The Memorial Wall

Anya Hoffman passed away on March 5, 2021, from complications of Parkinson’s Disease. She died as she lived, a fighter to the end, always prepared to take on the challenges that life presented her and to enjoy its pleasures to the fullest. She was born on April 3, 1935, In the Bronx, New York, the youngest child of Samuel Hoffman and Rose Saidel Hoffman, who had immigrated in the early 1900s from the part of Russia now known as Belarus. Her siblings, May Hoffman Radding, Edith Hoffman Barry, and Benjamin Hoffman all preceded her in death.  None of the Hoffman sisters used the names on their birth certificates! May was initially Mildred; Edith was Ida, and Anya was originally Ethel. She changed her name in her 40’s, as she began to more fully manifest the powerhouse woman she hadn’t been able to fully express before.  

Though she was the baby of the family, she was independent at an early age. She told stories of navigating the subway from the age of 7 to visit the museums and libraries of Manhattan on her own (though this might have been as much the result of being insufficiently supervised, as much as her independence)!  Her father died when she was just a girl, and when she was 16 her mother died as well. She then lived with her sister Edith‘s family until she married Herb Biskar.  

Anya & Herb welcomed their three children into their family: Jonathan, Sanford, and Paul Biskar, (married to Anne Marie). Being the Mom to three extremely energetic & curious boys was a handful. She once told the story of a time when she took the boys on a train trip to San Diego, and by the time they arrived, the dress she was wearing was so destroyed she had to throw it away! But their home was always lively, interesting, and full of love. In 1972 they moved with their children to Portland, Oregon. 

Anyone who knew Anya was familiar with her wry, irreverent sense of humor. She usually took the opportunity to try on a crazy hat and was known to hang a spoon on her nose at a family dinner. But mostly she could find the funny in any situation, and her laughter would fill the room. Though not a traditionally observant Jew, Anya embraced her cultural heritage. She famously hosted a large and hilarious family Chanukah party for many years, presiding over the event with an Auntie Mame-inspired cigarette holder in hand. She could shop! Somehow she always found the $80 item for $7.50, and she could take some forgotten and forlorn item, bring it home, and place it in the perfect location to make it look like a million bucks.

Anya had the creative sensibilities of an artist. Her beautifully decorated home was always warm and welcoming, filled with treasures she collected from around the world.  She was an excellent and intuitive cook. When you thought there was nothing in the refrigerator to eat, she could pull out a few things and create a delicious meal you didn’t imagine was possible. She always had some creative project she was working on, whether it was knitting a sweater, re-finishing a cabinet, making jewelry, or tending her plants. She had such a green thumb that she graduated from the Landscape Technology Department at Portland Community College, developed an interior landscape business, and co-authored a book, Green Plants For Gray Days. She was always ready for adventure, and traveled widely in Europe, Asia, Mexico, and the U.S., collecting beautiful artifacts and memories along the way. She appreciated music, dance, and theater, and even when ticket prices were prohibitive, she found a way — by volunteering as an usher.

She was a champion of progressive causes. She worked in the labor movement, made her voice heard at protest marches, supported progressive candidates, and engaged in passionate discussions about politics throughout her life.      

A woman of many interests, she earned a Master’s Degree in Counseling from Evergreen College in 1981 and then opened a psychotherapy practice. In addition to traditional talk therapy, she studied Neo-Reichian therapy, Bioenergetics, hypnotherapy, and massage. Through these professional pursuits, she also met an extraordinary group of women, who established a group to discuss clinical cases with each other. This group evolved over the years into an incredibly rich network of friendships that, even after many of them had retired from practice, continued to sustain and support them all for 40 years. Though grieving the loss of Anya, the group continues. The same qualities she used in her practice of psychotherapy — empathy and a willingness to tell the truth — also made her a reliable source of support to family and friends.

In 1984, some years after divorcing Herb, Anya moved to the Washington D.C. area, where she met Ernest Culman, whose warmth and kindness won her heart. They married in 1992.  As was her way, she made many more friends. She also established other branches of her career. Working for the Jewish Community Center, she worked with seniors, planning events and organizing field trips. In addition, she ran support groups for divorced women for a number of years. She took specialized courses on exercise for elders with arthritis and then conducted classes, keeping her students motivated by creating her musical playlists using hits from their younger years. Running around from senior center to senior center, teaching up to a dozen classes a week also kept her in shape.  In 2016 Anya and Ernie moved back to Portland, not long after Anya’s diagnosis with Parkinson’s; and then in 2020, in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, they moved once again to Palm Desert, California. 

Anya is survived by her husband, her three sons and their families, several nieces and nephews, a granddaughter and a grandniece, and innumerable friends.  She will be sorely missed.

