mike Brescia's Obituary

https://obituaries.neptunesociety.com/obituaries/palm-harbor-fl/michael-brescia-10944098

Michael “Mike” Brescia, 81, of New Port Richey, Florida passed away after various medical complications on September 23rd. He was born to Michael Brescia and Greta Urmter in Utica, NY. Mike grew up on a farm in Floyd, NY and had one brother, John Brescia, who predeceased him. All his life he was surrounded by friends and family and found great joy in family time and friendship.

He is survived by his wife, Jane (Hughes), son Michael and daughter Renee (Simpson), two beautiful grandchildren, Mickey Brescia and Cassidy Simpson, and many cherished nieces and nephews.

Mike was a kind, patient and loving partner to his wife of 60 years, Jane Brescia (Hughes). They were high school sweethearts and met at Holland Patent Central School in Holland Patent, NY. As teenagers, and throughout their life together, they were always surrounded by good friends. They were wonderful parents who always did their best for their children and grandchildren.

He was a caring, thoughtful and dependable father to his two children and his heart overflowed for his grandchildren. Mike was a family man through and through. He loved to do so many things, but family always came first. He trusted in God and was a man of faith. Not only was he a father and grandfather, but also a patient teacher of all things and a great partner to laugh and enjoy life with. The lessons he shared with his family are invaluable and will always be treasured.

Mike was born with a stick shift in his hand. He drove farm equipment as a kid growing up on his parents farm. It was like he was born to drive! His passion for cars started as a young boy and lived on with him throughout his entire life. Mike’s favorite car has always been the Ford Mustang, and he is a loyal Ford man all the way. A room filled with trophies remains at Mike and Jane’s residence, celebrating all of the awards and passion he had for cars and the dedication it takes to restore an old classic.

Over 20 years, Mike restored a 1970 fastback Mustang to pristine condition. Car related activities were his personal favorite hobby. Among other endearing nicknames, he was known as Mustang Mike. Over the years he was also referred to as Fur Face, “Not bad” Dad, Papa, Grampa, brother, Uncle Mike and dear friend to so many. Throughout his life he has owned many cars and trucks. Some of them include a Galaxy 500, Mustangs (new and old), Corvettes from the 1980’s and nothing but Ford trucks.

Mustang Mike operated a service station in his early career where he could do what he loves, work on cars. Being a hard worker was ingrained in him growing up on his parents farm. He married his young bride and attended radiator school in Nebraska at 20 years old. Mike was a man who could literally drive, repair or build anything. His knowledge of mechanical things was out of this world. Driving truck for 17 years as a professional driver came natural to him. He was passionate about driving his Peterbilt truck and traveling all over the country. Eventually, he and Jane owned a trucking brokerage company as well as a TV vending company that he created in the 80’s. Being a successful entrepreneur was just one of his many talents and skills. Deer hunting was another hobby he enjoyed when living in upstate NY.

Mike and Jane retired and moved to Florida 22 years ago. They enjoyed the beautiful weather and loved to go to the beach and car shows. They have always loved entertaining at their home as well. Mike was an active member of the Syracuse and Tampa Bay Mustang Clubs. Watching movies, football games, car racing, car related shows and historical programs on TV is something he enjoyed often.

Mike’s memory will live on through so many people he touched with his presence during his life. He will be dearly remembered and missed every day.

We will have a celebration of his life on Saturday, November 26, 2022. See details under Services.

Our family invites you to share your memories of Mike here and we thank you for all of the thoughtful cards, flowers and sentiments.

Please join us to celebrate the life of Mike Brescia. We will decorate a special memorial wreath in honor of him at the celebration. Bring any small items that remind you of him to add to the wreath. Please contact Renee if you’d like to mail any small items to add to the memorial wreath.

