Chapter Eternal - Klose '56 and Livziey '57
We have been honored to call these men our Brothers. The condolences of Theta Chi’s extended worldwide family are offered to the family and friends of our deceased brothers.
It is with great sadness that we report the passing of:
- Harold E. Klose '56 - Dec. 31, 2016
- Jay F. Livziey '57 - Jan. 14, 2018
Harold Klose '56 - LaVie Portrait
Harold E. Klose, 86, of Lower Macungie Township passed away on December 31, 2016. He was the loving and devoted husband of Elizabeth (Snook) Klose. They were married for over 65 years. Born in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, he was the only child of the late A. Blaine and Edith (Albright) Klose. In 1948, he graduated from Mifflinburg High School, and in 1956, he graduated from Penn State after serving in the United States Army during the Korean War. Harold was the loving and nurturing father of six children. He was the grandfather of seven grandchildren and one great grandson. He loved spending time with his family which often included attending their various school musical functions and athletic events. In addition, he enjoyed taking his children and grandchildren to various sporting events such as Penn State football games and college basketball games. During the summer, Harold appreciated the opportunity to vacation with his family while on their annual summer trip to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Spending time with his wife and his family was very important to Harold. He truly treasured these times and it was during these times he helped to create memories his family will always cherish. As a member of St. John’s Lutheran Church in Emmaus, Harold was on the church council and was the chairman of the Finance Committee. Harold was a CPA. Most of his career work was in operations research and systems development, as well as business development. In 1965 he accepted a position as general manager of a women’s specialty store in Minneapolis. A few years later in 1971, Harold negotiated the sale of that store to Genesco, Inc. and subsequently Harold relocated his family back to the east coast which allowed them to be closer to extended family members. Harold's career with Genesco was in the men’s clothing division with senior management positions in finance, marketing administration, development of a career apparel program and operations in both Allentown and Baltimore. He retired from Genesco in 1995. After only 2 years of retirement he accepted a position to head up operations of an outerwear manufacturer and importer in Philadelphia. In 2005 this company merged with another apparel firm in Conshohocken that he retired from in December 2009. Following his retirement, Harold loved and cherished the opportunity of being able to spend additional time with his wife and family.
Surviving: Loving wife, Elizabeth; children, Jennifer Sandruck and her husband Tim, Jonathan Klose, Amy Klose, Patricia Chapman and her husband John, and George Klose and his wife Connie; grandchildren, Bridgette Klose and her partner Adam Joelsson, Jacob and Matthew Sandruck, Jane and Taylor Chapman, Rachael and Alex Klose; and his great grandson, Liam Joelsson. Harold was predeceased by a son Harold "Buddy" E. Klose Jr.
Contributions in lieu of flowers can be made to the scholarship that was established in his son's name at the time of his son's death: The Harold E. Klose Jr., Memorial Scholarship Fund, University of the Pacific, 3601 Pacific Avenue, Stockton, CA 95219.
Jay Livziey '57 - LaVie Portrait
Jay F. Livziey, 83, hero, protector, devoted husband, loving father, proud grandfather, great grandfather, beloved uncle and friend, passed away peacefully at The Williamsport Home on Sunday, Jan. 14, 2018. He was born at home in Strawberry Ridge near Danville, Pa., on Dec. 26, 1934. He was the son of George A. Livziey and Mable M. (Lloyd) Livziey. He was the husband of Joan Hinkel Livziey.
Jay was larger than life, yet he was kind and generous. He was smart and innovative; devoted and driven. This was a man who was strong both physically and spiritually. He was an Eagle Scout, a Scout Master, and an old fashioned gentleman. In his many leadership and professional roles, he was respected and emulated. Jay was a natural, gifted athlete and a Penn State football season ticket holder who never missed a home game. He was also an avid outdoorsman, who loved boating on the Susquehanna River, hunting, and being active in the Pennsylvania Forestry Stewardship Program. He was proud of his Native American heritage. Jay's career as a professional educator spanned thirty-six years, during which time he was the Danville head football coach for ten years and spent twenty-four years as the P.I.A.A. (Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association) state wrestling Chairman. Throughout his remarkable life, volunteerism and public service were vitally important to him. He lived by the adage to whom much is given, much is expected. Without question what brought Jay the most fulfillment in life was spending time with his family and cherished friends. He certainly lived a rich, full life and is irreplaceable.
