Obituaries

Sally A. Pasternak, who manned the UB switchboard for more than two decades, died Oct. 20.

Pasternak joined UB in 1974, working as a telephone operator in what was then called University Information.

In a 1998 interview with the Reporter, Pasternak recounted memorable calls she had answered in her 24 years at UB, including one call received early in the morning from China.

“The caller kept speaking Chinese. We could not communicate, but he was very persistent,” Pasternak said. “The switchboard was located in Goodyear Hall — a dormitory. We had a very nice Chinese man living in the room next to our office. We ran over to get him to take the call. He came over in his pajamas and slippers, but first asked if the caller was speaking Mandarin. After a laugh or two, he proceeded to take the emergency message and return to his dormitory room,” she said.

She also noted that the late UB faculty member Milton Plesur was a regular caller.

“We knew his voice,” she said. “When he reached a busy signal on a given number, he would call us back for our ‘secret number.’ He always referred to us as ‘Operator Darling.’”

Pasternak retired in 1998 as head operator.