The Memorial Wall

UCLA broadcaster Chris Roberts, who called the football and men’s basketball play-by-play for 23 seasons before retiring, died May 12 at his Glendora, Calif., home at age 74. He had complications of Parkinson’s disease, according to the university.

Born Robert LaPeer on March 23, 1949, in Alhambra, CA, Roberts played baseball at Cal Poly Pomona and began his career in broadcasting at KCIN in Victorville. He spent time on the air at KREO in Indio and KWOW in Pomona, where he announced high school and junior college sports.

Roberts began calling games in the fall of 1992 through the spring of 2015, in the process setting a local record for calling NCAA Division I games on Los Angeles radio. His final season with the Bruins was in 2014-15, when Roberts equaled Fred Hessler’s record for the longest tenured play-by-play broadcaster in UCLA history.
 
Roberts called 16 bowl games, including the Bruins’ Rose Bowl appearances on January 1, 1994 and January 1, 1999. Roberts also broadcast the men’s basketball team for 19 trips to the NCAA Tournament. That included the 1995 NCAA Tournament Championship.
 
The author of two books, Stadium Stories: UCLA Bruins and UCLA Football Vault, which he co-wrote with Bill Bennett, Roberts was an eight-time nominee for the SCSBA’s Play-by-Play Broadcaster of the Year Award and a voter for both the Heisman Trophy and the John R. Wooden Award. He was a four-time Golden Mike Award winner and a Hall of Fame member in the Southern California Sports Broadcasters Association (SCSBA).

Roberts was at KFXM in San Bernardino in 1970 when the program director at the station asked him to change his name. He later moved to Los Angeles and worked at KUTE-FM, KFI and sister station KOST, and later at KMPC. He served as the play-by-play voice at Long Beach State for 10 years before UCLA.
 
During his 23-year tenure as UCLA’s play-by-play broadcaster, Roberts worked alongside former quarterbacks David Norrie, Matt Stevens and Wayne Cook. With the men’s basketball team, Roberts’ radio analysts over the years had included Marques Johnson, Mike Warren, Bob Myers, Don MacLean and Tracy Murray.

Roberts is survived by his wife Ann LaPeer, son David LaPeer and daughter-in-law Yvette LaPeer, daughter Nichole Hijon-LaPeer, son-in-law Octavio Hijon and grandchildren Andrés, Santiago and Carmen.

Kemal Dervis, a Turkish economist who left the World Bank to return home in 2001 as a crisis manager with Turkey’s economy collapsing, helping calm the fiscal storm but stirring protests over austerity measures and international oversight, died on May 8, 2023 at 74.

The death was announced by the U.N. Development Program, which Mr. Dervis led from 2005 to 2009. No other details were given. Mr. Dervis, who lived in Potomac, Md., had been treated for Parkinson’s.

Mr. Dervis’s personal roots were in Turkey, but his professional life was in international economic affairs in support of globalized trade and finance to lift developing countries. As Turkey’s economy modernized and grew in the 1980s and ’90s — along with its aspirations for possible European Union membership — Mr. Dervis watched from afar in executive roles at the World Bank, where he spent more than two decades.

That distance became Mr. Dervis’s strength. He filled a specific niche in Turkey, seen as someone above the political clashes that had helped push Turkey’s economy over the brink.

For years, Turkey’s growth had been underpinned by massive foreign investment, seeking to ride an expanding economy bridging Europe and the Middle East. But a series of rise-and-fall governments, each leaving the economy a bit more frayed, fed international jitters.

Investment money started to pour out of Turkey. Turkish stocks plummeted and the banking system was effectively paralyzed with interest rates hitting 3,000 percent or more. Inflation pushed beyond 55 percent, bringing steep devaluations of the Turkish lira.

In 1990, $1 brought about 2,500 lira. By 2001, the exchange rate was more than 1.2 million lira for a dollar.

“We all should tighten our belts,” Mr. Dervis said at a news conference in April 2001 shortly after accepting the call for help from Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit. “Don’t expect me to produce policies to save us just for today. We can’t dynamite our future in order to save today.”

