By Linda Delmonico-Prussen
Christine Pinto, a former Merrick Avenue student, said of Rivara, I remember he had the most beautiful blue eyes, and he was someone everyone looked up to.
English teacher Ellen Schwartz said, Fred Rivara's ice-blue eyes are vivid in my memory. They could stare you down as well as melt your heart. Inside that tough exterior lived a kind-hearted soul. He would sit me down and say, How's it going, Schwartzie?' I knew I would always have a special place in my heart for him.
Rivara, who became a Merrick Avenue icon, serving the school for four-fifths of its history, died Jan. 18 at age 76. Hundreds of Merrick Avenue educators and students mourned his passing. The school recently came together to celebrate his life. During Merrick Avenue's golden-anniversary celebration May 15, the school library was dedicated in his name.
Born April 6, 1925, Rivara served in the U.S. Navy from 1942 to 1945 and again during the Korean War. He graduated from Cortland College in 1950 and then taught for four years at Camp Avenue School in North Merrick.
In 1954, Rivara joined the staff of the then-Merrick Avenue Junior High School when it first opened, teaching mathematics for grades seven to nine. Ten years later, he became the school's assistant principal, supervising various departments, including guidance, mathematics, science and phys. ed. Teachers and former students described Rivara as a friendly, kind and patient man who loved his job.
Mary Ramo, who is now president of the North Merrick Community Association, said, "He was stern, but he was gentle." She said that no matter what happened, "He made you feel that everything is going to be all right."
Roberta Moore, a Merrick Avenue Middle School language teacher, said, Fred Rivara personified the meaning of The buck stops here.'
Rivara also had an incredible work ethic. Carol Baldwin, a foreign language teacher, said he was the first one to greet the faculty in the morning and the last person in the building to bid them good night. Baldwin said, "Mr. Rivara's wonderful work ethic was contagious. His dry sense of humor always made department and faculty meetings a lively and special place to be. The students, faculty and staff of Merrick Avenue who were fortunate enough to have had Mr. Rivara in their educational lives will always have a special place in their hearts for him."
And Rivara was intelligent. Judy Horvath, a Merrick Avenue Middle School nurse, said he "could zip through the [New York] Times crossword puzzle, usually in a flash."
Nancy Finegold, a former Merrick Avenue student, said, "I remember him as a sweet, caring man. He knew his students personally and took an interest in each one."
"He had an open-door policy," Finegold continued. "You could go to him if you had a problem. We used to go into his office all the time and talk to him. We called him Uncle Freddie."
Michael Dobler, Merrick Avenue social studies teacher and student dean, said, It is not possible to put all my feelings about Fred Rivara into one or two sentences, but what stands out to me is that no one has been more respected for his honesty, integrity and his commitment to Merrick Avenue Junior High School.
Marlene Feigenbaum, Rivara's secretary, said, No one loved his wife, children, grandchildren and his Merrick Avenue family more than Frederick J. Rivara.
