Over the years, readers have known my admiration for Jane Goodall (here and here). My hero-worship dates back to high school (late 1970s) when I first knew I wanted to be a field biologist.
Dr. Goodall passed away today. Needless to say, accolades are pouring in from around the world.
The autographed book and two personal letters from her I have in my possession are that much more treasured now.
Rest in peace, Dr. Goodall. You'll never know the impact you had on this young high schooler.
This one's gotta hurt. I just heard Dolly Parton's husband, Carl Dean, passed away. They had been happily married for over 60 years.
My condolences to Ms. Parton.
Today we learned the venerable James Earl Jones has passed away at 93.
Best known as the voice of Darth Vadar, Mr. Jones was the magnificent voice behind endless other characters. His acting and voice acting career spanned six decades.
Rest in peace, Mr. Jones. You will be deeply missed.
I heard this morning that Samantha Davis, wife of actor Warwick Davis, has passed away at the age of 53.
Most celebrity tragedies kinda go in one ear and out the other, but this one hit me hard. They had a beautiful love story. They met on the set of the movie "Willow" and were devoted to each other for over 30 years.
My deepest condolences to the Davis family.
We lost a friend a few weeks ago, just before Christmas.
In our old home, we attended a small church for many, many years. One of the families attending that church had two sons almost the exact same age as our girls. The children became fast friends and grew up together.
Because this family lived in one town and we lived outside another, we would often meet at the "halfway point" (as we called it) to swap kids whenever our children had a play date.
The parents of these kids were highly respected in town. The mother recently retired after teaching math at the high school for decades, and her students loved her. The father (Randy) worked at a local hardware store, and he was the go-to guy whenever a customer had a technical question. It's hard to describe how well-liked both people are in the community. Even after moving away three years ago, our kids kept in touch with their kids.
Randy passed away on December 15 after an illness lasting several months. We were stunned.
The older son asked Older Daughter if she could house-sit their pets for a few days while he and his wife attended his dad's memorial service. After returning from the trip, the son described the circumstances. Apparently our old church (where the memorial service was held) was standing-room only. The store where he worked for 20+ years closed for half a day so all employees could attend.
It's tragic beyond words that our friend passed at a relatively young age (66 years old), but there is comfort in knowing how well loved he was. Through years of humble service and absolute dedication to his family, he earned the love and respect of everyone.
Really, when you think about it, there is no finer epitaph.
Rest in pace, Randy. You are missed.
I was saddened to hear of Angela Lansbury's passing yesterday.
I have a friend who used to do acting in Los Angeles. She told me a charming story: How she had always admired Dame Lansbury, and one day (this would be in the mid-90s or so) she decided to write to her and express her admiration for how her career revitalized as an older actress. To my friend's complete shock, Dame Lansbury wrote back and thanked my friend for her regard, and expressed the difficulties involved in the second (and older) boost to her acting career.
I've always liked Angela Lansbury anyway, but this story cemented it.
This should make you smile: Recording the song "Be Our Guest" from "Beauty and the Beast":
Rest in peace, Angela
When I was much younger (and slimmer), I danced with (what was then called) the Crockett Ballet Company, the feeder company to the Sacramento Ballet. I had daily lessons, of course, most of which were taught by the incomparable Barbara Crockett, founder of the Sacramento Ballet. This would have been in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
I spent years taking lessons from her as well as some of the Sacramento Ballet's premier dancers. (One of my favorite dancers and instructors was Diane McLarty, who later went on to found the Santa Cruz Ballet Theater.) I auditioned for and barely missed being accepted into the Sacramento Ballet company, then under the direction of Ron Cunningham. (I aced the audition, but my rejection letter – which I still have – specified their desire to accept young dancers, and cited my "advanced" age of 27 as the grounds for my rejection. Grrr, I'm still salty about that.)
Anyway, I very much liked Barbara. She was a strict and demanding instructor, but managed to pull the best out of her students. At the time she was my teacher, she was in her 70s, but you'd never know it.
Then Don and I moved to Oregon, and later to Idaho, and I fell away from the ballet world. I literally hadn't thought of Barbara Crockett in years.
Then last night, for whatever reason, I thought I'd look her up. She died two weeks ago. Two weeks! What are the odds I should think of her and look her up just after her passing?
It seems she passed away a month before her 102nd birthday from complications after a fall that broke her hip.
Godspeed, Barbara. Dance for them in heaven.
As a huge fan of the original Star Trek series, I was saddened to learn of the passing of Nichelle Nichols, the original Lt. Uhura.
This woman was a pioneering actress is so many ways. Rest in peace, Uhura.
I just learned that "Golden Girl" Betty White has passed away, just days short of her 100th birthday.
What a classy lady. May she rest in peace.
We just saw on SurvivalBlog that the mother of James Rawles has passed away.
May she rest in peace. Please pray for her family.
Today we heard Prince Philip, consort for 74 years to Queen Elizabeth, passed away at the venerable age of 99.
For all the foibles of the royal family over the last few decades, my understanding is Philip was a rock of stability. What a blow to the queen to lose her husband after nearly three-quarters of a century together.
Rest in peace, Prince Philip.
I just heard Rush Limbaugh passed away. I knew it was coming, but I'm stunned by the sense of loss.
A poignant tribute of Rush's gratitude to his listeners can be seen here.
His Presidential Medal of Freedom ceremony always brings me to tears. Despite his decades of accomplishment, the award clearly caught him by surprise.
May you rest in peace, Rush. You will be sorely, sorely missed.
Another sad note as 2021 dawns: the actress Cloris Leachman has passed away.
While her screen credits are numerous, I most fondly remember her as the incomparable Frau Blücher in "Young Frankenstein."
She also played Madame Defarge in "History of the World Part I," and who could forget her as Granny in the 1993 remake of "The Beverly Hillbillies"?
As a sad ending to a challenging year, Dawn Wells -- Maryann from Gilligan's Island -- has passed away.
I've always had a soft spot for Gilligan's Island, and particularly for Dawn Wells. From everything I've read, she was as charming in real life as she was on screen.
Rest in peace, Maryann.
