Arnold Cushing
Co-founder Software Co., 58
Arnold Bennett “Arnie” Cushing, co-founder of a computer software company that specializes in serving the restaurant industry, died Sunday of complications from Parkinson’s disease at Gilchrist Hospice Care in Maryland.
The Northwest Baltimore resident was 58.
Mr. Cushing was born and raised in Norwood, Mass., where he graduated from Norwood High School in 1970.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in zoology in 1974 from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and later earned a master’s degree in computer engineering from the Johns Hopkins University.
“He followed a girl to Baltimore. That’s what brought him here in the 1970s,” said his wife of 26 years, the former Diane Grace Sipple. “We both met when we worked together at Martick’s.”
During the early 1980s, Mr. Cushing was working as a waiter at the old Louie’s Bookstore and Cafe on North Charles Street when he took a job in a computer training program at United States Fidelity & Guaranty Co.
“That’s how he got into the computer industry,” said his wife.
Mr. Cushing later worked at the National Institutes of Health and several other companies before he and his partner, Scott Tyburski, established in 1994 SoftCafe LLC, a computer software company that develops software for restaurants and the food service industry.
“Arnie and I met when we were working at Systex, a computer software company in Beltsville,” Mr. Tyburski said.
“We had a lucky break. A local restaurant needed a menu program, so we created what we call MenuPro, which lets restaurants create their own menus,” Mr. Tyburski said. “And it took off.”
Mr. Tyburski said the advantages of MenuPro, in addition to letting restaurateurs design and create their own menus, was that it was faster than word-processing and less expensive than a conventional printer.
“They could keep it all in-house,” Mr. Tyburski said.
The partners’ software program became so successful that many national restaurant chains, restaurants, colleges and universities, country clubs and resorts worldwide use it in their daily operations.
“Arnie was the chief software architect of SoftCafe ScheduleWriter, an employee scheduling program. Gone was paper and pencils and time cards,” Mr. Tyburski said.
“Arnie was a great person who was enormously talented and a brilliant programmer. Things that were difficult for me were a snap for him. He made what we do here happen,” he said.
“However, Arnie was a down-to-earth-guy with an incredible sense of humor. He had lots of humility and was not into bragging, but he could have been,” Mr. Tyburski said. “He was one amazing guy.”
Mr. Cushing headed the Baltimore office while his partner directed the operations of the Washington office.
The former longtime Hampden resident, who had lived in the Fallstaff neighborhood of Northwest Baltimore for the past 10 years, also enjoyed music and playing tennis.
He was a self-taught guitarist, tennis player and golfer.
“Music was an important part of Arnie’s life, and he spent many hours playing acoustic guitar with friends and listening to blues bands in Baltimore,” said Howard Parnes, a longtime friend. “His eclectic music tastes ranged from Leon Redbone to Clarence ‘Gatemouth’ Brown, and provided a common frame of reference for many lasting relationships.”
Mike Jakubik, another friend, said that Mr. Cushing often would play his guitar and sing before house concerts and during breaks.
“His fine guitar playing and singing, coupled with his great sense of humor and offbeat repertoire, always drew an appreciative audience,” Mr. Jakubik said.
“It’s hard to put a label other than ‘eclectic’ on a guy who’s been influenced by Merle Travis, T-Bone Walker, Django Reinhardt, Chet Atkins, John Prine, Steve Goodman, Hank Williams, Frank Zappa and ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic,” he said. “He was at his best doing offbeat songs with a comic twist.”
Mr. Cushing was equally adept on the tennis court.
Mr. Parnes said his friend played golf and tennis with “classic form and uncommon gracefulness.”
“To prove that tennis rackets hadn’t changed the game as much as I thought, he provided me an on-court demonstration, beating me 6-0 in record time using a 20-year-old wood racket,” Mr. Parnes said.
Mr. Cushing was a member for 15 years of the summer inter-club tennis team at Friends School, which won five city championships.
“He was an avid player and was known for his extraordinary quickness and graciousness on and off the court,” said Steve Goodman, his tennis partner.
In addition to music and sports, Mr. Cushing was a collector of Bakelite plastic radios and jewelry, pottery and folk art.
Services will be held at 1 p.m. Tuesday at Sol Levinson & Bros., 8900 Reisterstown Road.
In addition to his wife, survivors include two sons, Andrew Benjamin Cushing and Stuart Maxwell Cushing, both of Mount Washington; and a sister, Phyllis Mozes of Forest Hills, NY.
Jane S. Flannery
Aug. 28, 1932 - Oct. 2, 2010
Jane S. Flannery, beloved teacher and coach for generations of young women at Downsville Central School, died peacefully at home with her family on Saturday, October 2, 2010. She was 78.
Born in Cooperstown, New York on August 28, 1932 to Mary Malvina Terpening and Frederick Joseph Steele, Jane was the eldest of two daughters; her younger sister, Elizabeth Steele Setter, was born in 1934 and predeceased her in 1984. Jane’s first cousin, Kenneth Atkins, with whom she was very close, predeceased her in 1985.
Jane grew up in Richfield Springs, New York, and graduated from Richfield Springs Central School. She continued her education at the State University of New York at Cortland, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in physical education in 1954. Later that year, Jane was hired as the physical education teacher at Downsville Central School. The principal who hired Jane at Downsville Central, Edwin Tillapaugh, had been her 8th grade English teacher at Richfield Springs.
