The Memorial Wall

Lesley Elliott’s husband of 50 years has paid tribute to the domestic violence campaigner, who has died following an “incredibly difficult” battle with Parkinson’s disease and dementia.

The 76-year-old, who was the mother of Sophie Elliot, died at Ross Home in Dunedin on Sunday.

Following the brutal murder of Sophie by her former boyfriend Clayton Weatherston in 2008, Lesley set up the Sophie Elliott Foundation and toured New Zealand teaching young people about safe and healthy relationships and the warning signs of abuse.

Gil ​Elliott paid tribute to his former wife of 50 years, who became a tireless campaigner after their daughter’s death.

That included talking to young women around the country about abusive relationships.

He will deliver a eulogy at Friday’s service and noted their two sons “had been robbed of the two women in our family”.

Her declining health over the past two years had been “incredibly difficult” for the family, he said.

Lesley Elliott co-authored a best-selling book about her daughter’s death, Sophie's Legacy, with Bill O’Brien. At least eight women credited it as being the catalyst for them leaving their violent partners.

O’Brien, a Dunedin-based author, said he approached Elliott about writing the book “to give her a voice” after the high-profile court trial.

“There were days when I would sit down at her home to do an interview, and she would take out a note that Sophie had written and just lose it ... So we would go for a walk on the beach and have another go the next day.”

The book, and the Loves-Me-Not programme designed to prevent abusive behaviour in relationships, resulted in the pair receiving hundreds of positive responses from people who had been in unhealthy relationships.

“I firmly believe if Sophie had a programme like Loves-Me-Not in her final years at school she would have known when things went wrong in her relationship,” Elliott told Stuff in 2014.

Her ill health led to the police taking over as lead agency for the programme and its resources. Loves-Me-Not continued to cater for year 12 students across New Zealand.

“An incredible lady, she used to say ‘I don’t know what all the fuss is about – I’m just a nurse and a mother,’” O’Brien said.

She would go on to receive the NEXT magazine Woman of the Year Award, which celebrates outstanding achievements of Aotearoa women, in 2011. She then took out the supreme award at the 2014 Women of Influence Awards.

In the 2015 Queen’s Birthday Honours, she was made a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for her services to the prevention of domestic violence.

An American journalist and speechwriter. Mike Gerson was an op-ed columnist for The Washington Post, a Policy Fellow with One Campaign, a visiting fellow with the Center for Public Justice, and a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. He served as President George W. Bush's chief speechwriter from 2001 until June 2006, as a senior policy advisor from 2000 through June 2006, and was a member of the White House Iraq Group.

Gerson helped write the inaugural address for the second inauguration of George W. Bush, which called for neo-conservative intervention and nation-building around the world to effect the spread of democracy to third world countries.

In 2018, Gerson and commentator Amy Holmes co-hosted In Principle, a politically conservative-oriented television talk show that ran for eight episodes on PBS.

Richard A. Lidinsky Jr., an attorney who headed the Federal Maritime Commission and was known as the “Watchdog of the Port,” died of complications from Parkinson’s disease Thursday at his Roland Park home. He was 76.

Born in Baltimore and raised in East Baltimore’s Czech community, he was the son of Richard A. Lidinsky Sr., executive secretary to Mayor Thomas D’Alesandro Jr. and later deputy comptroller of the City of Baltimore, and Angela Miller Lidinsky, a homemaker and volunteer.

“Public service was in the Lidinsky family DNA,” said former Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski. “Rick really helped to make the Port of Baltimore the powerhouse it is today.”

He attended St. Wenceslaus School and was a 1964 graduate of Calvert Hall College High School. He earned a degree at American University and was a graduate of the University of Maryland School of Law. He served in the Coast Guard.

“He was a details person and a perfectionist. He was gregarious and cultivated lots of friendships,” said his sister, Mary Angela Mahoney. “He kept a card on the inside of his jacket of things that needed to be done that day. And by the end of the day, his to-do list was all crossed off.”

He met his future wife, Mary Duston “Dusty” Temmink, on a blind date at The Charles Theatre. They saw the film “Z.”

“I married him for his fine mind but stayed married because of his kind and forgiving heart,” she said.

Mr. Lidinsky was interested as a young man in maritime issues. He began his training as an aide to U.S. Rep. Edward A. Garmatz, who was chair of the House Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee.

“Rick was a complete gentleman,” said William P. Doyle, director of the Maryland Port Administration. “And on the docks, the ILA longshoremen called him the ‘catfish.’ He was always looking out for the little guy, labor and truckers.”

