Peter Allen Hertling

Peter Allen Hertling, 81, beloved brother, husband, father, uncle, grandfather, friend, and consummate teach. passed peacefully away at his home early on the morning of July 10th.

His Passion for life, especially in music, led him from his early childhood lessons, classes and performance, on to Ithaca College where he studied to become a teacher, but also played oboe throughout, and in his Senior year became president of Kappa Gama Psi, his music fraternity.

After graduation in 1964, his very first teaching assignment brought him back to his own school district in Merrick, L.I. It was here that he began also teaching privately, both oboe and flute. Eventually, he went on to serve three Suffolk County school districts in his long career. Brentwood, Northport and finally Rocky Point, along the way earning his Master of Science degree from Long Island University at C.W. Post.

His love of history and passion for inspiring students enabled him to focus on concert performance, but then also, to reach into Broadway’s musicals (producing and conducting countless yearly productions for Rocky Point), as well as onto the field with marching bands. Highlights for the Golden Eagle Marching Band included a trip to Washington D.C. to perform in the annual Cherry Blossom festival, and to receive several invitations to perform at Shea Stadium, culminating in game 7 for the 1986 NY Mets.

When he retired as Director of Music in Rocky Point in 11997, he went on to teach Music Appreciation at Dowling College for several more years; nevertheless, throughout all those 40 years of teaching, he was constantly motivating every study with a philosophic idea professed by the composer Edgar Varese: “Don’t say to yourself…I want to conquer. Say to yourself…I want to be. To be when no one else can understand you to begin with, the rewards come later. But you must be the hardest judge!”

A celebration of thanksgiving for his life in being planned for Saturday afternoon October 21st, 2-4pm, at the Branch Funeral Home.