Tony Reid
by Michael Lavalette

Comrades in Preston are sorry to hear of the death of Tony Reid, a well-known trade union activist and campaigner in the city.

Formerly a deputy leader of Preston council, Tony left Labour in 1998 because he could no longer stomach the leadership of Tony Blair.

He threw his energies into trade union work, to Palestine solidarity activity and the anti-war movement.

Tony was also on the national executive of the Socialist Alliance and played a leading role in Michael Lavalette’s election to Preston council in 2003.

He moved to Orkney shortly afterwards, but he stayed active in politics.

Tony joined the Scottish Socialist Party, set up Orkney Friends of Palestine and led a range of community campaigns.

He died last week after fighting motor neurone disease for three years. Our thoughts are with his partner Vera Stephens at this difficult time.

http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/art.php?id=16242

Peter J. Levinson dies at 74; publicist and biographer of big-band legends
By Jon Thurber
October 23, 2008


Peter J. Levinson, a veteran music industry publicist who worked with some of the leading names of the big-band era and later wrote biographies of three of them, has died. He was 74.

Levinson died Tuesday at his Malibu home of injuries suffered in a fall, said publicist Dale Olson.


Levinson was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) nearly two years ago and the progression of the ailment also known as Lou Gehrig's disease had left him unable to speak. The aid of a computer, however, made it possible for him to work, which he did until the day he died.

After nearly half a century in the music business with a client list that included Count Basie, Dave Brubeck, Rosemary Clooney, Erroll Garner, Stan Getz, Peggy Lee, Jack Lemmon and Mel Torme, Levinson turned his hand to biography, producing "Trumpet Blues: The Life of Harry James" (1999). Levinson had worked with the trumpeter from the 1930s and '40s and produced what the New York Times called a "relentlessly candid" recitation of James' life, his marriage to World War II-era film star and pin-up queen Betty Grable, and his bouts with alcoholism, gambling and adultery.

Critic Nat Hentoff wrote that "Trumpet Blues" "is one of the very few biographies of a musician I have read that not only told me much more than I thought I knew but compelled me to listen right away to the music again."


Levinson next turned his attention to Nelson Riddle with "September in the Rain: The Life of Nelson Riddle" (2001), profiling the brilliant arranger who was best known for his work with Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole and Lee.

Levinson's book followed Riddle's career as a film scorer, his longtime romance with Clooney and his death from cirrhosis in the mid-1980s.

Reviews were mixed, with some critics finding the large helping of biographical detail frustrating while others found it fascinating reading.

In 2005, he published "Tommy Dorsey: Livin' in a Great Big Way," which a Los Angeles Times reviewer called "an absolute treat for big-band and Sinatra fans, [which] easily stands on its own as a fascinating portrait of a show business character of mythic proportions."

According to Olson, Levinson had just completed a book on the life and work of dancer Fred Astaire. Entitled "Puttin' on the Ritz," it is scheduled to be released by St. Martin's Press next March.

Levinson was born July 1, 1934, in Atlantic City, N.J., and earned a bachelor's degree at the University of Virginia. He started writing about jazz artists for the university's newspaper and contributed feature pieces to the university's humor magazine.

He served in the U.S. Army in Korea and, after his discharge, moved to New York and started free-lance writing about jazz.

He began his career at Columbia Records in the late 1950s and started doing publicity work for singer Jack Jones in 1962.

He would eventually start his own New York-based firm, Peter Levinson Communications, and it became bicoastal when he moved to Southern California in the late 1980s.

Over the years, he worked on publicity campaigns for a wide array of projects, including the television show "Dallas" and the films "Z," "Fiddler on the Roof" and "Kramer vs. Kramer," as well as the unveiling of a postage stamp for Duke Ellington in 1986 and the 60th anniversary of Decca Records.

He is survived by his wife of 25 years, Grace Diekhaus; and a brother, Dr. John Levinson of Wilmington, Del.

Funeral services will be private.