Following the celebration we will launch the wreath into the Gulf waters at Sunset Park in Tarpon Springs. You’re welcome to join in the launch of the wreath.

posted November 4th, 2022

Van Buskirk

https://legcy.co/3sJZxVl
Please post Jamie Van Buskirk's Obituary. He was a 1980 Holland Patent graduate.
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The Observer-Dispatch
James (Jamie) VanBuskirk
1962 - 2021

photo
James (Jamie) Van Buskirk 1962 - 2021
FORT MILL, SC - On Saturday, January 9, 2021, James (Jamie) Arnold Van Buskirk, loving husband and father of three, passed away at the age of 58.
Jamie was born on February 14, 1962, in Syracuse, to Lorna Cusack and J. Patrick Van Buskirk and raised in Barneveld. He was a 1980 graduate of Holland Patent High School, received his Civil and Environmental Engineering Degree from Clarkson University in 1984 and worked to make the world a cleaner place for 35 years. On September 23, 1989, he married Cynthia (Cindy) Lou Schang. They raised two sons, Alex and Sam and one daughter, Julia.
Jamie was the life of every party, loved to be surrounded by friends and family and enjoyed grilling for the masses. He was often challenging them to games of corn hole, darts, bocce ball and Gin Rummy, always with his own twists. If he was not playing golf or on the tennis courts, he was out camping or boating; and of course, drinking a cold Utica Club throughout. He cheered on his beloved Mets and Giants and adopted the Clemson Tigers after his twins both attended the university. His favorite downtime was spent on the back porch of his house watching the birds on the pond while reading his latest book or completing a crossword puzzle.
Jamie is survived by his wife, Cindy; his three children, Alex, Julia and Sam; his mother, Lorna; his brother, Scott (Jody); sister, Alice (Mike) Morgan; two aunts; and several cousins, nephews, and nieces.
He was preceded in death by his father, Pat.
A virtual memorial service will be conducted on Saturday, January 23rd at 5:00 p.m. For link information please contact Alice Morgan @ 315-486-6969.
In lieu of flowers, please consider donations to the ALS Association Upstate NY Chapter, 135 Old Cove Road, Suite 213, Liverpool, NY 13090 or the Alzheimer's Association of CNY, 441 West Kirkpatrick Street, Syracuse, NY 13204.
A burial service will be held this spring in Barneveld where he will be interred at Evergreen Cemetery. A "Celebration of Jamie's Life" is being planned and will happen when it is safe to do so.
Local arrangements are entrusted to Autenrith Funeral Home, Newport.
Online tributes at www.autenrithfuneral.com.

posted January 25th, 2021

Mark Divine

Mark Divine Reserve Officer and Navy SEAL Trainer
Mark Divine ’81
When the U.S. military needs to do the impossible — from the targeted raid on Osama Bin Laden’s compound to the rescue of Captain Richard Phillips from Somali pirates — it calls on the Navy SEALs. When future Navy SEALs need to get in shape, they call on Mark Divine ’85.

A SEAL officer for 20 years, Divine retired as a commander in 2011, and is now dedicating himself to training others — both physically and mentally. His clients include military and prospective special ops warriors, endurance athletes, and professionals.

This new career began when, during the Iraq War, Divine was called up as a reserve officer to help design training programs for the SEALs and to help study a new special ops program for the Marine Corps. Since then, Divine has partnered with the Navy to create a nationwide mentoring program for Naval special ops candidates and launched SEALFIT, helping aspiring SEALs prepare for the rigors of official training.

In addition, he has authored two books to share his specialized regimen with the world. The New York Times bestseller 8 Weeks to SEALFIT takes readers through the intense physical and mental workouts necessary to become a SEAL. And last December, Divine released the companion volume: The Way of the SEAL, a Wall Street Journal bestseller that offers mental training and performance-thinking guidance for leaders.

The Way of the SEAL harkens back to a crucial period in Divine’s life: his mid-20s, when he was working at a CPA firm in New York City and was spending much of his time outside of the office training with martial arts grandmaster Tadashi Nakamura. With Nakamura’s help, Divine expanded his regimen beyond the physical training that he had mastered at Colgate through competitive swimming and rowing. Divine learned to meditate and control his mind, seeking to cultivate what he calls his “warrior spirit” (an ethic he now tries to instill in his clients).

“I started to really change as a human being,” he said. “That integration of physical, mental, and spiritual training was developing my deeper character; every day I was trying to be the best human being I could be.”

Wanting to devote his life to pursuits that would allow him to reach his maximum physical and mental potential, Divine decided to leave the New York finance world for SEAL training. He finished SEAL training first in his class (called “the Honor Man”) and was nicknamed “Cyborg” by his teammates for his inhuman endurance on difficult missions — perhaps ironically, because cultivating his mind and spirit was such an important part of Divine’s daily training routine.

