The Memorial Wall

Larry Parrish, of Rancho Mirage, passed away at home on Wednesday, July 6, 2022. He was surrounded by those he loved best and was peaceful in his departure.

Larry was 82 years old and lived in Rancho Mirage for 24 years. He came to the desert in 1992 to serve as Riverside County Chief Executive Officer until his retirement in 2008. A short time later, he returned to the County to serve as interim CEO, a position he also held during times of leadership transition for the Coachella Valley Association of Governments (CVAG) and the local cancer society. He also served on the Boards of the Regional Access Project Foundation and the Cabazon Band of Mission Indians’ East Valley Tourism and Development Authority.

Larry’s career in public service spanned 40 years and four counties. He began in Santa Cruz as a probation officer. He was hired by Santa Barbara County in 1979 to be the Chief Probation Officer. Eight months later that Board hired him as their Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), a position in which he served until he was recruited by the County of Orange in 1985 to serve as chief executive there. In 1989, Dennis Carpenter & Associates lured him to Sacramento to join their lobbying team; however, Larry’s real passion was local government. Two years later he was extremely happy to get the nod from the Riverside County Board of Supervisors to return to local government.

Larry was well known as a bright, funny, problem solver of high intellect and great wit. He had a knack for finding and placing good people to serve local communities. He was respected and loved by all who worked with him. Friends and colleagues describe Larry as a big-picture guy who never lost sight of the details – he could see both the forest and the trees, which is a rare quality in any leader. He believed in the power and the promise of local government to change lives for the better and spent four decades in public service plying his special gift for bringing people together and helping them find common ground.

He was well known for a vast catalogue of Larry-isms – quick wit, wisdom, and humor always at the ready to make a pithy point with his special brand of humor.

He loved the ocean and relaxed by vacationing annually in Cabo San Lucas. Following his retirement in 2008, Larry enjoyed traveling up and down the west coast and spending summers at Big Bear Lake in his Fleetwood RV with wife Kathie and Mattie, their Australian Shepherd.

At the outset of the pandemic, Larry and Kathie adopted two kittens to bring love and joy into the house. A short time later, a Mini-Aussie they named Sydney quickly became one of his best friends.

Larry was married to his wife Kathie for 36 years. He is survived by his daughter (Nancy), son (David), friend and ex-wife (Lois) and two grandchildren (Hal and Gabe). A private service will be held later in the year.

Should you wish to honor this life well lived, please send remembrances to the local Parkinson’s foundation or the local Alzheimer’s Association.

Former Louisville public health director, Dr. Adewale Troutman, has died. He was 76. Troutman died in Tampa, Florida, last week from complications from Parkinson's disease. Troutman served as Louisville's public health director from 2004 to 2010.

As health director, he helped implement Louisville's public smoking ban in 2005 and launched the first center for health equity.

During his time as health director, he was also an associate professor in the University of Louisville's School of Public Health and Information Sciences.

Mayor Greg Fischer released a statement saying he was saddened by Troutman's death:

"I am very sad to hear of the death of Dr. Adewale Troutman, former director of our Louisville Metro Public Health and Wellness. Throughout his distinguished career, Dr. Troutman was an internationally known champion of better health for all, committed to the value of using equity as a lens for every decision and every policy. He once said he chose public health as a career field because he knew it would allow him the opportunity “to have the biggest impact on the greatest number of people. … (to) make a difference in thousands of lives every day, rather than one at a time.” That was certainly true of his time in Louisville, where he helped launch our city’s Center for Health Equity, and used his skills, experience and expertise to improve the health of all, especially those who’ve historically been underserved. He will be missed. Our sincere condolences to his wife, Denise Vasquez Troutman – a community leader in her own right – and their children. “ 

On Tuesday, July 21, 2022, The Troutman family announced the passing of Adewale Troutman, MD, MPH, MA, CPH. Dr. Troutman was a bright star in the universe. He was a brilliant, warm, and loving man whose passion for life and for public health was matched only by devotion to his family, his community, and his friends. 

