The Memorial Wall

French paleontologist Yves Coppins, famous for discovering in Ethiopia in 1974 the skeleton of Lucy, the ancestors of humans dating back about 3.2 million years, the most famous Australopithecus afarensis, died today at the age of 87 after a long illness. Coppins is considered the “father of prehistory”, who revolutionized thanks to dozens of discoveries in paleobiology over the course of more than half a century. In October 2021, he organized a workshop on symbolism and the religious sense in man from the beginning at the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, of which he has been a member since 2014.

He was Professor Emeritus of Ancient and Prehistoric Anthropology at the College de France, Director Emeritus of the Musée du Manne in Paris, and a member of scientific institutions around the world, including the Royal Academy of Sciences, the European Academy, the Royal Belgian Academy, the National Academy of Sciences in Rome and the Institut Royal Anthropology.

Born in Vans on August 9, 1934, Coppins began his research first in Brittany while in high school and then at the Sorbonne in Rennes in Paris, where he studied geology, zoology, botany, and palaeontology. In 1956 he joined the French National Center for Scientific Research and dealt with distant periods and distant countries, particularly the borders of the Third and Quaternary eras in the tropics of the Old World. Beginning in 1960, he organized important expeditions first on his own in Chad, then in international cooperation, in Ethiopia (Omo Valley and Afar Basin) as well as numerous expeditions in Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Mauritania, South Africa, Indonesia, the Philippines, China and Siberia. His research focused on the paleontology of vertebrates (proboscis, hippos), their formation and importance to paleoenvironments, climate, biology, as well as paleoanthropology. The fruit of those expeditions is remarkable: tens of tons of fossils including more than a thousand human remains which could have been studied with amazing results, shedding light on the history of the past ten million years. He is known for his hypotheses that highlight the interrelationships between human evolution and the evolution of the environment.

In 1969 Cobbins was called to the deputy director of the Museum of Man, who became its director in 1980 at the same time
To dedicate the Anthropology Chair to the National Museum of Natural History. Meanwhile, travel to the Omo River valley in Ethiopia, an important site for the discovery of ancient humans. At the request of Haile Selassie, Emperor of Ethiopia, the British paleoanthropologist Louis Leakey organized an international expedition in which Yves Coppins participated, discovering the remains of Australopithecus Aethiopicos (2.5 million years ago).

Then the French scientist headed to Afar in eastern Ethiopia: in 1974 Lucy (Australopithecus afarensis) was discovered with Maurice Tayeb and Don Johansson (USA). Lucy’s 52 bones (a human skeleton has 206) made it possible to reconstruct her weight, age, and movement and to discover that pre-humans walked and climbed trees. Lucy’s name comes from the Beatles song “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,” whose tunes rang out in the field.

Over the years, Coppins has formulated hypotheses proposing an ecological explanation for the separation of Hominidae Panidae 8 million years ago (1983), another hypothesis that identified the first appearance of Australopithecines 4 million years ago (1999), and another hypothesis about the emergence of the genus Homo 3 million years ago (1975) . These three stages postulated by Coppins are connected vertically or transversely within real trees, and each creates the conditions for the next stage, while developing its own stock in an original and independent manner.

Drawing on the different speeds of development of biology and technology, Yves Coppins also explained how the acquired gradually prevailed over the innate, giving man freedom and responsibility, and why human evolution slowed and then stopped.

Norman F. Steinberg, the co-founder of the Mayer & Steinberg Inc. insurance company, died from Parkinson’s disease on June 22 at his Pikesville home. While he was largely known in the industry for specializing in insurance and hard work, Mr. Steinberg also cherished family, travel, and the little things in life. The former longtime Pikesville resident was 91.

Mr. Steinberg, son of Julia and Irvin Steinberg, grocery store owners, was born in Baltimore.

After graduating from Baltimore City Community College in 1948, Mr. Steinberg attended the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy for two years before realizing his calling to start an insurance agency; he co-founded Mayer & Steinberg Inc. with his partner Alex Mayer in 1959.

“To him, it wasn’t just a matter of selling something— it was about having that integrity and knowledge to be able to tell the people what services they actually needed,” said his daughter Joy Robinson.

Mr. Steinberg quickly became a leading expert in the industry, earning a Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter credential for specializing in risk management and property-casualty insurance. He also helped kickstart a program that would help others become more knowledgeable about the in’s and out’s of the insurance industry.

In addition to having a driven work ethic and creating a name for himself in the world of insurance, Mr. Steinberg also valued traveling the world and spending time with his family.

He traveled to every continent in the world except Antarctica, according to Mrs. Robinson.

“It was really nice to see that he savored all the places that he traveled. He had no fear — he always wanted to try everything.”