Thurber is a Times staff writer.

jon.thurber@latimes.com

Dr. Allan Rosenfield, AIDS Pioneer, Dies
By: ANDY HUMM
10/23/2008

Allan Rosenfield, the dean of Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health for 22 years and a leader in the fight against AIDS, especially among women worldwide, has died in upstate Hartsdale. He was 75 and suffered from Lou Gehrig's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Rosenfield developed the Mother-to-Child Transmission Program to prevent mothers with HIV from passing it on to their babies, an effort that reached more than half a million women. He also served as the national chairman of Planned Parenthood in the mid-1980s and as chair of the Program Board at AmFAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research.

He is survived by his wife, Clare, a son, Paul, and a daughter, Jill.

Sally Hanihan, 60

Sally Hanihan, 60, of Houston, formerly of Provincetown, died Oct. 20 after living with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, often referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease.

She was the daughter of Robert and Norma Miller. Mrs. Hanihan was the wife of the late Kevin Hanihan. While living in Provincetown she volunteered at the Provincetown AIDS Support Group (now called AIDS Support Group of Cape Cod).

In addition to her parents, she is survived by her three brothers, Robert, Peter and Stephen Miller and Stephen’s wife Katie as well as her two nieces and six nephews.

A funeral service will take place at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 30, in the Gately-McHoul Funeral Home, 94 Harry Kemp Way, Provincetown. If desired memorial contributions in her honor may be made to the Columbia University ALS Gift Fund, Columbia University Medical Center Development Office, 100 Haven Ave., Suite 29D, New York, NY 10032.

The Rev. Louis H. Evans, organizing pastor of Bel Air Presbyterian Church, dies at 82


By Claire Noland
November 2, 2008



The Rev. Louis H. Evans Jr., the organizing pastor of Bel Air Presbyterian Church who went on to lead the congregation of the National Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C., where Ronald Reagan worshiped while he was president, has died. He was 82.

Evans died Wednesday at his home in Fresno after being diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease, his son Jamie said.


Born June 20, 1926, Evans was one of four children of Marie and the Rev. Louis Hadley Evans Sr., the longtime pastor of Hollywood Presbyterian Church who built that congregation into one of the Protestant denomination's largest in the 1950s.

Louie, as the son was known, graduated from Hollywood High School and Occidental College before serving in the Navy during World War II.

After his discharge, Evans attended a revival meeting led by evangelist Henrietta Mears and felt a call to Christian ministry, his son said.


In 1950, Evans married actress Colleen Townsend, who made headlines by saying she was gladly giving up her Hollywood film career to devote her life to her husband and their ministry.

After studying at San Francisco Theological Seminary and the University of Edinburgh, he was ordained in 1953 and intended to pursue a missionary career in Africa.

But Presbyterian leaders had other ideas. Evans was asked to help organize a new church in Bel-Air. He and his wife, whom nearly everyone called Coke, welcomed the congregation's first group of worshipers into their home in April 1956. In September of that year, the 30-year-old Evans was named pastor of Bel Air Presbyterian Church.

At the beginning, the church's 75 charter members met at Bellagio Road School in the Sepulveda Pass while construction of a strikingly modern chapel began on Mulholland Drive overlooking the San Fernando Valley.

By the time Evans left in 1963, the church had 700 members. Now led by the Rev. Mark Brewer, it is the largest Presbyterian congregation in the Los Angeles area, with an average of 2,700 attending a total of three worship services on Sundays.

"As an organizing pastor, you probably set the culture more than any pastors who come in later. That's for good or for bad; in this case it was for good," Brewer told The Times on Friday.

"I thank the Lord for Louie and Coke's start, because once a ship gets going, it's easier to turn an oil tanker than a big church, and he set it in a great direction."

Evans moved on to La Jolla Presbyterian Church and served there until he was named senior pastor of the National Presbyterian Church in 1973.

Known as the church that Dwight D. Eisenhower attended while he was president, it also became the regular Sunday destination for Reagan and his wife, Nancy, while they were in Washington from 1981 to 1988. (At home in California, they attended Bel Air Presbyterian Church, which was led by the Rev. Donn Moomaw for 29 years after Evans' departure).

