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Saturday
29
December
Calling Hours
11:00 am - 1:00 pm
Saturday, December 29, 2018
Prospect Memorial Funeral Home, LLC
72 Waterbury Road
Prospect, Connecticut, United States
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PARIS SVORONOS posted a condolence
Sunday, February 24, 2019
Dear all-
I have just found out that our former colleague and chair John Tietjen has passed away.
https://prospectmemorial.com/tribute/details/815/John-Tietjen/obituary.html
John preceded me in our department's full time faculty pool and was also involved with the union in the mid-1970s when CUNY was in financial trouble. He retired in 1998 and moved to Connecticut where he lived ever since.
When I joined Queensborough in 1981, our department was divided into two factions with little, if any communication between us and the other STEM departments. The governing mentality was to attract students in chemistry rather than focus on our kids’ employment and success upon graduation. There were no telephones for full time faculty members-other than those of the chair and the secretary in the departmental office. We had to use a pay phone outside S-442 if we needed to make a personal call. Departmental meetings were rare and held at the discretion of our chair- which often excluded the chair’s “antagonists”. Finally the number of Xerox copies was monitored by the chair.
John took over as the chair in the mid-1980s and he created an impact with his leadership. He stated that we had to look after our shrinking department’s improvement before it gets consolidated. He oversaw departmental syllabi and was always open for discussion. Together we worked together in getting our courses accepted as equivalent to those of our CUNY sister institutions.
I got along very well with John, despite my occasional disagreements with him, which led to compromised solutions since we understood each other and knew that there was no personal agenda in our vision. I distinctly remember sitting with him and discussing why soccer is a middle class sport, unlike Europe. We spent some time discussing the back flip (bicycle kick) tying goal of Klaus Fisher in the 3-3 tie of the 1982 World Cup semifinal between Germany and France (that Germany won in penalty kicks but lost in the final to Italy 3-1). And that was one such “analysis” by us- the back seat drivers as I used to call ourselves. He corrected me by using the term “Monday morning quarterbacking”.
I remember John and his beloved wife Ann visiting our house in 1985 when our daughter Alexandra was born and again at her first anniversary. During his chairmanship faculty started trusting each other and we had our annual holiday party which everyone attended. Unfortunately he retired as an assistant professor and could not vote during the P&B meetings when I applied for full professorship- which I succeeded in it only in my third attempt. He always stated he was sorry for that.
John was very proud of his four children- John Jr. and Greg as well as his twin daughters Margaret and Jennifer. He coached the “soccer twins” as he called them and was a true “peacock” showing me their pictures in Sports Illustrated when they were projected as future stars. He must have been elated when both made it to the Hall of Fame- to which he had such a significant role.
Margaret Rodriguez was drafted by the San Diego Spirit and is currently the head soccer coach of the University of Connecticut Huskies.
https://uconnhuskies.com/coaches.aspx?rc=432&path=wsoc
Jennifer Prozzo was drafted by the Philadelphia Charge and is currently the soccer assistant coach of Central Connecticut State University.
http://www.ccsubluedevils.com/sports/wsoc/coaches/prozzo_jen00?view=bio
I will always cherish my years of working with John. Our mutual trust made me enjoy being in the department and was sorry to see him retire.
May God rest him in peace and may He give the strength and comfort to his family members in handling his departure.
Best
Paris Svoronos
C
Carol Martin posted a condolence
Sunday, December 30, 2018
Ann,
Strength and peace be with you during this difficult time. I was sorry to hear of John's passing.
M
Mary-Frances Monroe posted a condolence
Saturday, December 29, 2018
So sorry for your loss. We are thinking about all of you. Sending hugs ❤️❤️❤️
L
Lynn and Dick posted a condolence
Friday, December 28, 2018
We are so sorry to hear of John' passing. We are so glad that we had the opportunity to spend the weekend at Lake Como in October reminiscing on all the good times.
T
Thomas Brusca SR posted a condolence
Thursday, December 27, 2018
I am so sorry for your loss. Whenever I see a soccer game my thoughts always go to John. He will be missed by all of us. God Bless you all.h8ph5
L
Linda Bunker posted a condolence
Thursday, December 27, 2018
My heart goes out to you all and I pray for extra strength for you throughout the
days ahead.
J
The family of John C. Tietjen uploaded a photo
Wednesday, December 26, 2018
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The family of John C. Tietjen uploaded a photo
Wednesday, December 26, 2018
/tribute-images/1654/Ultra/John-Tietjen.jpg
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Contact
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info@prospectmemorial.com
72 Waterbury Road
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06712
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