Mr. Steinberg frequently bonded with others he came across during his travels around the globe, creating meaningful friendships with people from other states or countries that would last for decades. He would fully embrace cultural traditions and seek out authentic experiences in each country he visited.

Additionally, Mr. Steinberg enjoyed photography and capturing memories he would make on his different adventures.

“Every time he took trips out of the country, he would come back and have a slide presentation for people to see,” said his brother, former Maryland Lt. Gov. Melvin “Mickey” Steinberg.

Mrs. Robinson described her father as someone who constantly loved living and learning.

“He was very smart, very intelligent, and had a sense of figuring things out. He always would have life lessons to give us.”

He was an active, extroverted person who enjoyed a variety of activities, including dancing, golfing, playing tennis, attending shows, traveling and meeting new people. He was a good listener and someone people could count on for anything.

Mrs. Robinson recalls a time when she needed her father to pick her up from Ocean City when her car broke down and she was stranded with a friend. Her father was out dancing that night but dropped everything to pick up his daughter once she paged him saying she needed him.

“I knew that if I called him, he would come,” Robinson said. “That was the thing — we could always depend on him to be there and for all of us.”

Former Lt. Gov. Steinberg also attests to this by recalling his earlier childhood years with his older brother, with whom he shared a “close” and “special” relationship.

As a child, Mr. Steinberg’s younger brother would often get sick at school.

“We only lived a couple of blocks from the elementary school — and so, my brother would carry me home on his shoulders,” his brother said. “He always took care of me. He was my big brother.”

In addition to their closeness during childhood, they also fostered a caring relationship throughout former Lt. Gov. Steinberg’s election campaigns.

“He was always very proud of me. He was proud of my accomplishments and everything, and he was very active in my campaign. He really appreciated everything that I accomplished, as much as I did. There was no jealousy— he was always just proud of me for different things.”

A month or two after former Lt. Gov. Steinberg was officially out of office, it was only then that Mr. Steinberg filed for residency in Florida, signaling that he had wanted to stay close to his brother throughout his election campaigns and his time in office.

“I think he felt that he wanted to be able to vote and continue to support and contribute to my election. He was that type.”

Mr. Steinberg possessed a keen, special quality of being able to savor and appreciate all the simple things that life had to offer him— things that others may ignore or take for granted. Whether it was family trips to the beach, spending the night on a dance floor with his beloved wife, playing with his grandchildren or stumbling upon a generic Costco drink that tastes almost exactly like Grey Goose— Mr. Steinberg had a “joie de vivre,” according to his daughter— a zest for life.

“It’s interesting to see somebody so well-rounded and just have that appreciation for all these things. He believed that it wasn’t about the destination, it was the journey. And he really did savor all these moments and times with his children, his grandchildren, his friends, his colleagues,” said Mrs. Robinson.

He is survived by his children, Sharon Rose Yospe, Steven Steinberg and Joy Robinson; as well as his grandchildren and 10 great-grandsons.

He is also survived by his brother, former Lt. Gov. Melvin “Mickey” Steinberg, and his loving companion, Mary Grodnitzky.

Bettye Elaine Steinberg, his beloved wife of 62 years, died in October 2013.

David Eugene Stone was born in Kansas City, Missouri, November 24th, 1953 to Richard and Edith Stone. The Stone family relocated to Oklahoma City in August 1961. He attended Putnam City High School and graduated in 1973. David married his beloved wife Nicki in 1974 and they remained devoted to each other for the rest of his life. His children Carlee and Dylan were his pride and joy, his devotion to his family was never ending. He owned an air filtration business with his brother Bill for 30 years in Oklahoma City selling nationwide. In 2007 he and Nicki relocated to Arizona and then California. He was an avid Kansas City Chiefs and OU football fan. David was known by all as a kind, gentle man who had an infectious laugh, great sense of humor, and a heart of gold.

David is survived by his wife Nicki, his daughter Carlee, his son Dylan, brothers Bill and Eric, and his sister Sarah. His loving parents, Richard and Edith, preceded him in death. David’s last act of kindness was his decision to leave his body to Research for Life, in hopes they can learn about his rare neurological disease, and can possibly help other people and families in the future.

“And I think to myself, what a wonderful world…”

Top Islamic eulogist Mohammad-Ali Karimkhani died at his home in Tehran on Monday after years of suffering from Parkinson’s disease. He was 72.

Karimkhani was best well-known for the ritual song “A Piece from the Heaven” or “I Came, O King, Shelter Me” that he sang for Imam Reza (AS), the eighth Imam of the Shia.

Born in Narjeh, a village near the city of Qazvin, he was interested in attending religious rituals from childhood. In his youth, he moved to Tehran to receive education on Islamic eulogy from numerous masters in this field.  

“Since childhood, I recited the Quran and was interested in Islamic eulogy,” he once said in an interview.

