In Memoriam Fall 2021

Jacques d’Amboise, who helped to popularize ballet in America and became one of the most distinguished male stars at New York City Ballet, died on May 2, 2021 at his home in Manhattan. Jacques d’Amboise served briefly as the dean of the Conservatory of Dance, yet remained an enthusiastic supporter of the college, regularly attending concerts and events at the Neuberger Museum of Art. He was 86.

Imani Douglas, a beloved lecturer in Theatre and Performance since 2013, passed away suddenly and unexpectedly on May 9, 2021, at the age of 66. She cared deeply about her students, and mentored them past graduation by casting them in professional productions, hiring them as assistants, and helping them prepare for auditions. Douglas was the Artistic Director of the Richard Allen Center for Culture and Art. She also taught at NYU’s Gallatin Center for Individualized Study.

Painter Susanna Heller passed away on May 5, 2021. She was visiting associate professor of Art+Design beginning in the 1980s, and most recently from 2009 until her retirement in 2019.

Ann Marie “Annie” (Hololob) Layne ’98 (art history) died peacefully after a sudden illness in Summer 2020; she lived in Virginia with her husband and son. At Purchase, Annie was captivating: the tallest woman in the room with bright red hair, a quick wit, and an infectious laugh. She was a textile artist whose work had been recently featured in a one-woman show, Annie Layne: Brazen at the Virginia MOCA, and was starting to be shown nationwide.

Timothy McDarrah ’84 (urban studies), 59, died on August 16, 2021, from a fast-moving acute leukemia. At Purchase, he was editor of the student newspaper, The Load, and a short-lived campus alternative paper, Newspeak. He went on to become an award-winning journalist at the New York Post, among many publications. More recently, he founded the Save the Village walking tours and the Art of Our Century gallery in NYC. He is survived by his son, Theodore, and former wife, photographer and journalist Caroline Howard ’85 (liberal arts).

Lisa Austin Mueller ’96 (environmental sciences), 57, passed away on April 19, 2021. She spent her career caring for elderly people in Rockland and Orange counties, and after her retirement, continued to do so as a volunteer for the Friendly Visitor Program in Warwick, NY.

Alan Pottinger ’86 (acting), 57, died tragically and suddenly on September 13, 2021. At Purchase, Alan was a founding member of the Euclid Hose Company, an on-campus theater group dedicated to performing short plays. A gifted poet, writer, actor, and creative arts therapist, he performed on stage and screen before becoming assistant director of psychiatry and then assistant director of creative arts therapies at Bellevue Hospital.