On Thursday, July 14, NBCS unexpectedly lost one of its greatest assets, Arthur Gonzales, the school’s primary social studies teacher for 11 years and advisor for the last three years to the Class of 2005. He was also chairman of the Social Studies Department, having greatly expanded the curriculum for a more complete learning experience.

Mr. Gonzales died of a massive heart attack while jogging near his home in Haledon, New Jersey.

"Mr. G." will be greatly missed by NBCS students, parents and fellow staff members, most especially the ’05 graduates, who recently enjoyed a special two-day excursion with him. Such excursions have become a school tradition, which Mr. Gonzales has generously sponsored.

In a 2003 "bio brief" for the school’s newsletter, Bowtie, Mr. Gonzales spoke of how rewarding fatherhood was, especially during his son’s earliest years. NBCS’s recent graduates spent three years with “Mr. G.” as their advisor and had a unique opportunity to reap the rewards of his nurturing and mind-expanding ways.

His funeral Mass took place at St. Gerard Majella Roman Catholic Church in Paterson, New Jersey, on July 19. Both NBCS’s Concert and Apprentice Choruses sang at the service. The Mass was attended not only by members of Mr. Gonzales’s large, extended family but also by fellow parishioners, Haledon PAL youth baseball participants, NBCS students, parents and staff, and representatives from the Wight Foundation, where Mr. Gonzales taught in a special Saturday program.

Born in Gallup, New Mexico, Mr. Gonzales is survived by his wife Kathleen (Kornacki) Gonzales, a learning disabilities teacher/consultant; their son Michael, a recent Rutgers University graduate; eight brothers, one sister and scores of nieces and nephews.

The Gonzales family has requested that memorial donations be made to the Newark Boys Chorus School.

An especially telling tribute was e-mailed from Maine to the school by former staff member Diane Tremper. It reads in part: