Obituaries, April 29, 2008

Dorothy Smith

memorial

A service of thanksgiving for the life of Dorothy Smith will be held in the Meeting House of The First Church in Oberlin, United Church of Christ on Saturday, May 3 at 1 p.m.

During the service there will an opportunity for family and friends to share brief reflections and their memories of Dorothy. Following the service a reception will be held in the Fellowship Hall.

Mary Ann

Danenberg

Mary Ann Danenberg, emerita teacher of pianoforte at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and widow of the 11th president of Oberlin College, Emil Danenberg, died Thursday, April 24, 2008, at Allen Community Hospital in Oberlin. She was 81.

Born Mary Ann Brezsny in Detroit, Mich., on April 21, 1927, she developed a love of music in childhood which led her to study piano and harp at Cass Technical High School in Detroit. In 1944, she spent a summer at the National Music Camp in Interlochen, Mich., where she worked briefly under composer and pianist Percy Grainger. The following fall she entered the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music.

After receiving her bachelor of music degree in piano performance from Oberlin in 1948, she taught piano at a college in North Carolina before returning to the Oberlin Conservatory to pursue a master of music degree, which she completed in 1951.

Her marriage to then-assistant professor of pianoforte Emil Danenberg took place in June, 1951. The town of Oberlin remained their home for the rest of their lives. Throughout the years in which her husband served Oberlin College first as professor of pianoforte, then as dean of the Conservatory of Music, and finally as president of the college, Mrs. Danenberg continued to teach piano, privately and on an intermittent adjunct basis in the Conservatory.

In addition, she served as a lively, skilled hostess in the President's House.

Over the course of their married life, they enjoyed traveling together in the United States and Europe, including a trip in which they traveled with her parents to visit relatives still living in Czechoslovakia.

During the years of their marriage and after her husband's death in office in 1982, she enthusiastically supported a number of educational and music-related causes dear to them both. In 1983, she received the Alumni Award for distinguished service to Oberlin College.

She is survived by a brother, Robert Brezsny, of California.

Mrs. Danenberg before her death requested that there be no formal service of commemoration for her. She was buried in Westwood Cemetery in a private graveside service.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Community Foundation of Lorain County (1865 N. Ridge Rd. E, Suite A, Lorain OH 44055) with a memo-line notation designating use for the Emil C. Danenberg Cancer Fund; or the Emil C. Danenberg Alzheimer's Fund; or to the CHP Regional Foundation (3700 Kolbe Rd., Lorain, OH 44053) with a memo-line notation designating use for the Kolbe Road ICU Department.

Angelina Lynn

Johnson

Angelina Lynn Johnson of Cleveland, formerly of Oberlin and sister of Donald Johnson of Oberlin, died suddenly in Cleveland on Thursday, April 24, 2008. She was 37.

Born April 18, 1971, she graduated from Elyria High School in 1989. She had lived in Cleveland the past 10 years, moving from Oberlin.

She was self-employed, working in merchandising.

She enjoyed motorcycles and was a member of the Zulus, Afro Dogs, Mighty Romans, Kings of Hearts, Wheels of Soul, and Omens motorcycle clubs.

Miss Johnson is survived by her sons, Thad W. McLaughlin and Cirus Johnson, both of Lorain; daughter, Tashelle M. Johnson of Lorain; father, Clarence "Willie" Johnson of Elyria; brothers Donald L. Johnson of Oberlin, Douglas Johnson Sr. of Lorain, and Carl W. Johnson of Fresno, Calif.; and nephews Carl Jr., Donald, Douglas Johnson Jr., and nieces Aleeya, Kalonie, and Kalah Johnson.

Friends may visit on Friday, May 2, from 10 a.m. until the time of a memorial service at 11 a.m. at Christ Temple Apostolic Church, 370 Lincoln St., the Rev. Lester Allen III, pastor of the Christian Missionary Alliance Church, officiating. Private family burial will be at Westwood Cemetery.

Cowling Funeral Home is handling local arrangements.