Some Turkish columnists called him a “savior” in his new role as minister of economic affairs. He quickly became known for his blunt, and often dire, assessments of what was needed to rebuild the economy. He cut state subsidies in agriculture and other industries. Government spending was rolled back and hiring for civil service jobs slowed to a trickle. “We just have to tell it like it is,” Mr. Dervis said in 2001.

The biggest lifeline came from the International Monetary Fund. Mr. Dervis negotiated an $8 billion loan package. It came with strict IMF rules on management of the Turkish economy and public spending, which would open the door to further funding from institutions such as the World Bank.

Mr. Dervis threatened to resign if Ecevit’s government stalled on the IMF-ordered changes. The rescue plan was put in place even as Ecevit and Mr. Dervis became the target of protests.

“IMF equals unemployment and hunger,” demonstrators chanted in Istanbul. When Agriculture Minister Husnu Yusuf Gokalp was asked about slashing wheat subsidies, he took a dig at Mr. Dervis. “You should pose that question to those having breakfast at the Hilton [with foreign bankers],” he said.

The political fallout collapsed Ecevit’s government in 2002, but the changes spearheaded by Mr. Dervis widely stayed in place and were credited with underpinning the growth that lasted until the global economic crisis in 2008. (Turkey’s central bank introduced a “new lira” in 2005 that lopped off six zeros, making the former 1 million lira a new 1 lira.)

Mr. Dervis was elected to the Turkish parliament in the 2002 elections. He had always deeply embraced the secularist values of the founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. Mr. Dervis often said he preferred to be called a “pro-secular figure” instead of a politician.

Yet Mr. Dervis and his political allies were increasingly challenged by the rising Islamist-style populism of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who became prime minister in 2003 and president in 2014. Mr. Dervis left parliament in 2005 to head the U.N. Development Program, which oversees anti-poverty and community-building projects.

Mr. Dervis saw an advantage in his perspectives from Turkey, growing up during military coups and political upheavals and later confronting corruption and mismanagement of the economy. Previous heads of the UNDP were American or European.

“Crisis, lack of security, failure in government mechanisms breed disease, breed terror, breed environmental degradation,” he told a Yale University forum in 2005. “Increasingly, the citizens of the world realize — I think the young people more than the others perhaps — that their future is interlinked.”

Kemal Dervis was born on Jan. 10, 1949, in Istanbul and spent part of his boyhood on Buyukada Island near the city. He father was involved in business and his mother fled Europe during the Nazi rise to teach English in Turkey.

He graduated from the London School of Economics in 1968 and stayed to earn a master’s degree in economics in 1970. Mr. Dervis received his doctorate from Princeton University in 1973.

At the World Bank from 1977 to 2001, he served in roles including vice president for the Middle East and North Africa and vice president for poverty reduction and economic management.

After leaving the United Nations, Mr. Dervis joined the Brookings Institution, leading the global economy and development program from April 2009 to November 2017.

Throughout his career, he remained steadfast in his support of international institutions and globalization. He noted, however, that there can be an image problem with groups such as the IMF or World Bank, which can be seen as arms of the global powers and their policies.

“Whether it’s in Turkey or in Brazil or in Argentina or in Indonesia or in India, there’s no real trust,” Mr. Dervis said. “And for these institutions — which have resources, which have staff, which have technical knowledge — to really be useful, fully, and to do what they could do, I think we have to make them more legitimate.”

Mr. Dervis’s marriage to Neslihan Borali ended in divorce. He married Catherine Stachniak in 1997. In addition to his wife, survivors include two sons from his first marriage.

When Mr. Dervis dove into the Turkish economic crisis, he shared a family story about another attempt to straighten out the books. An ancestor with a flair for economics was asked by Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid I to help turn around a sagging economy in the late 18th century. The sultan then felt that plots were brewing to topple him. Mr. Dervis’s forebear was beheaded.

Roland A. Pattillo, the gynecologic oncologist who played a pivotal role in bringing the case of Henrietta Lacks to public awareness and was played by Ruben Santiago-Hudson in the 2017 HBO movie The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, died of Parkinson’s disease on May 3, 2023 at his home outside Atlanta. He was 89.

