| Story 2: |
From Village Views December 1998: "Terrace Park's resident
musicologist Ann Gatch has been teaching local children how to play the piano for 32
years, sometimes instructing the children of former pupils. ...
Ann, the oldest of seven
children, grew up on her great-grandfather's farm on Garfield Avenue in Milford. Her
father grew up in Terrace Park and attended high school here. She went to Milford
High School until her sophomore year before transferring to Hillsdale (now part of The
Seven Hills School) for two years. Ann graduated from Smith College with degrees in
Music and English; she went on to acquire a bachelor's degree in Education from the
University of Cincinnati. She taught for one year at a girls' private school in New
Hampshire, before entering WWII as a WAVE in 1942. She completed 'boot-camp' at
Hunter College in New York and training in Atlanta to become a Link Trainer
Operator. She was assigned to Pensacola, teaching Naval Air cadets instrument
navigation.
She remained in that position
for three years before returning to school on the GI Bill at the University of Michigan,
where she received her masters in Musicology. Moving back to Cincinnati, Ann became
the first music teacher at Cincinnati Country Day School in 1950. She instructed
students in piano and singing for 35 years. After living for a time in Mariemont, in
1958 she moved to Terrace Park, where she has lived ever since. With two grand
pianos, an organ and a harpsichord, Ann gave lessons before and after school. Still
busy teaching, Ann also enjoys performing with the Music Lover's Club (an amateur ladies
music group) and the Keyboard Club, a Cincinnati institution which she joined as a charter
member in 1937.
An avid traveler, Ann made
frequent visits to her brother in the Foreign Service. A favorite trip was an
African safari with the Cincinnati Nature Center. She has worked as a librarian at
the Pattison library in downtown Milford, only cutting back after eye surgery a year
ago. Although somewhat sidelined, with careful planning and the help of family and
friends, Ann will continue to enjoy her music and activities for years to come." |
| Story 3: |
Orpha Ann Gatch was born in 1919 and died 9 Jan 2015 aged 95 years,
buried in Greenlawn Cemetery, Milford OH.
From her obituary in the Cincinnati Enquirer: 13,14,15, January 2015: "Ann...died
peacefully at her home in Terrace Park on the morning of January 9, 2015,
while her sister Diana read to her. Ann was born in Cincinnati, the
eldest of seven children of John Newton Gatch and Orpha Gerrans Gatch, who
met and married in France during World War I. Ann was a lifelong
member of Milford First United Methodist Church and the church organist for
45 years. She taught music at Cincinnati Country Day School for 35
years. She gave private piano lessons to students of all ages during
her teaching career and after retirement. Ann graduated from Hillsdale
School, Smith College, the University of Cincinnati with a Bachelor of
Science and the University of Michigan with a Masters Degree in Music.
Her love for music provided her livelihood and her pleasure in life.
She was a charter member of the Keyboard Club at the age of 16, a member of
the Music Lovers Club, a member of Woman's Clef Music Club. Ann
attended both Cincinnati Symphony and Cincinnati Opera for which she
sponsored performances in recent years. She was a co-host of 'Sharps
and Flats' a musical quiz radio program for children on WKRC in the 1950s.
Ann is survived by her sister, Diana Avril (Tom), her brother, Lewis Gatch (Noralee),
and twelve devoted nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by
her parents, her brother John, and her sisters Mary, Dorothy, and Margarat
Gatch Griess (Bill). The United States Navy honorably discharged
Specialist First .Class Orpha Ann Gatch on November 11, 1945, following her
service to our country as a WAVE, an instructor at the Pensacola Naval
Airbase. She operated a Link Trainer to teach returning pilots
the latest techniques of instrument flying at night and under adverse
weather conditions. During World War II a two-star flag hung in the
Gatch homestead window for Ann and John (an Air Force navigator).
After her mother's death in 1991, Ann became the matriarch of the Gatch
family. Her love and respect for her siblings, their spouses, and her
nieces and nephews maintained and strengthened family traditions.
Ann's unique ability to connect with young people made her a beloved friend
to family and students, their children, and in some cases their
grandchildren. She taught piano to three generations of a number of
families." |