In 1956, Jane married Thomas A. Flannery, a teacher at Downsville Central School. The Flannerys had four children: Patricia of Clinton, Massachusetts; Stephen of Hilton Head, South Carolina; Anne of Kansas City, Missouri; and Michael (daughter-in-law Caryl) of St. Louis, Missouri. Jane and Tom taught together at Downsville Central School until Tom’s retirement in 1986. Jane retired from teaching and coaching in 1988. Jane and Tom were avid antique collectors as well as geneaology/ history enthusiasts in their 37 years of loving marriage. Tom predeceased her in 1994.
Jane coached girls’ soccer, basketball, volleyball, and softball at Downsville Central School. Coach Flannery was a mentor and role model for girls throughout her career, when girls’ athletics were just gaining a foothold because of Title IX. Jane fought hard to win equality for her teams and her teams were very successful. In soccer, for example, from 1975 to 1985, Jane’s teams won 8 Delaware Mountain League titles (7 consecutive, from 1975 to 1981), 3 Section IV Championships (1977; 1979; 1981), and 2 Section IV runner-ups. Her basketball team also won 5 Delaware Mountain League titles (1977-81; 1985), 3 consecutive Section IV championships (1977-1979) and a Section IV runner-up. In 1977-1978, her soccer, volleyball, and basketball teams were undefeated (50 and 0).
Jane and daughter Anne were both inducted into the NYSPHSAA Section IV Hall of Fame in 1996. On September 11, 2010, in a moving dedication ceremony organized by Downsville Board of Education President Dale Stone, the annual Downsville Central School preseason girls’ soccer tournament was permanently named in Jane’s honor.
Far more important to Jane than her teams’ success on the field was her insistence that the young women she taught be prepared to succeed in higher education, their communities and life. She took great pride that her student athletes went on to successful careers, including many teachers, doctors, lawyers, and nurses. Above all, students of Jane Flannery understood that success on the field was only meaningful if it was accompanied by success and endeavor in education and community service. Jane was active in Downsville and the Town of Colchester as Town Historian, Election Supervisor, and Member of the Library board which she ran.
Jane was an avid sports fan. Her greatest passion, however, was soccer. After her retirement, she followed men’s and women’s soccer with great fervor. She attended numerous games for the 1999 and 2003 women’s World Cups, and the 1994 and 2006 men’s World Cup, including a month-long stay in Frankfurt, Germany in 2006. She also took several trips to England to attend Premier League games, including her favorite, Liverpool. At the time of her death, she was looking forward to returning to Germany to attend the 2011 women’s world cup.
In addition to her four children, Jane is survived by her three beloved grandchildren, Joseph, Brian, and Sean Flannery of St. Louis, Missouri; sisters-in-law; Joan Atkins, Joan Flannery, Ann Flannery, Theresa Hoffman, Regina Flannery, Karen Flannery, and Margaret McGinnis, brothers-in-law; Michael Flannery and Glen McGinnis, and numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins.
Friends and relatives are invited to call on Friday, October 8, 2010, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Courtney Funeral Home, 25 Townsend Street, Walton, New York 13856. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Saturday, October 9, 2010 at noon at the Holy Family Roman Catholic Church in Downsville with Rev. Peter Sullivan Officiating. Burial to follow at Paige Cemetery, Downsville.
In Jane Flannery’s memory, donations may be made to the Downsville Alumni Association Scholarship Fund or Colchester Public Library.
Condolences may be made online by visiting www.court neyfh.com
Lillian Long
of West Yarmouth, Mass., 85
Lillian (Black) Long of West Yarmouth, Mass. and a longtime resident of Callicoon, died Sunday, September 26, 2010 at the age of 85. She was the beloved wife of Paul F. Long of West Yarmouth. Paul and Lillian were married 65 years Sept. 1, 2010.
In addition to her husband, she is survived by her six children, Paul (Donna) Long, Kathleen (John) Eschenberg, Richard (Julie) Long, Michael (Linda) Long, Patricia (Kevin) King, Theresa (Thomas) Gagnon; 13 grandchildren, Shannon (Jim) Silva, Ardis Eschenberg, Jessie (Darren) Hight, John-Paul (Danielle) Eschenberg, Lyndsay (Steve) Nalbandian, Braden Long, Tiffany (Roy) Brown, Darrin (Victoria) Long, Rachel Long, Callie Long, Zachary Long, David Gagnon, Kathryn Gagnon; seven great-grandchildren, Tristin Silva, Alec Hight, Ashley Hight, Bea Eschenberg, CéTan Eschenberg, John-Paul Eschenberg Jr., Jayden Brown; several sisters, and her brother.
A Funeral Mass was held Thursday, September 30 at St. Pius X Church, South Yarmouth.
Interment followed in St. Francis Xavier Cemetery, Centerville.
Donations in her memory may be made to the charity of one’s choice.
Notes of sympathy and comfort to the family may be submitted at www.MorrisOConnorBlute.com
Ramon Siopongco
Artist & Antiques Dealer
Ramon Siopongco of Callicoon, our beloved, was born in the Philippines, and migrated to the U.S. and became a proud citizen. He lived and worked in publishing in New York City where he met his life partner. They moved to Callicoon 15 years ago where he pursued his passion as an artist and antiques dealer, building a home and life with his companion. He always had a smile for everyone.
He is survived by his life partner, Paul Matwiow; his mother, Fe; and siblings Myrna, Sr. Trinite, Toni, Martin, Joseph, and Ruby.
Friends may call from 2-4 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. on Friday, October 8, 2010 at the Stewart-Murphy Funeral Home in Callicoon.
A Funeral Mass will be celebrated at Holy Cross Church at 10 a.m. on Saturday, October 9.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Delaware Youth Center, PO Box 354, Callicoon, NY 12723.
Funeral arrangements are by Stewart-Murphy Funeral Home, Callicoon, NY. (845) 887-4900.
