Obituary of Alan Gordon Robertson

Alan Gordon Robertson passed away on January 8, 2018 after a prolonged illness. He was the son of Olivia and William Robertson and was born on Aug. 15, 1928 and raised in Jackson Heights, NY in a loving family with grandparents and aunts and uncles nearby. He is survived by his wife Barbara, son David ( Carol ) , daughter Elizabeth (Bob), grandson Thomas Robertson and granddaughter Elissa Holub (Blake). Alan went to Stuyvesant HS in NYC and received his BA in History from Queens College of the City University of NY where he met his wife Barbara. He then went on to receive a MA from Harvard University and a Doctorate of Education from New York University. Alan had a varied and interesting work career, first teaching 7th and 8th grades in the New York City Schools before becoming Director of Guidance in a Nassau Long Island school district. Alan and family moved to Delmar to take the job at the NYS Education Department in the Office of Research and Evaluation. He was the Bureau Chief of Vocational Technical Research and statewide Director of Education Program Evaluation for many years. After retirement he lectured on vocational guidance at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. He also worked as a research grants Program Manager at the City of New York Graduate Center for Advance Study in Education. He was president of the NYS Association for Measurement and Evaluation in Guidance and contributed to an article on "Responsible Test Use" His interest in music was cultivated by his mother and father's musical ability. He played flute in his college orchestra and saxophone in a college band. Alan has sung with the Mendelssohn Club of Albany for 50 years where he wrote the program notes for the club's concert programs. In the First United Methodist Church of Delmar he has been a choir member, chair of the Music Committee, Church Trustee, Chair of the Commission on Adult Education, a member of the Endowment Investment Committee and a representative to the Capital District Council of Churches. Alan and Barbara have enjoyed traveling in the U.S., Canada, England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Italy and China, and to Scandinavia and Germany to visit relatives. They enjoyed sailing and camping on the Lake George Islands in summer and fall and cross country skiing in the winter. A musical memorial service will be held at the First United Methodist Church at 428 Kenwood Ave. in Delmar on Sunday, Jan. 21st at 2PM followed by a reception in Fellowship Hall. Memorial donations can be made to the First United Methodist Church of Delmar or to the Mendelssohn Club of Albany.