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Gisbert 'Bert' H. Flanz, 98, Of Hastings-On-Hudson, Retired Professor

HASTINGS-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. -- Gisbert "Bert" H. Flanz, longtime resident of Hastings-on-Hudson, died Sunday, April 26. He was 98.

Flanz was born Sept. 1, 1916 in Liberec, Czechoslovakia, to Albert and Ruzena Jaurisova Flanz, emigrating to the United States in 1939.

He taught at Princeton University until 1943, joining the military and serving in Europe and the U.S. as a intelligence officer until 1945, due to his fluency in German.

He received his doctorate in political science from Princeton in 1946, moving on to teach at New York University until retiring in 1982.

Flanz's travels as a visiting professor took him to Ankara, Turkey, Jamaica, and he aided in the drafting of the Republic of Korea's constitution in 1962. He also made trips to Saigon to advise on legislative matters.

Back stateside, he was an active member of the Hastings community, helping found the Rowley Bridge Trailways Project, becoming a president of the Hastings Historical Society, was a member and Deacon at Grace Episcopal Church, and a swimmer at the Chemka Pool in Hastings.

He was predeceased by his wife, Beth and a daughter Katherine, and is survived by his son, William and his wife Janet of Hong Kong; a daughter, Betsy and her husband Bob of Franklin, Mass.; a son, Richard of Oneonta; his grandchildren Ellen, Kenneth, Katherine, and Brian, and great-grandchildren Shane and Grace.

A service of remembrance will be held at 10 am on Saturday at Grace Episcopal Church, 78 Main St. in Hastings-on-Hudson.

Interment at Mount Hope Cemetery will follow, with a memorial luncheon at the parish hall afterward.

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