Roland Anthony Pattillo was born in DeQuincy, Louisiana to James E. Pattillo and Rhena Shaw Pattillo. He was their fifth child, with siblings James, Bertram, Ulric and sister Geraldine, who all preceded him in death. His baby sister, Carolyn Davis resides in Michigan.

Roland was proud to be a "cradle Catholic" blessed with Holy Baptism as a baby. He served for years as an Altar Boy, in other youth programs and vacation Bible school. And, in college he was elected to attend the funeral of (Saint) Katharine Drexel, the patron saint and benefactor for many African American and Native American parochial schools. He cherished the fact that he had attended the funeral of a Saint.

In Beaumont, Texas, Roland attended Blessed Sacrament Catholic School, to which life-time friends still return for class reunions, including Charles and Irma Anderson of San Antonio.

A toy doctor's bag, at Christmas, with candy pills, a plastic stethoscope and needles, triggered his interest in medicine. As an undergraduate, he attended Xavier University in New Orleans, and studied Chemistry under Professor Paytash, who encouraged his brilliance and interest by sharing exciting developments in medicine, including the ground-breaking discovery at the Johns Hopkins Medical School, where Dr George Gey showed the invention of the roller-tube process that kept human cells alive, indefinitely. Dr. Gey announced that the cells were named HeLa.

Pattillo went on to St Louis University Medical School in Missouri, with a full scholarship. He did his Residency in Milwaukee, Wisconsin at the old Marquette University Medical School, the precursor to the Medical College of Wisconsin, where he served for 32 years. He was a prolific researcher, author, lecturer, always learning, while growing new cell models. He delivered hundreds of babies and helped thousands of women, while traveling domestically and internationally, sharing cancer knowledge, networks and contacts that would better the lives of families.

In true Catholic tradition, Dr. Pattillo longed to do something for Henrietta Lacks and her family who had been devastated by the rapidity of cancer growth and her death at the age of 31 years, with five beautiful children and a husband surviving her. He had learned HeLa was from an African American woman and was challenged as physician, advocate, clinician and a strong Catholic Christian to share the truths. When he met some of the Henrietta Lacks' family he committed to helping them. People all over the world know of Henrietta today and benefit from the many medical advancements directly associated with her cells. Dr. Pattillo remained active with lectures, Zoom meetings, and different Boards associated with the security of the Lacks family throughout his illness. His message throughout life was "Do no harm," part of the Hippocratic Oath that doctors pledge.

That also describes Roland A. Pattillo's life, his vision for the future, and his undying desire for all. He loved his St George Church family; and his Cursillo family that has stayed connected spiritually for over twenty years. He loved working the Hospitality Committee and Welcomed visitors, as well.

He will be sorely missed by his beloved wife, Patricia O'Flynn Pattillo, his children, Catherine Pattillo (David Jefferson); Patrick Pattillo; Sheri Johnson; Mary Pattillo; bonus son, Todd 'Speech' Thomas (Yolanda); son, the late Michael Pattillo preceded him in death, as did Dr.

Terence N. Thomas and Bright Boateng. Grandchildren, Daniel (Rachel); Carolos Arriaga (Vicki); Camille and David Michael Jefferson: Van III and Benjamin Johnson; Jahi and Zoe Rene Thomas and great-grandson, little Daniel Thiago Pattillo. He is cherished by sister-in-laws, Liza Pattillo, Loretta Meadows and Marcia Jackson and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, friends, neighbors, colleagues and the St. George family, especially Father Stephen Lyness; Father Henry Atem; Cathy and Fred Rook; Lois Jensen, Ann and Sal Messina; Elaine and Earl Behrens; Robert Himes, Michelle and Jim Gildemeyer, and Sarah and Frank Clark, who continuously supported Dr. Pattillo in every way they could.

The family acknowledges with deep appreciation Gentiva Hospice Service and their staff, as well as nurse assistants Sheronda Suitt; Kim Mc Elreath and assistants Beverly Kern, Soderia Rivera, and Charlotte Jones. We graciously thank Morehouse School of Medicine President and Dean, Dr. Valerie Montgomery Rice, and Chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Dr. Roland Matthews, who generously helped us navigate the gravity of this moment. Members of the Lacks family will be present and the Henrietta Lacks Legacy Group from Baltimore, Maryland join us to celebrate Dr. Pattillo's life; and the Pattillo Family is humbled by your prayers and kindnesses. We sincerely thank each of you.

