The Memorial Wall

John Hamilton Forbes, 73, of Holmdel, passed away on January 31, 2021. He was born in Baltimore, Maryland, grew up in Fallston, Maryland on Rochelle Farm be-fore settling in New Jersey 42 years ago. He was the son of two thoroughbred race-horse trainers, Nancy Shakespeare Forbes and John Hamilton Chew Forbes. John worked as a Thoroughbred Racehorse Trainer for over four decades. He began his career in his home state of Maryland in 1972 but soon thereafter switched his operation to New Jersey. He was lured to the Garden State by the charms of Mon-mouth Park.

He was a five-time leading trainer at Monmouth and topped the standings seven times at the Meadowlands. Among many successes over his career, in 1978, he won 109 races and followed that up with a career-best 233 in 1979. In 1995, Forbes and longtime assistant and friend, Pat McBurney, formed a limited partnership, Phan-tom House Stables, that raised nearly $2 million to purchase yearlings. He was named President of the New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association in 2010, after having helped launch the umbrella organization, the THA, comprised of six states in the mid-1990s, and served until 2021. John built the Blue Grass Mini-Golf Course in 2012 at Monmouth, which hosted the 2014 and 2017 U.S. Open for Mini Golf. He was inducted into the U.S. Pro Mini Golf Hall of Fame in 2020.

He is survived by his beloved wife of 40 years, Vicki (Duckworth) Forbes, his loving children, Anne and her husband Damian Zajac, John Truxtun Forbes and his wife Nicole and Carrie and her husband Dr. Eric Oberdorf, his cherished grandchildren, Avery Grace Forbes and Estella Anna Elizabeth Zajac and his siblings, Catharine Ishii and her partner Jim Valdy and Anne and her husband Jim Taylor. Also surviving are Jamie Ishii, Christopher Ishii, Nathanial Taylor, and Amanda Steg-mann Taylor, and Ellis Taylor.

Allan Burns escaped this mortal realm on Saturday, January 30 at the age of 85. His family suspects he willed it so if only to avoid watching a second failed impeachment of Donald Trump. Allan leaves behind an amazing life, his beautiful wife Joan Bailey Burns, two loving sons, Eric and Matt, his daughters-in-law Ana and Lee, and five doting grandchildren. Born in Baltimore to attorney Donald L. Burns and Paulene (Dobbling) Burns, Allan lost his father at 9 due to complications of mustard gas poisoning from the Battle of Belleau Wood during WWI. Three years later, Allan and his mother fled Baltimore for the sweet song that is Hawaii in 1947.

Allan blossomed at Punahou School in Honolulu and discovered a talent for animation and writing, eventually having cartoons published in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin.In 1953, Allan began attending the University of Oregon, hoping to become an architect but dropped out after his sophomore year because he wasn't the physics and engineering whiz he needed to be to complete an architecture degree.

In need of work, Allan drove to Los Angeles and eventually landed a job as a page at NBC, which would change the trajectory of his life. Television was a new medium in those days, and having the opportunity to watch back-to-back live broadcasts (first East Coast, then West Coast) fascinated him. He made a decision then to start writing in earnest, and quickly was recognized as a prodigy and hired on staff....oh let's be real, he-like all writers in Hollywood before him-passed around his work and it mostly went nowhere. After his page stint at NBC and in need of further employment, Allan began creating humorous greeting cards and eventually did enough work to make his way into the cartoon world of Jay Ward Studios, helping create The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show, Dudley Do-Right, George of the Jungle, Tom Slick and the character Cap'n Crunch for General Mills (only to see zero residuals). This eventually segued into television, co-creating The Munsters, Get Smart, and his most misunderstood masterpiece - My Mother the Car. Later, he worked on He and She and the groundbreaking Room 222. Then came his most well-known work, when he co-created The Mary Tyler Moore Show with James L. Brooks, which won multiple Emmy Awards. Later came the spin-offs Rhoda, Phyllis, and Lou Grant. After several years of the successful, serious tone of Lou Grant, he went back to sitcoms, creating two shows, FM and then Eisenhower & Lutz. One night at the Comedy Store, Allan discovered a young Jim Carrey and created The Duck Factory, coming full circle: a show about writing cartoons. Allan also wrote for the silver screen, highlighted by his nomination for an Academy Award for A Little Romance, starring Diane Lane and Lawrence Olivier. He also wrote and directed Just Between Friends with his old friend Mary Tyler Moore. Allan's work was bestowed with honors, including the prestigious George Peabody, Valentine Davies, and Paddy Chayefsky Awards. Allan also helped an untold number of aspiring hopefuls get their start in the entertainment business. In his home office sit his Emmys and other keepsakes that are a testament not only to his talent as a writer but his works in the community.

