Remembering the summers my family spent in our country farmhouse in West Glover, Vermont, I think of my father, John Ceraso, standing on the back porch playing his trumpet. Neighbors would tell us they could hear his horn echoing across the valley. Towards the end of August each year, he went to the back porch to play The Last Rose of Summer, an Irish poem set to music that brought extra sadness for us because it signaled we soon had to leave Vermont and return to New Jersey: Tis the last rose of summer Left blooming alone All her lovey companions Are faded and gone Years later, when my parents made the West Glover summer home their full-time residence, my father played that song less often at the end of summer. He loved the Northeast Kingdom and no longer had to be sad about leaving. John made many friends in the area playing his trumpet with local bands, including Bread and Puppet, the Newport Community Band, and informal jam sessions held in Glover and other towns around the Kingdom. Some knew him for his love of music, some for his joke telling, but most of all I think he was loved for his kind heart and easygoing nature. John Anthony Ceraso died suddenly July 17, 2013. Born in Brooklyn, New York, son of Angelo (Ralph) Ceraso and Lucia (Lucy) Vessa Ceraso, he grew up in the Bedford Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn. He met Joanne Sage Ceraso when they were both graduate students at the New School for Social Research in New York. They married in 1958 and were married for 52 years until her death in October, 2010. John spent a long and distinguished career as a professor of psychology. After earning his PhD in Psychology from The New School for Social Research in 1959, he went on to teach, first at Yeshiva University and then Rutgers University in Newark, New Jersey, starting in 1967. His teaching career with Rutgers lasted more than three decades. As a professor and researcher, he contributed important theory and research to psychology in the areas of memory and perception. John was among a group of four Rutgers psychology professors and their families who made summer homes near each other in the Northeast Kingdom and spent time together during the summer. These families included the Feffers, the Hansens, and the Rocks. John and Joanne first stayed in the area in the 1960s as guests of the Rodgers Farm (now known as the Rodgers County Inn) in West Glover, and then bought the nearby home where the family spent many glorious summers. After he and Joanne later decided to brave the Vermont winters and move here year-round, neither expressed a moment of regret about that decision. John thoroughly enjoyed playing with area bands, something that helped keep him going after losing Joanne. He was known to share his love of music by giving instruments to friends and acquaintances, not for any special occasion but simply because he felt like it. John's family and friends will miss him dearly. He is survived by four daughters: Jane Ceraso of Acton, Massachusetts and West Glover; Laura Ceraso of Plainfield, Vermont; Marion Ceraso of Madison, Wisconsin; and Karen Ceraso of West Glover; six grandchildren: Sage and Rory Lowe of Acton, Massachusetts; Diego, Miguel and Lucia Nieto of Madison, Wisconsin; and his youngest grandson, Mateo Ceraso, who lived with him in his home. He is also survived by a sister, Rosemarie Schriefer and her husband Henry Schriefer of Seminole, Florida; three nephews and nieces: Russell Schriefer and Emily and Evan Simonoff; two sons-in-law: Stephen Lowe of Acton, Massachusetts and West Glover; and Javier Nieto of Madison, Wisconsin. He is also he survived by many beloved friends. A memorial celebration of John's life will be held at the family home in West Glover on August 12, 2013, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Musical instruments are welcome. Please RSVP to Karen Ceraso, 525-3587. Contributions in John's memory can be made to help provide musical instruments to Lake Region Union High School students. Contributions for this purpose can be made out to the Lake Region Music Program and sent to Lake Region Union High School, 317 Lake Region Road, Orleans, VT 05860. Please write "In memory of John Ceraso" on the bottom of the check and send to the attention of Tami, administrative office manager. On-line condolences may be sent to the family through the funeral home website at www.curtis-britch.com. -Submitted by Karen Ceraso