Birth date: Oct 19, 1927 Death date: Jul 13, 2017
JANARO, RICHARD, 89, of Miami passed away on July 13, 2017 in West Kendall. Richard was born in New York and grew up in Medford, Massachusetts. He graduated from Harvard in 1949. Richard began his teaching career at the Universit Read Obituary
I was a student of Mr. Janaro's in 1962, and helped build what became the Pen Playhouse. It was a time I remember very fondly; Mr. Janaro had a wonderful sense of humor and we did several plays together, including THE PLAYBOY OF THE WESTERN WORLD and some originals he had written (MAN ON THE ROCKS, others). His insights into drama and literature were insightful and invaluable. One night he played the original cast album of WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF for the class, my first exposure to that famous play. Later I performed in THE ZOO STORY, one of its first productions in Miami. I treasure the time I spent with him and was sorry to hear of his passing. I will miss him,
Alan Ormsby
My deepest condolences, Richard was a joy to work with. May he rest in peace.
Richard's soul and his family are in my thoughts and prayers.
Some memories follow. My objective is not brevity, I wish to share my appreciation of Richard. I met Richard in 1961. He was a faculty member at Dade County Junior College. I was a student/part time employee . We became friends. I retired in 1997. One of my disappointments is I did not continue my contact with Richard after retiring.
In 1961 there was no College campus, just some portables and farm structures on the campus of Central High School. I have a comprehensive understanding of Richard's pigpen quote "We had no facilities except for an abandoned farm....". One of my classes was outside, under the eve of a high school structure.
In 1961 I had been recently discharged from the USAF. As a gap enlistee (after Korea and before Vietnam), I was not eligible for GI educational benefits, However, I was determined to find a way to attend college. I was delighted to discover that during my service time, the Dade County Public School K-12 system had the vision to establish DCJC. I could afford the per-credit fee, I think it was $6 per credit. After registering as a student I walked over to the bookstore portable, got hired part-time at $0.75 an hour and was instructed to report to work the next morning wearing old clothes and rubber boots. The next morning I was given a wheelbarrow, a shovel, a broom and told "go down the path to Laying House #5 and clean it out so it can be used as a bookstore storage area. Warning, it isn't all chicken feathers, there is some other chicken stuff in there too.". Richard laughed when I told him my first day story and told me his pigpen story.
Col. Mitchell Wolfson and the College's Advisory Board acquired a surplus WWII airfield that became the North Campus. I think the purchase price was $1. The only thing we had enough of was paved parking, courtesy of the concrete airfield. Not enough faculty, classrooms, labs, bathrooms,books, etc. The student enrollment was exploding, It was the beginning of what would become the fastest growing and largest enrollment college in the country. We were dedicated, it was a labor of love. One reward of being underfunded and understaffed: many of us squeezed three-five years of experience into every year of work. Richard was my theater instructor in a humanities course. He was exceptional. Inspiring even. I was very proud when I took my bride to see my first ever live theater performance in Richard's Pen Theater. I was beaming when I told her (now 56 years married to the girl I met when I was 12), "Mr. Janaro is my professor!"
I was promoted to a senor administrative position in Business Affairs, responsible for self-supporting business operations. The administration was producing a humanities course based on Thelma and Richard's textbook, "The Art Of Being Human". The video was broadcast quality and very expensive, about a million dollars. I was asked to help support the project. I had established a new department, Product Development & Distribution, to support sales and marketing of college products. PD&D support included attending appropriate academic conventions, renting display space and providing marketing staff to sell product, including "The Art Of Being Human". Richard was working with the PD&D staff in support of a convention in Toronto, Canada. Richard encouraged me to attend. Of course, while in Toronto, Richard insisted we see a live performance. Dolly Parton was in town. Richard said, "let's go see Dolly". My response was "who's Dolly?" Richard, somewhat annoyed, said, "John, I thought everyone had heard of Dolly Parton, the country singer with the extra large boobs".
During one of our discussions I asked Richard how he was able to attend Harvard. He said "The same as you. My local institution was Harvard, yours was Dade County Junior College."
I remember Richard with admiration, respect, and love. A fine man.
Dad
I'll miss you & your sense of humor, I'll always consider you my 2nd Dad. You will always
be in my memory. Love your Son-in-Law.
