The Memorial Wall

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our husband, father, grandfather, mentor and friend Ronald Alan Zacky. He battled Parkinson's for many years, putting up a galant fight. We thank his caregivers, who also became friends, for their extreme devotion to his care; Albert, Mario, and Nana – we thank you from the bottom of our hearts! Born on July 26, 1937, at Cedars of Lebanon to Bertha and Harry Zacky, Ron was truly a native of Los Angeles.  After being raised on a chicken ranch on Sherman Way in Van Nuys, Ron decided to spread his wings, and fly the coop, joining the United States Army. While stationed at Fort Benning, Georgia, he learned he was much more proficient with a pencil, than a rifle.  After being honorably discharged from the Army, Ron served in the Air Force reserves, from which he was also honorably discharged, before becoming a Certified Public Accountant, and started a thriving practice in Sherman Oaks, which he managed for over 40 years.  He married the love of his life, Sandra in 1962, and started a family, having three sons, Hayden, Mathew and Brent.  Even though Ron had only sons himself, he has 9 grandchildren, including 8 girls, and 1 boy.  He was a mentor to many, and counseled them on business, investments, and life.  Ron leaves behind his loving wife of 58 years, Sandra, and his sons Hayden (Michelle), Mathew, and Brent (Amy), and his wonderful grandchildren who he loved so much: Daniella, Sofia, Gabrielle, Grayson, Connor, Sara, Camille, Elizabeth, and Rachel.  We are going to miss you!  We hope you enjoy a "nemu" in heaven, while you are taking a "boodi" and then you can have a nice, long "foofi"  You deserve it!  We love you so much Pop! You will be sorely missed! 

The Rev. Robert Graetz, the only white minister to support the Montgomery bus boycott and who became the target of scorn and bombings for doing so, died Sunday at his home in Alabama. He was 92.

Graetz died from complications of Parkinson’s disease, said Kenneth Mullinax, a friend, and family spokesman.

Graetz was the minister of the majority-Black Trinity Lutheran Evangelical Church in Montgomery, Ala. He was the only local white clergyman to support the boycott. He and his wife, Jeannie, faced harassment, threats, and bombings as a result.

Sparked by the December 1955 arrest of Rosa Parks, the planned one-day boycott of Montgomery City Lines became a 381-day protest of the segregated bus system that ended with a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that segregated public buses were unconstitutional.

The parsonage where the Graetzes lived was twice hit by bombs, once when they were away and again in 1957, not long after the boycott ended, in a wave of attacks by white supremacists on civil rights leaders and churches. Four Black churches and the home of the Rev. Ralph Abernathy were also bombed on Jan. 10, 1957. The Graetzes were at home with their children at the time, including their then-9-day-old baby.

One bomb blew out the windows of the home. A second bomb, a package of 11 sticks of dynamite wrapped around a small box of TNT, was at the parsonage earlier that night but failed to explode.

In his book, “A White Preacher’s Message on Race and Reconciliation,” Graetz described how during those years of danger he played a game with his children in which he encouraged them to duck behind the sofa if they were told to hide because of a strange noise outside.  

Despite the scorn, violence and threats he and his wife faced, Graetz wrote they would not change a thing if they were given the opportunity.

“The privilege of standing up for righteousness and justice and love is greater than any other reward we might have received,” Graetz wrote.

Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed said Graetz “lived what he preached.”

“Rev. Robert Graetz and his wife, Jeannie, stood against hate and put their lives in danger because the cause, of their all-Black congregation and the community itself, was just,” Reed said.

Tafeni English, the director of the Montgomery-based Southern Poverty Law Center, called Graetz a “remarkable civil rights and social justice leader.”

“Rev. Graetz was a kind and gentle soul, who along with his revered wife, Jeannie, dedicated his life to creating Dr. King’s vision of the Beloved Community,” English said.

Graetz is survived by his wife and several children.

On August 28, Alexander Zale, an actor who had a long and illustrious career on New York, European, and regional stages, as well as roles in several iconic movies and TV shows, died peacefully at home in Los Angeles of complications from Parkinson's disease. He is survived by his wife of 32 years, Jennifer Donohue Zakkai, his brother Victor Zakkay, as well as several nieces, nephews, grandnieces, and grandnephews with whom he remained very close throughout his life.

Alex Zale was born Jamil Zakkai in Baghdad, Iraq on March 18, 1931, into a Jewish family. Shortly after a pogrom in 1941, during which hundreds of Jews were slaughtered, he and his entire family fled to Bombay (now Mumbai), India. He emigrated to the United States at age 18 and graduated from Hofstra University. He served in the U.S. Navy, before making his way as an actor in New York City.

Jamil, as he was still called, soon found great success on the New York stage. He appeared in The Connection with The Living Theatre, and joined the company on a European tour. He stayed in Italy to work with Vittorio Gassman's company, Teatro Popolare Italiano, traveling with it to the Aldwych Theatre in London.

