Obituary Stories category, Page 21
Former Bon Jovi bassist, founding member Alec John Such dies
NEW YORK — Alec John Such, the bassist and a founding member of Bon Jovi, has died. He was 70. Jon Bon Jovi on Sunday announced the death of John Such, the New Jersey rock band’s bassist from 1983 to 1994. No details on when or how John Such died...
Ann Turner Cook, original Gerber baby, dies at 95
TAMPA, Fla. — Ann Turner Cook, whose cherubic baby face was known the world over as the original Gerber baby, has died. She was 95. Gerber announced Cook’s passing in an Instagram post on Friday. “Many years before becoming an extraordinary mother, teacher and writer, her smile and expressive curiosity...
Natalie Carbone Mangini was trailblazing scientist, restaurateur
Natalie Carbone Mangini spent her life as a trailblazer, continually opening new doors for women in science while wearing the hats of mother and restaurateur. In 93 years, Mangini shattered the glass ceiling when she became the first woman scientist employed at the Westinghouse Bettis Atomic Power Division, raised four...
Ronnie Hawkins, rockabilly singer and key figure in formation of the Band, dies at 87
Ronnie Hawkins, the rowdy rockabilly singer who was instrumental in the formation of the pioneering Americana group the Band, died on Sunday. He was 87. His wife, Wanda, confirmed his death to the Canadian Press; she didn’t reveal the cause of death but said he’d been in poor health. The...
Andy Fletcher, Depeche Mode co-founder and keyboardist, dies at 60
Andy Fletcher, a founding member of multiplatinum synth-pop band Depeche Mode, has died. He was 60. The keyboard player helped define the sound of 1980s and ’90s alternative music and beyond through hits such as “Just Can’t Get Enough,” “Personal Jesus,” “Enjoy the Silence” and “People Are People.” Fletcher’s death...
Last known survivor of WWII POW massacre dead at 99
MOUNT JOY — Harold Billow, 99, the last known survivor of a World War II POW massacre during the Battle of the Bulge, will be laid to rest Thursday in Pennsylvania. Billow, who died May 17, was attached to the Army’s 285th Field Artillery Observation Battalion when his unit surrendered...
Businessman, local golf ‘ambassador’ Frank B. Fuhrer Jr. dies at 96
Frank B. Fuhrer Jr., who owned one of the largest beer distributorships in the country and owned professional sports franchises in Pittsburgh, died Saturday at UPMC St. Margaret in Aspinwall. He was 96. A family member said Fuhrer died of congestive heart failure. He lived in Fox Chapel with his...
Former national security adviser Robert McFarlane dies at 84
WASHINGTON — Former White House national security adviser Robert C. McFarlane, a top aide to President Ronald Reagan who pleaded guilty to charges for his role in an illegal arms-for-hostages deal known as the Iran-Contra affair, has died. He was 84. McFarlane, who lived in Washington, died Thursday from complications...
UAE’s long-ailing leader Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed dies at 73
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The United Arab Emirates’ long-ailing ruler and president, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, died Friday, the government announced in a brief statement. He was 73. Sheikh Khalifa oversaw much of the country’s blistering economic growth and his name was immortalized on the world’s tallest...
Norman Mineta, transportation secretary in 9/11 era, dies
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Norman Mineta, who broke racial barriers for Asian Americans serving in high-profile government posts and ordered commercial flights grounded after the 9/11 terror attacks as the nation’s federal transportation secretary, died Tuesday. He was 90. John Flaherty, Mineta’s former chief of staff, said Mineta died peacefully at...
Naomi Judd, of Grammy-winning duo The Judds, dies at 76
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Naomi Judd, the Kentucky-born singer of the Grammy-winning duo The Judds and mother of Wynonna and Ashley Judd, has died. She was 76. The daughters announced her death on Saturday in a statement provided to the Associated Press. “Today we sisters experienced a tragedy. We lost our...
Aaron Kress was icon of Westmoreland County legal community
When Aaron Kress first met his wife, Dorothy, he told her he was a window washer. “He didn’t want her to get any preconceived notions about him being a lawyer,” said their daughter, Becky Fenoglietto of Penn Hills. “They were married very quickly,” she said. “My dad brought her back...