"There were D.C. congressmen, senators, janitors and people who delivered newspapers," Evans' son said in describing the Washington congregation during his father's 18 years there.

After retiring in 1991, Evans returned to California and assisted at Menlo Park Presbyterian Church before moving to Fresno, where his son Jamie is senior pastor at First Presbyterian Church.

Evans is also survived by his wife of nearly 58 years; sons Dan, a lawyer who lives in Washington state, and Tim, a doctor in Fresno; a daughter, Luanda Goodrich of Atlanta, who married a pastor; nine grandchildren; and his two sisters, Lolly Deats, who attends Bel Air Presbyterian Church, and Marily Demarest of Pasadena, who also married a pastor.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at the First Presbyterian Church of Fresno. Donations may be made to the Louis Evans Jr. Memorial Fund, First Presbyterian Church, 1540 M St., Fresno, CA 93721.

Noland is a Times staff writer.

claire.noland@latimes.com

http://www.latimes.com/features/reli...,2888321.story

Rodeo royalty Harley May dies
Hall of Fame member an 'all-around cowboy'

By Ron Agostini
ragostini@modbee.com

last updated: October 31, 2008 03:24:56 AM

Oakdale residents knew all along that Harley May belonged to rodeo royalty.
The three-time world champion steer wrestler and a member of the Rodeo Hall of Fame lived in Oakdale from 1956 to the early 1980s. Rodeo fans in the "Cowboy Capital of the World" were saddened when they learned that May died Tuesday in Santa Ana after a six-month fight with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's disease). He was 82.

"Harley was a man's man. He had a strong work ethic and believed everyone should pull their own weight," said Lynn May, his wife of 18 years. "His passion was to take rodeo from a Wild West show to a professional athletic event. He was a true all-around cowboy. There was nothing he could not do with livestock."

May, one of the first college- educated cowboys, graduated from Sul Ross State College in Texas and won the first of his world titles as a Rodeo Cowboys Association rookie in 1952. He also won steer wrestling gold buckles in 1956 and 1965.

He was awarded 44 saddles and more than 200 buckles during his tenure on the rodeo trail. His best victories were scored at the sport's top venues: the Cheyenne (Wyoming) Frontier Days, the Pendleton (Oregon) Roundup, the California Rodeo in Salinas, Madison Square Garden (New York), the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo, the Calgary (Alberta) Stampede and the National Finals Rodeo.

"He was like my father. We traveled together for 20 years," said Oakdale's Jim Charles, 72, an eight-time NFR qualifier in bull riding. "He could bulldog better than anybody. He was tall and slim but he knew how to shape a steer and put it on the ground."

May, born and raised in Deming, N.M., arrived with Charles and Jim Martinelli in Oakdale for California's spring rodeos in 1956. May soon purchased property near the Oakdale Saddle Club and -- after his rodeo career -- sold real estate for 19 years. He also raised paint horses, worked as an environmental engineer on a pipeline project and served as a rodeo coach at Sul Ross State during the 1990s.

He was a founder of the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association and won eight NIRA titles -- three in all-around, two in bull riding, two in saddle bronc and one in bareback. May competed in professional rodeo until the late 1970s and, at age 50 in 1976, barely missed qualifying for the NFR.

The NFR, rodeo's Super Bowl that will celebrate its 50th anniversary this year, was begun with May's guidance. He competed in the inaugural NFR and held several high-level positions with the Rodeo Cowboys Association. He served as president from 1957-59 when the NFR was formed and was chairman of the competition committee from 1985-99. He led the RCA delegation to the White House in 1959 and presented the NFR's ceremonial first ticket to President Eisenhower.

Private family services will be held in Deming. A memorial serv-ice is being planned, however, during the 10-day NFR in Las Vegas in December.

Visit www.caringbridge.org/visit/harleymay for details.

The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association contributed to this report.

Bee sports columnist Ron Agostini can be reached at ragostini@modbee.com

Beloved former Okemos guidance counselor, Margaret Miller, dies
Midday update
Ryan Loew • rloew@lsj.com • November 3, 2008 • From LSJ.com



EAST LANSING -- Margaret Miller 's family remembers how every year, Miller, a guidance counselor at Okemos High School, would receive scores of invitations to students' graduation parties.

