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Nunc Dimittis

November 22, 2006
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Dom Francis Kline, OCSO, died August 27 at Mepkin Abbey, Moncks Corner, South Carolina, following a long illness. Born Joseph Paul Kline III in 1948 in Philadelphia, he began playing for church services when he was ten years old; he studied with Alexander McCurdy at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia, and with Vernon de Tar at the Juilliard School. During his last year at Juilliard, he performed the complete organ works of J. S. Bach in 14 recitals in Manhattan, repeating the cycle the following year in Philadelphia, where the concerts were recorded and are still broadcast on the radio. He entered the Trappist monastery of Our Lady of Gethsemane in 1972, taking the name Francis, and was ordained a priest in 1986. In 1990 he was elected third Abbot of Mepkin Abbey.
He published articles and books on theology and spirituality. Given permission by his superiors to take up music again, Abbot Francis played a limited number of recitals, including at the Piccolo Spoleto Festival. He also worked with the Diocese of Charleston, and the environmental community, to preserve open space. He is survived by his parents, two brothers and their wives, and six nieces and nephews. A memorial service was held at Mepkin Abbey on August 31.

George M. Kreamer died June 10 at his home in Lake Charles, Louisiana. He was 93. A graduate of the Chicago Musical College, he studied piano with Rudolph Ganz. During World War II he served in the Army’s Secret Intelligence Division, specializing in foreign languages and participating in the invasion of Normandy. While in France, he studied organ with Marcel Dupré. Mr. Kreamer was organist at the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd in Lake Charles, Louisiana, where he taught music and French for 30 years at the Episcopal Day School. A founding member of the Lake Charles Community Concerts, he served as president of the organization 1964–82, and as president of the Lake Charles Piano Teachers Association. A funeral service was held on June 13 at the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd.

Ann Rogalla Portenga died in November, 2005 in Muskegon, Michigan, following a battle with cancer. Born in 1954 in Muskegon, she played for school Masses in fifth grade. She received a bachelor of music degree from the University of Michigan in 1977, and later studied organ with Philip Gehring at Valparaiso University. In 1981, she was appointed director of music-organist at the First Congregational Church, Muskegon, a position she held until her death.
Mrs. Portenga inaugurated “Concerts by the Park,” an organ recital series held during the Muskegon Art Fair, in 1987. A member of the Muskegon-Lakeshore AGO chapter, she served as dean 1988–90. Since 1978 she was a member of the West Shore Symphony Orchestra, playing French horn and keyboard instruments. She is survived by her husband Roy, three children, her parents, two sisters, and a brother. A memorial service was held at the First Congregational Church of Muskegon on November 21, 2005.

Carl E. Stout died in February at age 75, from complications following heart surgery. Growing up in Syracuse, New York, he first studied organ with Edith Schmidt and as a teenager became organist of the First Presbyterian Church in Fulton, New York, where he was featured on a weekly radio broadcast. He learned organ maintenance at the Chester Raymond Organ Company in New Jersey and serviced the Princeton Chapel organ weekly. Returning to Syracuse, he studied organ with Arthur Poister, and subsequently earned a master of arts degree from East Carolina University. His teaching positions included those at Mercyhurst College, St. Olaf College, and Syracuse University. He served as organist-choirmaster at Good Shepherd Episcopal Church in Rocky Mount, North Carolina; Trinity Episcopal Memorial Church, Warren, Pennsylvania; and St. Paul’s Cathedral in Erie, Pennsylvania. He is survived by two nephews.

Maurice Odell Tillery, 61, of Newark, Arkansas, died on March 9, 2006. Born August 18, 1944, in Benton, Arkansas, he was an elementary music teacher in the Newark School District and a member of the Central Arkansas AGO chapter. He was organist at the Hazel Edwards United Methodist Church in Newark, and had previously served as organist at other churches, including St. Francis of Assisi, west of Little Rock. He is survived by a son and a daughter, a brother, two sisters, and three grandchildren. Funeral services were held at Old Union Baptist Church.

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