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Politics & Government

Supporters Remember Paula Bohovesky With Concert (VIDEO)

The Concert For Paula Bohovesky: A Celebration of a Life was held at Pearl River High School Saturday.

Friends, family and supporters of Paula Bohovesky gathered at Pearl River High School Saturday night for the Concert For Paula Bohovesky: A Celebration of a Life.

Bohovesky, a 16-year-old Pearl River High School student, was murdered while walking home Oct. 28, 1980.

The concert raised money for PetitionForPaula.org, a non-profit formed in 2008, to support a performing arts scholarship in her name and to maintain an existing memorial on the high school grounds. The group also collects petitions each two years when Bohovesky’s two killers, Richard LaBarbera and Robert McCain, are up for parole.

“I am very grateful that all of you here have chosen to use your time to be here tonight. Together we will work to continue to make sure that the men who took Paula from us will continue to spend their time serving time,” said Rockland County Legislator John Murphy (R-Pearl River), who is a founder and board member for Petition For Paula. “Tonight is a celebration of Paula’s life.”

The performers and presenters ranged from former classmates, teachers and current Pearl River High School students. Sharon Klass, Bohovesky’s high school art teacher, spoke about what kind of student Bohovesky was.

“As the year went on, it became clear that Paula was going to be one of those students who would also become a friend. There are some people that you can speak to without words, you just understand each other. It doesn’t happen often, but when it does it is truly special. And Paula was one such person for me,” Klass said. “During her first two years of high school, like most other high school students, she felt somewhat disjointed, like she didn’t really fit, but in her junior year, it all seemed to come together. She was the happiest that I remember her and her infectious laughter brightened the room around her.”

She said Bohovesky was also in her first stage craft class, and many students in the class were in the stage crew. When outside groups rented the stage, they hired the stage crew, and the group collected money from it. The class took place the year Bohovesky was killed, and at the end of the year, the crew voted to put all the money collected into the Paula Bohovesky Memorial Performing Arts Scholarship.

“That was the effect that Paula had on them. It was their way to honor her memory, and mostly, honor her life and what she loved,” Klass said. “The scholarship has been given every year to a student who is involved in many aspects of the theater program, both backstage and onstage, and is somebody willing to do whatever it takes to create an excellent performance. Paula was just that kind of art student.”

Peter Bohovesky, Paula’s brother, couldn’t be in attendance Saturday night due to a work conflict, but sent in a video message thanking everyone for coming out to support his sister.

Paula’s mother, Lois Bohovesky, read something Paula’s father, Basil Bohovesky wrote before he died. Lois Bohovesky said her husband wrote it around the time of the trial, and it appeared in a newspaper. The description talked about Paula’s character, and how she stood for decency and had a fierce ambition. It also mentioned that she was just finding her strengths and talents.

“She was just starting to realize the joy of fulfillment in her work,” Lois Bohovesky read. “Paula’s physical beauty was ethereal and reminiscent of ancient art. She carried herself with grace and serenity.”

The performers and presenters:

  • A message from Peter Bohovesky
  • Greetings from John Murphy
  • Rockland Conservatory of Music String Orchestra, led by conductor Anna Teigen, performed Gagliarda from “Ancient Airs and Dances” by Ottorino Respighi, and Allegretto grazioso from ‘Symphony No. 8” by Antonin Dvorak
  • Bob Baird, former Journal News columnist
  • Chris Murphy, Steven Roues, Billy Roues, Bill Rankin, Eileen Ivers and Greg Anderson performed “Shall I Meet You Over Yonder?”
  • Eileen Ivers and Greg Anderson performed a medley for violin and guitar
  • Sheila Schonbrun, Paula’s former voice teacher, read from “The Gifts of the Moon” by Charles Baudelaire
  • The Modulators of Pearl River High School performed “Three Little Birds” by Bob Marley and “Hey Jude” by the Beatles
  • Rockland County District Attorney Thomas Zugibe spoke about Petition For Paula
  • Mary Ellen Nelligar Petti, Paula’s classmate and winner of Paula’s scholarship, performed “Over The Rainbow” by E.Y. Harburg and Harold Arlen
  • Sharon Klass, Paula’s high school art teacher, spoke about Paula as an artist and the Paula Bohovesky Memorial Performing Arts Scholarship
  • Shirley Crabbe, Paula’s classmate and winner of Paula’s scholarship, and Jim West performed “They Can’t Take That Away From Me” by George & Ira Gershwin, and “Gone Too Soon” by Larry Grossman and Martin Paich
  • Lois Bohovesky, Paula’s mother, read something her husband Basil, Paula’s father, wrote about their daughter
  • Ed Walters & John Carson, Paula’s classmates, performed “Bookends” by Simon & Garfunkel, and “Fire & Rain” by James Taylor
  • Chris Murphy, Mary Ellen Nelligar Petti, Shirley Crabbe, Ed Walters & John Carson performed “You’ve Got A Friend” by James Taylor, one of Paula’s favorite songs

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