News, Entertainment, Enlightenment
Novelist Vince Flynn died today, June 19, at the age of 47 from prostate cancer. He was politically incorrect, patriotic and his political thrillers constantly ended up on bestseller lists. He is survived by his wife, Lysa, and three children.
R.I.P.
Elizabeth Osterhout Margerum died May 30. She was 83.
Mrs. Margerum worked at the County Press and associated newspapers in Delaware County, Pa. for 31 years, much of that time as society editor.
She also edited the Bits and Pieces and Health Briefs columns and wrote occasional articles. She was also the prime designer of many of the newspaper’s prize-winning floats in the Marple Newtown Fourth of July Parade.
She worked full-time until last year.
“She battled esophageal cancer for over three years,” her daughter Patricia said. “She did not let chemo or radiation stop her from anything. Even her doctors were amazed at how resilient she was at 81.”
She made her own jewelry and was a long-time member of the Tuscarora Lapidary Society.
She loved travel and the outdoors. She and her family camped up and down the East Coast for many years. She also visited many islands and even made it to Morocco, Spain, and Portugal just a few years ago. Her favorite place to spend time was in Plevna, Ontario, Canada, where she owned land, hiked, and fished. As she would say, it felt like an untouched part of the world.
“She looked at life through a 20 year old’s eyes and was always excited and interested in trying anything new,” Patricia said. “She never considered herself old.”
Mrs. Margerum was graduated from Upper Darby High School in 1947 and studied art at Lock Haven State.College. She lived in the Media area for 50 years, most recently in Upper Providence Township.
She was a long-time member of the Media Presbyterian Church.
She was married for 46 years to William B. Margerum IV of the Margerum family that long had a meat market in Reading Terminal.
She was predeceased by her husband; son David; daughter Tamara Lee; brother Donald P. Osterhout, Jr.,; sister Anne E. Chandler; and brother-in-law Bud Chandler.
Besides Patricia, she is survived by nephew Keith Chandler, niece Lee Anne Chandler, sister-in-law Trudi Osterhout and Osterhout nieces and nephew; Susan, Patty, and Peter.
Services will be held at Media Presbyterian Church on Wednesday, June 12, with visiting at 10 a.m. and Memorial Service at 11 a.m.
In lieu of flowers, please make donations to Juvenile Diabetes Association or American Cancer Society.
Gertrude Louise Wooten Donnelly, of Springfield PA, who, long before the Mad Men years, helped perfect the execution of radio and early television advertising campaigns, died on Monday May 20th at the VITAS Hospice at Fitzgerald Mercy Hospital in Darby, PA.
Born in Philadelphia on April 22, 1922, Ms. Donnelly was the second of six children of Harry and Helen Wooten. She grew up in East Lansdowne and graduated with the first Marple Newtown High School Class in 1940.
After a brief stint as a telephone operator at Bell of PA, Ms. Donnelly joined the Al Paul Lefton Company in 1941 as Executive Secretary to its eponymous CEO/President and founder. Ms. Donnelly handled contracts and logistics for a number of key clients including RCA and Schmidt’s Beer. The days of live television brought special challenges. On a given day she might serve as engineer and psychologist, prying open a stuck refrigerator door while calming the nerves of the celebrity attempting to demonstrate the appliance. Managing contractual obligations sometimes involved real time emergency schedule shuffling to avoid adjacent scheduling of competing beer vendors’ ads.
The lone Irish woman in the firm at the time, she was known as Mickey. In an early manifestation of “taking it back” she chose to interpret the name as a reference to her love for baseball and Mickey Mantle. She kept it; friends and neighbors were often surprised to hear her called Gertrude .
By 1957 she was growing bored and considering a move to a larger NY agency. Fate intervened when she broke her tooth on a stale Chicklet. She visited a handsome young dentist, a WW II veteran and Lieutenant Commander in the Naval Reserve, Francis Donnelly. They were married and at 38 she had her first child, Kim; a second, Lynn, followed 6 years later.
