Last Friday, November 18, we received the sad news of the sudden loss of Anton (Tony) Rajer.  The news has pierced us just as we were preparing for his return to us next summer with much enthusiasm.

Tony was an art conservator, teacher, and humanitarian, from Green Bay and Madison, Wisconsin. He passed away suddenly of a heart attack on Friday, Nov. 18, 2011, at 2:30 p.m. in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where he was restoring a 4’8″ x 22′ WPA mural for Harrison Elementary School.

Tony was full of energy, passion and good will for everyone that ever crossed his path. Tony was a friend of Italy.  He loved our country and only last week was constantly following the evolution of the turbulent national political events. Tony was above all else a friend of SRISA.  He loved our school and always did his best to maintain our group spirit and our ideology of instruction: the student comes before everything else.

For this and for many other reasons, which each of us will hold close to our hearts, he will be sorely missed.  Words are not enough to describe our regrets and as we extend our condolences to his family at this time.  In particular, all of the SRISA staff reach out to his wife Christine, also a true friend of our school and country.

Our last salute to Tony is overflowing with sadness, but also the knowledge that what we are doing and, more importantly, how we are doing it, is the best way for us to honor his memory.