Obituaries (1998 - 2001)
2001
- George Harrison, the youngest, and the so-called "Quiet Beatle,"
whose contributions to rock 'n' roll were huge, Nov. 29, 2001, in Los
Angeles, of cancer. He was 58. Harrison's family issued a brief statement:
"He left this world as he lived in it, conscious of God, fearless of
death, and at peace, surrounded by family and friends. He often said,
'Everything else can wait, but the search for God cannot wait, and love
one another.' " ... "All things must pass," commented Beatlemaniac
Chuck Dingée.
- Bernie Izes, 81, a retired city editor for The Atlantic
City Press, on Nov. 29, 2001. Bernie, who retired in 1989 after
a long career as an investigative reporter and an editor, was a mentor
and sometimes auto mechanic to dozens of young reporters and copy editors
in the paper's Pleasantville, N.J., offices. As a city editor, he seemed
always to be either under the hood of an employee's car, assigning stories
or sharing his encyclopedic knowledge of Atlantic City history, politics
and lore with a handful of reporters. In his reporting days, he and
his reporting partner, Jon Katz, detailed kickback schemes in Atlantic
City that led to the indictment of city officials known as the Atlantic
City Seven. He was a former president and trustee of The Press Club
of Atlantic City and a World War II Army Veteran who received the Purple
Heart. Surviving are his wife, Bernice; three daughters and a sister.
- Dick Lichten, a retired Atlantic City, N.J., businessman who
taught his children and grandchildren patience, kindness and respect
for others, died in Florida March 31, 2001. He was the father of Sheehan
World correspondent Robin Palley and an expert role model who taught
Robin and brother Harold to do nice things for others before
being asked. He also taught four teen-agers how to drive, never once
raising his voice, and managed to accept stray mutts, spouses and assorted
friends that family members brought home. Heck, he even put up with
Sheehan World publisher Kathy Sheehan on Thanksgiving Dinner
in Margate, N.J., one year!
 Two
of his lessons on life stand out from a eulogy Robin wrote:
Picture yourself there and you’ll be there. I don’t
think he ever said that; he just showed me. "I need a snapshot
of you, Robin," he said one day. I don’t remember whether
I knew why he needed me in that funny position, leaning forward, chin
up. But I knew after he painted that picture of me on a horse going
over a big jump ... that he knew how badly I wanted to be able to
take a horse over a jump like that. And I did it after that. At Melody
Corrals. Once.
Do things with your whole heart. He took us fishing for the
kind of languid, long, quiet hours that not many kids get with dads
anymore. Just sit and experience the sun and the water and the joys
and sit very quietly until you feel the tug tug tug on your line and
you, too, might be rewarded. If we were too jittery or not paying
attention, he’d just reach over and grab the line and tug it
like a fish would, and soon we learned to read the moments and find
the still quiet and feel them just the way he did. And one time, on
the back bay, he wanted a big fat flounder that flipped off his line
just as he was teaching us for the hundredth time "Don’t
raise it from the water too fast. Take your time. They have a soft
mouth; you’ll lose it." And he wanted that fish so badly,
he just jumped in the water after it. It still got away, but it was
another lesson in doing things with your whole heart. Like he did
the Hub. Like he played bridge. Like he took care of all of us from
a little Army and Navy store, to send us to Penn
- Guy Mulford, the "other husband"
of Sheehan World publisher Kathy Sheehan, whose musical
wit, terrible puns and warm friendship can't ever be replaced,
died Dec. 31, 2000/Jan. 1, 2001 of an apparent heart attack. His
death left a huge hole in the Sheehan-Dingée household
and in the Bellingham-area music scene. See also a story in
The Western Front about The Haole Boys, written in
June 2000.
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2000
- Pat Dinning, 70, the former graduate program assistant
in the School of Communication at the University of Washington,
died Nov. 4, 2000 after a long illness that had forced her to
retire from the UW two years earlier. Pat was a surrogate mother,
adviser and advocate for legions of graduate students. She "was
that rare combination of skill, talent, efficiency, organization,
compassion, high standards, foresight, loyalty and dedication
that any unit on campus would strongly desire," said C. Anthony
Giffard, director of the UW School of Communications.