With humble beginnings in the South Bronx, NY, it was his immense love for Black people that brought him to medicine; however, it was his belief in his own ability to shape the future that brought him to public health and where his legacy came to life. A trailblazer in the field, Dr. Troutman earned a medical degree from The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and a Master’s in Public Health degree from Columbia University. His work, grounded in his research and writing on social determinants of health, led to groundbreaking innovations that transformed the modern public health landscape across the United States. Dr. Troutman opened and led the development of a first of its kind, center for health equity at the local health department level, was the first to change the name of local health departments in Atlanta and Louisville to Departments of Health and Wellness, was the first to institute a public smoking ban in the state of Kentucky, authored a cornerstone study with former Surgeon General Dr. David Satcher on excess death among African Americans, was appointed to Barack Obama’s Committee on Infant Mortality, and starred in the nationally televised PBS/California NewsReel series, “Unnatural Causes: Is Inequality Making Us Sick?” These are only a few of Dr. Troutman’s innovative contributions to the field of public health.

In an interview with the University of South Florida Public Health News, Dr. Troutman once said, “I’ve led my life around the principle of ‘How do I make the biggest difference?’” There is no greater evidence of this sentiment than his willingness to step in and lead. His leadership and influence over local health departments in Newark, NJ, Atlanta, GA, and Louisville, KY, as well as in national and international organizations including: The Student National Medical Association, The American Public Health Association, The National Association of City and County Health Organizations, The World Health Organization, and 100 Black Men of America, transformed what is possible for the health and wellness of Black communities and impoverished people around the world. The countless student and public health professionals that he taught and mentored at academic institutions such as Morehouse College of Medicine, University of Louisville, and University of South Florida, and at innumerable conferences, symposiums, and lectures ensure that his influence on the world will be felt for generations to come.

Closing up one night in 1961, workers at the Original Spanish Kitchen on Beverly Boulevard set out silverware, saltshakers and napkins at each table and neatly stacked the chairs.

And there the settings and chairs remained, unmoved for more than a quarter of a century.

A “Closed for Vacation” sign, hung outside that night, gave no clue that the restaurant would never reopen.

So what happened?

One rumor held that the owner had been shot to death inside and that his wife had wanted the place left undisturbed until the killer was caught.

Some believed the restaurant was haunted. There were stories of knives flying in the night.

The TV show “Lou Grant” set a murder mystery there.

But there was a quieter explanation.

“The truth is,” The Times reported in 1989, “that this decaying building has simply frozen in time a moment of happier days in a love story of an elderly woman who has shut herself off from the world . . . “

The woman was co-owner Pearl Caretto. She and her husband, Johnny, had opened the restaurant in 1932, and it became a favorite of stars such as Bob Hope, Linda Darnell and John Barrymore. Mary Pickford, who had a special booth near the door, would bring in recipes.

Then in 1961, the husband was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and Pearl closed the restaurant to take care of him in their residence on the second floor. He died a few years later, and she could never bring herself to reopen.

“Isn’t it sad how so many people never find their one true love?” she told writer Michael Szymanski, who tracked her down in 1989. At that time the restaurant was still closed, tables still set. “And always, always, it ends in heartbreak. You’ll see.”

Caretto, who has since died, was living in an apartment by then, having moved away from the restaurant after it was vandalized. The family sold the property in the late 1990s.

All of this was a long time ago, and yet the restaurant’s mystique lives on.

Its sign is still standing, though it’s partly covered so that only the “Spa” in “Spanish” can be seen. Perfect for the upstairs occupant, Ona Spa.

“The neighbors wanted it left up,” explained Fabienne Dufourg, co-owner of Ona as well as Prive hair salon, which now occupies the former Spanish Kitchen space. A cafe there shut down.

When Dufourg reopened the building eight years ago, the rumors of ghosts were still alive.

“I am very grounded -- I don’t believe a word about ghosts,” she said. “My husband, he’s an artist. He believed it.”

But she converted one day in August. “It was very hot,” she said, and she was standing inside the building when “I felt like my legs were freezing.”

And, so, she said, “We did a clearing.” In other words, she hired a psychic from Arizona to check for poltergeists.

The psychic found five ghosts. “The ghosts were coming after my mother-in-law -- oh, it’s a long story,” Dufourg said. “There was a nasty one. I think he was a sort of killer from the ‘50s.”

The psychic, who charged $70 an hour, chased out the spirits in an impressive time of 30 minutes. These days, the building is ghost-free, more or less.

“Sometimes I wonder,” said Lane Lenhart, a manager at Ona. “Funky things happen once in a while, lights going on and off...”

Aside from the “Spa” sign, the old place’s name has survived in other ways.

