The Memorial Wall

Robert Staples Howard, Howard Publications newspaper founder dies at 97. Robert (Bob) Howard died February 11, at home in Palm Desert after a long battle with Parkinson's. Bob had an illustrious career buying, selling and publishing daily and weekly newspapers. He amassed 18 dailies under the Howard Publications banner with some 2,000 employees and nearly a half million circulation.

The son of (Capt) Earl Eaton Howard and Helen (Staples) Howard, the publishers of a small weekly in Wheaton, MN, Bob was born October 23, 1924, the third of three children. The family had an Army Heritage with Earl serving in WWI and Bob and his brother Col. Thomas Howard in WWII. Thomas was a staff officer for General Patton through Africa, Italy and Germany. Bob, left the University of Minnesota becoming a Second Lieutenant in the Army Air Corp flying bombers as a navigator and nose gunner in the South Pacific. He earned a Purple Heart after being shot down in the Battle of Layte.

After the war Bob returned to University where he met and married Lillian Irene Crabtree. They moved home soon after to relieve his widowed mother of publishing the Wheaton Gazette. Thus began his long career of buying and selling papers making eight moves in different states across the U.S. His management acumen was noticed by the owners of the Scripps League of Seattle who hired Bob to manage their group of dailies. He later sold Scripps his papers in Kalispell, Montana and Pocatello, Idaho going back out on his own by purchasing a paper in Chester, Pennsylvania where he founded Howard Publications, collecting dailies, cable companies and television stations.

During their many moves Lil and Bob had four children: Thomas, Andrea, William and David. Tom and Bill published newspapers in Wyoming and Idaho in their early years. Later Tom and David founded Howard Energy diversifying the family holdings into oil and gas exploration and further into pharmaceuticals. Bill and Andrea's husband, Jack Palmer remained running the newspapers until they were sold to Lee Enterprises in 2002 ending the families three generations of publishing but beginning an era of philanthropy. Much of his fortune was returned, mostly anonymously, through his foundation to the various communities where he lived and published. The list of his gifts is extensive; nothing grandiose or flashy but targeted and needs fulfilling at the community level, all given quietly and modestly.

Both Lillian and Tom died in Montana, Lillian of a brain hemorrhage in 2008 at 86 and Tom of esophageal cancer in 2019. Bob spent his final 12 years with a new love, Peggy Jacobs, in Palm Springs, CA and his Lakeside, Montana summer home.

He is survived by Peggy Jacobs, his three remaining children and spouses, 17 Grandchildren, and 25 great grandchildren .

Ned Phillippe was born in 1946, and died peacefully in his home of Parkinson's disease on Fed 10, 2022. He was the oldest son of Don and Ruth Phillippe of Indiana and is survived by two brothers, John and Tom. Ned earned a MS degree in education from Indiana University. He worked as a teacher, and in transportation with Northwest Airlines and Amtrak.

John Q. John Q. Trojanowski, M.D., Ph.D., a physician, neuropathologist and scientist at University of Pennsylvania, a guy who identified major toxic proteins that drive many neurodegenerative diseases and developed animal models to match the discoveries, died on February 8th. He was 75. His findings over the decades would change what the field knew about conditions like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's disease, frontotemporal dementia and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, offering evidence that the different toxic proteins share a common biological mechanism: they spread toxic proteins from cell to cell corrupting their normal counterpart to become toxic along the way, and in the end the brain may have many different toxic proteins, and not just the ones associated with a particular disease. Dr. Trojanowski was passionate about science and driven, and this gentle giant of a scientist -- he was 6'4 -- shared his scientific and personal life with his wife, Penn biochemist Virginia Lee. Their findings opened up new avenues of research in neurodegenerative diseases. The duo trained so many scientists over their 45 years together, and many credit their success to what they learned in the Trojanowski/ Lee lab. Dr. Trojanowski received his medical and doctoral degrees at Tufts University. He did graduate training in Rotterdam and came back to the states for his residency in neuropathology at Massachusetts General and Harvard Medical School. He met his life-long collaborator, Dr. Lee, in Massachusetts and the two of them moved to University of Pennsylvania in the early 1980s, and have been there since then. Dr. Trojanowski created so many firsts at UPenn, including a brain bank, the Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, and a center to develop drugs to target these toxic proteins. He was founding director of the ADRC, director at the Institute on Aging at Penn; director of the Morris K. Udall Parkinson's Disease Research Center of Excellence. John Trojanowski was one of seven children raised on Army bases throughout the country and in Guam. Their father was a career Army officer, and then settled into a comfortable career in real estate in Connecticut. He was passionate about science and knew he wanted to go to medical school, and not into the family business. He never looked back. He is survived by his wife, Dr. Lee, and his brother David and four of his other siblings. Dr. Lee and his other colleagues are planning a memorial symposium on neurodegeneration in the Fall.