Sandra Helen Blum ("Sandy") passed away on December 31, 2020, of complications from Parkinson's disease and COVID-19, at the age of 80, leaving behind Bob, her husband of 58 years, her children Eric (Michelle) and Josh (Meg), her grandchildren, Brian, Sam, Kevin, Cece and Matt, and her younger brother, Martin Frankel. Canadian (Toronto), by birth, she entered the world on April 6, 1940. The daughter of Ted (Tuvya) and Goldie (Golda) Frankel, she quickly adapted to her new "hometown" of Los Angeles in 1952, establishing a lifelong love of the beach and the Tournament of Roses Parade.

Living right across the street and having graduated from L.A. High in 1958, Sandy received her Bachelor's degree from Cal State L.A. and then earned her teaching credential. While an undergraduate, she met Bob after the two were set up on a date by a mutual friend. Following a fourteen-month courtship, the two were married on July 1, 1962. From that point, Sandy traveled near and far with Bob right beside her, collecting memories and art from their adventures over 58 years of marriage.

She first worked as a teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District, supporting her husband as he made his way through medical school, and later taught in Oceanside, California when Bob was stationed at Camp Pendleton during the Vietnam War. She put her career on hold to be a terrific mom to her two boys. Though a devoted spouse who willingly moved the family to Fresno for six years so Bob could build a cardiac catheterization lab at Fresno Community Hospital, Sandy also was an independent woman who ran the house and made her own important choices.

After returning to L.A. (Encino) in 1977 and raising her sons, she had the bat mitzvah she was denied as a young girl and re-entered her chosen profession, teaching third grade for 20 years at the VBS Harold M. Schulweis Day School, helping hundreds of students get good starts in life. Following her teaching career, she volunteered for years as a Court-Appointed Special Advocate to the foster care system and as a docent at the Skirball Cultural Center.

She (square) danced her way through life with her friends, always with a song in her heart and usually on her lips. She eagerly participated in local musical productions, including Fiddler on the Roof, Oklahoma, and South Pacific at Valley Beth Shalom. Always known for having a bit of a sweet tooth, there was little that ailed her which couldn't be cured with a pint of Ben & Jerry's or a one-pound box of See's Nuts & Chews. With a predisposition for optimism and calm and a degree of stubbornness, to the very end, she pushed against the limitations brought on by Parkinson's which she battled against and lived with for more than fifteen years.

James Harold Sheehy was born June 1, 1945, and passed away peacefully on April 23, 2021. He had been suffering from Parkinson's Disease Dementia.

Jim was born in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York to Harold Duke Sheehy and Eloise Ashby Sheehy, and grew up there with his sister Elinor, who passed away last year. During his childhood Jim spent his time playing stickball with his "gang", experimenting with soon-to-be-considered unsafe chemistry sets, and taking part in the general sort of troublemaking to be expected from an NYC kid in the 1950s. A sign of his business endeavors to come, at age 10 he often went to Manhattan to buy handfuls of prisms that he resold in the neighborhood for a healthy profit. In his teens, Jim's father was shocked to discover he had $2,000 in his bank account.

Jim was drafted into the Army during the Vietnam War but received a medical discharge due to his asthma. One of his first jobs in New York was with the American Broadcasting Co. He could recall seeing the Beatles first arrive to the US amid screaming crowds.

In the late 1960s, Jim moved to Northern Virginia with his first wife, Camille, where they raised their two daughters, Laura and Lisa. He started work in Virginia as a Customer Service Rep with American Airlines, which sparked his love for the travel business. After a series of other jobs, he returned to travel as a Sales Rep at the Air Transport Association before co-founding and heading sales for National Air Charters.

In 1982 he started at United Airlines, where he coordinated the Washington Redskins' away from football travel program, traveling on the team jet and attending games during the height of their franchise success with Joe Theismann as QB. Jim loved being on the field for their Super Bowl years and made lasting connections with members of the team and the organization.

It was during this time that he met his second wife, Kim Shanks, on a "fam" trip to Asia. They spent their first two weeks getting to know each other amid the romantic settings of Bali, Hong Kong, and Tokyo. Within two months they were engaged and on September 20, 1986, they married in Pasadena, CA.

In 1991, their son, Ryan, was born in Virginia, and a year later they moved to Southern California where Jim purchased a travel agency in Pasadena. In 1999 he partnered with Protravel International, headquartered in NYC, and expanded the business to Rancho Bernardo, San Diego, Las Vegas, and Palm Desert, where he, Kim, and Ryan relocated in 2001. He was a longstanding member of Virtuoso, a luxury travel consortium, and hand-picked as one of the 45 accredited agents authorized to sell trips to space with Virgin Galactic. While he sold the business in 2012, he kept the relationships and memories he forged traveling across the globe with his family and friends dear to him.

Jim served as an elder in the Palm Desert Community Presbyterian Church, heading Personnel and helping the Church develop the Academy school. He enjoyed coaching his son in baseball and soccer, and actively assisted local Boy Scout Troop 131 where he was a merit badge counselor for some of his favorite hobbies like Astronomy and Fishing. If the Scouts had badges in good wine and food, he would have gladly helped with those as well.