An Angeleno for 65 years, Allan loved the Arts and worked hard for many causes: the Joffrey Ballet, Center Theater Group, The Music Center, The Jazz Bakery, The Henry Mancini Institute, and the Rape Treatment Center in Santa Monica. He also served on the Board of the Writer's Guild and sat for decades on the Board of the Writer's Guild Foundation. His dedication to advancing the human condition was inherent to who he was. Allan died of complications from Parkinson's disease and Lewy body dementia.

Following his wishes, there will be a family service held in private. There will be a memorial in the months ahead - even Allan would have never guessed that his planned future memorial would be dependent on the concept of "herd immunity," but there you have it. 

Lecturer in medieval history who explored the work of Peter Abelard served Penguin biscuits to his students and was once trapped on Lindisfarne

How and why did we start to write things down? It was a question that Michael Clanchy, a lecturer in medieval history at the University of Glasgow from 1964 to 1985, endeavored to answer in From Memory to Written Record: England 1066-1307 (1979), a ground-breaking book that considered the rise of the signature as a guarantee of authenticity on contracts.

My dad watches, worries about his new Parkinson’s diagnosis, the dystonia in his neck,

which presses his chin to his chest, his cancer, resurgent again, and always, his depression.

Each day we walk the same loop round the meadow and each day he finds it longer.

                                                                                                                                       ~ Kate Clanchy

For several centuries the signature was mistrusted, with people preferring methods such as plunging a sword into the earth or cutting each other’s fingers and exchanging blood. Even when the written contract came to carry more weight, a wax seal was used to indicate originality and as a liquid metaphor for the blood that might have flown.

Clanchy, a leading light among medievalists, also produced England and its Rulers 1066-1307 (1983), another authoritative work that has become a classic textbook.

Although Clanchy’s specialism was English medieval history, the broad curriculum at Glasgow meant he was teaching European history. Thus he came to discover Peter Abelard, the medieval French philosopher who seduced his student Heloise, was castrated, stood accused of treason, and was twice condemned as a heretic. Clanchy wrote Abelard: A Medieval Life (1997), which he dedicated to the students.

Clanchy’s students, who recalled being served coffee and Penguin biscuits during tutorials, told of his “gentle, thoughtful approach to teaching . . . something of a contrast to the norm at the time”. They once visited Lindisfarne, which is only accessible by causeway at low tide. Somehow they managed to misread the tide table and were trapped on Holy Island for several hours on a cold, February day. “Even that turned into good fun and was part of the enjoyment of the whole weekend,” one recalled.

Michael Thomas Clanchy was born in Reading in 1936, the son of Henry Clanchy, a Royal Navy captain from an Irish Catholic family, and his wife Virginia (née Cane), who was from New Zealand. At a few weeks old he traveled to Moscow, where his father had been appointed naval attaché; they returned on one of the last trains back through Nazi Germany in 1939. He had an older brother, John, and a sister Elizabeth; both died in the 1980s.

At Ampleforth College, North Yorkshire, his interest in history was encouraged by Basil Hume, the future archbishop of Westminster and cardinal, and as a teenager, he wrote a letter that was published in History Today.

While reading modern history at Merton College, Oxford, he was president of the archaeological society. Emerging with a second meant being unable to secure funding for a full-time Ph.D. He instead taught at Presentation College, a Catholic boys’ school in Reading, before returning to Merton College for a DipEd and then becoming a lecturer at St Mary’s University, Strawberry Hill. In 1961 he started a part-time doctorate at Reading University that led to his first two books.