Leslie McCrae Dowless, key figure in N.C. absentee ballot fraud probe, dies
RALEIGH, N.C. — Leslie McCrae Dowless Jr., the key player in a North Carolina absentee ballot fraud probe that led to a do-over congressional election, has died. His daughter, Andrea Dowless Heverly, wrote that her father “passed away peacefully” Sunday morning, according to a social media post. He had been...
Longtime Yukon firefighter served community, country
A longtime Yukon volunteer firefighter was laid to rest Friday in his hometown, given the traditional honor of a procession of firetrucks from several South Huntingdon departments and surrounding communities. The funeral procession for Jeffrey A. Kite, 61, who had been a member of the fire company for 45 years,...
Robert Morse, 2-time Tony-winning actor, dies at 90Video
NEW YORK — Actor Robert Morse, who won a Tony Award as a hilariously brash corporate climber in “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” and a second one a generation later as the brilliant, troubled Truman Capote in “Tru,” has died. He was 90. Morse died at his...
Friends remember Mt. Pleasant area nun, Verna Montessori School teacher
This weekend, friends will gather to celebrate the life of Sister Lucy Paladini, a beloved nun who taught at Verna Montessori School near Mt. Pleasant for more than 25 years. Sister Lucy died in January after moving back to her native Italy in 2014. Saint Pius X in Mt. Pleasant...
Longtime Pittsburgh television reporter Stu Emry dies
A story by Myron Cope about a Brentwood bar where Steelers players and reporters hung out stirred Stu Emry’s imagination. Emry was a corn syrup salesman living in Chicago, dreaming of working in radio or television. When he was transferred to Pittsburgh in 1965 to service his biggest client, Heinz,...
Gilbert Gottfried, standup comic and actor, dies at 67
LOS ANGELES — Gilbert Gottfried, the actor and legendary standup comic known for his raw, scorched voice and crude jokes, has died. He was 67. Gottfried died from a rare genetic muscle disease that can trigger a dangerously abnormal heartbeat, his publicist and longtime friend Glenn Schwartz said in a...
Mimi Reinhard, who typed up Schindler’s list, dies at 107
JERUSALEM — Mimi Reinhard, a secretary in Oskar Schindler’s office who typed up the list of Jews he saved from extermination by Nazi Germany, has died in Israel at the age of 107. Reinhard died early Friday and was laid to rest Sunday in Herzliya, near Tel Aviv, her son...
George Guido: Har-Brack grad, former college hoops coach Tom Young dies
Tom Young, the 1951 Har-Brack graduate who coached Rutgers to the NCAA Final Four in 1976, died recently in Virginia Beach, Va., at 89. His death first was reported by his son, Tom Jr., to Rutgers. Young played basketball at Maryland, but he interrupted his college career for a 19-month...
Former Westmoreland County commissioner Richard Vidmer dead at 77
Richard “Dick” Vidmer was a fighter, whether it was on the football field as a star quarterback for Hempfield Area High School and the University of Michigan, as a Westmoreland County commissioner from 1985 to 1999, or as one who engaged in an almost 40-year battle — both public and...
Media critic Eric Boehlert killed in bike accident
NEW YORK — Media critic and journalist Eric Boehlert has died following a bike accident in New Jersey. He was 57. Boehlert was fatally struck Monday night in Montclair, where he lived with his family, about 20 miles northwest of New York City, his wife, Tracy Breslin, confirmed to the...
Bobby Rydell, Philly teen idol known for ‘Wild One’ and ‘Volare’ dies at 79
Bobby Rydell, the singer who rose to fame as a South Philly teen idol with hits such as “Kissin’ Time,” “Wild One” and “Wildwood Days” and maintained a career in show business that lasted six decades, has died at age 79. Rydell’s death was confirmed by his marketing and event...
Longtime Arnold firefighter, No. 2 Chief Keith Dziobak dies
The Alle-Kiski Valley firefighting community is mourning the death of longtime Arnold firefighter and officer Keith Dziobak. Dziobak died Tuesday night. A cause of death was not immediately known. He was 57. A firefighter with Arnold No. 2 since he was 17 years old in 1982, Dziobak was in his...
William Hurt, star of ‘Broadcast News,’ ‘Body Heat,’ dies
NEW YORK — William Hurt, whose laconic charisma and self-assured subtlety as an actor made him one of the 1980s foremost leading men in movies such as “Broadcast News,” “Body Heat” and “The Big Chill,” has died. He was 71. Hurt’s son, Will, said in a statement that Hurt died...