A rock group christened itself Spanish Kitchen and posed by the building for a website photo. The group later dropped the name, but not because of ghosts. It seemed that people kept asking if it was a salsa band.

Meanwhile, a new Spanish Kitchen restaurant materialized on La Cienega Boulevard.

“I wanted to capture some of the romance of old Hollywood,” explained owner Greg Morris, no relation to the Carettos.

He didn’t inherit any ghosts, but he did meet a link to the Original Spanish Kitchen.

“The owner’s daughter came in and gave me a great paella pan with the name stamped on it,” he said.

Morris knows the real story of the old restaurant but enjoys listening to versions told by his older customers.

“I’ve heard stories that there was a Mafia killing there,” he said. “Or that the owner was a bullfighter, and his wife was a flamenco dancer and he killed her because he didn’t like her dancing.”

Morris added: “I never correct any of the stories.”

Carl Henry Macklin II, 78, died peacefully in his sleep in Geneva, IL from complications related to Parkinson's Disease on February 4, 2016.

Carl, C.H. to friends and family, is survived by Patricia, his loving wife of 56 years, with whom he resided in Geneva, Illinois and "the Lakes" in Palm Desert, CA; his son Robert Lawrence, daughter-in-law Heather (Green) and grandchildren Dax (9) and Kate (8) of Batavia, Illinois; his sisters and their families: Birdie (Manny) Mendoza of Sacramento, California, Barbara (Bob) Ramsey of Coto de Caza, California, and Christine (Richard) Caldwell of Salt Lake City, UT; and many nieces and nephews who live across the globe. He is preceded in death by his parents, Carl and Pearl (Reyburn) Macklin.

C.H. was born on July 19,1937 in Salt Lake City, UT. His family moved to Southern California during WWII. He grew up eagerly joining his father on fishing trawlers at the early age of 10 years, and later playing football, as co-captain, for Jordan High School and Long Beach City College. He graduated from Cal State University, Long Beach, in 1965 with a degree in Marine Biology. He worked for five years as a sales representative and later as Los Angeles District Sales Manager with Schering-Plough Pharmaceuticals, where he led his district to number one in the nation for two consecutive years. After earning his MBA from Pepperdine University, in 1983, he joined Syncor, a world-wide radioactive pharmaceuticals company, as Vice President of Marketing and Sales. After retirement, he and Pat lived in several places, including West Yellowstone, MT, Palm Desert, CA, Galena, IL and Geneva, IL, as they followed, alternately, the warm weather and the grandkids. He was a social, active man who loved the outdoors, especially sailing, fishing and golf. He also maintained a love of reading, especially science and history, throughout his life, as well as teaching and playing chess with his grandson, Dax and watching his granddaughter Kate play basketball, softball and soccer.

He will truly be missed and remain in our hearts forever.

Joseph William Heyer, 84, of West Chester, PA, formerly of Philadelphia, North Wales, Lansdale, and Boothwyn, PA passed away on Sunday, December 18th in Hospice Care at Main Line Health-Paoli Hospital after suffering numerous complications from Covid-19 and advanced stages of Parkinson's disease. He died peacefully, surrounded by family. He is survived by his wife of 53 years, Sandra (Jennings) Heyer.

Mr. Heyer was a dedicated husband, father, uncle, grandfather, educator, basketball coach, baseball coach, tennis enthusiast and avid gardener. He was also well-known in Philadelphia basketball circles as one of the city's all-time sharpshooters.

Joe is a member of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall-Of-Fame (City All-Star Chapter) as well as the North Penn High School Alumni Athletic Association Hall-Of-Fame and the St. Helena's School Hall of Fame. He was also given lifetime achievement citations by both the Markward Basketball Club of Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Basketball Old-Timers Association. The Philadelphia Daily News named him to the Philadelphia Playground Legends Team of the 1950's.

As a player, Heyer enjoyed a decorated two-sport athletic career at La Salle College High School. On the hardwood he was the 1956 Philadelphia Sportswriters Catholic League Most Valuable Player and led the Catholic League in scoring, averaging 21.2 points-per-game. His 49 points against St. Thomas Moore broke the Catholic League scoring record, and it remains the LHS single-game record to this day. In the Explorers very next game he tallied 39 points against Father Judge. The two-game total of 88 points is believed to be the highest consecutive two-game scoring outburst in league history. The 49 points has only been topped one time in Catholic League history. He helped the Explorers capture the 1956 Catholic League regular season title. In the Catholic League playoffs, the Explorers advanced to the Championship game at the Palestra in both his junior and senior seasons. Following his senior campaign, he was named to the Gold Medal North-South All-Star Game in Murray, KY, hosted by George Mikan. Heyer led the East with 7 field goals in the game.