Jim cared deeply for his family and is loved and will be missed by those close to him. Jim is survived by his wife of nearly 35 years, Kim, their son, Ryan, his daughters, Laura (Tim) Delaney and Lisa (Jimmy) Roach, and grandchildren, Anna, Connor, Cameron, and Alex.

Jerome B Cagen passed away in Palm Desert, CA on Tuesday, April 23, 2019. He fought a courageous battle against Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP), a prime-of-life neurodegenerative disease.

Jerry, as he was known by family and friends, was also lovingly called the G.O.A.T. (Greatest Of All Time) by his eldest grandson, Oliver.
Jerry was born on August 1, 1947, in Boise, Idaho to Milton and Ruth (Blecker) Cagen. Growing up, Jerry attended Borah High School, and later graduated from Arizona State University with his Bachelor's degree in Education. It was also at ASU that he met his future wife, Susi Landis. For several years, Jerry and Susi owned The Sunshine Company Sport Shop. He then decided to re-enter the field of education, obtaining his Master's degree in Counseling from the College of Idaho. He was a school counselor, working most of his years at Eagle Academy. Jerry was loved by his students, and when he would run into them, he was often greeted with "Hey Cagen!", which always brought a smile to his face.

Jerry was an avid tennis player, and he loved golf! He spent many happy days with his friends at Warm Springs Golf Course, and later, at The Lakes Country Club in Palm Desert, CA. Unfortunately, his PSP curtailed his golfing activities due to his loss of balance and weakened eyesight, but he handled his situation with grace and dignity.
Above all, Jerry was a devoted husband to Susi. They would have been married 50 years this August 24, 2019. He was a loving and proud father and a powerful influence on his children, Brent (Jenevieve) and Tracie. He was always involved and rooting them on at any sports or school/career-related events, and that soon carried over to his grandchildren's accomplishments as well. He was a beloved grandpa to Oliver, Elliott, Ashton, and August (Gus). They were the light of his life!

Jerry is also survived by his older brother, Robert Cagen (Linda Cagen, deceased), younger brother, Richard Cagen (Terry Cagen), and his sister-in-law, Leni Herst (Doug Herst), all of whom he adored. He loved his many cousins, nieces, nephews, and especially his favorite aunt, Harriet Berenter.

Jerome B, you will be missed by all of us every day, but are now free and at peace from this horrible disease. You were a brave eternal fighter. As the deputy sheriff told you when you passed your driving test at 14 years old, "You've done right fine!"

We will forever love you!

Funeral services, under the direction of Relyea Funeral Chapel, will be held Monday, April 29, at 11:00am, at the Congregation Ahavath Beth Israel social hall, 11 N. Latah St., Boise. Graveside services to follow at Morris Hill Cemetery.

On 15 July 2021 at Tawa, Wellington. Dearly loved husband of Valerie. Cherished father and father-in-law of Amanda (dec), Russell, Diane (dec), Belinda & Andrew, and Jon & Lorna. Legendary grandad to Eden, Thomas, Harry, and Freddie. Forever in our hearts.

Former All Black's first five-eighth Bruce Watt has passed away at the age of 82.

Watt played 29 times for the All Blacks between 1962 and 1964, scoring two tries on debut against Australia, and went on to become a leading figure in South Island rugby during the 1970s.

The early 1960s produced a talented crop of playmakers, all competing for the All Black No 10 jersey and Watt's test comrades included the likes of Steve Nesbit, Adrian Clarke, Tony Davies, Neil Wolfe, Mack Herewini, Peter Murdoch, and Earle Kirton.

A highlight of Watt's career was the 1963/64 tour of Britain and France where he appeared in 20 of the 36 matches, including tests against England, Scotland, and Wales, dropping a goal in the latter game.

His All Black career came to an end in the first test against the 1964 Wallabies, though Watt continued to feature in South Island and All Black trials until 1967 and was considered unlucky not to be selected for the 1967 tour of Britain, Canada, and France. In all, Watt appeared in 197 first-class games, 117 of them for Canterbury.

After hanging up the boots, Watt went on to serve as a South Island under 18 selector from 1972-75 and as co-coach for Marlborough (1976) and Nelson Bays (1978-79).

Watt suffered from Parkinson's disease later in life, an ailment his family suspected was linked to a rugby career riddled with head-knocks.

"He had concussion many times and I'm told was often the 'target' of bigger guys as he was a bit lippy," his daughter, Belinda, told the Herald in 2016.

"He remembers one time being badly concussed in an All Blacks game and because there were no other players left, he was asked to go back on the field. He did not remember the whole second half. I guess it's impossible to tell but we also believe there might be a link between the head hits and Parkinson's, not just dementia."

Watt's biography on the All Blacks official website also recalls his love of marathon running, a hobby he took to the extreme while playing for Canterbury.

"During his rugby career, Bruce Watt ran a number of marathons. On Canterbury's Queen's Birthday trips to play Buller and the West Coast Watt would strip down and, when given the nod by the bus driver, would run on the spot in the aisle. He would pound away until the bus driver told him they had traveled 26 miles and 385 yards."