In 1953 while still in high school and life guarding at Eaglesmere Lake, Jay saved a drowning couple. This earned him a Meritorious Award from the Fraternal Order of Moose. It also was the beginning of Jay's community service as a volunteer first responder for Danville's Friendship Fire Company. He devoted countless hours to emergency training and had marvelous mentors, top among whom was his older brother George "Gus" Livziey. Jay continued to drive ambulance in Danville for fifteen years. Selfless, courageous and confident in the face of danger, he saved many lives throughout the course of his.
Jay graduated from Danville High School in 1953 then attended Penn State University on a full football scholarship. He played halfback under the great ex-coach, Rip Engle through 1957. He was also coached by the legendary Joe Paterno, an assistant at the time. As the smallest player on the team, Jay was always seated with his friend and teammate Roosevelt "Rosie" Grier, when they flew to away games. Rosie Grier went on to play professional football for the New York Giants and the Los Angeles Rams. Not surprisingly, he, Jay and other team members like Lenny Moore remained close over the years since their days on the Nittany Lions' grid iron. In 1956, during the nationally televised Holy Cross game Jay sustained quite an unusual sports injury. Having just run a touchdown, he was attempting another when three opponents hit him during an off-tackle play. The impact was so forceful that it split his helmet and rendered him unconscious. It took over twelve minutes for medical personnel to get Jay off the field and resume play, costing the broadcasting network the most expensive T.V. timeout to date.
Jay was both an athlete and a scholar. While serving as Marshall of the Theta Chi Fraternity of Penn State in 1957, his 3.82 grade point average topped all other athletes that semester. Jay earned a bachelor's of science degree in health and physical education and then a master's degree and Administrative Certificate from Bucknell University. After college he returned to Danville in 1957 and taught junior high school health and physical education for the Danville School District until 1966. During that ten year period, he coached wrestling, track and football for the Danville Ironmen. After two years of assisting, Jay became the head wrestling coach. In 1964 he began to officiate wrestling which lasted fifteen years. During his decade long head football coaching career in Danville, his record was 47-28-6. His most significant football coaching accomplishment came in 1962, when the team won several regional championships, achieved a 19-game winning streak (longest in the school's history) and ended with an 11-0 undefeated season. Jay's impressive coaching record stood for well over thirty years. Shortly after his coaching record was finally broken, the Danville Athletic Director honored him during the halftime of a game. That evening friends, family and an impressive number of Jay's former football players assembled in Danville to honor Coach Livziey. The celebration went on long after the game ended, as Jay and his players shared memorable stories and reminisced. As always, he was very humbled by the recognition he received. It was not surprising that several members of that 1962 undefeated, championship football team kept in touch with their coach over all the years that followed.
While living in Danville, Jay also enriched his hometown in ways other than teaching, coaching, and being a volunteer ambulance driver. He served as the Scout Master of Troop No. 32, he taught American Red Cross swimming lessons, and was also a Hunter's Safety course instructor. Jay developed quite a passion for teaching aquatics, canoeing, diving and water skiing. He always attributed this to his ancestry. His mother descended from the Susquehannock tribe of early Algonquin inhabitants of the Susquehanna Valley. Throughout his entire life, Jay loved being in nature and on the water.
Jay created some of Pennsylvania's first adaptive physical education programs, which he designed to meet the unique needs of physically challenged students. In the spring of 1959, he co-authored several articles on using parachutes in adaptive physical education classes. His innovative curriculum was later launched in school districts across the state. Interestingly, it was while he was presenting an in-service demonstration on his Adaptive Physical Education for Lycoming County school districts in 1967 that he was approached by a Williamsport administrator and encouraged to apply for an administrative and curriculum developer vacancy. Following that encounter, Jay accepted the assistant principal's position at the Theodore Roosevelt Junior High School in Williamsport and he and his family moved there.
Jay served as the assistant principal of Roosevelt for the 1967 school year, before becoming the principal of Thaddeus Stevens Junior High School in 1968. He held that post for three years. Then, in 1971, Jay returned to the Theodore Roosevelt Junior High School and proudly served as its principal until his retirement in 1993. He was fiercely devoted to his students, his faculty and his staff. Jay gained national recognition for his "Adopt-a-Student" mentoring program when he presented it at the National Association of Secondary School Principals' Annual Convention.