At Oxford, he had met Joan Milne, a fellow historian, and a Scot They were married in 1963 and the following year moved to Glasgow, where he would spend the next 21 years at the university. When Joan moved to North London Collegiate School, Clancy left his secure post at Glasgow. With the success of his books, he had hoped for a life free from academic bureaucracy. However, the loss of tenure, the absence of colleagues, and the stress of tackling dry rot in their house in West Hampstead brought on depression, an illness that periodically returned.

He held an honorary position at Westfield College and taught at University College London, but remained essentially an independent scholar. Some years after Joan retired, they returned to Oxford, in part because they both enjoyed cycling. Joan predeceased him by two weeks, and he is survived by their son, James, a lawyer, and daughter Kate, a teacher and writer.

Alastair, who started Scrivener’s Books & Bookbinding in 1997, died on January 27 after a long battle with Parkinson’s.

As well as a bookseller and knowledgeable binder, the “man of many talents” was also a sculptor, artist, bell-ringer, teacher, musician and local historian.

“True one-off” Alastair set about transforming the much-esteemed higher Buxton premises from a “junk-filled building” into the “theatrical book heaven” it is today 24 years ago.

March 4, 1929 - January 27, 2021 John William Kruse passed away peacefully in his home at the age of 91, surrounded by his loving family. He had been battling Parkinson's disease for several years. John was born March 4, 1929 to John William Kruse Sr. and Irene Miller Kruse in Pasadena, CA. He attended UCLA, graduating in 1951 with a degree in Engineering. He was a member of Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity and the Naval ROTC. He served in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War for three years, then attended USC, where he received his MBA. He worked as a Civil-Structural Engineer, where a notable project was working as a Project Manager on the Saturn missile test stand in Huntsville, Alabama in the 1960s. He retired from Fluor Corporation in 1992. While in the Navy, he met Paula Bush on Balboa Island in 1952, and they married in 1956. In 1958, they spent five months exploring Europe in a VW Bug they had purchased. This was the start of a life of travel, visiting all the continents and over 100 countries. They designed a house and had it built in La Cañada, CA where their three children were born. In 1975, they moved to Newport Beach where they have lived ever since. John became a member of the Newport Harbor Exchange Club, where he served as President 2002-2003. They joined a group of friends for weekly beach walks at Crystal Cove and holiday celebrations for over 30 years. John is survived by his loving wife, Paula, and his children Dana Kruse Uzzo, Lauren Kruse Moore and David Evan Kruse, and five grandchildren: Alicia & Andrea Jones, Rachel Moore, and Benjamin & Daniel Kruse. He was predeceased by his sister, Marilyn Buckler. Once COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted, a celebration of life will be held. 

Formerly of Indianapolis, IN and Rochester NY, died Sunday, January 21, due to complications of Parkinson's Disease at 82.

He is survived by his devoted wife Marilyn, and his loving children, Rhonda (Cohen) Rubinstein, Alan Cohen, and Barbara (Cohen) Richman, son-in-law Stan Richman and his loving grandchildren, Marissa and Andrea Rubinstein and Brandon and Blair Richman.

He touched all those who knew him and will always be in our hearts.

In lieu of flowers, donations to the Parkinson's Resource Organization, 74-090 El Paseo Ste# 104 Palm Desert, CA 92260 (760-773-5628) would be appreciated.
Services will be held Wednesday at 1:00 p.m. at Eden Memorial Park, Malinow & Silverman Mortuary 800-710-7100.

Irwin Rosenstein, husband and co-founder with Carol of Music Mends Minds has passed.  

Irwin was the comedic half of the Rosenstein duo.  Constantly tossing one-liners off-handedly until the very end.  Somehow through the fog of dementia and late-stage Parkinson’s, Irwin was able to maintain the occasional sarcasm that he was known for.  

The one-liner that sticks in my mind was when we were filming The 5th Dementia documentary one day at the church. I told Irwin how handsome he looked in all black.  His response was that…” Black is very slimming”.  

The road from diagnosis to now (about 5 years) was long but not always sad.  Carol had been able to keep him at home with the help of his wonderful caretakers, Narcisso and Dorothy, all the while, keeping Music Mends Minds up and running through the pandemic.  Irwin was able to play the piano almost until the very end, proving once again that the music cells in the mind are not completely erased with neurodegenerative disease.