She reared her children and completed her Associate’s Degree. She became a teacher’s aide at St. Francis of Assisi. When her beloved Fran died at 60, in 1983, she returned to advertising, this time at the Springfield Press where she coordinated advertising and classifieds. She remained a key resource at the Press for 27 years until her position was finally eliminated as a result of mergers and downsizings.
Forced into retirement at 88 she kept busy with her favorite hobbies. She was a voracious reader and an avid gardener.
She is survived by her daughters Kim (Kurt Gluck) of Piscataway, NJ and Lynn of Springfield, PA, by grandchildren Jonathan and Joshua Gluck and Kristina Brotzman, by her brother Rick (Tory) Wooten, and by numerous nieces and nephews. She was a powerful influence on generations of children, particularly stressing education. To the end her strength and independence was a marvel.
A Memorial Mass will be held at St. Francis of Assisi in Springfield on May 29th at 11am. Interment will be private. In lieu of flowers the family requests donations be directed to the Springfield Township Library, 70 Powell Road, Springfield PA 19064 or to VITAS Community Connection, 225 E. 5th St., Suite 2600, Cincinnati, OH 45202.
Bob Edgar (1943-2013) Pol Pot — Bob Edgar died yesterday, April 23. He represented the 7th District of Pennsylvania in Congress from 1975 to 1987. He was a Democrat.
One should not speak ill of the dead so I’ll simply note that my most vivid recollection of him is the series of articles he wrote for The Philadelphia Inquirer in which he defended Pol Pot and denied the existence of the Cambodian killing fields.
Bob Edgar (1943-2013) Pol Pot
Alvin Lee R.I.P. — Guitarist Alvin Lee died yesterday, March 6. He was 68.
R.I.P. Alvin
Harvey Lavan Cliburn, an oilman from Shreveport, La. and his wife, Rildia Bee, had a son on July 12, 1934, whom they named for the father.
The son would grow to become one of history’s greatest classical pianist. He died today at his home in Fort Worth, Tx.
He, of course, made his fame as Van Cliburn.
Carol Klein forwarded this obituary fo Marine Sgt. Brian J. Laloup that originally ran in the Daily Local of Chester County on Aug. 28.
Marine Sergeant Brian J. Laloup, 21, an Afghanistan “Operation Enduring Freedom” veteran passed away on August 12, 2012 in Athens, Greece.
Born in Malvern, Pa., he lived in Honey Brook, Pa., where he graduated early from Twin Valley High School before leaving for boot camp in February 2009. Brian was a Christmas Eve baby born in 1990.
He is the son of extremely proud parents, Craig and Beverly of Downingtown. In addition to his parents, he is survived by his brothers, Craig, Jr. of Spring City, Pa. and John of Downingtown, Pa.
He was serving our great country as a Marine Corps Embassy Guard at the time of his death. Brian lived his life his way and on his terms. He enjoyed horseback riding, skydiving and scuba diving. He excelled as a Marine earning the rank of Sergeant in just three and a half years on August 1, 2012.
Sgt. Laloup received a full military burial at Washington Crossing National Veterans Cemetery in Newtown, Bucks County.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Wounded Warrior Project, 1120 G Street NW, Suite 700, Washington, DC 20005. Online condolences at www.donohuefuneralhome.com.
Joseph Barrett died Sunday, June 17. He was 90. Mr. Barrett was an award winning police reporter for 27 years for the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin and one of the first reporters hired by the respected weekly County Press.Jeff Zaslow, a columnist for the Wall Street Journal and a best selling author, died yesterday, Feb. 10, when his car crashed on an icy road in Petosky, Mich, where he had been for a book signing.
He was 53. He is survived by his wife of 25 years, Sherry Margolis, a Detroit a TV news anchor with WJBK television in Detroit, and daughters Alex, Eden and Jordan.
Mr. Zaslow was a graduate of Marple Newtown High School. His mother, Naomi,was for many year’s the school district’s director of information, and a good friend.