Throughout his distinguished administrative career, Jay contributed a great deal to the Pennsylvania Association of Secondary School Principals. He was a member of the P.A.S.S.P. for twenty-four years. Jay was on the Promotion, the Membership, and the Conference Committees and was an advisor to the Legislative Committee. He chaired the Conference Committee in 1975, which was tasked with planning the Pennsylvania state conference for its 2,000 members. In 1983, Jay began a six year term on the P.A.S.S.P.'s Executive Committee. From 1985 to 1989, he chaired its Legislative Committee. Then, he was elected President by Pennsylvania's secondary school principals for the 1990 to 1991 term. As P.A.S.S.P.'s President, Jay worked vigorously to support policies and legislation that would provide administrators increased professional services and security. In 1992, he was honored by the National Association of Secondary School Principals in Washington, D.C. for his contributions and named "Pennsylvania's Outstanding Principal" of the year.
Jay is also widely remembered for his commitment to District IV P.I.A.A. (Pennsylvania's Interscholastic Athletic Association) wrestling. Although he himself was not a varsity wrestler for long, he was both a coach and an official in the 1960ás and 1970ás. Jay was named as the Wrestling Chairman for District IV in 1968, a position that he held for the next 24 years. It was his responsibility to organize and run the sectional, district and regional tournaments. During this time he became known as the "Wrestling Pilot," because he would fly around the state to make sure that the regional tournament results got to P.I.A.A. headquarters in a timely manner to get ready for the state wrestling tournament. He first thought of this as a way to save the P.I.A.A. money, as they had been reimbursing several people to drive the official results to Harrisburg. His advocacy efforts were instrumental in changing P.I.A.A. rules to advance more local place winners to the state tournament. Jay was inducted into the state's District IV Wrestling Coaches' Hall of Fame in 1987. In 1993 he was named "Pennsylvania Ambassador of Wrestling" by the Pennsylvania Wrestling Coaches' Association. Jay was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1998 in recognition of his decades of dedicated service to the sport.
In Williamsport, his love of water sports persisted. Jay continued to teach swimming, canoeing, diving, First Aid and Life Saving classes for the American Red Cross. For these efforts he was named Lycoming County Volunteer of the year in 1985. He trained and competed in numerous team triathlons locally and in neighboring states, often placing in his age group category. One of the most special organizations that Jay ever belonged to was the West Branch Motor Boat Association in Duboistown. It would be impossible to calculate the number of hours he spent there working, boating, and enjoying the deep friendships he had. Jay was a board member for thirty years, the Dock Master for six years, and the Commodore for eight years. Collaborating with leaders of The Bethune Douglas Center, Jay developed a program to give boat rides to city children. He and other members of the boat club provided this fun experience for over a decade. For eighteen years Jay was an instructor for the PA Boat and Fish Commission of Boating Safety which was a required course for all boat and personal watercraft operators. He was also on the board of the Hiawatha Paddlewheel Boat and was involved in its operation for its first thirty seasons. In the early 1980's Jay became very interested in the new Hepburn Street dam that spans the Susquehanna River. Out of concern for boaters' and swimmers' safety, he developed a working model and a unique slide program that showed all phases of the dam's construction and explained exactly why rescuing someone from its clutches was so risky. For several years he presented this safety program to civic organizations and to his students at the Roosevelt Middle School.
Jay and his wife Joan, who was a French teacher at the Williamsport Area High School, retired in 1993. From that point on the couple split their time between living in Williamsport and at their cottage along Penns Creek. Also in 1993, they enrolled their acreage of forest in the Pennsylvania Forest Stewardship Program and were among the first in Union County to do so. Jay really enjoyed building wildlife habitats, constructing vernal ponds, and planting orchards and berry groves on his land. He was a member of the Forest Stewardship Volunteer Initiative Program (V.I.P.) and served as a board member of it for six years. In addition, Jay developed and taught two educational programs for many years that were sponsored by the state Bureau of Forestry: one on the best forest management practices and another on survival. He often gave tours of his project to other landowners and to interested groups. In 1998, Jay received the Raymond B. Winter Forestry Conservation Award for his outstanding efforts to protect Penns Creek, to preserve the forest and to encourage the growth of wildlife species. Jay and Joan were both honored in 2011 for their strong commitment to managing their forest lands for future generations, when they received the Maurice K. Goddard Forest Management and Sustainability Award. In addition, Jay was an active member of the Lycoming County and the Central Susquehanna Woodland Owner's Associations.