- Leo Mullen, 41, city editor at The Bellingham Herald,
Oct. 6, 2000, of an apparent heart attack. Contributions to the
Leo Mullen Memorial Scholarship for Christian Character and Excellence
in Writing can be sent to 6789 LaBello Drive, Lynden, WA 98264.
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- Lisa Mahan, 44, a longtime
friend of Sheehan World publisher Kathy Sheehan, died Aug.
23, 2000. She had contracted cancer shortly after receiving a
kidney transplant in July 1999. Despite having been on kidney
dialysis for some 25 years, Lisa lived her life with gusto and
grace and exuded a natural beauty despite many health battles
over the years. She loved to travel, ski, drive shiny sports cars
and shop for bargains. She was a native of Somerville, Mass.,
and a graduate of North Cambridge Catholic High School and Bridgewater
State University. She was an irreplaceable friend and soul mate.
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- Jim Sheehan, 72, a loving companion to Lola Lowman, died
on St. Patrick's Day, 2000, in Hudson, Mass. Jim was not a member
of our Sheehan clan until he became friends with Lola,
a cousin of Sheehan World publisher Kathy Sheehan. Jim
was a World War II Army veteran and a great guy. Expressions of
sympathy in his memory may be made to the National Education for
Assistance Dog Services, P.O. Box 213, West Boylston, MA 01583.
Jim was training assistance dogs with Lola when he died.
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1999
- W. Russell Byers, 59, a business columnist for The
Philadelphia Daily News who was brutally stabbed to death by a mugger
in Philadelphia Dec. 4, 1999.
- Paul Renault, a seafaring uncle of Sheehan World publisher
Kathy Sheehan, Nov. 14, 1999, in Northeast Harbor, Maine.
Billie Vincent
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- Billie Vincent, 82, a retired teacher, photographer, writer,
mother, grandmother and Friend, Aug. 31, 1999, in Bellingham. Billie,
the youngest senior citizen I ever met, wrote two books about her rich
and full life, Growing Up Hillbilly and The Family. In
1998, she also published a wonderful story about her teaching years
in California, Room 5: The Joy of Becoming. The latter book included
touching photographs of the youngsters in her care. Both the Bellingham
Buddhist community and the Quaker Meeting celebrated her life and spirit.
... The photo at right is courtesy of The Bellingham Herald.
- Dick Beardsley, 58, former editor and editorial page editor
at The Bellingham Herald and a part-time journalism teacher at
Western Washington University, June 24, 1999. He grew up in Cambridge,
Mass., and still had his Boston accent and attitude.
- Alma Sheehan, 77, aka "Ma," on June
11, 1999, in Massachusetts.
- Mr. Burton, Cindy Burton's dad, June 11, 1999, in New York.
- Josephine "Jody" Hibner Weil, a retired torch singer known
as Jo Cappi at clubs in Pennsylvania and New York, died in Myrtle Beach,
S.C., April 4, 1999 after a long illness. Weil, 74, and the mother of
Philadelphia Daily News reporter Kitty Caparella, had also worked
as a secretary for the state of New Jersey for more than 25 years. Jim
Nicholson wrote the official obituary.
1998
- Robert A. Collinge, 73, beloved husband of colleague Jo Collinge
at Western Washington University, Dec. 18, 1998 of heart failure. He
was a retired journalist and information officer for the U.S. Information
Agency. A jazz music lover, he had taped a series of one-hour jazz retrospectives
for a Western Gallery exhibit, Seeing Jazz in 1998.
- Bob Key, Chuck's uncle, and soul mate to Marie Key, in November,
1998, in Michigan.
- Sarah Dingée, 73, matriarch
of the Dingée clan, on Oct. 11, 1998.
- Joyce Ingram, 42, deputy managing editor at the Virginian-Pilot
and a former assistant city editor at The Philadelphia Daily News,
June 2, 1998, after suffering a sudden illness.
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