“During adolescence, I also continued my performances in religious events and received a lot of praise from people. My father and grandfather all enjoyed good voices, but they never performed in any official ceremonies; thus, I’m a born singer,” he added.

He recorded several albums and gave numerous fine performances during religious ceremonies, however, he shot to fame by singing “I Came, O King, Shelter Me”.   

With contributions from composer Aria Aziminejad, he performed the piece with a poem from Habibollah Chaichian, who, in this poem, refers to Imam Reza (AS) as king. The composition features a helpless person begging for help from the Imam at his shrine.    

Karimkhani had even performed the song at several of his relatives’ wedding ceremonies, due to popular demand.   

Vocalist Homayun Shajarian used the melody of the song to record “Man Koja, Baran Koja”, from his album “My Iran”. Accordingly, he dedicated the song to Karimkhani.

Karimkhani and Aziminejad also teamed up for “The Drunkard Cupbearer” about Imam Hussein (AS) and the epic of Ashura.

He was extremely meticulous in selecting a poem for singing and used all the capability of his voice to perform each song. 

His care for exploiting the most appropriate dastgah in traditional Persian music for his performances played a pivotal role to make his works popular.

Legendary former WWE referee Dave Hebner, who served for more than three decades as a referee and backstage official passed away at the age of 73. 

The twin brother of fellow referee Earl Hebner, Dave began working around their hometown of Richmond, Virginia in the 1970s before joining the then-WWF in the 1980s. He worked big matches during the company’s Rock ‘n’ Wrestling era, including Ricky Steamboat & Randy Savage’s show-stealing affair at WrestleMania III. Both Hebners got a piece of the spotlight with 1988’s “evil twin” ref angle, which included Earl being paid off by Ted DiBiase to replace Dave and ensure Andre the Giant won the WWF Championship from Hulk Hogan on an edition of The Main Event.

After having knee replacement surgery, Dave stopped working in the ring and became a road agent. He continued in that role with WWE until 2005 when he was released, then did some work with TNA and on the indies.

Dave Hebner was 73. In recent years he suffered from a variety of ailments, including dementia & Parkinson’s disease. He was part of last decade’s ultimately dismissed class action lawsuit that brought against WWE over CTE and other neurological issues.

In the 2009 interview, Hebner praised his wife Rebecca, who he met as a teenager, and married on September 20, 1968. “We’ve been married for 40 years. We got married, she was 17 and I was 19. I stole her out the cradle,” he chuckled. “My wife has stood behind me 100% ever since I’ve been in the business. There’s no wife that can be any better than my wife.” They had two daughters, Christina and Becky.

Dave Hebner died around noon on June 17, 2022, at at his home in Mechanicsville, Virginia.

After iconic motorcycle engineer Steve Harris sold Harris Performance to Royal Enfield in 2015, the Royal Enfield Twins American Flat Track entry has remained the firm’s most high-profile project. However, before the acquisition, the Hertford, England-based company specialized in road racing worldwide.

The self-taught Harris first made a name for himself by fabricating racing chassis for privateer and factory outfits. The Brit even built one-off frames for the likes of two-time 500cc Grand Prix champion Barry Sheene. Aside from specializing in chassis construction, Harris assembled full bikes as well as designing and selling performance accessories.

“Steve was the instigator, and in many ways the driving force. He was gregarious, always looked at the big picture, and felt that anything was possible,” revealed Harris’ brother Lester. “At the time, motorcycle technology was quite basic. There were a lot of good engines, but chassis design wasn’t so good.”

Founded in 1972, Harris Performance quickly became synonymous with Magnum frame kits throughout the ‘80s and ‘90s, but the brand always pushed the performance envelope in the Superbike World Championship (WSBK) and Grand Prix series. In 1991, Yamaha allowed the company to purchase YZR500 engines to install in Harris-designed-and-built frames for the 500cc Grand Prix World Championship category.

From 1992 to 1996, the celebrated engineer ran the Shell-sponsored Harris 500 GP team with Sean Emmett in the saddle. Harris frequently juggled several projects too, with Suzuki tapping him to develop the GSX-R750 WSBK race machine and distributed factory-style race kit components to Suzuki customers worldwide.

In 1999, Harris supported the Kawasaki Motors UK Superbike Team and formed the Harris Honda Britain Superbike team in 2000. In the following years, however, Harris took a step back from the race paddock and re-focused his attention on chassis development. He started relations with Royal Enfield in 2008 and eventually sold Harris Performance to Eicher Motors Ltd in 2015.

After living with Parkinson’s disease for years, Harris died on June 15, 2022. Despite his passing, Harris’ contributions to motorcycle racing will live on through Royal Enfield’s competitive flat track project.

John D. (Jack) Jones II '69 passed away peacefully at home, surrounded by his wife and children.

