The Memorial Wall

Lance M. Bolonik, 82, died from Parkinson’s Disease on June 28, 2024, in Elmhurst, IL. Born August 25, 1941, in Chicago, IL, he was the son of Dr. Samuel and Sadie Bolonik. A second generation Chicagoan, Lance proudly served in the U.S. Navy from 1964 to 1969 as a Lieutenant, piloting E1B Tracers. He then embarked on a 30-year career as a sales representative with MONY. He later found joy in working as a substitute teacher at his alma mater, River Forest Middle School, until April 2024. Lance is survived by his wife, Janet Bolonik; daughters, Kera Bolonik (Meredith Clair) of Brooklyn, NY, and Shana Bolonik Cohen (Michael Cohen) of Broomfield, CO; grandsons, Theodore Bolonik, and Jack and Phineas Cohen; sister, Cheryl Hoffman of Greensboro, NC; and nephew, Shane Hoffman (Hanna Siegel) of Washington, D.C.

Richard “Kinky” Friedman — the provocative and flamboyant Texas satirist who mounted a spirited campaign for governor in 2006 — has died. He was 79.

Friedman died at his longtime home at Echo Hill Ranch in Medina, his friends Cleve Hattersley said in an interview and Kent Perkins said on social media. He had Parkinson’s disease, Hattersley said.

"He was a communicator. An unusual, but very pointed and poignant communicator," said Hattersley, his friend of roughly 50 years. "He could bring you to tears on stage. He could make you roll on the floor in laughter."

Friedman ran for governor as an independent against Republican incumbent Rick Perry in 2006. Despite a colorful campaign and heavy media attention, Friedman finished fourth in the race. He also ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination for agriculture commissioner in 2010 and in 2014.

Friedman was known for his outsized persona, pithy one-liners and signature look: curly hair poking out from beneath a black cowboy hat, cigar in hand.

“Kinky Friedman stepped on a rainbow at his beloved Echo Hill surrounded by family & friends,” a post from Friedman’s account on the social media site X said. “Kinkster endured tremendous pain & unthinkable loss in recent years but he never lost his fighting spirit and quick wit. Kinky will live on as his books are read and his songs are sung.”

Friedman was born in Chicago in 1944 to Russian Jewish parents. The family moved to Texas the year after Friedman was born and eventually settled in Medina. He graduated in 1966 with a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Texas at Austin.

Friedman gained a reputation as a deliberate provocateur.

At the same time, he gained the respect of musical titans like Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings and Kris Kristofferson.

In the late 1970s, Friedman was playing every Sunday night at the Lone Star Cafe in New York City, Hattersley remembered. Hattersley’s job became getting him on stage and keeping him there. Hattersley recounted the storied guests who came to see him, such as actor Robin Williams and John Belushi and other cast members of Saturday Night Live.

There was no one else in country music like him, Hattersley said. He recalled his friend as a “connection point” who introduced him to all sorts of people he never would have met. And his lyrics were “insane” — a reflection of the revolutionary times of the 1960s and 1970s in which they’d lived. Once, Friedman famously sprayed the New York Rangers hockey team and their wives with beer while wearing a long jersey, cowboy boots and no pants.

"The irreverence that he was able to get away with opened up more ideas,” Hattersley said. “Right now we're in kind of a time in society where word usage is being suppressed, and language is being codified almost to the point of hieroglyphics and so much is being left out. Kinky never left anything out.”

Later, Friedman turned to writing books, publishing novels that often featured a fictionalized version of himself, including “Elvis, Jesus and Coca-Cola” and “Armadillos and Old Lace.”

In politics, Friedman staked out unusual positions at the time for someone seeking statewide office in Texas, like legalization of marijuana and casino gambling. He supported same-sex marriage in 2006, long before the Supreme Court legalized it nationally, quipping, “I support gay marriage because I believe they have right to be just as miserable as the rest of us.”

Friedman also supported crackdowns on undocumented immigration, boosting pay for Texas teachers and ending the death penalty.

“Kinky Friedman was a larger than life Texas icon and will be remembered as one of the most interesting personalities in Texas politics," Perry said in a statement to The Texas Tribune. "Kinky’s run for governor in 2006 made an otherwise grueling campaign cycle actually fun. May he rest easy after a life lived to the fullest."

