HABERMAN, Margaret (Sitka)

Margaret (Sitka) Haberman, 65, of Bristol, died on Monday (December 15, 2008) at home. Margaret was born in Bristol on November 14, 1943 and was a daughter of the late Stanley and Mary (Pulkownik) Sitka. A lifelong Bristol resident, her life revolved around music: She received both Bachelor and Masters of Music degrees from Hartt College of Music at the University of Hartford as well as a Masters of Administration from Hartt. A teacher in the Waterbury school system for 35 years, she was an Itinerant Music Teacher having seven schools to visit. She produced many school musicals and concerts, primarily with grades 1 to 5, and she taught both vocal and instrumental music. The music wing at the Rotella Magnet School is named in her honor as: The Margaret Haberman Music Wing. She also taught music privately in Bristol for over 30 years, taught elementary music for a short period at St. Anthony School in Bristol, and was instrumental in getting inner city children scholarships to music schools. She was a Cellist with the Waterbury, New Britain, and Bristol Symphonies, was an original member of the Bristol Symphony from its inception, and she hosted private concerts in her home. She served on the Board of Directors for the Bristol Symphony for over 12 years. She was a lifelong member of St. Stanislaus Church, Bristol, where she was a long time member of the Adult Choirs, was a Sunday School teacher for 12 years, she formed a Children’s Choir and a Children’s Band which played at services, and where she was a member of the Golden Agers senior club and the Tovachitva Women’s Organization. In addition to her parents, she was predeceased by two brothers, Stanley “Sonny” and George Sitka. She leaves behind three close friends, the Rev. Edward Przygocki, Despina C. Yalanis, and Theresa Chyra, and two nephews, Robert Sitka, and his wife, Song, David Sitka and his children, Brian and Bethany, and a niece Elizabeth Pereira. Funeral services will be held on Thursday (December 18, 2008) at 9 AM from Funk Funeral Home, 35 Bellevue Ave., Bristol, to St. Stanislaus Church for a Mass of Christian Burial at 10 AM. Burial will follow in St. Joseph Cemetery, Bristol. Relatives and friends may call at the funeral home on Wednesday between 5 and 8 PM. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to St. Stanislaus Church Music Ministry, 510 West St., Bristol, CT 06010 or to the American Heart Association, 1 Union St. Suite 301, Robbinsville, NJ 08691-4183. On line guestbook is available at www.funkfuneralhome.com.