In addition to his basketball exploits, Heyer was a member of the LHS baseball team, which captured the 1955 Catholic League championship, defeating Olney High School at Connie Mack Stadium.

Heyer accepted an athletic scholarship to La Salle College, where he played basketball and baseball.

On the hardwood, Heyer continued his scoring exploits, breaking Tom Gola's school record with 17 field goals in a 35-point outburst against Lehigh in 1958. The mark also bettered the Palestra record of 15 field goals, previously held by Oscar Robertson. The 35 points was the Palestra's single-game high total for the '58'-'59 season, back when all members of the Big 5 played a large portion of their home games at the hallowed arena. The following season, Heyer's 31 points against Temple was the Palestra's single-game high total for the '59-'60 campaign. Other big scoring nights included 29 versus Bucknell, 29 against Muhlenberg, 28 on Albright, and 24 against Syracuse. "Jumpin' Joe" was known for his patented "Tip-Toe" jump shot which featured a quick release with little knee-bend. He got the inspiration for the shot after watching 2-time NCAA leading scorer Frank Selvy from Furman when they came to Philadelphia to play La Salle in 1954.

Heyer led the Explorers in scoring for the 1958-'59 season with a 17.2 average and became just the 4th Junior in school history to tally 400 points in a season. Following that campaign, he was named 1st Team All-Middle Atlantic Conference, 2nd Team All Big-Five and 2nd team Catholic All-American. During his 3-year playing career, the Explorers were ranked in the Associated Press Top 20, reaching a high of #14 during the '59- '60 campaign. Heyer finished his career with 928 points, which was the highest scoring total of any guard in school history, and it ranked #7 on the school career list at the time. He was also a member of the La Salle College varsity baseball team.

Heyer immediately entered the coaching ranks, accepting the Head Basketball and Baseball Coach positions at Cardinal Dougherty High School in Philadelphia. In three seasons with the Cardinals, his basketball teams advanced to the Catholic League Championship game all 3 years. He compiled an overall record of 50-20 (70%).

In the fall of 1963, Heyer returned to La Salle College, where he was named Assistant Varsity Basketball Coach, as well as Head Coach of the Freshman team. His 1963-'64 team was the Big 5 Freshman co-Champion.

Just days before beginning his 3rd season as an assistant for the varsity team, Explorers Head Coach Bob Walters announced he was stepping down due to health reasons. One day before the 1965 Explorers season-opener against Albright, Heyer was named the Varsity Head Coach. At just 27 years old, he was the youngest Division 1 head basketball coach in the country, and one of the youngest in history. It is worth noting he also remained the Freshman Coach and did not have a single assistant coach that year.

In his collegiate coaching debut, Heyer's Explorers defeated Albright. In a twist of irony, La Salle's Hubie Marshall, a 5'10" guard from Coatesville, PA touched the nets for 17 field goals, tying Heyer's school and Palestra record. Under Heyer's guidance, Marshall experienced a storied career at La Salle, averaging 27.0 points per game in '65-'66, and was later enshrined into the Big 5 Hall of Fame. In Heyer's first season, the team finished 10-15 but pulled off two of the most memorable upsets in Palestra history. One was defeating a Louisville team that featured future Hall of Fame center Wes Unseld. But the bigger upset came in the Quaker City Tournament, when the Explorers knocked off #6 (AP) Brigham Young, which was undefeated at the time, and went on to win that season's NIT Championship.

The 1966-67 was packed with high expectations due to the arrival of one of the top recruiting classes in Big 5 history. The class of newcomers featured future NBA players Larry Cannon, who had broken Wilt Chamberlain's career high school total, and Bernie Williams, a highly regarded guard from the legendary program of DeMatha High School in Baltimore. A tough road schedule to start the season, along the difficulty of blending highly regarded newcomers with upperclassmen proved to be a challenge early in Heyer's second season as the team struggled to stay near .500. However, the Explorers began to gain momentum as the season progressed. They defeated St. Joseph's to advance to the 1967 Middle Atlantic Championship Game, where the Explorers fell to Temple.