Friedman befriended former presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton. After he lost to Perry in 2006, Friedman backed the former governor in his failed 2012 presidential bid.

Ray St. Germain — the Métis country music great and TV/radio host who was dubbed "Winnipeg's Elvis" — has died. He was 83.

After living with Parkinson's disease for several years, St. Germain died on June 25 at Deer Lodge Centre, surrounded by family and friends, as per his wife Glory's announcement posted to Facebook. 

"I was blessed to have 50 years with my amazing husband Ray St. Germain," Glory wrote. "Together, we spent our lives filled with music, love, and laughter with our five children." St. Germain is survived by those children, as well as his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Born in Winnipeg in 1940, St. Germain began performing as a rockabilly and country musician as a teenager. He would go on to share the stage with the likes of Johnny Cash and Kenny Rogers, as well as being inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame in 2010. 

The musician was also inducted into the Aboriginal Order of Canada in 1985, the Order of the Sash — Saskatoon and Prince Albert in 1986, and the Manitoba Aboriginal Music Hall of Fame in 2005. In 2013, he was inducted into the Order of Manitoba — the province's highest honour — and in 2018, he was presented with an honorary diploma by RRC Polytech (formerly known as Red River College).

St. Germain performed as recently as three weeks ago, performing a rendition of the Elvis Presley song "It's Now or Never" from his wheelchair at an honourary street renaming, which saw St. Michael Road (the street the artist grew up on) in Winnipeg's St. Vital neighbourhood renamed Big Sky Country Way after Big Sky Country, the nationally syndicated Global Television Network TV show St. Germain hosted for 13 years.

That was just one of over 600 TV hosting gigs he held over the years, in addition to serving as program manager with NCI-FM Radio, where he hosted the Métis Hour X2 program on Saturday mornings for 23 years.

Tekla "Tina" York Daniel died peacefully at the age of eighty one on June 23, 2024, in Nashville, Tennessee after living bravely with Parkinson's Disease for twenty six years. Born in San Antonio, Texas on November 22, 1942, to parents Colonel Edward "Ski" and Mary Elizabeth "M.E." York.

Tina's childhood as an Air Force brat was particularly nomadic. Among the places she lived were Washington D.C., Washington state, Alabama, Texas, and California, but she always described living in Copenhagen, Denmark as her favorite childhood memory. After graduating from Armijo High School in Fairfield, California, in 1960, Tina traveled across the country to attend Duke University, where she majored in history. Tina was unique among Duke alumni in that she didn't care about college basketball or reminding people that she went to Duke. Tina was an enthusiastic lifelong learner who adored NPR, The New Yorker, reading, and opera. She was an intrepid traveler, whether it was staying in a youth hostel in Portugal or traveling overnight by Greyhound bus to Mexico. She spent several summers at the Chautauqua Institution in New York, attending lectures, listening to the symphony, and spending time with her beloved grandchildren.

As a fourth generation Texan who dearly loved the land and its people, Tina moved to Austin, Texas, in 1982 to raise her two daughters and be near her parents in San Antonio. In Austin, Tina found a vibrant community of friends, where she was known for her kindness and gentle spirit. She loved Austin when it was still a sleepy, quirky college town, saying it was the only city she knew of where you could go to the opera in jeans and no one would bat an eye. In short, she loved Austin when it was still weird. Tina delighted in sailing a Catalina 22 on Lake Travis and playing golf on the weekends. She worked as a physician recruiter and risk manager for Austin Regional Clinic for more than 20 years and she played an integral role in growing it from a small group of physicians to what is now one of the largest multi-specialty group practices in Central Texas. When she retired from ARC in 2007, two people were hired to fill her shoes. When living independently with Parkinson's proved to be too challenging to sustain, Tina moved to Nashville to be with family. Tina's family would like to thank Alive Hospice and the caregivers Saba, Emnet, and Eyoel at Saba Sunrise who lovingly cared for Tina in the final years of her life.