Throughout his life, the Young Men's Christian Association was always important to Jay. One of his first jobs was at the Danville Y.M.C.A. in the early 1950's. He met his bride-to-be there as well. Much later in life, he served for six years on the Board of Directors of the Williamsport Y.M.C.A. He also loved playing racquetball there. Jay's loyalty to Boy Scouting continued during his years in Williamsport. He was the Scout Master of Troop No. 17 and was the Lycoming County District Chairman from 1980 to 1987. He was the chairman of the Police Civil Service Commission for ten years, which assisted with the recruitment and hiring of law enforcement candidates for the City of Williamsport. A Penn State football season ticket holder since 1958, Jay rarely missed a home game and loved spending time with family and friends in the Football Letterman's Club of which he was a member. Jay was also a member of the Covenant Central Presbyterian Church for 51 years, serving as a Deacon, a Trustee, and an Elder. For ten years he was the Chairman of the Mother's Day breakfast Committee and really enjoyed serving the ladies a special meal. Jay was a Mason and a member of the Williamsport Scottish Rite Consistory. He was a lifetime member of the Danville Fraternal Order of Elks, the Union County Sportsmen's Club and the Danville Friendship Fire Company.
After his retirement, Jay was a loan officer at the Teacher's Credit Union in South Williamsport and enjoyed socializing with other members of the Lycoming County Chapter of the Pennsylvania Association of School Retirees. His lifetime interest in carpentry continued in retirement when he built and installed Bluebird boxes all over Lycoming and Union counties. Other hobbies included scuba diving, trap shooting, fishing, hunting and flying. He had a private pilot's license and enjoyed flying seaplanes over Keuka Lake on family vacations. Jay was a master vintner. He shared his famous wine with many people and even taught some of them the art of winemaking. The American Red Cross presented Jay with the Ten Gallon Club Certificate of Appreciation in 2002 for donating a total of ten gallons of blood. He received the Danville Area Outstanding Alumni Award by in 2006. This award was given by the Danville Area Community Foundation to Jay in recognition of his lifetime of concern for the communities and for his generous spirit. In 2009 the state Game Commission and the state Legislators honored Jay for being among only two dozen men who taught Hunter's Safety Education for fifty years, since its inception.
All who knew him can attest that Jay's greatest joy and the center of his world was his family. He was a beloved son, husband, father, uncle, grandfather and great grandfather. The greatest legacy he leaves is his family, despite the generous awards, many accolades and well deserved recognition he received in his lifetime. Jay married his wife Joan (Hinkel) in 1959. The couple attended Grove Presbyterian Church in Danville and had two children. Family and friends marked the grand occasion of their 50th wedding anniversary in 2009. They have been married now for 58 wonderful years. It is said that "A great soul serves everyone all the time. A great soul never dies." Jay spent his entire life in service to others and his great soul lives on in those whose lives he impacted.
Jay is survived by his beloved wife Joan (Hinkel) Livziey; his daughter, Jody Lee Livziey; his daughter-in-law, Tammy Livziey; his grandsons, Jay Todd Livziey II and wife Aby, and Matthew Livziey; and granddaughter, Megan Livziey (fiance Erik); his great-granddaughter, Grace Elizabeth; his great-grandson, Alan Jay; and many nieces and nephews, as well as his great nieces and nephews and great-great nieces and nephews.
The Livziey family wishes to express heartfelt gratitude to the staffs of The Williamsport Home and of Susquehanna Hospice. Their dedicated care of Jay during the time that he was a resident is deeply appreciated. A private family celebration of Jay's remarkable life will be held in May at the Union County Sportsmen's Club in Millmont, Pennsylvania. In lieu of making a monetary donation, those who cared about Jay are encouraged to do an Act of Kindness in his honor.