Charles E. Sporck ’48
Paul Smith’s College
Trustee & Benefactor
Charles Sporck passed away October 12, 2024, he was 96. Sporck was born November 15, 1927 in Saranac Lake, NY to Christian and Caroline Sporck, the second of their three children.
During the summers in high school, Charlie worked as a lifeguard at Lake Flower beach with his friends. One day, while on the job, he spotted a beautiful girl named Jeanine Wamsganz. Charlie fondly remembered exclaiming to his friend, “You see that beautiful girl over there? I’m going to marry her!” The rest is history, as the couple married in 1949 and remained together for the rest of their lives.
He graduated from Saranac Lake High School in 1945, and after returning from the Army, he was a member of the first Paul Smith’s College class of 1948, before studying mechanical engineering at Cornell University, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in 1950.
He started work at semiconductor division of Fairchild Camera and Instrument in 1959, where he rose to the position of General Manager. In 1967, he was recruited by National Semiconductor. He retired in 1991.
Charlie was well known to appreciate a good cigar (or a few) and enjoyed telling stories about his life experiences. He had uncanny common sense, which made him the preferred source of advice and guidance for close friends and family.
Sporck’s love of Saranac Lake cannot be overstated. After retiring from National Semiconductor, he spent his summers there, enjoying the company of relatives and friends and focused on returning his gratitude by building the Caroline & Christian Sporck Admissions Building at Paul Smith’s College, named for his parents. The $500,000 building opened in 1998—with one stipulation—that Charlie be allowed to be on site during construction.
Charlie was predeceased by his high school sweetheart and wife, Jeanine; two loving sons, Charles and Jonathan Sporck; and brother Christian.
He is survived by his youngest son, Christian; daughter Martha Jane; daughter-in-law Mary Sporck; and sister Ruth Levy. He is survived by seven grandchildren: Charles, Christian, Emily, Lauren, Claire, Joseph and Suzie; as well as four great-grandchildren: Magnolia, Carter, Christian and Remi.
Sporck is the author of Spinoff: A Personal History of the Industry That Changed the World, a history of Silicon Valley.
“Simply put, Paul Smith’s College is a very good deal, both for the community and for the Adirondacks. By contributing my time and resources, I want to give back to the College, and by extension, back to the region. I want to make a difference in a place that provided so many opportunities for me.”
Lyle J. Frank ’65
Hospitality Scholarship
Lyle Joseph Frank ’65 Hotel, Restaurant & Tourism AAS, passed away on August 31, 2024, in Garden City Park, NY. He was 79.
The Lyle J. Frank ’65 Hospitality Scholarship was established in 2009 by alumnus Lyle Frank in recognition of the positive experience he had as a student at Paul Smith’s College. The recipients shall be enrolled in either a two- or four-year hospitality degree program and shall demonstrate the most improvement in GPA over the previous year.
Lyle Frank is pictured above with his wife, Tessie.
Caroline Weiss Dawson
Benefactor
Caroline Dawson passed away on November 5, 2024. Caroline was born in Watertown, WI on November 18, 1940.
She is survived by her husband James C. Dawson of Plattsburgh, NY, and one younger sister, Martha Weiss Kneuer of Bend, OR and seven nieces and nephews.
Caroline graduated from West High School in Madison, WI and earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She later went on to earn a Master of Science in Nursing degree from Boston University. At BU she did her summer field experience in pediatric nursing. Caroline worked as a Supervisor and Director of Patient Services at the Clinton County Health Department before retiring after twenty years of service.
In retirement she went on to earn a Masters of Public Administration degree and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Social Work.
The Dawsons are proud supporters of Paul Smith’s College (see page 45, this issue).
Jim Kraus ’64
Writer, photographer, angler, and Professor of Forest Recreation
Jim Kraus ’64, a longtime professor of forest recreation at Paul Smith’s College and was an avid photographer, writer, and angler. He passed away on March 20, 2023.
A 1964 graduate of Paul Smith’s College in forestry, Jim enrolled in North Carolina State’s baccalaureate program in forest recreation. Years later, after finishing a MS degree in forestry at Colorado State, Jim returned to Paul Smith’s College to teach in the College’s new forest recreation program. He would retire from the College forty years later.
Jim was a passionate advocate for environmental causes. He was active in the 1970s and 1980s in work to curtail acid rain, which was poisoning waterways across the Adirondacks.
Jim’s passion for the Adirondacks and writing and photography resulted in numerous bylines in both nonfiction and fiction. His regional advocacy contributed to New York State naming Paul Smiths as a site for a state-run visitor interpretive center—The Paul Smith’s College VIC.
Ted Mack ’60
Paul Smith’s College
Librarian & Naturalist
Ted Mack ’60, long-time Paul Smith’s College librarian, noted birder, and friend to many, passed away in October 2023. He was 83. A native of Glens Falls, NY, Ted graduated from Paul Smith’s College in 1960 with a forestry degree. Ted then worked seasonally for the U.S. Forest Service in Idaho, while earning a BA degree at Linfield College of Oregon. In 1965, he completed his MS in Library Science at SUNY Geneseo and then married Catherine Lindsay.
Ted accepted a position as librarian at Paul Smith’s College, where he became a primary reference resource for untold number of students researching topics related to the natural sciences. (Before Google, there was Ted.)
An experienced outdoorsman, Ted led the College’s Outing Club for more than a dozen years. Throughout his tenure at Paul Smith’s College, Ted contributed to research related to North American birds, including a number of bird-song projects with Cornell University’s world-renowned ornithology lab.
Photos:
Paul Smith’s College’s Sporck Admissions Center was designed to complement the historic waterfront district. The 6,500-sq ft, two story facility houses all admission functions. The first floor meeting room, with bay windows looking out onto Lower St. Regis Lake, provides space for multi-purpose events.
Architectural and site design services incorporate into the design a vernacular style typical of the Adirondacks to blend with existing campus buildings.
—Beardsley Design Associates, an employee-owned firm for more than 125 years, with offices in Auburn, Syracuse, Albany, and Malone, NY.