Tina is survived by her daughter Anne Daniel Vereen and son-in-law William Coachman Vereen of Nashville, TN, daughter Allison Daniel Hay of Austin, TX, and grandchildren Mary Kimball Vereen, Lillia Harper Vereen, Daniel Hay, Harper Hay, and Woods Hay. She was preceded in death by her parents, her brother, Edward Joseph York Jr., her sister-in-law, Joanne Fyda York, and her beloved cousin, Bobbie Ann Harper Person.

Jon (no H) was born on January 18, 1940 in Utica NY. He and his family lived in Jamestown until 1948 when Jack moved the family to Lincoln NE. Jon went to Lincoln Public Schools and was on some of the first athletic teams for the newly opened Lincoln Southeast High School, lettering in football, swimming and golf.

Jon served three years with the Army. While stationed in Taiwan, he continued to work on his golf game. He arranged his shift as a Morse Code Intercept Operator so that there was time on the golf course.

Jon loved his work with Via Van Bloom. He developed many lasting family relationships with clients as he arranged their travel schedules. Jon was known for the Via Van Bloom scoreboard that was carried on the radio stations after football games. Jon loved building relationships with anyone he met. In fact, some referred to him as “Boom, Boom” or “No Socks” for his penchant for not wearing socks with shoes. Jon had a unique sense of fashion. He was always nattily dressed.

Jon had a love for travel, cars, and, oh, did we mention golf? He also loved the Nebraska Huskers. He helped many a team and athletic partners get to their destination for events. It was through his love for the Huskers that he met Joyanne. For 21 years they traveled to games, or sat in the stands to watch whichever sport was in season. The Husker connection even provided them with the venue for their marriage in 2003.

Jon brought three children with him to this union from his marriage to Ann Nordstrom. The parenting skills he and Ann shared became evident when Jon met Joyanne and the three welcomed her into the family.

As Jon’s Parkinson’s diseased progressed, Joyanne’s care was instrumental. She had a special way of reaching Jon that no one else did. They were fortunate to find The Harbor at Calvert and the specialized care The Harbor offered Jon in his final months.

Jon died on Sunday, June 23, 2024. Remember that Jon always had a smile. He was content. Parkinson’s took his voice but he still told stores, laughed and danced whenever possible. Live life, laugh, sing and dance Just like JVB. Jon was preceded in death by his parents, John (Jack) and Mary Frances Van Bloom, his sister Mary Elizabeth (Liz) Marshall and his brother-in- law Gene Budig.

Jon is survived by his loving wife, Joyanne, his children Amy, her family Ted, Charlie and Wesley Carlsen of Minneapolis MN, his son Brian and his family Amalia, Bastian, Poppy and Olive of Omaha, and his daughter Molly and her family Billy, Emmett and Lucy Duncan of Denver CO, his sister Gretchen Budig, and his brother-in-law Dick Marshall.

It’s with great sadness and deep gratitude that the Sanders family announces the passing of our beloved Page P. Sanders after a long, courageous battle with Parkinson’s disease. Page died peacefully at home on June 21, 2024, with her devoted husband by her side. Page was a wonderful, generous, creative wife, mother, grandmother, friend and community member.Page was born in Washington, D.C., on August 10, 1943, but was raised in Short Hills, New Jersey by her parents, along with her four siblings.After graduating from Miss Porter’s School in Farmington Massachusetts, Page went on to receive her BS in Education from Wheelock College, Boston, in 1965. Post-college, she found a job in the San Jose California School District and thus moved to the West Coast to start her career. Two years later, she met the love of her life, Ferrell, whom she married. They had two sons and raised them in Palo Alto.Once her sons were launched, Page pursued her true passion, Garden Design. She established her own business designing residential gardens and earned her degree in Ornamental Horticulture from Foothill College. Her garden designs can be found in many homes on the peninsula as well as contributing to the All-Souls Memorial Garden at Palo Alto’s St. Mark’s Episcopal Church.Page enjoyed a wide range of interests and activities among them walks, hikes, alpine skiing, traveling, bird watching and gardening. Page was a very social person with a keen eye for decorating and an accomplished cook, she enjoyed spending time with her friends and family, plus hosting special events. She especially enjoyed celebrating Christmas with her family in the Lake Tahoe home and watching the sunset and fireworks on the 4th of July in Weekapaug RI.Page is survived by her husband, Ferrell, of 56 years, her son, grandchildren, siblings, nieces and nephews, plus countless friends and extended family members. She will be deeply missed, but her impact on our lives will be felt for generations.

