Obituary Stories category, Page 29
Erie boxing promoter Mike Acri dies at 63
Erie boxing promoter Mike Acri, whose clients included Roberto Duran and Hector “Macho” Camacho, died Sunday in Erie at age 63 following a 2½-year bout with pancreatic cancer. Acri, a top national promoter, also worked with boxer Paul “The Pittsburgh Kid” Spadafora. Acri was well known for arranging popular boxing...
Nancy Bush Ellis, sister and aunt of presidents, dies
Nancy Bush Ellis, a longtime Democrat who helped her Republican brother and nephew get elected president, has died of complications of the coronavirus. She was 94. “We are sad to share that President Bush’s beloved sister, Nancy Bush Ellis, has passed away. Our condolences and prayers are with the Ellis...
Tanya Roberts, Bond girl and ‘Sheena’ star, dead at 65Video
Tanya Roberts, who captivated James Bond in “A View to a Kill” and appeared in the sitcom “That ’70s Show,” has died, several hours after she was mistakenly declared dead by her publicist and her partner. She was 65. Lance O’Brien, her companion of nearly two decades, told The Associated...
Last of singing McGuire Sisters dies in Vegas; Phyllis, 89
LAS VEGAS — Phyllis McGuire, the last surviving member of the three singing McGuire Sisters who topped the charts with several hits in the 1950s, has died. She was 89. The lead singer and younger sister of Dorothy and Christine McGuire died on Tuesday in Las Vegas, the Palm Eastern...
Dog training, day care continue after Bruce Ringer, ‘dog whisperer of Tarentum,’ dies
Bruce D. Ringer’s love of dogs and his wife were manifest, and not surprisingly intertwined. The longtime, legendary dog trainer, Ringer, 63, of Tarentum, died of colon cancer on Dec. 20. He was a dog trainer for more than 35 years and opened the first doggie day care in Allegheny...
British model, fashion muse Stella Tennant dies at 50
LONDON — Stella Tennant, the aristocratic British model who was a muse to designers such as Karl Lagerfeld and Gianni Versace, died suddenly at the age of 50, her family said Wednesday. Tennant, the granddaughter of a duke, rose to fame in the 1990s while walking the runway for Versace,...
Agent: Master spy writer John le Carre dies at 89
LONDON — John le Carre, the spy-turned-novelist whose elegant and intricate narratives defined the Cold War espionage thriller and brought acclaim to a genre critics had once ignored, has died. He was 89, Le Carre’s literary agency, Curtis Brown, said Sunday that he died in Cornwall, southwest England on Saturday...
Chuck Yeager, first pilot to break sound barrier, dies at 97
After test pilot Chuck Yeager became the first man to break the sound barrier, he confessed to the highly un-Yeager-like emotion of fear. “I was scared,” he wrote in a memoir, “knowing that many of my colleagues thought I was doomed to be blasted to pieces by an invisible brick...
Walter Williams, conservative economist, columnist, dead at 84
Nationally syndicated columnist and George Mason University economics professor Walter Williams, whose work appeared regularly in the Tribune-Review, died on Wednesday at the age of 84. Over the course of his career, he was praised for his rigorous research on minority groups and government policies affecting African Americans. Williams, a...
Lon Adams, Slim Jim jerky recipe creator, dies of covid-19
RALEIGH, N.C. — Alonzo “Lon” T. Adams II, the man who created the formula for Slim Jim beef jerky sticks, has died from complications of covid-19. He was 95. Lynn Barrow of Brown-Wynne Funeral Home in Raleigh, N.C., confirmed Wednesday that Adams died on Nov. 28. A graveside funeral service...
Coal magnate Robert Murray dies at 80; he long fought regulators
ST. CLAIRSVILLE, Ohio — Robert Murray, the board chairman of the largest privately owned U.S. coal operator, who long fought federal regulations to reduce black lung disease, died at his home in Ohio less than a week after announcing his retirement, a lawyer said. Michael Shaheen, an attorney who had...
New Stanton mayor Ronald Echard, dead at 68, remembered for civic involvement
When visitors and residents in New Stanton admire the town’s new holiday lights this year, in large part, they’ll have Ron Echard to thank. Echard, who most recently served as mayor, is credited as a driving force behind the planned holiday display — along with his wife, Linda, who serves...