Edward John Grafius, age 74, died on April 22, 2023, due to complications from Parkinson’s disease. He is survived by Ellen Kay (Baumgartner) Grafius, his wife of 52 years; his sister, Joan Marie Cooper (Kirby Alan Cooper, deceased); and their two children Brandon Reece Grafius (Kate Elizabeth Simon) and Darren Robert Grafius (Iain Stuart Mason). Ed also has two grandchildren, Fenton and Reece Grafius, ages 16 and 13. Ed was preceded in death by his parents, John Edward Grafius and Helen Marie (Peterson) Grafius, and his infant daughter Kristin Joy Grafius.

Ed was a professor of Entomology at Michigan State University until his retirement in 2006 and served five years as department chair. He was a world-renowned expert on the Colorado Potato Beetle, working with farmers across the state of Michigan and as far away as Egypt. His primary focus was on integrated pest management, which helps farmers to identify solutions that reduce the use of pesticides.

Born in Brookings, South Dakota, Ed moved to Michigan with his family as a young child. While in high school, he was the youngest member of the Lansing Symphony as a French horn player; he played alongside his mother, who was also an excellent musician and horn player. He graduated with his Bachelor’s from Michigan State, then moved with Ellen to Oregon to pursue his Master’s and Doctoral degrees at Oregon State. After completing his graduate work, a nationwide job search brought Ed and his family back to East Lansing.

Ed was an avid fisherman and was equally excited to fish in streams and lakes in northern Michigan as he was to fish in the ocean around the Florida Keys. There were few things he loved more than sharing a meal with his family, whether it was eating out or a fresh catch he had prepared himself. He was an avid MSU football and basketball fan.

Sue Haran died April 8 2023 of complications from Parkinson's Disease at her home in Broomfield CO.

 Sue passed away peacefully in her sleep next to her longtime companion, best friend and husband Terry Haran. 

Sue was born to Robert (Red) and Katy Howard in Beaver Falls PA in 1950. The family lived in various "river" towns in which her father managed construction projects. Her family moved to Burlingame CA in 1965. 

Sue and Terry met as lab partners in Chem 1A at the University of California at Davis (UCD) first quarter of freshman year in 1968. Sue graduated from UCD with a BS degree in plant science/viticulture in 1973. 

Sue was an avid backpacker, hiker, and gardener all her life. She worked as a chemistry lab technician at Christian Brothers winery in St. Helena CA, and later at Syva Corporation in Palo Alto CA. 

Sue and Terry were married in St. Helena in 1975, and then became teachers of Transcendental Meditation (TM). After moving to the TM community in Fairfield IA, Sue sold real estate, started a business making and selling jewelry, and earned a brown belt in karate. 

Sue and Terry moved to Boulder in 1997 where she worked for the University of Colorado (CU), first in admissions and then in a leadership student residency program. Sue started treatment for PD symptoms following a serious automobile accident in 2007 which eventually caused her to retire from CU Boulder in 2013. 

During her illness Sue wrote the monthly PD support group newsletter for many years and made lots of new friends in the local PD community. 

Sue is survived by sisters, Judy and Amy; sons, Jeff and Alex; grandsons, Jack, Jude, and Bobby; and numerous in-laws, nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends, all of whom loved her dearly.

Jennifer Fitzgerald Wilson passed away on April 4, 2023. She was fifty-one years old and died from complications associated with Parkinson’s. She passed away at her mother’s home in Palm Springs. She was born in Orange, California on October 5th, 1971.

Jennifer graduated from Palm Desert High School in 1990, the first graduating class of students who had attended all four years since the opening of the high school in 1986. She was always interested in fashion and even as a senior in high school she was managing the Benneton store previously located in what was known at that time as The Palm Desert Mall. She went on to manage three BCBG stores and also worked for Trina Turk in Palm Springs. Later on, she got involved in politics and volunteered for Democrats of the Desert as the volunteer coordinator and hosted their awards ceremonies, and then she won our local district election to go as a delegate to the 2012 DNC in Charlotte, North Carolina. During her involvement with The Democratic Party, she met Bill Clinton, Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, and at a fundraiser Sean Penn. 

