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Chagrin Falls Alumni Association

Keeping Tiger Pride Alive

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WALTER H. ETTINGER, JR.

Chagrin Falls Alumni Hall of Fame
Class of 1970

Walt Ettinger’s climb to the top of the medical profession is replete with accomplishments. A graduate of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in 1978, he has taught at Wake Forest University School of Medicine since 1985. He has more than 100 of his articles and reviews published. His three books include “Fitness After 50: It’s Never too Late to Start,” published in 1996. Twice he has been listed in “The Best Doctors in America” (Geriatric Medicine), in 1994 and 1996. In 1993, he received the Henry Christian Memorial Award for outstanding abstract in aging research. Currently, Dr. Ettinger is Director at the J. Paul Sticht Center on Aging at the Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.

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JERALD A. FINCH

Chagrin Falls Alumni Hall of Fame
Class of 1945

Stringing for The Exponent for a buck a story during high school was just the beginning of an outstanding career in journalism for Jerry Finch. Today, he is ombudsman and senior editor of the Richmond-Times Dispatch, Virginia’s largest newspaper in circulation. He joined the paper in 1955 as a copy editor, eventually becoming managing editor, a title which he held for 20 years. In 1995, he received the George Mason Award of the Society of Professional Journalists for his outstanding contributions to Virginia journalism. In 1993, he was awarded the Isaiah Thomas Newspaper Preservation Prize of the American Society of Newspaper Editors. Jerry was graduated from the University of Kentucky in 1950 with a degree in journalism. There, he was the first president of what was to become the Sigma Delta Chi journalism honorary society. During World War II, he served overseas in the U.S. Army Air Forces.

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CARLYLE S. “BRICK” HARRIS

Chagrin Falls Alumni Hall of Fame
Class of 1914

Carlyle “Brick” Harris’ contributions to Chagrin Falls and its schools may have been second to none. He was chairman of the first zoning commission that drafted Chagrin’s original zoning ordinance in 1932. He was instrumental in establishing the Rec Center and the Chagrin Valley Little Theatre. He also helped secure the land which is now Riverside Park. His generosity, often anonymous, made child’s play in Chagrin Falls safer and more fun than it would have been otherwise. He paid for repairs and upkeep of the swimming pool and tennis courts at the Rec Center. In the 1960s, he and his sister, Madeline, made it possible for several improvements to be made to the football field, including the fence which surrounds it, new visiting team bleachers, and a press box. In 1936, Mr. Harris was elected to the Chagrin Falls Board of Education, on which he served for 20 years, 16 of them as president. He was assistant fire chief of the Chagrin Falls Volunteer Fire Department for more than 60 years. In 1967, the football field and stadium were named in his honor.

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MARGARET ENGEL

Chagrin Falls Alumni Hall of Fame
Class of 1969

The breadth, depth, and sheer quality of Peggy Engel’s literary works were recognized long before this former majorette marched to Washington. A 1973 honors graduate of the University of Missouri’s School of Journalism, she won several awards for investigative reporting for the Lorain (Ohio) Journal and the Des Moines Register. She was the youngest person to win a Nieman Fellowship to Harvard Univand ersity, where she studied law and occupational health at Harvard Law School, Harvard Medical School, and M. I. T. In 1981, Peggy joined the Washington Post, where she was a reporter and editor. Her work was nominated four times for a Pulitzer Prize. An adjunct journalism professor at Georgetown University, she has been published in magazines such as Esquire, Ladies Home Journal, and Glamour. She has appeared on the Today Show Larry King, As the executive director of the Alicia Patterson Foundation, she guides a program that awards fellowships to some of the country’s best reporters, editors, and photographers. Among her books is “Ballpark Vacations,” a guide to America’s exceptional baseball parks. Her investigative reporting for this project included her husband, two children, 25,000 miles, and nearly 100 major and minor league ballparks.

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ROBERT PAUL DYE

Chagrin Falls Alumni Hall of Fame
Class of 1947

Moving from Cleveland’s innercity to Chagrin Falls changed Bob Dye’s life. And nowhere were the changes more apparent than in school. By the time he was graduated form CFHS, he had been editor of the Echo school newspaper and assistant editor of the Zenith yearbook. After earning an M. A. in English from Western Michigan University in 1958, Bob embarked on a career in communications which would render him several prestigious awards for his accomplishments. A life member of the Hawaiian Historical Society, he has written three books and has three others in progress. For his 1996 effort, “Hawaii Chronicles: Island History from the pages of Honolulu Magazine,” he received an award from the Hawaii Book Publishers. His publication was also nominated for the Kamakau Award, for the best book of the year. Bob has written numerous articles and reviews for various newspapers and magazines. He is a contributing political editor to Honolulu Magazine and has been a political and election night commentator for KHNC-TV in Honolulu. In business, he is director of University Health Care Associates also in Honolulu.

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ROBERT S. ROSNER

Chagrin Falls Alumni Hall of Fame
Class of 1925

An early aptitude for music helped pave the way to a distinguished medical career for Robert Rosner. An accomplished trombonist, he played during the big band era with such notables as Guy Lombardo, while attending medical school at Ohio State University. After completing his studies at the Ohio State College of Medicine and the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Ophthalmology, Dr. Rosner practiced ophthalmology for more than 50 years, until age 80. Known for his compassion for his patients, he invented the tonometer sterilizer in response to the viral eye epidemic in Chicago in 1950. He developed a color blind chart, used by pediatricians and ophthalmologists. He also invented an air conditioner to aid in breathing for use during local anesthesia. Dr. Rosner is a founding member of the Association for Research in Ophthalmology.

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DAVID C. GRIFFITH

Chagrin Falls Alumni Hall of Fame
Class of 1946

David Griffith’s best high school remembrance was winning the contest for changing the name of the athletic teams from “Skippies” to Tigers. That was in 1945. Since then, he has changed the lives of many through his professional achievements and civic endeavors. In 1950, he was graduated from Ohio University with a B. S. in electrical engineering. In 1958, he earned an M. S. in electrical engineering from Case Institute of Technology. Dave worked for TRW for ten years, becoming marketing and sales manager of the electrical products department. There, he was manager of a project which developed the first all electric control system power plant. He became a founding partner of Cyberex, Inc., and later was an independent consultant for that company, during which time he was awarded a patent. Dave has written and presented hundreds of papers and articles for technical conferences around the world. Since 1989, he has been very active in Rotary International. In recognition of his work, he received the Citizen of the Year Award in 1994 from Sun Newspapers and was elected a Paul Harris Fellow by Chagrin Valley Rotary.

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If you have an updated address, phone number, or email, then please include that in the message area below.

    Contact Info:

    alumni@chagrinschools.org

    440.247.4387

     


    CFAA Alumni Director:

    Brian McKenna '88

    Office Manager:

    Jana Young ‘82

    Find Us:

    Chagrin Falls Alumni Association

    400 East Washington Street
    Chagrin Falls, OH 44022

    We invite you to join the growing numbers of volunteers who are helping to ensure a bright future for the CFAA and Chagrin Falls Schools. Whether it is through your time or resources, all of us appreciate your generous gifts. To become more involved, contact the Alumni Association. We look forward to your comments, questions, and suggestions. Don’t forget that we appreciate your help in making the CFAA run successfully with the donation of your annual dues of $20 or more.