"Maggie just took an incredible personal interest in all of her students, just an unusual amount of interest," said stepdaughter Anne Soffin, 36, of Charleston, S.C.
Miller, an award-winning educator with decades of experience in Michigan schools, died Sunday of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's Disease.

She was 56.

Born and raised in Battle Creek, Miller earned both her bachelor's and master's degrees from Michigan State University.

She started her career in education in 1974, teaching home economics and life sciences at Harbor Springs High School, said stepdaughter Katie Smith, 34, of Evanston, Ill.

She later worked as a guidance counselor at DeWitt High School and then Okemos High School, where she worked until 2006, when she was forced to retire due to ALS, Smith said.

Even with ALS, Miller continued to teach others, Smith said, setting an example of "courage, dignity and humility" in the face of such an "insurmountable challenge."

Miller is survived by her husband Stan Soffin, three stepdaughters and other relatives.

Read more on this report in Tuesday's Lansing State Journal.

http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/a...WS01/811030370

Rodney C. Roemer 1927-2008

Triton educator lauded in book
By Joan Giangrasse Kates | Special to the Tribune
November 6, 2008
When the founding president of Triton College in River Grove wrote and published a book a few years ago titled "What Makes a Teacher Great?"—which was about a group of elite professors at the school—Rodney C. Roemer was at the top of the list.

"What made him a master teacher were the relationships he forged in the classroom, many of which didn't terminate at the end of the semester," said Herbert Zeitlin, president of Triton College from 1964 to 1977. "His students stayed in touch with him for years later because of the impact he had on them."

A professor in the department of health at Triton for 38 years, Mr. Roemer was the founder of the X-ray, nuclear medicine and MRI technology programs at the college.

"He developed curriculums that to this day form the framework for some of the most sought-after programs Triton has to offer," Zeitlin said.



Mr. Roemer, 81, of Naperville, died Saturday, Nov. 1, at his home after a yearlong battle with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

Born and raised in Rochester, N.Y., Mr. Roemer enlisted in the Army Air Corps at 17. After World War II, he served as part of the occupation forces in Japan, where he trained as an X-ray technician.

Following his military discharge, Mr. Roemer attended Valparaiso University in Indiana on the GI Bill and received a bachelor's degree in 1954. Two years later, he married his wife of 52 years, Kay, with whom he had five children.

In the early 1960s, Mr. Roemer was a health inspector with the State of Illinois. In 1966, he joined the faculty at Triton as a full-time professor.

A portion of a quote from one of Mr. Roemer's former students and included in Zeitlin's book reads, "He not only taught us the significance of the world of physics, but also various lessons pertaining to life in and of itself."

Mr. Roemer retired from his teaching position at Triton in 2004, relatives said.

"He was passionate about teaching," said his son Jim. "He was one of those rare birds who loved his job so much he would have done it for free."

In his retirement, Mr. Roemer traveled around the country giving talks about the convergence of holistic and Western medicine philosophies and the effect of medical technology on patients.

"He took a dry, techy subject matter and tried to explain to his audiences the importance of treating a patient's mind as well as his body," his son said.

Other survivors include three sons, Michael, Gregory and David; a daughter, Kristen; a sister, Barbara Whaley; and three grandchildren.

Mass will be said at 11 a.m. Thursday in Sts. Peter & Paul Catholic Church, 36 N. Ellsworth St., Naperville.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/n...,4434891.story

Debra A. Peixoto, 51, of Portsmouth

Debra A. (Gomes) Peixoto, 51, of 30 Anselmo Drive, Portsmouth, died on Thursday, November 6, 2008 at home with her family. She was the wife of Hildeberto “Bert” Manuel Peixoto.

Born in Fall River on June 15, 1957, she was the daughter of Olinda (Anselmo) Gomes of Portsmouth and the late Benjamin Gomes Jr.

