The Memorial Wall

Janet Reno, who has died aged 78, was the first woman attorney general of the US. Appointed by Bill Clinton in 1991, she served throughout his two terms of office, the second longest tenure in American history. It made her a figure of stability in a cabinet often in flux and frequently rocked by the steady stream of partisan attacks on both President Clinton and the first lady, Hillary Clinton, most notably the Whitewater investigation.

Never part of Clinton’s inner circle, Reno displayed great independence, and her courage to stand behind decisions she felt were right often left her vulnerable to critics from both sides of the political fence. Her controversial decisions included the assault on the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas; the return of the six-year-old Elián González to Cuba; the anti-monopoly prosecution of Microsoft and a racketeering lawsuit against the tobacco industry to recover the healthcare costs of treating smokers. Each time she would stand behind her actions publicly, often quoting Harry Truman’s “the buck stops here”.

Born in Miami, she was the daughter of two of the city’s journalists. Her father, born Henry Rasmussen, came to the US as a child from Denmark; his parents reportedly chose the more American name Reno from a map. He worked as a crime reporter on the Miami Herald for 43 years. Her mother, Jane Wood, was a reporter on the Miami News, and a naturalist famed locally for wrestling alligators. When Janet was eight and she and her three siblings moved to a home on the edge of the Everglades, her mother built their new house herself.

Janet was debate champion at Coral Gables high school and left Cornell University in 1960 with a degree in chemistry; commentators sometimes noted her almost scientific approach to both the law and to the facts of a case. She graduated from Harvard law school in 1963, one of only 16 women in her class, but when she returned to Miami she was turned down by the city’s most prestigious firm, Steel Hector & Davis. After opening her own firm, in 1971 she was appointed counsel to the Florida state house of representatives’ judicial committee and, in 1972, she lost in a race for a state house seat.

But she was offered a job by Richard Gerstein, the state attorney for Dade County, which includes Miami. She informed Gerstein that her father thought he was a crook; he replied that that was why she had been offered the job. Although she left the office briefly in 1976, when offered a partnership by the same firm who had rejected her 13 years earlier, she returned, and when Gerstein retired she was appointed to his job, a difficult one given Miami’s high crime rate and racial conflicts.

She prosecuted a number of high-profile child abuse cases where doubts over convictions led to changes in the ways such cases were handled. Most tellingly, she brought charges against five white policemen for beating a black insurance salesman to death. Their acquittal in 1980 (by a judge and jury in Tampa) sparked rioting in Miami during which 18 people died. Reno resisted calls for her resignation, instead working for improved relations with the black community.

Bill Clinton offered Reno the attorney general’s post after his first two choices, Zoë Baird and Kimba Wood, both withdrew because they had hired undocumented immigrants as nannies.

Before she had taken office in 1993, David Koresh and his Branch Davidian sect of the Seventh Day Adventist church began a showdown against federal agents seeking to search their Waco compound for illegal weapons. Ten people, including four agents from the ATF, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, were killed when they tried to serve a warrant in February. In April, Reno ordered a full-scale assault on the compound in which Koresh and 75 other people, many of them children, died. She was criticized fiercely by the right, for murdering American “patriots”, and by the left for claiming she feared children were being abused by the Davidians. Reno took full responsibility; in 2004 she said that “the tragedy is we will never know what was the right thing to do”.

In 1994 Reno appointed a special prosecutor, the Republican Robert B Fiske, to investigate the Clintons’ real estate deal known as Whitewater, but Fiske was viewed by the right as too bipartisan, and Congress empowered an independent counsel, George HW Bush’s former solicitor general Kenneth Starr, to replace him. Starr’s investigations ran for five years, resulting in the impeachment and acquittal of Bill Clinton for lying about his sexual relations with Monica Lewinsky. In the middle of Whitewater, Reno refused to appoint another prosecutor to investigate the Clintons’ campaign financing, saying the was no evidence to justify such calls.

Her efforts against Big Tobacco ran head on into powerful voices in Congress funded by the industry in the states they represented. In 1998 she pursued the suit against Microsoft despite critics who claimed the issues were “too complicated” for juries to understand.

But her political legacy was again sealed by a raid, in the case of González, the Cuban boy found in an inner tube off the coast of Florida after his mother was one of 10 people who drowned when the small boat in which they left Cuba sank. González’s relatives in Miami refused to send him back to his father (from whom his mother was divorced) in Cuba. The boy, who later said he had wanted to return, became a political football, until the family refused to follow a court order, and Reno ordered a pre-dawn raid on their house in which Elián was seized and returned to his father. The attorney general who believed so strongly in the facts and the law was again left with no option but the use of governmental force.