She had a passion for travel and at the young age of 22 she went to Europe by herself and backpacked throughout Ireland, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, France, and Italy. She, along with her husband Neal, travelled extensively and in 2011 got married in lovely Positano, Italy on the Amalfi coast. 

Jennifer was an amazing cook and decorator and she and husband Neal shared a love of dogs.

But the most important aspect of Jennifer was her generous heart. She was a moral, ethical person. She was a beautiful soul both inside and out. She is survived by her husband Neal Wilson, her mother Donna Fitzgerald, her uncle William Fitzgerald, her step-sister Rozalynd McCree and step-father Robert McCree, and her half-sister Erin Viegas Coelho. She had many close friends who miss her terribly.

In closing I wish to include these lyrics from Leonard Cohen’s song Going Home:

Going home without my sorrow

Going home sometime tomorrow

Going home to where it’s better to where it’s better than before

Going home without my burden

Going home behind the curtain

Going home without the costume that I wore

Jordan Richman, a former vice president of Grubb & Ellis real estate, passed away peacefully at Santa Monica UCLA Hospital on March 17, 2023 after a long illness.

A true gentleman, Jordan came to Los Angeles from Providence, RI in 1972 to run a division of a large international manufacturing company. Before joining Grubb & Ellis, he served as Assistant to the President of the Beverly Hills Hotel for 10 years.

A resident of Westwood, Jordan showed a commitment to community by his volunteer work with The Big Brothers and leadership role in his beloved Temple Sinai in Westwood. He was also an avid cyclist and tennis player. Jordan leaves his wife of 55 years, Sandy: and his sister and brother-in-law, Annette and Jason Grant of Providence, RI. His late sister, Sandra Krinsky of Boston, MA, passed away in 2021. He's also survived by many loving nieces and nephews and other extended family.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Jordan's memory may be made to Parkinson's Resource Organization, 74785 Highway 111: Suite 208, Indian Wells, CA 92210.

Charlene Singer, age 80, of Culver City, California passed away on Friday, March 17, 2023.

Since the passing of the PACT Act to provide aid to veterans who have been exposed to toxic burn pits, approximately 66,000 screenings have been done in Wisconsin, according to data from the Milwaukee VA Medical Center. 

Nationally, there have been over 3.4 million veterans screened with 42% reporting at least one exposure.

One of those screenings changed Linda Probst’s life. Her husband, Edward Probst of Neenah, died in March at 75 years old. He had served during the Vietnam War and died of service-related hypertension and Parkinson’s disease, she said. 

It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Edward Michael Probst at the age of 75 years old. Mike was born on January 24, 1948 in Appleton, Wisconsin to Edward and Helen (Abendroth) Probst.

Mike graduated from Xavier High School, Class of 1967. In 1968 he enlisted in the U.S. Navy. He served abroad the heavy cruiser SS St. Paul in Vietnam and was honorably discharged after two years of service. When he returned home he went back to Pacon Corporation and after 45 years, retired. Mike met Linda Blohm in January of 1970 on a blind date and they married on November 3, 1973. In December 1974 their first child, Matthew arrived, followed by Sarah, Jessica, and Jordan. Their family was now complete. In July 1975, they moved onto the Schaefer Family Homestead.

In September 2018, Mike had the honor of going on the Old Glory Honor Flight. It was the best time going to Washington DC and the trip held many great memories for him.

Mike attended and graduated from NWTC with a Certificate in HVAC.

Mike was the greatest husband of Linda Probst, proud dad to Matthew (Sandie), Sarah (Heath), Jessica (Scott) and Jordan (Jill). He was proudest Papa to Aubree, Adelin, Berklee, Andrew, Preston, Makenna, Lydia, and Sebastian.