Former Shasta County District Attorney Stephen Carlton, who served twice as the county's top prosecutor, has died.

Carlton passed away Feb. 7 in Redding at the age of 79.

His wife of 50 years, Terri, said Carlton struggled the past two years with Parkinson's disease and Lewy body dementia, the same disease that comedian Robin Williams suffered from.

Carlton had been living in a memory-care center in Redding the past 10 months, Terri Carlton said.

Carlton was first elected as Shasta County's district attorney in 1981 and served until 1990. He successfully ran for the post again in 2011 and retired in December 2016.

"In his nearly 50-year law career, Carlton made a lasting impact on Shasta County and will be missed by many in the office," current District Attorney Stephanie Bridgett said on Facebook.

"Carlton was a well-regarded defense attorney, prosecutor and district attorney in Shasta County," Bridgett said. "I’ve known him both professionally and personally my entire career and have many fond memories of him. ... He had a lasting impact in his service as district attorney."

On his retirement, Carlton recommended that Bridgett take over the DA's post when she was the chief deputy district attorney.

In a 2016 Record Searchlight interview, Carlton said he tried about 350 cases before a jury during his 24 years as a prosecutor — 16 of them as the elected DA — and 25 years as a defense attorney.

Shasta County District Attorney Stephanie Bridgett, left, appears with Stephen Carlton in March 2016. Carlton died Feb. 7 at the age of 79.

Terri Carlton described her husband as a great family man who loved his two children and three grandchildren. She said he also adored his parents, who grew up in Redding.

Carlton was raised in Redding but was born in San Francisco. "His mother went to San Francisco to have her babies," she said.

Terri Carlton said personally, her husband was a kind person who treated everyone fairly.

"He was a people person. He thought everyone was good," she said. "Professionally he felt everyone deserved a fair and just look at their particular case."

As district attorney, she said Carlton wanted to give defendants a chance at rehabilitation over automatic prison time, especially first-time offenders.

"He would always tell me, 'I have to look at myself in the mirror every morning and live with my decisions,'" she said. "His campaign platform was justice for all."

Marty Morgenstern, who spent a career dedicated to labor issues and was a close advisor to former Gov. Jerry Brown, died last week at his home in a suburb of Sacramento. He was 87.

Friends and family said that Morgenstern, who stepped down as secretary of the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency in 2013, died of complications related to Parkinson's disease.

Few advisors served Brown longer or with more loyalty than Morgenstern, a New York City native whose relationship with the Democratic governor spanned more than 50 years. In an interview, Brown said Morgenstern was one of the most intelligent and straightforward people he's ever known.

"He was one of the few whose advice you could always rely on," Brown said. "Because if he wasn’t sure, he would tell you.

When Brown returned to serve a third term as governor in 2011, one of his first appointments was Morgenstern as secretary of the Labor and Workforce Development Agency.

Morgenstern's tenure lasted almost three years. When he left the administration, he told The Times that his theory of government could be explained in just three sentences: “We never have enough money. We’ve always got to be careful with the money we spend. And, always make sure you spend the minimum amount of money to get the job done.”

In his stint as labor secretary, Morgenstern helped Brown twist arms in the Legislature for a far-reaching overhaul of California's workers' compensation program in 2012. And he was a key negotiator in Brown's effort that year to revamp public employee pension rules, a trimming of future benefits that was a hard sell among many in organized labor. One key provision, requiring negotiations to set some of the new employee contribution rates, was in line with Morgenstern's own long belief in settling important labor issues through collective bargaining.

Julie Su, who was recruited by Morgenstern to serve as California's labor commissioner in 2011, said perhaps even more lasting was his commitment to reshaping state labor law in an effort to crack down on wage theft. She said she had warned Morgenstern that the effort to help low-income workers would not be easy and would mean taking on some powerful business interests.

