Obituary of Dr. Peter J. Cayan Jr.

Dr. Peter J. Cayan Jr., age 85 of Clifton Park passed away on Sunday February 21, 2016. Born on April 4, 1930 in Cohoes, he was the son of the late Peter and Rose Cayan. He was predeceased by his son Ruddy Paul Cayan. Peter served in the US Army with the 2nd Infantry Division in Korea, and was awarded many decorations including the Korean Service Medal with four Bronze Stars, the United States Presidential Unit Citation, Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation, the United Nations Service Medal, Republic of Korea War Service Medal, National Defense Service Medal, the NY State Conspicuous Service Star with one Silver Shield, and the NY State Medal for Merit. Peter received his B.S. in Economics, and his MBA at Siena College, M.S. in Education from SUNY Oneonta, and his Doctor of Higher Education Administration at SUNY Albany. Additionally he studied at the University of Cambridge as a visiting scholar, and also attended Harvard University. He was a wonderful, kind, and selfless man who served Christ and treasured his faith and family. He is finally safe and at home in everlasting life with Christ. Peter dedicated his career to education. He served as the Dean of Business Management at SUNY Delhi until 1976, and was instrumental in building the campus of North Country Community College, where he was President until 1982. He was responsible for facilitating the building of the campus at SUNY Utica Polytechnic and served as the President of the university until 2002. The Peter J. Cayan Library is named in honor of him. His career included numerous literary publications. During his career, Peter was a Director of the Bank of Utica, and was a trustee of the Utica School of commerce. He volunteered his time with many organizations including the Kiwanis, and the Rotary Club and received many awards and recognition in honor of his volunteer service. His awards include: the John O’ Toole “Person of the Year Award” of the Mohawk Valley Chamber of Commerce; given for exemplary service to the community, he was the first male member inducted into the Business Professional Women’s Foundation, the Business Council of NY State Chamber Commitment to Community Award presented by Gov. Mario Cuomo, the Leonard F. Wilbur Kiwanis Memorial Award for Outstanding Community Service, Certificate of Recognition by the Russian Federation State Committee for Higher Education, the William H. Spurgeon III Award for Outstanding Volunteer Service and Leadership from the Boy Scouts of America, the Explorers Club (NYC), where he was nominated by astronaut Dr. Kathryn D. Sullivan, the Access Achievement Award, presented by the Resource Center for Independent Living Inc., he was appointed First Honorary Professor at Nanchang University in Nanchang, China, and the Rome Foundation Award for Distinguished Service to Community and College. He was also recognized as an Outstanding Educator of America, and he was selected as a 2003 Richard W. Couper Living Legend by the Oneida County Historical Society - criteria includes a person’s impact on county, state, or worldwide issues, and on May 2, 2003, the $14M Peter J. Cayan Library was dedicated at the SUNY Institute of Technology. He is survived by his wife of 64 years; Jermaine “Jeri” R. Cayan, daughter Mary Pat (Scott) Lewis, son Peter (Janice) Cayan III, and grandchildren Patrick, Kristina, Ashley, Sarah, and Brittany. Calling hours will be held on Wednesday from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Catricala Funeral Home Inc., 1597 Route 9, Clifton Park, with a funeral mass at St. Mary’s Church in Crescent on Thursday at 10 a.m., where Jeri will be receiving friends at 9:30 a.m. Burial will follow in St. Agnes Cemetery in Cohoes. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the LaSalle Institute, 174 Williams Road, Troy, NY 12180, or the Academy of the Holy Names, 1075 New Scotland Rd, Albany, NY 12208.