This column salutes the lives and careers of recently departed colleagues. It is the way NJMEA and NJRMEA can express appreciation for the work that they have done and the lives that they have touched. We mourn their passing and salute their contributions.


Douglas C. Beavers Former Chester, NJ resident Douglas Cecil Beavers, 84, died


peacfully on March 12, 2021 at his home in Hillsborough Twp, NJ. He was an exceptional father, Pop Pop, brother, educator, coach, friend, musician, and athlete. He had a lifelong passion for learning but was best known for the encouragement and love that he brought to every person he met. Doug attended Oldwick Grammar School, a three-room school


located across the street from his father's garage and automobile ser- vice station (Beavers Garage), and graduated, along with his seven classmates in 1950. He went on to attend North Hunterdon Re- gional HS, graduating in 1954. While at North, he was very active in the athletic and music programs. Doug earned his bachelor's degree in music at Trenton State College. While at Trenton State, he was elected President of his senior class in 1958. His first teaching job was as Band Director of High Bridge HS.


Three years later, he became the Choral Director and Assistant Foot- ball Coach at Randolph HS. From 1964-1965, he served as Choral Director and Assistant Football Coach at West Morris Central HS. For the next ten years he served as Music Coordinator/Band Di- rector at Roxbury HS. It was during his time at Roxbury that he received his M. Ed. from The College of NJ. The last 17 years of his teaching career were spent at West Morris Mendham HS as the Fine Arts Supervisor/Choral Director. Doug is survived by his loving wife of 58 years, Janet Breland Beavers; and his devoted children.


Peter Korey


Peter Korey, 68, of Jackson Twp., NJ, was born in New Bruns- wick, NJ on December 10, 1952 to George and Pauline (Botton) Korey. He grew up in East Brunswick, NJ, later relocating to North Brunswick, NJ in 1964, and attended New Brunswick High. He graduated from Newark State College (Kean University) in 1974 with a Bachelor of Arts in Music Education and Trenton State Col- lege (The College of NJ) in 1980 with a Master of Arts in Music Composition. Peter had a multifaceted career as a musician and educator.


He began his teaching career at New Brunswick High school, lat- er moved to Union High School, Bridgewater East High School, St. Thomas Aquinas High School and finally to Manalapan High


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School where he retired in 2005. The North Brunswick native went on to appear with bands and notorieties around the country, including the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra led by Lee Castle, Warren Covington and the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, the Sammy Kaye Orchestra led by Roger Thorpe, Les Elgart, Tony Bennett, Margaret Whiting, in addition to mul- tiple off-broadway tours. Peter also led his own highly successful big band, Pete Korey, and his Big Band, and arranged music for a wide variety of ensembles such as the New Jersey Pops Orchestra and vari- ous concert, jazz, marching and brass bands. He was a member of the New Jersey Music Educators Associa- tion, American Federation of Musicians, the All-Shore Band Direc- tors Association, and the International Trumpet Guild. Peter is survived by his wife of 26 years, Eileen; a daughter, Adrianna and two sons, Brendan and William.


Geraldine C. Wagoner Geraldine C. Wagoner, 88, passed away peacefully in August


2020. She was born in 1931 in Illinois. She grew up in Illinois, Wis- consin, North Carolina and Iowa, where she played the organ at her father served as a minister. This early passion for music continued as she majored in Flute at Central College. Geraldine married Roy Wagoner upon graduation and for the


next 15 years supported him in service to churches in the Reformed Church in America in Poughkeepsie, New York; Fair Lawn, New Jersey; and West New York, New Jersey. During this time, Geral- dine studied flute at the Juilliard School in NYC. She subsequently received a master’s degree in Music Education from Montclair State University, and also studied the Carl Orff process of music education in Salzburg, Austria. For 30 years, Geraldine taught music, piano, flute and wood- winds, and trained choruses of hundreds of students in the Edison, West New York, Englewood, and Ridgewood, New Jersey, schools. She also taught students private music lessons and coached them in auditions for the National Guild of Piano Teachers. She also taught graduate students at New York University while fulfilling a Teaching Fellowship and was a member of the National Association for Music Education for over 50 years. During her retirement, she moved from New Jersey to Wil- liamsburg, where she lived for 15 years and continued her support of the arts. Geraldine had many interests, including travel, genealogy, opera, watercolor painting and wine tasting. Survivors include her two children and spouses and grandchildren.


MAY 2021


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