Friends, family remember Salem teen as passionate, always smiling
When people think of Kenneth W. Miller Jr., two things tend to come to mind — his dirt bike and a smile that could make any bad day good again. “He had such a magnetic personality,” his mom, Deann Miller, said. “You couldn’t look at him without smiling. … He...
Regis Philbin, television personality and host, dies at 88
NEW YORK — Regis Philbin, the genial host who shared his life with television viewers over morning coffee for decades and helped himself and some fans strike it rich with the game show “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,” has died at 88. Philbin died of natural causes Friday night,...
Greensburg chiropractor had passion for cooking, outdoors, serving others
Dr. Thomas Hower’s nearly 60-year career as a Greensburg chiropractor was a natural fit. He spent his childhood years upstairs from the Main Street office where his similarly named father, a second-generation chiropractor, worked — and where he also would see patients as an adult. “A gentlemen came into the...
The Nest co-owner welcomed diners at Jeannette restaurant with friendly nature, flair for decor
Toni Nestico was a familiar, friendly face at The Nest Restaurant in Jeannette, where she served seafood dishes to customers for close to 30 years and was co-owner of the establishment, with her husband. “People loved her,” said her daughter, Alana, who used to wait tables at the restaurant along...
Dr. Lawrence Ferlan was truly a man for all seasons
Dr. Lawrence Ferlan’s daughter, Mary Ferlan, found the words to sum up her father’s life: “He was about going and seeing and doing and learning.” Dr. Ferlan, who lived in Harrison and practiced medicine in Tarentum for decades, died in his New Hampshire house last Thursday. He was 85. “Larry...
Joel Schumacher, director of ‘St. Elmo’s Fire,’ dies at 80
Joel Schumacher, the flamboyant journeyman director who dressed New York department store windows before shepherding the Brat Pack to the big screen in “St. Elmo’s Fire” and steering the Batman franchise into its most baroque territory in “Batman Forever” and “Batman & Robin,” has died. He was 80. A representative...
Clayton Falkner, ‘Mr. Birdville,’ championed efforts to restore Harrison war memorial
Clayton Falkner championed the effort to restore Harrison’s crumbling World War II Honor Roll memorial but didn’t get the chance to see it finished. Mr. Falkner, 84, died Tuesday, June 9, 2020, at the house in the township’s Birdville section where he lived his entire life. Mr. Falkner began lobbying...
Larry Kramer, playwright and AIDS activist, dies at 84
NEW YORK — Larry Kramer, the playwright whose angry voice and pen raised theatergoers’ consciousness about AIDS and roused thousands to militant protests in the early years of the epidemic, has died at 84. Bill Goldstein, a writer who was working on a biography of Kramer, confirmed the news to...
Retired Jeannette police captain was devoted to community
Paul Hartung wore a Jeannette Jayhawks watch that he never took off. “I think he loved serving his community, he had such pride in Jeannette,” said his daughter, Paula Jesiolkiewic. In the 1950s, Mr. Hartung applied for a job with the city fire department. He instead was offered a job...
Ken Osmond, Eddie Haskell on ‘Leave It to Beaver,’ dies
LOS ANGELES — Ken Osmond, who played the two-faced teenage scoundrel Eddie Haskell on TV’s “Leave It to Beaver,” died Monday, his family said. Osmond died in Los Angeles at age 76. No indication of the cause was given. “He was an incredibly kind and wonderful father,” son Eric Osmond...
McKeesport woman remembered as extraordinary teacher, friend of community
No one was surprised when Jamie Brewster Filotei came back to McKeesport after college, first earning a bachelor’s degree and then a master’s. Friends say the woman who attended Mansfield University of Pennsylvania on a basketball scholarship could have gone anywhere, but her roots were in McKeesport. And the city...
Humphreys woman loved working with 4-H
Sandy L. Lucas Ruggiero became involved in 4-H many years ago when her daughter wanted to raise rabbits. Although she grew up in Pittsburgh, not out in the country, Mrs. Ruggiero took to helping Jamie raise rabbits and served as a 4-H leader for many years, said her daughter, Jamie...
Former corrections officer from Greensburg loved family, games
Under normal circumstances, it might be concerning for a former county jail inmate to come walking up and say hello to a longtime corrections officer. But for Jacqueline Learn of Greensburg it was just another part of her day. “Even the prisoners called her ‘Miss Jackie,’” said Ms. Learn’s brother,...
