Quote:
Originally Posted by BobbyB
Clyde Bland was active in politics and the arts during his more than 40 years in Tracy. Press staff report
Former Tracy Mayor Clyde L. Bland, 81, died Thursday afternoon at a hospice medical facility in Hughson, Stanislaus County, ending a long battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.
Services are pending at Fry Memorial Chapel in Tracy.
A native of Rogers, Ark., Bland had been a Tracy resident since 1963 and was Tracy’s mayor from 1990 to 1994. Before serving as mayor, he was a member of the Tracy City Council for five years.
While a member of the council and as mayor, Bland helped create planning and financing for Tracy’s growth through the development of Residential and Industrial Specific Plans and the city’s Growth Management Ordinance.
As the city’s representative on the San Joaquin Rail Commission, he was involved in the original planning for the Altamont Commuter Express passenger rail service.
Bland, a State Farm Insurance Agent for 27 years in Tracy, did not seek re-election as mayor in 1994, but he continued to be active in the community.
As a member of the West Side Pioneer Association, he worked to save and restore the old one-room Lammersville School, which was eventually moved to Clyde Bland Park.
Mr. Bland was co-chairman of the Arts Leadership Alliance campaign to raise private funds for the Grand Theatre Center for the Arts project and served as ALA liaison with the city of Tracy.
Several years ago, Mr. Bland encountered problems with muscle control and last year was diagnosed with ALS, a motor-neutron disorder for which there is no cure.
He remained in his Tracy home under care of his wife, Ina, until Feb. 20, when he was taken to the Alexander Cohen Hospice in Hughson.
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William Joseph Waters
Date: March 8, 2007
Publication: Standard-Examiner (Ogden, UT)
1948 -2007 "Faith and Courage"
MIDVALE -Our Loving Friend, Husband, Father, Grandfather, Son, Brother, and Uncle passed from this life to his eternal home to be with his daughter Anna. On Monday, March 5, 2007, under the watchful care of Vista Care, Bill passed away from complications of ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease).
Bill was born on April 24, 1948 in Brigham City, Utah to Joseph William Waters and Donna Mae Chlarson. He attended Bonneville High .
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A great sport, reporter calm through a storm
Thu, March 15, 2007
Longtime Free Press staff member Doug Langford was best known for his coverage of golf and car racing.
By JOE MATYAS, SUN MEDIA
Doug Langford wrote stories, edited copy and on more than one occasion gave an antsy reporter on deadline an impromptu shoulder massage to calm him down.
Barry Langford loved that story when a Free Press sportswriter recounted it to him at a funeral home visitation for his father on Tuesday.
"It said so much about dad," he said after a funeral service at St. Stephen's Memorial Anglican Church in London yesterday. "He was such a calming influence."
Doug, best known as a former Free Press golf and auto racing writer, died at the age of 70 at University Hospital on March 9, six months after being diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
Fortunately, said Barry, he was given "an early entry into heaven" and didn't have to suffer the most devastating effects of the fatal motor neuron condition also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.
"Dad was never one to look for sympathy," said Barry. "I was amazed and awed by the courage he showed after the diagnosis."
Langford was remembered yesterday as a humble, friendly man of generous spirit, who didn't let the disease dampen his good nature.
Free Press records show that Langford came to the paper as a linotype operator from the Simcoe Reformer in 1965.
"He was probably the fastest hot metal typesetter we had in the composing room," said Dale Stolk, a veteran copy editor and page designer in the editorial department.
When metal type was replaced with paper pasteup in the mid-1970s, Langford was given a chance to retrain in the sports department.
"Dad appreciated the break he got and made it work for him and the paper," said Barry. "He was the kind of guy who would repay you ten-fold for what you did for him."
Langford became a mainstay of sports as a writer and editor for about 20 years until his retirement in 1995.
His career highlights included covering George Knudson and Moe Norman in golf tournaments and Mike Weir at the beginning of his career. His coverage of CASCAR and NASCAR racing was widely read for more than a decade.
He was a good golfer and a "huge gear head," said his son.
"He was always fixing and restoring cars like Corvettes and Malibus. I've seen aluminum heads on his kitchen table."
It was Doug Langford's nature to give his all to his passions, said Barry.
"He went to drag racing school to learn more about racing. And he made and repaired golf clubs."
Stolk, co-owner of a software training company called Q Integrators for about a decade, employed Langford after his retirement.
"He was unflappable, nothing phased him. He made learning easier for people."