Ricardo M. Urbina, a trailblazing Latino lawyer who scored victories for civil liberties as an empathetic federal judge and for civil rights as a record-breaking track star — helping to fuel an epochal protest at the 1968 Olympics — died on Monday in Washington. He was 78.

His death, in an assisted living facility, was caused by complications of Parkinson’s disease, his son, Ian Urbina, said.

Judge Urbina, the first Latino appointed to the Superior Court of the District of Columbia and the United States District Court in Washington, figured most prominently in cases that originated with the federal government’s war against terrorism and that put him at odds with the administration of President George W. Bush.

In 2007, he extended habeas corpus rights to Shawqi Ahmad Omar, a citizen of Jordan and the United States who was about to be transferred to Iraqi custody to be tried as a terrorist.

In 2008, Judge Urbina ordered the release of a number of prisoners being held at the Guantánamo Bay detention camp in Cuba, including 17 from the Uyghur Muslim minority in western China. They had been imprisoned since 2002, but the judge ruled that they did not threaten the security of the United States.

In 2009, Judge Urbina dismissed the indictment of five Blackwater Worldwide security guards who had pleaded not guilty in the shooting deaths of 17 Iraqi civilians in Nisour Square in Baghdad while the guards were under U.S. government contract to escort an embassy convoy.

The judge accused State Department lawyers of a “reckless violation of the defendants’ constitutional rights” by claiming that they could be fired if they refused to be interviewed about the massacre and that their statements would not be used against them in a criminal proceeding. An appeals court reinstated the charges against four of the guards; they were convicted in 2014.

In 2010, Judge Urbina upheld the District of Columbia’s strict gun regulations, but his ruling was voided by an appeals court, whose opinion was affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court.

As the first Latino federal judge in the District of Columbia, Judge Urbina worked tirelessly to “not be the first and only,” said Kenia Seoane Lopez, a Superior Court judge in Washington. “He personified dignity, integrity and commitment at the highest levels.”

Ricardo Manuel Urbina was born on Jan. 31, 1946, in Manhattan and was raised in East Harlem and then in Jackson Heights, Queens, where he moved with his family when he was 8. His father, Luis, an immigrant from Honduras, was a machinist. His mother, Ramona (Hernandez) Urbina, who was originally from Puerto Rico, was a secretary.

Ricardo was a high school and college middle-distance track star. He set several records at various distances as a student at Monsignor McClancy Memorial High School in Queens, from which he graduated in 1963, and he won several titles, including the 1966 NCAA indoor championship in the 880-yard run, as a student at Georgetown University.

In May 1966, The New York Times described his performance at a New York Athletic Club meet in Pelham Manor, N.Y., where he finished in one minute and 48.3 seconds, as “exceptional under any circumstances.” (It was disallowed as a meet record, The Times reported, only because the starting gun was fired before any official at the starting line had blown a whistle to alert the timers.)

Judge Urbina graduated from Georgetown in 1967 with a degree in English and Hispanic culture. “I had started college trying to fulfill my parents’ wish that they have a doctor in the family — but organic chemistry ate me alive,” he recalled in an interview with Columbia University’s Center for Oral History in 2013.

He was studying law at Georgetown when he was rejected for membership in the New York Athletic Club, where he would have been the first Black member. The club, which The Times described in 1967 as “a citadel of white Christianity,” was considered the pre-eminent training ground for college graduates aspiring to make the U.S. Olympic team.

He was told only that the membership “quota” of track and field athletes had been met, but in an interview in 1968 with The Hoya, the Georgetown student newspaper, Judge Urbina blamed “a 100-year-old history of discrimination toward Negroes, Jews and other minorities by the N.Y.A.C.”

Judge Urbina was listed as white on his birth certificate, but he identified as Black, as his mother had. He said at the time that he was less interested in becoming a symbol of the Black Power movement than in inspiring young Puerto Ricans, like those who cheered him at track meets with chants of “Vaya, Ricardo.”