Irwin’s legacy will continue through Carol and Music Mends Minds, the musical group they co-founded for those living with neurodegenerative diseases, Alzheimer’s, dementia, and Parkinson’s.  

Judy passed peacefully on January 18, 2021. She was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, a proud daughter of Irish immigrants, Walter Powers and Ethel Geary Powers-the youngest of seven children.

Her first formal job was with the telephone company in Lowell, after her graduation from Lowell High School. She married David N. Riemer on June 2, 1956. They were married for fifty-five years, until David passed on August 8, 2011. She is survived by her children: David W. Riemer (spouse Tayreze); Debi Tejeda; Gregory Riemer; Marlene Heath (spouse Phil); Judith Ellen Brown (spouse Steven), Elizabeth Schulze (spouse Donald), and Christina Miker (spouse Rodney). She is also survived by nine grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

Preceding her in death are her four sisters, two brothers, and two grandchildren. She had many nieces and nephews. Judy's favorite way to spend time was with her family all of whom she loved very much.

She worked in the administrative offices of Nellie Coffman Middle School in Palm Springs from the late nineteen-eighties until her retirement, where she had yet another family of beloved co-workers. After retiring, she moved to the community of Desert Sands where she enjoyed water aerobics and barbecue gatherings with friends.

As part of her Irish heritage, she loved Irish blessings:

May the road rise up to meet you,

May the wind be always at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon your face,

The rains fall soft upon your fields.

And until we meet again,

May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

An outdoor funeral mass will be held at St. Louis Catholic Church in Cathedral City on February 8, 2021, at 8:30 am, in accordance with CDC guidelines for social distancing and facial coverings. 

Donald G., beloved husband, admired philanthropist and successful business executive, chose to end his life today after facing the increasingly debilitating effects of Parkinson's disease. He would have been 90 years old in March. Donald was Chairman of Sugar Foods Corporation, whose team he saw as a second family. He served as former Chairman of the International Foodservice Manufacturers Association, Vice Chairman of the Culinary Institute of America and as a board member of the Educational Foundation of the National Restaurant Association. He was a patron of associations that serve to elevate the quality and appreciation of food and wine, including of the Commanderie de Bordeaux and the Chevaliers du Tastevin and the Culinary Institute of America (where he was Trustee Emeritus). He was a founder and Honorary Board member of the Citymeals-on-Wheels program in New York City. Donald's contributions positively impacted a tremendous range of institutions beyond the food business. He served on the board of the New York Landmarks Conservancy and was honored in 2019 along with his wife Barbara as Living Landmarks. He also served on the board of the Manhattan Institute, the American Austrian Foundation for Medical Scholarship, the Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths (RID), the National Dance Institute with Jacques d'Amboise, and was a long-time supporter of Lincoln Center, the Philodoroi and Amati Societies of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Arts and Design (MAD), and The Juilliard School, to name only a few. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard Law School, Donald practiced law in New York City before joining Sugar Foods Corporation. In 1973 he married Barbara Maud Starkey. It was not the first marriage for either and proved an unusually happy enduring union for both. A funeral for family only is scheduled. A memorial service will be announced at a later date.  

Lyndell Austin Samples, 91 of Rancho Mirage, California passed away on January 13, 2021, leaving behind his spouse of 41 years, C. Jay Scott, II. Lynn was born on September 11, 1929 in Baxter Springs, Kansas to Paul J. and Florence H. Samples, one of two children. His family moved shortly thereafter to Portland, Oregon where Lynn grew up. Lynn spent his entire working life in clothing retail initially in Portland and later moving to San Francisco, California where he began a 32-year career with Brooks Brothers. Lynn ultimately became the manager of the store's University Shop, which he directed until his retirement in 1989. Lynn's passions were music (in particular playing his beloved Yamaha concert grand piano), collecting antiques and travelling, which he was able to enjoy to the fullest for many years with Jay. They traveled around the world, primarily on ocean cruises, with Lynn particularly enjoying Europe and the Baltic countries, to which they frequently returned. A gentle, kind and caring man, Lynn was a consummate host and gourmet chef who so enjoyed hosting dinner parties with Jay for their family and friends. In addition to Jay, Lynn is survived by his sister, Betty Samples and related family.Interment to be at Riverside National Cemetery.