Remembering The Village’s Andrew Blane
BY SHARON WOOLUMS
The memorial for Andrew Quarles Blane, who died
on Sept. 6 at the age of 90, was held on Oct. 6 at
Grace Church. A Greenwich Villager since 1965,
Andrew quintessentially represented all the best of the
Village then and now.
Best known for his contribution to Amnesty International
(AI), which he joined in 1969, Andrew was one of
nine delegates to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for Amnesty
in 1977.
Jan Egeland, secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee
Council, spoke of Andrews’ deep sense of justice,
humanity and empathy leading to his contributions for
the Human Rights Movement — for the release of Prisoners
of Conscience, the abolition of torture and the
death penalty.
Andrew was elected vice chair of the International
Executive Committee (IEC) by the International General
Assembly from 1979-1985. Known for his patience,
warmth, kindness, generosity and humor, Andrew mentored
many young activists.
Egeland characterized Andrew as politically liberal
and a progressive, but a traditionalist in lifestyle.
Nate Schenkkan, director of Special Research at Freedom
House, spoke of Andrew’s involvement at the U.N.
Convention against Torture and his reaction to Abu
Ghraib: “Torture to him was…an assault on their soul,”
Schenkkan said.
PHOTO : SHARON WOOLUMS
Andrew with his dear friend, the Nobel prize
winning Joseph Brodsky, clowning around at
Morton Street where he became a longtime
tenant.
Saga Blane spoke of her father’s steadfast moral compass,
his pure and incorruptible heart, and his idealism
which left all who came in contact with feeling seen and
valued.
“His perfectionism caused him to anoint himself ‘Sir
Meticulous Ridiculous,'” Saga said. “His stories had the
fl avor of a far off and impossibly innocent time — in the
1930s, as a child in Guatemala. He had played ping pong
against Tarzan’s Cheetah (the chimpanzee)!”
Andrew spent his childhood in Guatemala. His family
moved back to their home state of Kentucky, where he
graduated from Centre College.
In 1950, he enrolled in Southern Baptist Seminary in
Louisville. Billed as a “dynamic lay evangelist” Andrew
traveled the South speaking to gatherings of students. He
earned a masters degree’s in divinity at Cambridge University
in 1957 and a doctorate in Russian history from
Duke University.
While studying at Harvard, Andrew got to know Father
Georges Florovsky, the Russian Eastern Orthodox
ecumenical theologian eminent in the World Council of
Churches.
Andrew’s comprehensive biography came out in 1993.
He taught Russian history at the City University of New
York until his retirement.
Andrew is survived by his wife of 36 years, Dr. Jaana
Rehnstrom, their children, Eliot Blane of Manhattan,
Saga Blane/Jake Jeppson of Brooklyn and grandson,
Finn Blane Jeppson.
In lieu of fl owers, contributions may be made to the
newly-formed Andrew Blane Memorial Fund for Human
Rights Defenders at andrewblane.com.
Memorial set for Korn, ‘Beating heart of P.S. 3’
BY EMILY VOIGT
A memorial service will be held Saturday, November
2nd for Susan Korn, “the beating heart of
P.S. 3” — the progressive elementary school
where she served as guidance counselor for 33 years.
Those who wish to remember her are welcome to join at
2 p.m. in the P.S. 3 auditorium at 490 Hudson St.
Susan died this summer at age 73, following a short
battle with cancer and less than a year after her retirement.
Famous for her ability to put children at ease, she
helped hundreds through the years, struggling with everything
from the social travails of fi fth graders to gender
identity, child abuse, and drug addiction at home.
“She didn’t just bring them into the offi ce to talk,” explained
teacher Andrea Franks.
Instead, Susan invited kids to come by with friends
and listened without judgment as they played, interjecting
a sage comment here, a suggestion there.
“She made a safe, comfortable space for everyone—
teachers too,” she said.
Her door was always open with people popping in
endlessly with this problem or that. Children who didn’t
fi t in elsewhere found solace playing with Legos and
plastic castles on the fl oor.
“Susan lived in community and for community,” recalled
longtime colleague Julie Zuckerman. “It wasn’t
about words, or fl ash, or being out in front. It was about
being steady, steadfast, hilarious, deep and caring.”
Visiting Susan was a treat, and not just because she
kept the fridge stocked with Oreos and chocolate chip
cookies. Her compassion buoyed countless young lives.
When Susan herself was a mischievous, raven-haired
girl growing up in Albany, the only child of Albert and
Florence Weiner, she didn’t foresee a life in the city.
That changed her sophomore year at Syracuse University
when she met her cousin’s roommate from Rensselaer
COURTESY EMILY VOIGT
Susan Korn was a guidance counselor at P.S.
3 for 33 years.
Polytechnic Institute, David Korn, and the two fell
in love.
Upon graduating in 1967, Susan moved to New York
to be with David, landed a job as a social worker at the
Children’s Aid Society, and enrolled at the NYU School
of Social Work, from which she earned an MSW in
1969.
Meanwhile, when her mother warned her not to marry
David—more of a rebel guitar-toting hippie than a
nice Jewish boy—Susan’s resolve merely stiffened. They
wed on January 28, 1968.
In a story Susan often told with mirth, she recounted
how she probably would’ve left David over a tiff on their
European honeymoon if not for their joint passport,
which meant she could not storm off on her own. This
bureaucratic shackle rescued a great love, by all accounts,
and the couple returned to New York together, eventually
welcoming three sons, Flip, Jeffrey, and Adam.
As a mother, Susan was deeply devoted, goodhumored,
and unorthodox. She allowed her children
to curse freely, which caused a furor when the family
briefl y attempted to move to New Jersey, where Susan
ultimately told the boys cursing was illegal.
The Korns lasted a mere summer in the suburbs before
they piled back into their red Volvo station wagon
and returned to the city for good—unleashing a joyous
profusion of expletives as they passed the New York welcome
sign in the middle of the Holland Tunnel. Shortly
thereafter, they graced the cover of The Villager as the
quintessential downtown family.
The Korns’ liberal, freethinking, peace-loving values
made them a perfect fi t for P.S. 3, known fondly as “The
Hippie School” since its founding in the 1960s. When
her son Flip started kindergarten there in 1976, Susan
became active in the PTA where she eventually served
as president.
In 1983, after a dozen-odd years at home with her
children, Susan began working full-time as a guidance
counselor for the then New York City Board of Education.
The following year, she joined P.S. 3, where she
stayed for more than three decades, serving as acting
principal from 1992 to 1993.
Susan is survived by her husband, David, to whom
she was married for 51 years, as well as her three sons,
Flip, Jeffrey, and Adam, each of whom lives in the Village
with their respective wives, Leigh Ann, Emily, and
Margaret. Grandchildren Andrew, Sam, Elise, and Max
have long spent Sunday afternoons tumbling in the same
peace-sign-adorned living room where their fathers
once did: dancing, playing indoor soccer, riding bicycles
across shag rugs, putting on talent shows beneath a laser
lights display. As ever, Susan understood the hearts of
children, and the grown-ups they become.
More information about the Nov. 2 memorial service
can be found at susan.korn.nyc.
4 October 17, 2019 Schneps Media
/andrewblane.com