Over six feet tall and resolutely lacking glamour, Reno was a figure of cruel abuse on rightwing talk radio, and a somewhat gentler satire on Saturday Night Live, where Will Ferrell’s skits of “Janet Reno’s Dance Party” were a running gag. After leaving office in 2001, Reno showed a more relaxed side to her character by appearing on the show alongside Ferrell.

In 2002, Reno mounted a challenge to Florida’s Republican governor, Jeb Bush, but she lost the Democratic primary to Bill McBride.

Reno had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1995. In later years she served on numerous boards, including that of The Innocence Project, and devoted herself to her extended family.

She is survived by her sister Maggy. Loretta Lynch, the second woman to serve as US attorney general praised Reno, saying “She was guided by one simple test, to do what the law and the facts required... regardless of which way the political winds were blowing.”

From The Guardian

Constancia Ramos, 88, of Coachella, Calif., passed away on September 29, 2016 in her home where she had lived for the past 55-years.

She was born on September 19, 1928 to Jesus Valero and Isabel Fuentes in Durango, Mexico. She married Honorio Ramos on September 3, 1947, and together they immigrated to Brownsville, Texas in 1948. Their journey took them to Santa Monica, Calif., and finally to Coachella, where she worked in the agriculture industry for 31-years until retiring in 1992.

An orphan at the age of eight, her life experiences shaped her to survive, mature faster than expected, and to live a life of goodwill and generosity to others in their time of need, be it for support, food, comfort or clothing. Because she was not able to complete a formal education, she made this a priority for her children knowing this would give them opportunities to improve their lives and those of others. She was proud of their accomplishments and the opportunities their college education afforded them.

She knew her life experiences could have taken a toll on her, but she found her strength through God. This devotion and commitment to the church provided her the strength needed to meet life's challenges. She spent many cherished moments at the Indio Church of Christ which she attended for 38-years.

She is survived by her brother, Jose Fuentes; sister, Fermina Solis; sons, Cally, Nick, and Noel; daughters-in-law, Esther (Avila), Barbara (Perez), and Elsa Gallegos; grandsons, Anthony, Raymond, Nick Jr., Nathan, Honorio Gallegos, and Osvaldo Cervantes; granddaughters, Christine, Erika Ramos-Ortega, and Elsa Gallegos-Storie; and 12 great-grandchildren. She is preceded in death by her husband, Honorio Ramos; son, Raymond Gallegos; and brother, Francisco (Pancho) Fuentes.

David was born on December 9, 1942 and passed away on September 26, 2016. David was a resident of La Verne, CA.

Jean Shepard was a trailblazer for women in country music, who rose to fame in the 1950s with her honky-tonk style and frank lyrics. She was a member of the Grand Ole Opry for 60 years and a Country Music Hall of Fame inductee. But behind her success and popularity, she also faced personal tragedies and health challenges that eventually led to her death in 2016.

Jean Shepard was born Ollie Imogene Shepard on November 21, 1933, in Pauls Valley, Oklahoma. She grew up in a poor sharecropper’s family that moved to California during the Great Depression. She developed a passion for country music at an early age, listening to the Grand Ole Opry on the radio and forming an all-female band called the Melody Ranch Girls. She was discovered by Hank Thompson, who helped her sign with Capitol Records in 1952.

Shepard’s breakthrough came in 1953, when she recorded a duet with Ferlin Husky called “A Dear John Letter”. The song was a half-spoken letter from a woman to her soldier husband, telling him that she had found another love. The song resonated with the audiences during the Korean War and became a huge hit, reaching number one on the country charts and number four on the pop charts. It was also the first post-World War II record by a female country artist to sell more than a million copies.

Shepard followed up with more hits, such as “A Satisfied Mind”, “Beautiful Lies”, and “Second Fiddle (To an Old Guitar)”. She also joined the cast of the Ozark Jubilee television show and the Grand Ole Opry in 1955. She was one of the few female stars on the Opry at the time, along with Kitty Wells and Minnie Pearl.

In 1960, Shepard married fellow Opry star Hawkshaw Hawkins, who was known for his good looks and rich baritone voice. They had a son, Don Robin, in 1961, and were expecting another one in 1963. However, their happiness was cut short when Hawkins died in a plane crash on March 5, 1963, along with Patsy Cline, Cowboy Copas, and Randy Hughes. Shepard was eight months pregnant at the time and gave birth to Harold Franklin Hawkins II on April 1.

Shepard was devastated by the loss of her husband, but she returned to work soon after giving birth. She continued to record and perform, releasing more singles and albums throughout the 1960s and 1970s. She also remarried in 1968, to musician Benny Birchfield, with whom she had two more sons, Corey and Jesse.

In later years, Shepard developed Parkinson’s disease, a degenerative disorder that affects the nervous system and causes tremors, stiffness, and difficulty with movement and balance. According to DrMirkin.com, Parkinson’s disease can also affect the heart and cause irregular heartbeats, low blood pressure, and heart failure.