Many of his missions as an active-duty SEAL remain classified. Divine’s training methods, however, are secret no more. This next chapter of his life is about sharing these methods with an ever-broader audience. In fact, he spoke at Colgate Memorial Chapel during Homecoming in September. His talk, focusing on leadership, integrated training, and the importance of building strong relationships, was sponsored by the Presidents’ Club.

“I eat my own dog food; I train this way every day,” he said. “Physically and mentally, I’m stronger now than I was in my 30s. I think I’ve tapped into a means for developing human potential that has always been around but has been obscured in the West, where we’re focused on material wealth and IQ, which is just a small percentage of true intelligence.”

posted January 3rd, 2021

HPCS Class of '68 Reunion

The Holland Patent Class of 1968 will be holding their 50th class reunion the weekend of July 13th, 2018. There will be a "Meet and Greet" on Friday night and a dinner on Saturday night at the Delta Lake Inn. To update your mailing address or for more information, please contact Mary (Zike) Nemyier at:
nemyierm@twcny.rr.com.
Thank you,
The Committee

posted November 9th, 2017

55th Reunion

We are looking forward to the reunion. About 30 classmates have indicated they'll attend: Saturday's greeting at Nancy Berg Wheeler's, dinner at the Soda Fountain and Sunday morning in the H.P. park pavilion.

posted August 30th, 2017

55th Class reunion

We are in process of planning a 55th reunion and will soon attempt to provide details to classmates by U.S. mail. The date has been chosen: September 9th and will include a "Meet and Greet" gathering at Nancy Berg Wheeler's home in Remsen, N.Y. followed by dinner at the Soda Fountain restaurant in Remsen.

posted May 22nd, 2017

The GERI and STUART GATES H.P.C.S. Alumni Assoc. Scholarship

Help us sustain this worthy scholarship for future HPCS graduating seniors who demonstrate dedication to public service. Scholarships have been given out in 2015 and 2016 but not from interest so the principal will slowly decline without continued contributions. A reminder that checks should be made out to H.P.C.S. with a memo notation: "Geri & Stuart Gates Scholarship" should be mailed to the school Treasurer at 9601 Main St., H.P., NY 13354

posted January 8th, 2017

The GERI and STUART GATES H.P.C.S. Alumni Assoc. Scholarship

Join others who have generously donated $800.00 so far to this matching challenge. Remember the deadline May 31st !

posted March 6th, 2014

The GERI and STUART GATES H.P.C.S. Alumni Assoc. Scholarship

Between now and May of 2014 a matching challenge is in place for up to $5,000. in new donations in support of this worthy fund intended to support $ awards to graduating seniors who have demonstrated sincere interest in civic leadership. Donations designated for the "Gates Scholarship" should be mailed to the school Treasurer at 9601 Main St., H.P., NY 13354

posted January 2nd, 2014

The GERI and STUART GATES H.P.C.S. Alumni Assoc. Scholarship

Between now and May of 2014 a matching challenge is in place for up to $5,000. in new donations in support of this worthy fund intended to support $ awards to graduating seniors who have demonstrated sincere interest in civic leadership. Checks made out to H.P.C.S. with a memo notation: "Geri & Stuart Gates Scholarship" should be mailed to the school Treasurer at 9601 Main St., H.P., NY 13354

posted December 26th, 2013

Grandson joins the family

Nancy (Hall) Picart became a grandmother for the 4th time this week. Tyler was born to her youngest son and his wife. Nancy remains working full time as a child care director as well as an adjunct professor at two local universities on Long Island, NY. She sings in the church choir and is still teaching piano in her "spare" time.

posted October 19th, 2013

Classmates Spotlight

Holland Patent Central High School Classmates

Shannon Fern
Class of '08

Alumni Stories

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The 2015-2016 school year is in full swing at Holland Patent Central High School! The holidays are here along with all of the Golden Knights school events that come with them. Help keep your fellow Holland Patent Central High School alumni informed of events in the community, fundraisers, new staff, grants, sports, safety classes, PTA events and more! Post your Holland Patent Central High School school news here and give your fellow Golden Knights something to read about!

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