Published Friday, March 28, 2003
Herald Staff Writer
A Sharon native has been missing for more than a week since he vanished from the campus of Boston University where he is a professor.
John Daverio, 48, was in Sharon from March 11 to 16 to visit his parents John D. and Margaret Daverio. When he returned to Boston he went to his office to check e-mail, went outside to smoke a cigarette and hasn't been seen since, according to The Boston Globe.
"He was a smart person. We just don't know what happened, and what's really scary is that he left everything in his office," said Daverio's aunt, Joanne Daverio of Sharon. His wallet and briefcase were still in his office when he disappeared, the Globe reported.
Mrs. Daverio said Boston police called to say they had videotapes from the airport showing he got off the plane and they asked her if anything seemed out of the ordinary when her nephew was home.
"I didn't see anything out of the ordinary," Mrs. Daverio said. She said he seemed very happy and that he likes Boston and has many friends there.
Daverio is chairman of Boston University's musicology department. He was one of the world's leading scholars on the work of composer Robert Schumann and recently published a book, "Crossing Paths: Schubert, Schumann, and Brahms."
"He was just one of those professors who you can't help but love," BU alumna Nancy Ackerman told the Globe. "If you ask anyone, I mean anyone, they will say their most memorable professor from BU was John Daverio."
Daverio graduated in his sophomore year from Sharon High School, earned his bachelor's and graduate degrees at BU and immediately went into teaching, Mrs. Daverio said. A violinist, he played with the Greenville and Youngstown symphony orchestras when he lived in the Shenango Valley, she said.
Mrs. Daverio said her nephew came home whenever he could to visit his family in Sharon, including holidays and summer breaks.
The biggest volunteer turnout BU has ever seen went out Saturday to post fliers about her nephew's disappearance, Mrs. Daverio said. "That made us feel good," she said.
Daverio's parents are both in their 80s, Mrs. Daverio said. "They're holding up rather well considering all of this," she said.
John and Margaret Daverio could not be reached for comment Thursday.
You can e-mail Herald Staff Writer Kristen Garrett at:
kgarrett@sharonherald.com