Longtime friend Michael P. Cataneo said: “Rick had a certain maturity at a young age. He was always there for me. He had a dry sense of humor. If you didn’t know him, you could not know if he was serious, sarcastic or funny.”

Mr. Lidinsky later joined the General Counsel’s Office of the Federal Maritime Commission while Helen Delich Bentley was the chair.

He served as her legislative counsel and worked on and testified in support of the legislation that enabled the commission to bring the maritime industry into the age of containerization that was sweeping the globe and exploding trade, a family autobiographical sketch said.

In 1976, he returned to Baltimore and became a director at the Maryland Port Administration. He was legal counsel and director of tariffs and national port affairs.

An editorial in The News American called him “Watchdog of the Port.”

In 1982, while on a trade commission to China with other state officials and private Baltimore maritime companies, he drafted an agreement that the Chinese government shipping company COSCO signed. The agreement helped bring the company’s first ships to Baltimore.

Mr. Doyle, of the Maryland Port Administration, also said, “Rick represented the Port through both regional and national port organizations, and he was directly involved with helping to develop the Panama Canal Treaty Implementing Legislation and the Shipping Act of 1984.”

In 1986, he joined the international maritime conglomerate Sea Containers as its vice president for governmental affairs.

He had offices in Washington and London and negotiated contracts for the U.S. military to containerize its equipment. He was also a maritime adviser to NATO.

In 2008, President Barack Obama nominated Mr. Lidinsky to join the Federal Maritime Commission. He was named its chair in September 2009.

“During his chairmanship he had to confront the fact that over 90% of US maritime cargo was carried by foreign ships, and that a new global system of foreign alliances would dictate how US ports and consumers would be served,” said his family statement.

Mr. Lidinsky believed in forging ties with Chinese shipping firms. He addressed the COSCO 50th anniversary dinner in Beijing at the Great Hall of the People.

He attended the expansion of the Panama Canal Conference, which he had supported, in 2016. He left the commission that year.

An avid Orioles fan, he attended the team’s first game in April 1954 with his father. He also had a seat when the team played its last game at Memorial Stadium in 1991.

He attended the Colts-New York Giants NFL championship contest, widely called the “Greatest Game Ever Played,” in 1958 at Yankee Stadium.

He was a member of St. Ignatius Roman Catholic parish on North Calvert Street.

Survivors include his wife of 51 years, the former Mary Duston Temmink, a retired English instructor to speakers of other languages; two sons, Richard A. Lidinsky III of Los Angeles and John Lidinsky of Parkville; a sister, Mary Angela Mahoney of Baltimore; brothers Mark Lidinsky of Kent Island and Frank Lidinsky of Towson; and two grandchildren.

It is with great sadness that the family of Leo Joseph Morrissette announces his passing on Monday November 14th, 2022, at the North Bay Regional Health Center after a prolonged struggle with Parkinson’s disease. He died peacefully surrounded by his family.

Born in North Bay Sept. 2, 1932, Leo is survived by his wife Rita (Falconi), his daughter Kim, his son David (Joan Rousseau), his 7 grandchildren, Aaron Morrissette, Jessica Morrissette, Adam Morrissette, Melissa Morrissette, Sarah Lavallee (Morrissette), Mariah Morrissette, Shawna Morrissette, his great grandchildren, Lillian and Kai. He was a loving uncle to several nieces and nephews. He is predeceased by his parents Art and Hermine Morrissette. He was brother to the late Hector Morrissette, the late Bob Morrissette, the late Theresa Ethier and the late Jeannette Morrissette and brother-in- law to the late Ellena (late Foy) Gullick, Betty (late Judd) Zadow, the late Angelina (late Gary) Duquettte, Virgina (late Norman) Lafontaine, Adele Morrissette, Judy Morrissette (Late Jerry Ethier) (late Cecil Rawn)

Leo was a very active man who would walk every day to work at the ONR where he was an Engineer for 38 years. He went to the gym regularly and continued even while he had Parkinson’s. He was passionate about playing guitar and singing country and western music and cooking a la Ratatouille as well as gardening and travelling to Nelli Lake in the summer. He loved going on those sunny trips south with his sisters and brothers-in-law.

The family would like to express a special thank you to all the people including Dr. Laronde and the Near North physician group as well as Dr. Jinnha and Dr. Foell, who provided excellent care to Mr. Morrissette at the North Bay Regional Heath Center
during his stay.

Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Leo Morrissette.