Back in New York, he triumphed in the title role of Agamemnon at Lincoln Center, following it with another title role in La Mama's production of Faust, about which the New York Times wrote: "Jamil Zakkai, last summer's 'Agamemnon,' in Central Park, retains his grandeur as Faust. In his haunted eyes, we can sense the man's dilemma-the amazement and curiosity with which he greets Mephistopheles's machinations, the guilt that he feels when he is forced to kill his love's brother." Other theater projects in New York included Andrei Serban's Medea at La Mama and The Public Theater's productions of The Golem, The Dybbuk, and Henry V opposite Kevin Kline.

To pursue work in Los Angeles, he changed his name to Alexander Zale. He was featured in several popular TV shows, including Cagney & Lacy, The Incredible Hulk, Matlock, Tracey Takes On, NYPD Blue, and 24. Films include Francis starring Jessica Lange, Invasion U.S.A. opposite Chuck Norris, Mike Nichols' Postcards From The Edge starring Meryl Streep, Paul Verhoeven's Showgirls, and Robin Swicord's Wakefield with Bryan Cranston.

Regional theaters in which he worked include the Baltimore Center Stage, Seattle Rep, South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa, CA, and, in Los Angeles, Pacific Resident Theater, as well as the Mark Taper Forum, where he appeared in The Cherry Orchard with Annette Bening, Alfred Molina, and Sarah Paulson.  

Donna Axum Whitworth, the first Miss Arkansas to go on to win Miss America, died Sunday evening of complications from a 12-year battle with Parkinson's disease.

Whitworth, 76, spent one of her last weekends in Fayetteville doing what she loved, representing the people of Arkansas.

Whitworth, who was born in El Dorado, won the Miss America title in 1964. She was beloved among Arkansans and remembered as a lady, according to Jessie Bennett, executive director of the Miss Arkansas Scholarship Pageant Inc.

"We always said that when Donna took the crown off for the last time, she never removed those high standards that she thought Miss America should possess," said Rick Pruitt, a former executive director of Miss Arkansas.

"And so I ended up arriving in Fayetteville at the age of 17 in 1959 and absolutely fell in love with the area and -- uh -- spent some of the greatest years of my life here at the University of Arkansas," Whitworth said in an interview with The David and Barbara Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History. Whitworth majored in speech and drama, obtaining both bachelor's and master's degrees in the subjects.

The summer before her senior year, Whitworth made her second bid to become Miss Arkansas and won. She won the Miss America pageant about a month later, becoming the first of only three Arkansans to win the title. 

After serving as Miss America and graduating from the university, Whitworth taught speech classes at Texas Tech University in Lubbock and later went into television, starring in programs like The Noon Show and Good Morning Arkansas.

She married Bryan Whitworth in 1984, and combined the couple had five children. Whitworth lived in Fort Worth until her death.

Apart from the university, Whitworth served on the Miss America Board of Directors, becoming the first Miss America to hold a position on the board, Pruitt said. In 1994, President Bill Clinton appointed her to the President's Advisory Committee on the Arts for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

"Well, I think I've led a pretty normal life," Whitworth said in the Pryor Center interview. "I always think of myself as a very normal person. You know, I cook, I clean house, and, you know, I do everything everybody else does. But I have just been given extraordinary opportunities in my life -- extraordinary platforms to do good. And you can choose to do good, or not do anything at all, or do bad things. But the burden is always on the doing of good for other people and leaving a positive legacy

After taking some time to grieve, Olivia took to Instagram on Tuesday night (Nov. 6) to share the heartbreaking news of her mother’s passing.

“How do you heal from a broken heart,” she asked her IG followers under a slideshow of family photos. “I’m literally crying as I write this to you guys but I pray this will help me to get it out. I have been completely distraught & broken these past few weeks.”

Olivia went on to reveal that her mother, June Cleaver, lost her life to Parkinson’s Disease at the age of 74 on Oct. 9. Diagnosed with the early stages of the disease in 2014, Cleaver spent the following years fighting an upward battle. “By 2016 my mom was drastically losing weight and could hardly do regular things on her own,” Olivia said. “My dad is the epitome of true love and humbleness. He took such great care of her in sickness and in health.”

In remembering her final birthday celebration on Aug. 23, Olivia commemorated the beauty of her mother’s life and asked the Lord for his guidance in navigating this difficult time.

“I know she is in a better place, with her Lord & Savior and no more suffering,” Olivia said. “But I do not know what to do without her. Please pray for me and my family. Lord help us through.”

Prior to the Instagram announcement, Olivia turned to Twitter to share her loss with fans on Oct. 28. “Please keep me & my family in your prayers” she wrote on the social media platform. “[My dad] misses his wife & I miss my mom. Lord help us through.”