memorial fund


“IN MEMORY OF” Henrietta Dane Mary Birch Jon Busconi Elizabeth McHenry Deborah A. Nicholas William & Marcia Rogers SC of Boston Elaine DeMore Laura Murphy Joanne Disson The Yamaguchi/Hedican Family


appointments


Bronze Singles/Pairs Test Judge Mariah Braxton, Haverford, Pa.; Suzanne Ford, Mt Juliet, Tenn.


obituaries


SWENNING Robert Joseph Swenning, the 1945 U.S.


dance champion and 1947 U.S. pairs champi- on, died Nov. 8, 2012, in California. He was 88. Robert started skating in Playland Rye,


N.Y., at age 13. He immediately showed great promise. The Skating Club of New York of- fered him a full scholarship that included free ice and lessons from renowned coach Pierre Brunet and his wife, Joli, for him and his pairs partner Yvonne Sherman. In 1946, Robert and Yvonne won the U.S. junior pairs title. In 1947, the couple captured the U.S. senior pairs title and the junior sin- gles crowns. In 1948, they finished fourth at the Olympic Winter Games. Robert and Kathe Williams won the U.S.


ice dance title in 1945. After turning professional, Robert spent


one season working at the rink in Playland Rye, where he introduced his brother Richard to competitive skating. “It wasn’t easy as he warned me of the


trials,” Richard said. “However, it was the most wonderful time for me and, thanks to him, I’ve had a wonderful life in skating up to this day.” Robert returned to California and be-


came the skating director at Berkeley Iceland, the home rink for the St. Moritz Ice Skat- ing Club. While there, he worked alongside coaching legend Maribel Vinson Owen. Rob- ert and Maribel skated a pairs routine at one of the club shows. While in Berkeley, he and wife, Alice, had


a son, Douglas, and two daughters, Christine and Victoria. Robert had two students pass the gold


test: his brother and Agnes Tyson. Richard won the Pacific Coast men’s title one year; he now lives in Australia and is both a coach and judge for the Australian Federation Skating Association. Robert coached several other top stu- dents including Bobby Hubbard, Jean Kondo,


Chris Simon, Elwin Kelsey and Linda Epper- son. Patricia Firth came down from Seattle to have Robert choreograph a program for her, while Patricia Quick took lessons from him and won the U.S. novice title in 1950. Outside the rink, Robert was heavily in-


volved with showing horses. He and Sam, his domestic partner for more than 50 years, bought ranches, including one in Fresno, Ca- lif., where they had 60 horses. Robert went on to get his trainer’s license and became in- volved in racing and breeding. A funeral and memorial will be held in


late January.


MANKOVICH Douglas Mankovich, a former competi-


tive ice dancer and U.S. Figure Skating dance judge, died Nov. 9, 2012, after a brief illness. He was 54.


He and his sister, Karen “Kae” Mankovich


Geller, competed at the 1978-79 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, where they finished fifth and sixth, respectively. They skated for Belgium at the World Championships in 1981, and won the United States Professional Ice Dance Championships in 1983. They trained under coaches Ron Lud-


ington, Cecilia Colledge, Jim Sladky and Brian Foley, among others. The siblings attended Brown University


after competing at the 1981 World Cham- pionships in Hartford, Conn.


Shortly after,


Doug pursued his second sport: dressage. He became a noted musical freestyle dressage choreographer, judge and rider. He also was active in the dog show circuit. His Schipperke won best in breed at the Westminster Dog Show. Recently, he became a skating judge and


was invited to judge the 2013 Prudential U.S. Figure Skating Championships. He mentored and inspired many skaters, encouraging them to pursue their goals with joy and determina-


tion. In the last five years, he became certified


as a human resources manager and was the human resource manager for a small consult- ing firm.


Mankovich; sister, Karen Mankovich Geller; and a niece, Florrie Geller. Donations


He is survived by his mother, Carolyn in


Doug’s’ name may be made to the U.S. Figure Skating Memorial Fund, 20 First St., Colorado Springs, CO 80906. The family plans to have a memorial cel-


ebration of Doug’s life in Lake Placid, N.Y., in the summer of 2013.


CHATAIGNEAU Renowned figure skating photographer


Gerard Chataigneau died Nov. 12, 2012, after suffering a heart attack at his home in Missis- sauga, Ontario, Canada. He was 68. Gerard was a dedicated employee and


editor of Environment Canada for more than 35 years. He was known for his generosity and


kindness, as well as his talent and passion was for figure skating. His photography stood out among ath-


letes and professionals in the industry. Gerard is credited with creating and designing The Figure Skating Calendar, which was first pub- lished in 1987 and has achieved great success over the last 25 years. His photography has also been published and featured in several figure skating books and media publications. “He was truly an unsung hero of our


sport and had an unparalleled passion for photographing figure skating,” said Barb Mc- Donald, director of corporate communica- tions for Skate Canada. He is survived by his wife Doreen, son


Phillip and stepdaughter Elizabeth. The family has requested that donations sent to the Heart and Stroke Foundation.


SKATING 61


Silver Singles/Pairs Test Judge Sara Gershbein, N Palm Beach, Fla. Regional Singles/Pairs Competition Judge Hannah Katz, Littleton, Colo.


Sectional Singles/Pairs Competition Judge Mariam Mohajer-Rahbari, Sherman Oaks, Calif. Senior Sectional Synchronized Competition Judge Ann Buckley, Essex, Mass.


Ned Greenthal Laura Murphy Erica Keeley Linda Bacon Reginald S. E. Lee Miyata Pomaika’i John Leiter Kansas City FSC Doug Mankovich Tigger Montague Laura Murphy Mary K. O’Keefe


Fran and Kyle Lukacik Lloyd Sauer Windy City FSC Janet Wright Edward Mann


“IN HONOR OF” Nancy Meiss’ 90th Birthday U.S. Figure Skating Foundation Trustees Lorrie Parker Kansas City FSC


U.S. medalists at Rostelecom Cup Sheryl Scarborough U.S. medalists at Trophée Eric Bompard Sheryl Scarborough U.S. medalists at NHK Trophy Sheryl Scarborough


GENERAL Brian Infalt The Vinik Family Foundation


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68