Heyer's team experienced a four-game improvement in the win column to finish with a 14-12 record for his second year at the helm. But despite having a year remaining on his head coaching contract, Heyer resigned his duties as head coach following the '66-'67 season. Heyer later cited philosophical differences with the university on the direction of the basketball program.

After leaving La Salle, Heyer spent a year living in Ft. Lauderdale, FL where one day on the beach he met his future wife, Sandra Jennings. He approached Ms. Jennings and asked her if she could please hold his car keys while he took a swim in the ocean. After completing his swim, she returned his keys safely to him and they decided to continue their conversation. Sandra gave him a birthday present by marrying him on his birthday, October 18, 1969. Their wedding song was the popular hit, "Sunny" by Bobby Hebb.

The young couple decided to settle in the Philadelphia suburbs and Heyer accepted a job teaching and coaching at the high school level. He was the head basketball coach at North Penn High School in Lansdale, PA from 1969-'90, compiling a record of 291-185. His teams captured 11 Holiday Tournament Championships, 6 Bux-Mont League regular season "Halves" titles, and the 1975 Bux-Mont League overall championship. His 1972 and '76 teams advanced to the District One quarterfinals at the Palestra. The '72 team holds the school record by going 12-0 to start the season, and the '77 team was the first in school history to win 20 games in the regular season. In addition to coaching basketball, he taught Social Studies at NPHS for 30 years. He received his M.S. in teaching from St. Joseph's University. He was a teacher at both Cardinal Dougherty and North Penn High Schools for a total of 38 years. He was an avid researcher on the JFK, RFK, MLK and Lincoln assassinations. Mr. Heyer was often a guest speaker on the topic to various community groups, and he also taught the subject matter at adult higher-learning courses.

The teaching profession provided him ample time in the summers to grow elaborate vegetable gardens in his North Wales, PA home. While he grew the typical staples of lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, zucchini, radishes, peas, and eggplant, there was no vegetable he wouldn't give a try. Some of his more adventurous products included Swiss chard, watermelons, pumpkins, potatoes, and even mustard seed. This was in addition to the various fruit he grew including grapes, peaches, pears, apples, cherries, blueberries, blackberries and boysenberries.

While Heyer spent many years playing and coaching basketball, he had a passion for many other sports. His lifetime love of baseball began at age 3, when his photo appeared in a Philadelphia newspaper, after meeting Yankees legend Joe DiMaggio on the field at Shibe Park. DiMaggio autographed a baseball for the youngster. When Heyer later added the signature of Pete Rose to the same ball, he had his lifetime prize possession - autographs of both the American League and National League hitting streak record-holders (DiMaggio 56 and Rose 44). His passion for baseball also included being an avid follower of the Perkiomen Valley Twilight League in Montgomery County, PA. He made several trips with his kids and grandson to Cooperstown, NY to tour the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. His favorite team was the Philadelphia Athletics, and he used research and statistics to conclude that the 1929-'30 A's world champion teams were the greatest in MLB history. His most anguishing baseball memory was the Phillies collapse of 1964, and it took him decades to forgive Manager Gene Mauch for his handling of the starting pitching staff late in the season.

He was an avid tennis player and instructor, playing actively into his 70's, until his knees gave way. He also loved football, serving as the public address announcer for the North Penn High School football team for many years. He developed an appreciation for skateboarding when his son Todd pursued the activity very heavily. Mr. Heyer built his son a "half-pipe" in their Lansdale, PA backyard.

He spent his most recent years attending hundreds, if not thousands, of his grandchildren's and grand-nephew's concerts, competitions and sporting events.

Joe is the son of the late Elizabeth (Naas) Heyer and Joseph William Heyer, Sr. of Philadelphia. He is proceeded in death by his sister, Elizabeth Heyer Leahy. He is survived by his wife of 53 years, Sandra (Jennings) Heyer and their four (4) children, Stephen Geiskopf, Robin (Geiskopf) Sachtleben, Joseph S. Heyer and Todd W. Heyer, along with eight (8) grandchildren: Tyler Sachtleben, Bethany Sachtleben, Keri Sachtleben, Graham Sachtleben, Jamie Sachtleben, Jacqueline Heyer, Brendan Heyer and Jackson Heyer, two (2) nephews, Timothy Leahy and Michael Leahy, and two (2) grand-nephews Sara (Leahy) Lofton and Christopher Leahy.