Barbara died November 13th, after a long struggle with CMML Leukemia and Parkinson's, at 85 years-old. A seminal lesbian feminist activist and author starting in the1960s and the Second Wave of Feminism, she was fearless in fighting for civil rights and acceptance of lesbian and gay people. Her many achievements continue to influence and inspire.

After graduating from Syracuse University in 1959, she worked in publishing as an editor. Author of many articles and four books, including Sappho is a Right-On Woman (1972) and Feminists Who Changed America, 1963-1975. Regarding herself as "loud in all the right places," she prevailed in the bringing the National Organization for Women (NOW) to recognize lesbianism as a feminist issue and succeeded.
In 1977, the Carter Administration appointed her as a New York delegate to the National Women's Conference in Houston. A founding member of the National Gay Task Force in 1973, she received a commendation from the group in 1982 "For working tirelessly to educate the public about gay and lesbian concerns."

In 1982, she co-founded the AIDS Project of Greater Danbury with Dr. Donald Evans and others. Barbara is a co-founder of Identity House, a voluntary peer counseling group, and of Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG), formed with Morty and Jean Manford. She was a board member of Veteran Feminists of America. Barbara was honored recently by Gay City News with its Impact Award.
Born in Ridgewood, New Jersey, she is survived by her wife, Donna Smith; her sister, Ellamae Cobb; and her brother, Anthony Love.

Carol Stitt passed away at the age of 68 — she'd been battling Parkinson's disease for several years.

Stitt was the first executive director of the Foster Care Review Board in 1982

She helped write the child abuse training that is still used by law enforcement across the state.

Lynn Rex, the executive director of the League of Nebraska Municipalities sent KETV this statement Friday night.

She remembered her close friend as a "dedicated, fearless and extraordinary servant leader" who spent decades successfully advocating for foster children.

"Everyone who now works to protect the interests of foster children does so by standing on the shoulders of Carol Stitt," Rex said.

PLEASANTS, Richard Ewing Richard "Dick" Ewing Pleasants, a giant of the New England music scene for nearly five decades, died peacefully on Tuesday, November 8 after a long struggle with Parkinson's disease. 

Born on January 28,1947 in Boston, Massachusetts, Dick was the third of four children born to Helen Ewing Pleasants and Richard Rundle Pleasants. He spent his childhood in Groton, Massachusetts, and graduated from Lawrence Academy in 1965. 

He was a gifted athlete who played football, hockey, and baseball. At age 10 Dick discovered his passion for radio, setting up a small transmitter that could broadcast a mile or so from his home. A lover of people, dogs, folk festivals, country drives, cards, good food, and friends, Dick is best known for his generosity and kindness, which nurtured the lives of his friends and family for 75 years. 

After graduating from Emerson College in 1970, Dick began his career hosting folk programs on the South Shore, gathering audiences across the state before joining WGBH in Boston in 1978 as host and producer of the "Folk Heritage" show, which ran for more than 25 years. He spent the last 15 years of his on-air career at WUMB, the public radio station based at UMass-Boston. 

A champion of the local folk scene, Dick presented musicians from across the folk music genre, both known and unknown, launching the careers of many storied acts. For many years, Dick also moonlighted as a concert promoter through his production company, Ear To The Ground Productions, bringing singer/songwriters like Garnet Rogers, Greg Brown, Patty Larkin, and many others to the Emerson Umbrella and other local venues. He also launched numerous folk festivals, music stores, societies, and all manner of organizations to promote the art of folk music. He was the founding Executive Director of Summer Acoustic Music Week camp on Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire, where aspiring musicians take classes with established folk singers. Among his accomplishments, Summer Acoustic Music Week held a special place in his heart. 

In the many tributes online and in social media since his death, he is remembered by colleagues and fans for his kindness and warmth delivered in his dulcet baritone over the airwaves. He is survived by daughter Julia Pleasants and her partner Zoot Grantham; stepdaughter Hilary (Watt) Sontag and her husband Nick Sontag; grandchildren Seeger and Summer, sisters, Belinda Smith and Cornelia Pleasants. He was predeceased by sister Elizabeth Whitehead. He also leaves behind many beloved nieces, nephews and extended family and former wife, Kathleen Shugrue. 

Published by Boston Globe from Nov. 10 to Nov. 13, 2022.

Jeff Cook, a co-founding member of the trendsetting Country Music Hall of Fame band Alabama, died Monday at age 73.

For a decade, Cook battled Parkinson’s disease, a progressive disorder of the nervous system that affects movement and causes tremors. He publicly disclosed his diagnosis in 2017.