Mrs. Peixoto was a 1975 graduate of Portsmouth High School, a 1976 graduate of Katherine Gibbs Secretarial School receiving an advance program certificate, and was attending CCRI with studies towards an associate’s degree. She was an administrative assistant with Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) and formerly Aquidneck Management Associates, Ltd., with some onsite assignments at Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC). She also worked at Aquidneck Data Company (ADC), the Peoples Credit Union, the Zayre’s Department Store and the Lil’ Scrapbook store.

Debra was a scrapbooking enthusiast, loved photography, ceramics, knitting, crocheting and cooking. She loved nothing more than being with her family.

Besides her mother and husband of 30 years, she leaves a son, Michael S. Peixoto of Portsmouth; a sister, Laurie L. Sacrey; a sister-in-law, Nancy McLeish; a nephew, Matthew Sacrey; a niece, Maia McLeish; a father-in-law, Manuel Peixoto; two aunts, Connie Rezendes and Louise Disclafan; amd three uncles, Thomas Gomes, George Gomes and Charles Gomes. She was the daughter of the late Benjamin Gomes, Jr., the daughter-in-law of the late Maria Salome Peixoto, the granddaughter of the late Mary and Joseph Anselmo and Benjamin Gomes Sr. and Georgiana Gomes, and the niece of the late Mary Linhares and Irene Vincent.

Her funeral was held on Monday, Nov. 10, from the Connors Funeral Home, Portsmouth, with a Mass of Christian Burial at in St. Anthony's Church, Portsmouth. Burial was in St. Columba’s Cemetery in Middletown.

Donations in her memory may be made to ALS Association, RI Chapter, 2915 Post Road, Warwick, RI 02886, Muscular Dystrophy Association, ALS Division, 931 Jefferson Blvd., Suite 1005, Warwick, RI 02886, Home and Hospice Care of RI, 169 George Street, Pawtucket, RI 02860 or to Visiting Nurse Services of Newport & Bristol Counties, 1184 East Main Road, Portsmouth, RI 02871.

Katherine (Kathy) Louise Smith


Katherine L. Smith, beloved wife and friend, died Nov. 5, 2008, after a long struggle with Lou Gehrig’s Disease.
She was born Oct. 17, 1947, in Redding, Calif., to Kenna Lyle Conklin and her biological father, Dan Richard Leach.
As an infant Kathy resided with her grandparents, Howard and Myrtle Conklin, in Hagerman, Idaho. Later she and her mother moved back to Redding where they lived with her uncle Frank and aunt Lila Butterfield.
When Kathy was 3 1/2, her mother married Loren Stanley Schuyler and they all moved to Los Angeles. Loren and Kathy were bonded by a spiritual blessing and were inseparable. Loren never missed participating and supporting Kathy throughout her life. Loren even managed to introduce Kathy to the love of her life, Garland Smith. On his deathbed, Loren asked Garland to take care of Kathy, which Garland honored unfailingly.
Kathy was an administrative assistant and a realtor associate for most of her working years. She was blessed to be a stay-at-home mom for eight years.
Kathy enjoyed spur of the moment picnics with close friends, collecting angels and sharing Jesus with friends and strangers. She also enjoyed cooking, reading, fishing, camping, bowling, playing softball, being a Cub Scout leader and spending time outdoors, especially in the Big Horn Mountains.
Kathy is survived by her husband, Garland Smith; son Anthony Gonzales; grandchildren Seth and Paige; mother Kenna Schuyler; sisters Vickie Marsik and Ronda Morris; brothers Michael Schuyler, Joe, Ron and Gary Leach; stepmother Myrle Leach; uncles Ted Leach, Doyle and Rolin Conklin; aunt Lila Rene Stauffer, and many other family members and dear friends.
Kathy is preceded in death by her dad, Loren Schuyler; birth father Dan Leach; her grandparents; sister Nancy Dawn Leach and stepson Michael Dahlquist.
Memorial services will be held Friday, Nov. 21, 2008, at 10:30 a.m. at the United Methodist Church in Lovell.
In lieu of flowers Kathy would appreciate donations to her memorial funds at the Bank of Lovell and Big Horn Federal.