“I got a lot from athletics that I couldn’t have gotten at home or at school,” he told The Times in 1967. “I learned to stick to something, have faith in myself and confidence in others, like the coach, and to look at people as equals.”

He missed making the 1968 Olympic team in the trials by less than a second.

His rejection in October 1967 prompted the Black Panthers to picket the Millrose Games at Madison Square Garden and triggered a boycott of the Athletic Club’s 1968 track meet, also at the Garden. The protest drew the support of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Jackie Robinson and Muhammad Ali as well as the Black American sprinters Tommie Smith and Lee Evans.

Six months later, in what some viewed as a culmination of his challenge to the N.Y.A.C., during the medal ceremony for the 200-meter sprint at the Olympics in Mexico City, Mr. Smith and the Black American runner John Carlos, in silent protest over the plight of African Americans, raised black-gloved fists as the U.S. national anthem played and bowed their heads away from the American flag.

Decades later, Judge Urbina’s grandson, Aidan, would describe the episode in a school history project as “one of the most iconic Black protests in modern history.”

In addition to his son, Ian, a former reporter for The Times and the director of the Outlaw Ocean Project, a human rights and environmental journalism group, Judge Urbina is survived by a daughter, Adrienne Jennifer Urbina; his wife, Coreen (Saxe) Urbina; two brothers, Louie and Alberto Urbina; and his grandson. His first marriage, to Joanne Elizabeth McCarron, ended in divorce.

Judge Urbina was creative when it came to sentencing defendants. He required some to write books about their transgressions to help explain the impact their actions had on themselves and on others, and he ordered most of them to appear before him again every six months to measure their progress.

He meditated daily, and learned the Japanese martial art Aikido when he was in his 50s, according to a 2011 profile in The Washington Post.

“I try to see where my biases and prejudices that day are hiding,” he told The Post. “If you don’t find them, they have a tendency to come out at the most unusual of times.”

His priority, he said, was rehabilitation, to return defendants to society. “I do not have a passion for punishment,” he said. “If there is a way the court can contribute to the rehabilitation process, it is more likely the person will return to the mainstream.”

Joe L. Clark, M.D., age 82, of Westminster Canterbury, Lynchburg, died on June 17, 2024 from Parkinson's Disease. He was born in Sandusky, Ohio to Melvin and Ethel Clark and raised in Delray Beach, Florida. He is survived by his loving wife Elinor Ann, whom he married on June 16, 1962; son Evan of Winchester, Virginia; sister, Kay Winters of Springfield, Ohio; and granddaughter, Isabella, daughter of our son Spencer and his wife Marilee, who live in Lakewood, Colorado; and many nephews, nieces, and cousins. Joe was pre-deceased by his son Spencer and niece Michelle Minuck.

Joe loved sports. He was the fastest 40-yard dasher in his school, landing him the role of running back of the football team. He was scouted and recruited by Division I and II colleges. Joe served his country in the United States Air Force as a surgeon, stationed at Langley Air Force Base from 1968 to 1970. Joe also loved intellectual pursuits and was educated at Emory, Harvard, Duke, the University of Iowa, and CVCC.

Joe practiced ENT/Head and Neck Surgery in Lynchburg for 30 glorious years. He was also active in community projects, including Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, Habitat for Humanity, and Christmas in April. In addition, he served as bone marrow donor chairman and president of the Lynchburg Rotary Club when it had 120 members. He and Elinor Ann were asked by the Boy Scouts to administer a program for high school students wherein they could earn ski tickets in exchange for learning CPR and First Aid.

Joe also loved flying and held land, commercial, instrument, and multi-engine ratings. His favorite co-pilot was Elinor Ann, who too is a pilot.

Joe was a member of First Presbyterian Church, where he served as an elder, deacon, Sunday school teacher, and Bible School teacher and was active in the Men's Bible Study. He did mission work in Malawi, Africa, and in Gulfport, Mississippi.

Most of all, Joe was known for his easy smile and pleasant disposition.

Joe's family would like to express its gratitude to many "marvelous angels," who were friends and family, staff at Westminster Canterbury and Westminster at Home Hospice who provided loving care for Joe during his illness.

Rhonda Kramer, age 88, formerly of Wallace, died June 16, 2024, at The Maples at Centennial in North Platte.