A dedicated family man, he was also an accomplished businessman and philanthropist who was widely respected by those who knew him both personally and professionally. He was described as generous, wise and tirelessly supportive of his family, friends and larger community.

Jones was born on Aug. 6, 1947, in Scranton, Pennsylvania, to John L. Jones ("Pop") and Helen Treslar. He was the eldest of four children as the family grew to include brothers Leslie and Morgan and sister Peggy. He grew up in Baltimore, Maryland, until 1964, when the family moved west and settled in Thousand Oaks, California.

Jones attended UCLA, where he earned a degree in mathematics, and followed his father into the aerospace industry, working as an engineer for Garrett AiResearch. He also managed a small apartment building in Westwood while attending UCLA, which laid the groundwork for a prosperous and rewarding career in real estate that spanned over 50 years. In late 1971, Jones and his father went into real estate full time and founded John L. Jones & Sons Inc. A few years later they took a huge risk by mortgaging their homes and purchasing the opportunity of a lifetime. Jones and his parents, with a number of trusting investors, purchased an apartment building in Los Angeles that was 10 times the size of any other building they owned. It was a make-or-break moment in Jones' life and, fortunately for him and his family, it paid off.

Jones was able to grow his business and attract investors because his mission was to buy in overlooked neighborhoods and constantly improve the buildings. He believed in treating people fairly and that trust and integrity were of utmost importance. He invested in neighborhoods around Los Angeles, including the Crenshaw corridor and Baldwin Hills, and was committed to giving residents a home where they could thrive and be treated reasonably.

In 1971, Jones married his first wife, Marcia. His son John was born in 1974, followed by his daughter Jennifer in 1977. Jones was a devoted father and loved taking his family on adventures around the world. When his children were young, he coached their little league and soccer teams. As they got older, he enjoyed taking Jennifer to rock concerts throughout her middle school years, hockey games in high school and basketball games on his visits to her while she attended college. Jones shared his love of golf with John, and they traveled to Augusta, Georgia, for the Masters golf tournament on multiple occasions.

In 1994, Jones established a new real estate company, Greystone Management Group, and continued to add to his portfolio of buildings. In 2002, John took over as President, allowing Jones to semi-retire and spend more time doing things he loved. In 2000, he married Cindy, and they traveled the world, enjoyed practicing yoga together and hosting dinner parties with friends and family.

In 2005, Jones became a doting grandpa to Sophia, who was followed by Trevor and Henry. Jones was a welcoming and kind father-in-law to John’s wife, Tara, and Jennifer’s, husband Joey.

In 2014, Jones founded the Jack and Cindy Jones Boys & Girls Club of Mar Vista Gardens. He was a hands-on benefactor of the club, acting as mentor and friend to countless young people in the years that followed. He was especially delighted to welcome groups of kids from the club to his home for summer pool parties, which he hosted frequently.

Jones maintained his sense of humor, described as "amazing and mischievous," through his final days. He loved a perfectly styled outfit, a delicious meal and, above all, the company of those he loved.

J. Joseph Grandmaison, 79, of Portsmouth, NH, died June 11, 2022 from the effects of Parkinson’s disease.  Born May 19, 1943 as middle son of Oscar and Irene (Bouchard) Grandmaison, Joe served 2 years as Nashua’s Ward 7 Alderman and thereafter began a career in Democratic politics and government service including major roles in Sen. George McGovern for President 1972;  Michael Dukakis for Governor 1974;  Sen. John Glenn for President 1984;  and Gov. Bill Clinton for President 1992.

Joe was a proud member of Nashua High School’s Class of 1960, a graduate of Burdett College and a Fellow at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government-Institute of Politics.    He was his Party’s nominee for Congress in NH’s 2nd District in 1976 and for Governor in 1990.  Joe also served as Chairman of the NH Democratic Party and in the NH National Guard.  

In government service, Joe was named Federal Co-Chairman of the New England Regional Commission by President Carter; Director of the US Trade & Development Agency by President Clinton; and appointed twice to the Board of Directors of the Export-Import Bank by President George W. Bush.    

Joe was predeceased by his parents and brother Peter.    He is survived by his brother Philip and his wife Ann; nephew Adam and his fiancé Lena Nersesian and their daughter Parker Ann Grandmaison; and niece Sarah Manheim, her husband Josh and their sons Henry Joseph and Theodore Philip Manheim, all of California.

After residing in Washington, DC and Rye, NH for many years, Joe relocated to Wentworth Senior Living in Portsmouth in 2020.  Wentworth’s staff, Beacon Hospice’s staff and volunteers and care managers Anna Shultz and Carol  Sanderson provided him with comfort and love.    His career in public life enabled him to collect many friends who reached out to him in recent months to express their support and affection.

On June 10, 2022, after a long battle with Parkinson's disease, John F. Kerrigan died peacefully, with his wife and daughters at his bedside.