Tommy Dubuque, born March 3, 1949 in Austin, TX, passed away peacefully in New Braunfels, TX on February 3, 2022, surrounded by his loved ones. Tommy was a proud US Navy veteran and served two tours in Vietnam from 1967-1971. He was the humble recipient of the Purple Heart, Combat Action Ribbon, National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, and the Vietnam Campaign Medal.

Tommy married his beautiful bride, Peggy Lewis, on March 4, 1980. Peggy was his inspiration for sobriety. He was proud of his sobriety of over 40 years.

Tommy was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease in 2005, which prompted his tireless work building a vast and powerful community of support for people living with Parkinson’s and their families. He founded the Comal County Parkinson’s Support Group in 2007 and the non-profit organization Lone Star Parkinson Society in 2013. He was integral in bringing Rock Steady Boxing to the local Parkinson’s community, for the mobility and health of those living with the disease. His reach and mentorship crossed borders, and he is remembered by Parkinson’s friends internationally.

Tommy was an avid fisherman and enjoyed camping and spending time in nature with his family and friends. He was a born and raised loyal Texan. He had an unrivaled zest for life and believed strongly in taking life “one day at a time.” But more than anything, Tommy’s family was most important to him, and nothing compared to his unbridled love for his wife Peggy of 42 years.

Survived by the love of his life, Peggy, and his six children, Jennifer (Robert), Michael (Amanda), Tommi (Matt), Daniel (Kristen), Wil (Marilyn), and Carrie (Ricky), as well as his grandchildren, Charlie, Maxwell, Caitlyn, Danny, and Nevaeh. Also survived by his sisters Barbara and Dana, and his brother Johnny. Preceded in death by his son, Thomas Edward, and his parents, Elmer and Martha Kate.

His wishes were to be cremated. A Celebration of Life is planned for March 3rd, Tommy’s 73rd birthday. The Celebration of Life will be held at Oakwood Baptist Church at 3:00 pm. Please bring your stories and memories of Tommy’s life to share.

John P. Kerrigan age 67, was born on April 5, 1954, and passed away on January 31, 2022.

John was a good person with a kind heart.  John had an intellectual disability. He did not see the world as other people do. He was childlike all of his life.  John depended on mom to guide him through his daily life.

John was a big Philadelphia sports fan.  He loved to watch all the games, especially the Phillies and Eagles. John liked to draw pictures.  He loved to go fishing. That may have been his favorite thing to do.  He enjoyed playing games, especially card games.  He enjoyed going to the zoo and museums and baseball games.

When John was young he use to pack bags at the grocery store to make spending money. As he got older he went door to door washing windows for people.  Later on, he went to a daily program which he enjoyed and on the weekends he would go to the movie theatre.

The last few years have been hard on John. Mom passed away and Brother Frank passed also. John was diagnosed with lung cancer. He had covid and was hospitalized.  He was then diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.  John passed away quietly in the hospital.

John was predeceased by his parents, Margaret Kerrigan and Merle Spry, and brother Frank Kerrigan.  He is survived by brothers, Thomas Spry and Michael Kerrigan, and sisters, Patricia (Martin) and Theresa (Roach). Also by 10 nieces and nephews and 16 great nieces and nephews. He will truly be missed by all. 

E "Howard" Long passed away on Jan 25, 2022 from a battle with Parkinson's. 

He was a graduate of Purdue University and The University of Louisville. He spent over 30 years in teaching and administration in Arlington County, VA. He was later a Commissioner in the City of La Quinta, CA. He was honored with a proclamation and retired in 2019.

He was a member of La Chaine des Rotisseurs and had great love of wine. He traveled extensively throughout France and Italy and moved into wine sales after retirement.

He wanted a pet and had read about Sealyhams Terriers. At a show he went into a tent to meet a Sealyham. He was sold. He had one or two by his side for the rest of his life.

The GQ photo was just a request for a portrait. He went all out and brought Harry with him in his red tux tie. The photographer was thrilled that he did not want one of those "sitting" photos and thus gave him a chance to be creative.

He is survived by Carol and Maddie of La Quinta, CA.

Louis Sidney Cox, 76, passed away peacefully in his home Tuesday, January 25, 2022 in Forrest City, Arkansas. He was born July 7, 1945 in Forrest City, Arkansas to the late Chester Sam and Margaret Juanita (Clark) Cox. 