Rhonda was born September 12, 1936, to Henry and Hattie (Lair) Van Boening on the family farm 4 miles south of Wallace, Nebraska. She graduated from Wallace Public School in 1953, then attended Bryan Memorial Hospital School in Lincoln where she graduated as a Registered Nurse in 1957. 

Before taking her first job at the Grant Hospital in Grant, Nebraska, she met Arnold Martin Kramer, whom she married November 27, 1957. The couple moved to Kansas City, KS, in 1958 where Rhonda worked at the Veterans Hospital while Arnold attended seminary, and during this time she bore two sons: Jonathan and Michael.  From 1961 until 2000, the family lived throughout the northern Great Plains states where they pastored in five American Baptist Churches and three more sons, David, Timothy, and Andrew, were born. Additionally, they served four United Methodist Churches before retiring to Wallace in 2000.

In 2010 her fourth son, Timothy Lee, died an untimely death and she was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. In 2015 Rhonda moved into full care nursing in Grant. Her third son, David Alan, succumbed to colon cancer in 2019.

When she was 10 years old, her older sister Bonnie Ruth died.  Since Rhonda had no other sisters or daughters, almost everywhere she went, she gained friends that seemed to her as sisters or daughters. There was Phyllis and Elva from nursing training, Edna Smith and Pam Evelyth from Union Center, Janet Kocher and Hazel Wyss from Onega, Bev from Big Springs, Katie Shirm and Susie Hodges from Ravenna, Janet Kilgore of Wallace, and Kathy Peterson of Grant.  Each of these women became lifelong spiritual sisters.

All her life, Rhonda was a woman of family and faith.  She began attending worship services with her family at a country school east of the farm, then in the Wallace United Methodist Church. In the churches where Arnold pastored, Rhonda helped by teaching Sunday school, playing the piano, and leading Bible studies.  Rhonda spent her entire life dedicated to others and loved being a mom and a pastor's wife.

She is survived by her husband, Arnold M. Kramer; sons, Jonathan Kramer (Miriam), Michael Kramer and Andrew Kramer (Becky); grandchildren, Nathan Kramer, Laura De Leon Fabian (Kevyn), Kyle Kramer, Henry Kramer, Isaac Kramer, Jenna Kramer and Adam Kramer; great-grandchildren, Leo De Leon Fabian and Thomas De Leon; step grandchildren, Jessi de Quevedo (Juan)  and Paola Pineda; and step great-grandchildren, Alejandro Funes, Diego Funes, Elizabeth Quevedo, Zoe Quevedo and Juan Miguel Quevedo.

Rhonda was also preceded in death by her parents; brothers, Dale and Gary Van Boening;  and daughters-in-law, Mixamides del Transito Rojas de Kramer and Carmen Dalila Mejia de Kramer.

Sharon Kha, whose career in journalism was followed by more than two decades at the University of Arizona, where she served as spokeswoman under two presidents, died in June at the age of 80.

The former associate vice president for communications is remembered by colleagues for her skill in representing the university in good times and bad.

"The most important thing I remember about her was that she was extremely calm during circumstances that were not always calm," said President Emeritus Manuel Trinidad Pacheco, who led the university from 1991-97. "She always did the work to make sure the university was well represented, and she did that well. Her journalistic attributes shone through clearly in that atmosphere."

Kha's career in journalism included jobs with KTKT radio and KGUN-TV in Arizona. She served at the university from 1983-2005.

Kha is also being remembered for her strength and humor in approaching her 2003 diagnosis of Parkinson's disease. 

"Sharon was an engaging, bubbly personality even before she got hit with Parkinson's disease," said  President Emeritus Peter Likins, who served from 1997-2006. "But her remarkable courage and inner strength surfaced most dramatically when she faced that devastating illness with public performances filled with humor and humility, singing her own delightful version of the 'Parkinson's Rap.'"

Kha posted a series of raps about her condition on her YouTube channel. In a 2010 ABC News story, Kha said she realized "being able to make fun of your frailties" was an important tool in approaching the challenges of Parkinson's.

Kha is survived by her son, David Kha, and a brother, Wesley Heinrichs. A celebration of life is planned for the fall, with details to be announced at a later date. C