Arthur Swan

Longtime Greenport resident Arthur Swan died after a brief illness Aug. 15 in Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia, where he made his home. He was 90 years old.

He was born William Arthur Swan to the Rev. Wilbur F. and Enid (Sutton) Swan on May 29, 1925, in Akron, Iowa. He graduated from Oberlin College in Ohio in 1946. He lived and worked in New York, Germany and England and came to Greenport in 1973.

Mr. Swan is survived by his wife, Gulnara Tserekidze, of Tbilisi; his brother Jon, of Yarmouth, Maine; his sister Kristin Lent Gros of Paoli, Pa.; and many loving nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his brother Charles, his sisters Felice and Zaide and his partner, Robert Hood.

Mr. Swan was a professional flautist, singer, teacher of music and literature, elementary school teacher and principal of the New Lincoln and Fieldston Lower schools in New York City.

He co-wrote a widely read (to this day) book, “Adventures With Children in Early School Years” (1986), and was the creator of Wit Twisters, puzzles that appeared weekly in the Saturday Review of Literature and this newspaper. Family members said his greatest joy was teaching and mentoring young singers whose musical careers he helped to develop.

Funeral services were held in Tbilisi on Aug. 18.