Obituary of Anw M Banse

ANDREW M. BANSE, 94, of North Fort Myers, Florida, died on May 19, 2012 at the Calusa Harbour Nursing Health Care Center in Fort Myers, Florida, following a long illness. He was born in Buffalo, New York to Henry J. Banse and Sarah Englert Banse on October 5,1917. He was a 1939 graduate of the SUNY - Potsdam Crane School of Music, after which he served as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Navy in both Europe and the Pacific during World War II. He joined the faculty of SUNY - Cortland in 1946, and he remained there until his retirement in 1979, serving at various times as a Professor of Music, Chairman of the Music Department, Acting Director of Elementary and Secondary Education, Director of Summer Sessions and Continuing Education, and Dean of Graduate Studies. During his long tenure at Cortland he founded and conducted the College-Community Orchestra as well as chaired the College Faculty in 1951, and chaired numerous faculty committees. In addition to his music education at Potsdam, he also held post-graduate degrees from Temple University and New York University. In the Cortland community he was an elder of the United Presbyterian Church and a long-time member of the Cortland Rotary Club. He is survived by two sons, Peter H. Banse of Americus, Georgia, and David W. Banse, of North Fort Myers, Florida, as well as four grandchildren, five great-grandchildren, a nephew and two nieces. His wife, Helen M. Banse, predeceased him in 1996. Graveside services will be held 12:00 pm Saturday August 11 at Cortland Rural Cemetery