A representative for the band confirmed his death Tuesday afternoon to the Tennessean. Cook died at his beachside home in Destin, Florida.

As a guitarist, fiddle player and vocalist in Alabama, Cook — alongside cousins Randy Owen and Teddy Gentry — helped sketch a blueprint for what a hitmaking band can achieve in country music. He and the band filled in that sketch with a slew of hits now considered by many to be essential country music listening: "Song of the South," "Mountain Music," "I'm In A Hurry," "Cheap Seats," and "My Home's In Alabama," among many others.

A native of small-town Fort Payne, Alabama, Cook began chasing his love of music on radio airwaves as a disc jockey in his hometown. In 1969, he co-founded the band Young Country alongside Owen and Gentry — planting the seeds for what later grew into Alabama. By the mid-1970s, the cousins performed as Wildcountry, cutting their teeth in nearby cities — like Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, where the band embraced a balance of country songwriting and Southern rock sensibilities on long nights inside local club the Bowery.

The band adopted a new name in 1977: Alabama. Two years later — after a run of modest radio success and adopting full-time drummer Mark Herndon — Cook, Owen and Gentry accepted an invitation to play the tastemaking "New Faces" showcase at the annual Country Radio Seminar in Nashville.

What came next? It might as well be country music history.

The band inked a deal later that year with RCA, beginning a remarkable run on the country radio charts. Alabama landed eight No. 1 songs on the country charts between spring 1980 and summer 1982, according to the Country Music Hall of Fame. That run included pop crossover hits "Love In The First Degree" and "Feels So Right," as well as "Tennessee River" and "Mountain Music" — staple Alabama songs that the group continued playing for decades to come.

And success didn't stall after this rocket-launched start in the early '80s. Between 1980 and 1993, at least one Alabama song topped the country charts every year. The band earned a slew of awards in that time, including a three-year run at CMA Entertainer of the Year from 1982-1984 and five ACM Award Entertainer of the Year trophies from '81-'85.

In a city dominated by solo artists and vocal groups, Alabama proved an instrument-playing band could forge a path to country success matched by few artists at the time.

“Country music was always about solo artists, and I think they capitalized on what the [o]utlaws had started, which was amassing a youth audience for the genre," country music historian Robert K. Oermann said in 2017. He added, "Jeff was the instrumental wizard who could do fiddle and guitar."

On stage, Cook held down fiddle, guitar playing and keyboards, adding layered backing vocals to the band's smooth, inviting melodies. His playing? It sent "people dancing all over the place," said Country Music Hall of Fame member Joe Galante, a former RCA executive who helped shepherd Alabama's career.

"... while he wasn’t front and center all the time, his contributions really made a difference when you listen for the hook," Galante told the Tennessean in 2017. "Those are hallmarks of records that will last well beyond our lifetimes."

For some, Cook's on-stage showmanship and behind-the-scenes friendship helped shape a class of entertainers to follow. Country hitmaker Kenny Chesney — who shared stages with Alabama early in his career — described Cook and the band as being "so generous with wisdom" during the singer's formative years.

"[Alabama] showed a kid in a t-shirt that country music could be rock, could be real, could be someone who looked like me," Chesney said Tuesday. "Growing up in East Tennessee, that gave me the heart to chase this dream."

After an initial farewell tour that wrapped in 2004, Alabama reunited in 2011 for a charity concert benefitting tornado victims in the group's namesake state. In his time away from Alabama, Cook released a handful of solo projects. He toured with his Allstar Goodtime Band and released collaborations with Charlie Daniels and "Star Trek" star William Shatner.

Cook entered the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2005 as a member of Alabama — joining the most sought-after club in country music.

Alabama returned to touring in earnest with a 40th-anniversary celebration in 2013. Four years later, Cook scaled back performances with the band due to the ongoing impact of his Parkinson’s diagnosis.

He stopped touring with Alabama around 2018. As of 2019, his bandmates told the Tennessean they ensured his gear was set up before each show — just in case he wanted to step on stage.

He co-wrote a song on a 2015 comeback album called "No Bad Days" that in time took a new meaning for the Hall of Fame musician.

“After I got the Parkinson’s diagnosis, people would quote the song to me and say, ‘No bad days,’ ” Cook told The Tennessean in 2019. “They write me letters, notes and emails and they sign ‘No Bad Days.’ I know the support is there. They join me. People I don’t know come up to me and say, ‘How ya feeling?’ You just got to live it every day and take it as it comes. Prayer does work. And I know there was a lot of praying going on.”