In his free time Louis enjoyed fishing, tinkering in his workshop, and spending quality time with those he loved. He was a graduate of Forrest City High School. 

Louis was preceded in death by his parents, his brother, William Leon Cox; his sister Betty Jane (Cox) Stead; and his grandson, Casey Stevens. 

He married Frances Eberhart, and she survives him along with his siblings; Brenda (Cox) Heard, Becky (Cox) Tatum, and Larry Michael Cox. His children Louis and Sandra Cox, Terry and Julie Cox, Lori Gayle (Cox) and Marc Draper, Sam “Scooter” Ross Cox, Bobby and Ruth-Kathryn (Rains) Kelly, and Matt and Laurie (Baker) Kelly. His grandchildren Preston Cox, Cheyenne Cox, Mackenzie Creasy, Zoey Cox, Samantha (Cox) Ward, Emily Cox, Lincoln Utah Cox, Jonathan Forrest Cox, Bowen Kelly, Emmerson Kelly, Baker Kelly, Boston Kelly, Sue Ellen Grace Kelly, Gloria Patri Kelly. His great-grandchildren Brantley, Lila Mae, Levi Robert, Zeflin, Ava, and Ben.

Horace MacVaugh III was born August 26, 1930 in Philadelphia to Blanche G. Newman and Horace MacVaugh Jr. He died at home in Wayne, PA on January 24, 2022. Horace is survived by his wife Carol Ann MacVaugh nee Burns; daughter Leslie Demmert nee MacVaugh (Paul); son Horace MacVaugh IV (Catherine Vayda); son-in-law Mark Cheshire; sister Janice Kopple nee MacVaugh; mother of his children Suzanne Hollis MacVaugh nee Lapp; Grandchildren Jennifer Demmert Hardwick, Shannon Demmert Puri, Peter Arthur Plantier, Kate Hollis Plantier, Madeline Anne MacVaugh, Horace MacVaugh V, Hollis Frost MacVaugh, 5 greatgrandchildren and two nieces, Kimberly Kopple (Craig Conover) and Kristin Kopple (Archangelo Guida), He was preceded in death by his daughters Anne Carol MacVaugh and Hollis MacVaugh Cheshire. Education was an important part of Horace’s life. He graduated from Cheltenham High School then located in Elkins Park, PA in 1948 and was inducted into Alumni Hall of Fame 1999. He graduated from Yale University, class of 1952 with a B.S. in Zoology and University of Pennsylvania Medical School, class of 1955 with his M.D. He was inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha Honorary Medical Society. His chosen profession was as a cardiothoracic surgeon, and he was board certified in General Surgery. He was Professor of Surgery, University of Pennsylvania until 1988; Professor of Surgery, Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University until 1990; Chairman of Department of Surgery, Lankenau Hospital, 1978-1986; Chief, Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, The Graduate Hospital,1986 to 1990. He performed the first coronary artery bypass surgery at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital. He was accepted into NASA’s astronaut training program but elected to continue his career in cardiothoracic surgery. In 1956, Horace began a 30+ year military career when he entered active duty in the U.S. Navy with the rank of Lieutenant at Naval Air Station Pensacola, FL. He served at Hickam Air Field and Barbers Point NAS, Territory of Hawaii, performing duties as a naval flight surgeon in transport squadrons. He continued to serve in the US Navy Reserve at Willow Grove NAS and was promoted to the rank Rear Admiral, US Naval Reserve Medical Corps in 1986. Throughout his life, Horace had a wide variety of interests, skills, and hobbies. He was a long-time member of The Union League of Philadelphia, The Church of the Holy Trinity, The St. Andrews Society of Philadelphia, Gulph Mills Golf Club, Merion Cricket Club, Racquet Club of Philadelphia, Right Angle Club, Pennsylvania Falconry and Hawk Trust, and Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. Horace enjoyed an active life playing golf, skiing, riding the cresta in St. Moritz, climbing 18,500’ peak Kala Pitar in the Himalayas; he was a licensed private and commercial pilot. He was an avid woodworker, enjoyed the Philadelphia Orchestra, ice dance at Old York Road Skating Club, Wissahickon Skating Club. He participated in many Bohemian Grove summer events, and was interested in long distance vintage automobile races. He was an avid sailor and captained sailboats across the Virgin Islands and the Grenadines.