Obituaries

Obituaries – June & July 2019

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July 30, 2019

Theodorus Verheven, 84

Theodorus “Teddy” A. Verheven, who lived most of his life in Tarrytown, died June 27. He was 84.

Born in the Netherlands, during WWII his father was drafted into the military and he had to make money to help support the family. While barely a teenager, he quit school, went to work, and then went to night school to learn a trade. He eventually graduated from the Marine Engineering School in Leiden, The Netherlands, and was hired as a marine engineer, sailing on a freight boat which took him to many countries, including Scotland, France, Spain, Canada and the United States. He emigrated to Canada at age 24, and by 1962 came to California where he joined the Unification Church in Los Angeles in 1963 as one of its founding members.

In 1965, he was sent as a missionary to The Netherlands. On March 21, 1965, he arrived at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam at the age of 30 with a suitcase and very little money. While living at the Amsterdam Salvation Army, he was able to translate the church’s holy book – The Divine Principle – into Dutch, a feat that greatly helped his missionary work. When he got married on March 28, 1969 to Pauline Phillips, also a founding church member in the United States, he had been living and preaching out of a house boat on the Amsterdam canal for several years

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Although they started with humble beginnings, he and Pauline built up the Dutch church considerably in the next eight years. In 1970, with the help from the Vanderstock family, they purchased Huize Glory (Glory House), a castle-like manor located in Bergen aan Zee, a seaside town in North Holland. This became the new center of the Unification Church in The Netherlands. From there, Teddy and Pauline managed the Dutch church and sent the first church missionaries to South Africa, Israel, Greece, Iran and Indonesia. Teddy, along with Pauline, continued to serve as the national leaders in The Netherlands, expanding their membership until they were asked to come to the United States in 1977.

While in the U.S., Mr. Verheven served as a teacher, leader and counselor of a multinational evangelical team of 70 members. He also managed to get his Master’s degree in Religious Education at the Unification Theological Seminary in Tarrytown. He was a guest teacher at many different universities, and eventually used this education and much independent research to write “The Deviation and Restoration of the Human Race,” a theological treatise that proposes to answer many of the fundamental questions about life and the universe that were posed to him while he worked as a church leader.

Published in 2006, his book is currently in institutions in more than 120 countries around the world, and has inspired countless people to live better lives.

Joaquim Pastilha, 89

Joaquim Pastilha, a longtime Sleepy Hollow resident, died peacefully at home July 5. He was 89.

Born in Portugal, he served in the Portuguese Army in Mozambique, and he remained because he found work there. That is when he met his future wife Maria Adelina Pereira. They married and their two children Luisa and Antonio were born in Portugal. When the children were very young, Mr. Pastilha and his family came to America and settled in North Tarrytown which is where he spent the rest of his life.

He was a longtime employee of Sleepy Hollow Cemetery and continued working there in the summers long after he retired. He was a member of the Portuguese American Cultural Center of the Tarrytowns.

Sophie Janos, 100

Sophie Janos, a lifelong resident of Sleepy Hollow and Tarrytown, died July 11 at Phelps Hospital surrounded by her children. She was 100.

She was born May 18, 1919 on Gesner Place in Sleepy Hollow (formerly North Tarrytown) and just recently celebrated her milestone birthday with family and friends. On January 13, 1946, she married Frank P. Janos in the Church of the Transfiguration in Tarrytown, where she was a life-long parishioner. She was also a member of the Tarrytown and Transfiguration Seniors and until the age of 90, she was a 20-year volunteer at Phelps Hospital. During World War II, she worked at the Eastern Aircraft Division of General Motors in North Tarrytown, and once her children were grown, she was employed by the Linde Division of Union Carbide Corporation in Eastview, retiring in 1982.

She will be fondly remembered by all who knew her as a kind and caring person always putting the needs of her family and others ahead of her own. She had many lifelong friends who knew they could always rely on her in times of need. To her children, she was the source of inspiration and a loving mother with a great sense of humor. Her deep faith and trust in God guided her through some trying times early in life especially with the loss of her parents and brother James, and her beloved husband Frank in 1990.

Emilia Cantatore, 89

Emilia Cantatore, a resident of Dobbs Ferry, died July 11. She was 89.

She was born January 1, 1930 in Piemonte, Italy to Giovanni and Santina Merlo. She immigrated to Queens in 1951 at the age of 21 where she worked as a seamstress in New York City. She met and married Felice Cantatore in January 1951.

She is survived by her daughter Rosalie and son-in-law Robert Berg, her sister Silvia, grandchildren Alexandra and Robert, and many nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her husband Felice and son Nicola.

Florence Gilroy, 91

Florence Croke Gilroy a lifelong resident of Tarrytown, died July 13 at home surrounded by her loving daughters. She was 91.

She was born March 24, 1928 to Ethel Higle and William Croke at Tarrytown Hospital. She graduated from Washington Irving High School in 1946. On February 23, 1952, she married John Gilroy, a member of the Tarrytown Police Department, at the Church of the Transfiguration. She was employed by the General Motors accounting department and was the Village of Tarrytown water clerk for 25 years, retiring in 1998. She enjoyed being a member of the Transfiguration Seniors and Transfiguration Women’s Club. Florence was active at Transfiguration School as class mother and Girl Scout leader.

She loved the Hudson River and Tarrytown where her roots date back five generations.

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