Cook is survived by Lisa Cook, his wife of 27 years.

Diane Marie Colonna Prigorac, 71, of Aliquippa, passed away in the comfort of her home, Monday, November 7, 2022, following a courageous battle with Parkinson’s Disease.

Born April 29, 1951, in Rochester, PA, she was the daughter of the late Victor and Mary Jane (Masciantonio) Colonna. Diane leaves to cherish her memory her beloved husband of 45 years, Rudy Prigorac, and four devoted and loving children: Mira (Chris) Raso, Jonathan (Olivia) Prigorac, Joshua Prigorac, and Jeremy Prigorac. Also surviving are her two stepchildren: Amy (Bill) Taylor and Matthew Prigorac. She was “Nonni” to four beautiful grandchildren: Gabriel, Nathan, and Alexandra Raso and Lucija Prigorac. Diane also leaves behind her loving and loyal brothers and sisters: Victor (Jill) Colonna, David (Renee) Colonna, Marianne (Anthony) Marsilio, and Christopher (Deana) Colonna. She will also be remembered warmly by several nieces and nephews.

As a Special Education teacher at Hopewell High School, Diane helped countless students and was known affectionately as “Mrs. P.”. She adored her children, and especially looked forward to putting her grandkids on the bus every morning. She had fun bowling, collecting clocks, playing cards and going out to lunch with her family, traveling with her husband, and watching “The Voice” and “Dancing with the Stars”. She watched her sons play football on Friday nights, and in the fall, football was always on the television. Her favorite teams were Penn State and the Steelers. Diane enjoyed hosting the family’s Christmas Eve celebration every year, where she put out an elaborate spread, including roasted pig, lupini beans, her homemade grape leaves, Russian torte, stuffed cabbage, and Italian baccala. Diane was a devout Catholic and lifelong member of St. Titus Church. She will be missed by all who knew her.

Friends will be received Wednesday, November 9, 2022, from 4pm until 7pm at TATALOVICH FUNERAL HOME AND CREMATION SERVICES, INC., 2205 McMinn St., Aliquippa, PA, 15001, where a service will be held Thursday, November 10, 2022, at 9:30am, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 10am, at St. Titus Catholic Church, Aliquippa, PA. Interment will follow at Mt. Olivet Catholic Cemetery, Hopewell Twp.

The family would like to thank her caregivers, Megan, Lissa, Cindy, and Dr. Sam Urick, for all their kindness and loving care.

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Maureen on November 2, 2022. She was 65 years of age.

She was born in Bathurst, New Brunswick, on June 27, 1957. She was predeceased by her father, John Kennah. She leaves behind her loving husband of 41 years, Irwin, her daughter Jennifer (Matt) Sigston, and their two sons Levi and Max, and her son Ryan (Kelly Barbeau).
After being diagnosed with Young Onset Parkinson’s in 2007 at 49 years old, she spent the next 15 years “trying everything” to minimize the many symptoms and side effects of the disease. After a valiant effort which included DBS (Deep Brain Stimulation) surgery in 2019, she made the decision to investigate MAiD (Medical Assistance in Dying).

She leaves behind her mother, Evelyne Kennah, her two sisters Jane (Gary) Williams, and Ann (Lyle) Walker, and her brother, John (Hélène) Kennah and many nieces and nephews.

Maureen and Irwin and their children moved to Salmon Arm in 1992 and she began teaching at Eagle River Secondary in Sicamous until Parkinson’s forced her to stop doing the job that she loved in 2009.
Maureen loved to spend time in her beautiful back yard under her magnificent White Wonder Dogwood with Jellybean, her much loved Yorkshire terrier.

Even though she was an extremely private person, Maureen was committed to making a contribution to Parkinson’s awareness. She described it as a cruel disease and felt compelled to use her personal journey as a way to show the true reality of the disease through a series of articles and videos in the Salmon Arm Observer.

When her symptoms progressed to the point where DBS became the necessary next step, she went to work with the support of her family and friends to lobby for more timely access to this life-changing surgery. Maureen was especially proud of her role in decreasing wait time for DBS surgery in the province of BC and for lobbying to hire a second neurosurgeon.

Because of Covid this has not yet been accomplished. She hopes that others will carry the torch forward and hold the provincial government to their word.

Another project that Maureen was proud to be involved in was the creation of the so-well-used skateboard park in Salmon Arm.

Maureen chose to pass away at 11 a.m., November 2, in Salmon Arm surrounded by her family.