John Richard Mazalewski, 86, of East Norwich, died on Oct. 31, 2015. Beloved father of Michele Drexler, John Mazalewski (Jackie), Lisa Valentino (Richard) and the late Allison Jackson Foy. He is grandfather to 19 and great-grandfather to three.
Born and raised in East Norwich, John attended Oyster Bay High School, where he was a basketball star. After graduation he attended Hofstra University on a basketball scholarship. Before completing his degree he was drafted and served in the military during the Korean War. Upon his return home he transferred to the New England Conservatory of Music and graduated in 1955.
After college he adopted the professional name Jan Richard, under which he wrote and published multiple music books and performed at many weddings and club dates. An accomplished musician, noted as one of the nation’s outstanding accordionists, Jan created a course of study for use by accredited schools of music.
In 1975 he founded the Let’s Make Music and Dance studio in Glen Head. There he inspired and taught thousands of students piano and accordion, hoping to ignite in them the passion that he had for music.
The family received friends at the Francis P. De Vine Funeral Home in Oyster Bay. Funeral Mass was held at St. Hyacinth Church in Glen Head. Interment at Calverton National Cemetary.
