Matthew G Lanna

1929 - 2021
REMEMBERING MATTHEW LANNA

Dr. Matthew G. Lanna died peacefully at Calvary Hospital in the Bronx on June 2, 2021. He was 92. There will be a private burial and eventually a celebration of his life at a future date.

Matthew was born on April 21, 1929 in Brooklyn, NY. In his youth, his agility enabled him to excel in sports, and his musical ability allowed him to seriously consider a career as a concert pianist.

He began piano studies at age 7 and as a teenager gave a debut piano concert at Town Hall, and performed at Steinway Hall and other venues in the New York area. He was later accepted to the Juilliard School of Music. Even after being drafted into the Army in 1953, music dominated his life. At Fort Bragg, he was assigned to be organist for Catholic services and pianist for the USO.

Matt earned his undergraduate degree at Brooklyn College (where he met Corinne Mignone, his wife to be) and earned his Masters and Doctoral Degrees at Teachers College, Columbia University.

He married Corinne in 1955, and together they had five children; Andrea, John, Marc (who died at age one and a half), Paul, and Lisa.

Matt practiced as a psychologist for his entire career, at B.M.C.C. of the City University of New York for 33 years, and in private practice. He was a full professor, and upon retirement was awarded Professor Emeritus. After retiring, he worked as a psychological consultant at Mercy College and as Director of Counseling at Marymount College for over 15 years.

Throughout his life, he continued to enjoy his passion as a pianist, playing regularly on his Steinway Grand, and was known to entertain and to help organize music events at Scarborough Manor in Ossining.

He enjoyed numerous other activities including organizing matches with his tennis pals, attending memoir writing and book groups, table tennis, skiing, volunteering for the Red Cross (most notably as a disaster mental health volunteer after the 9/11 bombing of the World Trade Center), cooking and crafting the perfect frittata, pasta aglio e olio or eggplant sandwich. He also served on the Board of Directors of the Chappaqua Orchestra and the Westchester Psychological Association.

As an avid world traveler and local explorer, memorable excursions included a cross-country adventure in the family station wagon and pop-up camper, ski trips to Canada and Vermont, annual Labor Day weekends at the US Open, visits to the Bronx Botanical Gardens, some 25 trips to Italy, and additional adventures all over the world.

He was quick witted, loved an audience and it gave him great pleasure to tell detailed stories and jokes. He was very supportive of his children, grandchildren and extended family in their numerous endeavors, and in his later years got immense joy out of spending time with his grandchildren.

In addition to his wife Corinne, Matt is survived by his children - Andrea, John, Paolo, and Lisa; four grandchildren – Christopher, Katie, Matthew and Philip; and his brother Louis.