He is further survived by his siblings; Terrie, Mary (Karl), Betty (Ron), Donald (Jan), sisters-in-law, and brothers-in-law Julie (John) Donna (Randy), Cindy (Kim), Randy (Karen) and Ryan as well as many nieces, nephews and friends, including Dave (Diane) Brum, John Z and our neighbors Matt and Lisa Krautkramer and our FVMP family who supported us throughout this journey.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Edward and Helen, brother Timothy, brothers-in-law Norm and John. Linda’s parents Donald and Shirley Blohm who thought of and loved him as their son. Brothers-in-law Kevin, David, and Daniel as well as his nephew, and godson, Chad and several aunts and uncles. In lieu of flowers, a memorial fund is being established for FVMP (Fox Valley Memory Project) who helped both Mike and Linda through the difficult times. You were a Godsend.

All are invited to bring pictures and memories of your friend, Edward “Mike”.

“My Love, I knew from the moment I laid eyes on you, we’d be married and together for life. I am saddened that we didn’t make it to 50 years, but we’ll celebrate together someday in heaven.”

Pittsburgh Steelers legend Dick Haley has died at the age of 85.

Former NFL head coach Todd Haley, Dick's son, wrote on Twitter that his father died after a "long fight with dementia and Parkinson's" disease.

Dick Haley was an American professional football player who was a cornerback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Washington Redskins, the Minnesota Vikings, and the Pittsburgh Steelers. He played college football at the University of Pittsburgh and was selected in the ninth round of the 1959 NFL Draft.

“Very sorry to say, the world the NFL and my entire family lost one of the best people I’ve ever known and my idol,” Todd Haley wrote on Twitter. “A man that gave me the best chance to succeed in this world, my father Dick Haley after long fight with dementia and Parkinson’s.”

Haley was the director of player personnel for the Steelers from 1971 to 1990 and was the de facto general manager of the squads that won four Super Bowls in the 1970s. Haley’s greatest contribution to the Steelers was his direction of the 1974 NFL Draft class that saw the team select four future Hall of Famers.

“We lost an amazing football mind and a better man with the passing of Dick Haley,” Steelers president Art Rooney II said in a press release. “He was a valuable part of this franchise for 23 years, the first 4 of those as a player and the final 19 as a member of the Player Personnel Department. Dick played an instrumental role in our unprecedented success in the 1910s during the second part of his career. He developed a unique eye for talent, and he ultimately helped identify and draft many of the players that allowed us to win four Super Bowls during that decade. My condolences go out to the entire Haley family during this difficult time.”

A native of Midway, Pennsylvania in northwestern Washington County, Haley attended the University of Pittsburgh, where he was a running back from 1955-58. Haley rushed for 741 yards and had eight total touchdowns in three seasons of playing with the Panthers. He was part of the Pitt 1955 Sugar Bowl team, though he was ineligible as a freshman. Haley took part in the 1956 Gator Bowl.

Haley was drafted in the ninth round of the 1959 NFL Draft by the Washington Redskins, starting a six-year professional career that saw him transition from running back to defensive back.

Haley started with Washington as a rookie in 1959 and received votes for NFL Rookie of the Year. After two seasons starting for Washington, he moved to Minnesota and then back to Pittsburgh, where he joined the Steelers midseason in 1961. Haley ended up playing 49 games and making 39 starts for the Steelers from 1961-64, recording 13 interceptions, for which he remains tied for 32nd in team history.

After his playing career ended, Haley joined the Pittsburgh front office in 1971, working with Dan Rooney, Bill Nunn and Chuck Noll to revamp the team’s talent acquisition process.

The result was spectacular, with the Steelers drafting Jack Ham, Dwight White, Larry Brown, Frank Lewis and Gerry Mullins in 1971; Franco Harris and Steve Furness in 1972 and J.T. Thomas in 1973, in addition to the incredible draft haul in 1974, setting the table for the team to win an unprecedented four Super Bowls over the next six years.

Haley stayed with the Steelers until 1990, then spent another 16 years with the New York Jets as their GM before finishing his career with the Miami Dolphins before retiring to Florida.

Haley’s son, Todd Haley, took up the family business and was the offensive coordinator of the Steelers from 2012-17. He is currently the head coach of the Memphis Showboats of the USFL.