Shepard struggled with her condition for several years, but she did not let it stop her from performing. She remained active on the Opry stage until 2015, when she announced her retirement after celebrating her 60th anniversary as a member. She was also honored by the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2011, becoming one of only three female solo artists to be inducted at that time.

Shepard died on September 25, 2016, at the age of 82. According to Wikipedia, she died of Parkinson’s disease at her home in Hendersonville, Tennessee. She was survived by her husband Benny Birchfield and her five children.

Jean Shepard was a pioneer for women in country music, who sang about love and life from a woman’s perspective. She influenced many other female artists who followed her footsteps, such as Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, Tammy Wynette, Reba McEntire, and Miranda Lambert. She was also admired for her honesty and courage in facing her personal challenges and health issues.

Shepard once said: “I’ve always tried to be honest with my fans. I think they deserve that.” She also said: “I don’t want people feeling sorry for me because I have Parkinson’s disease. I’m not going to let it get me down.”

Lieutenant Colonel George H. Skip Shutt Jr., USMC, died peacefully in his home in Huntington Beach, CA on Friday, September 2, 2016. He was 89 years old.

Skip was born October 25, 1926, in New Bedford, MA, but spent his childhood and early teen years in Granby, Quebec, Canada. He worked in his father's fabric mills, ran wild in the woods shooting arrows at his friends, played hockey and built model airplanes.  He learned to fly at the age of 12 and between the ages of 14 to 17, he was a member of the Canadian Air Cadets.

He was able to combine his love of flying and country by joining the RCAF at age 17 in 1943.  He served in World War II, arriving in Sussex, England in December 1944.  He flew the Hawker Tempest, a heavy-duty fighter.  When the war ended, he stayed in Germany flying with an Occupation Air Force before returning home one month after his 19th birthday in November 1945.

While attending Lafayette University in Pennsylvania, Skip joined the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves. He was then accepted into the Halloway Midshipmen Plan where he received two years of arduous flight training while serving with the Fleet. Skip was offered a commission in the Marine Corps in 1953, becoming the first Marine Aviator in five years. Semper Fi! He completed his B.A. in English and received his M.A. in English from Georgetown University.

He served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1953-1971, with four tours of duty - 2 in Korea and 2 in Vietnam. He became a Lieutenant Colonel in 1966. During his distinguished military career, he received numerous awards, among them, the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal and the Vietnam Cross of Gallantry.  When asked what his greatest accomplishment was in life, he replied simply, "Surviving!"

Following his retirement from the USMC in 1971, he continued to follow his passion for flying. He was a flight instructor at John Wayne Airport, Chief Pilot for Community Psychiatric Centers and flew charters for Bill Hutt Aviation. While at Hutt Aviation, he flew Dr. Billy Graham, Placido Domingo, Tom Hanks, Tony Curtis, Helen Reddy, Gene Hackman, Jane Fonda and Ted Turner. He retired from flying at age 70.

These two words describe Skip, "an Officer and a Gentleman".  His life-long interests were classical music, golf, and reading.  Skip personified the advice Polonius gave to his son, Laertes, in Hamlet: "This above all: to thine own self be true."

He is survived by his wife of 35 years, Judith M. Clark, his older sister Dorothy "Dot" Mulrain, of Jacksonville, Florida, and seven children: Heather Keys, Catherine Clark, Patrick Clark, Barry Clark, John-Thomas Clark (Debbie), Mary Foss-Skiftesvik (Frode) and Jessie Lee (David). He also leaves behind five grandchildren: Ryan, Sean, and Marianne Foss-Skiftesvik, and Moses and Joshua Lee.

A Rosary will begin at 10:00 a.m., followed by a traditional Latin Requiem Mass at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, September 10th, 2016 at St. Maryís by the Sea Catholic Church, 321 10th Street, Huntington Beach, CA 92648. A reception will follow immediately after in St. Mary's Fr. Johnson Hall. Memorial donations may be made in Skip's honor to: Parkinson's Resource Organization, 74-090 El Paseo, Suite 104, Palm Desert, CA 92260.

A special thank you to Coral Tree In-Home Care (coraltreeinhomecare.com) and their dedicated caregivers who took wonderful care of Skip for over two years.

Ann C. Wasserman of West Hills, California, passed away Thursday, June 30, 2016 (24 Sivan 5776), at 100 years, 6 months, and 2 days young. Services will be held Wednesday, July 6, 2016, at 11 am, in the Groman Eden Chapel of Groman Eden Mortuary. Services will be officiated by Rabbi Eli Herscher of Stephen Wise Temple, and will conclude Graveside, in Eden Memorial Park. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Ann's memory to Parkinson's Resource Organization.

Ann is preceded in passing by her brothers, Maurice Shleser and Joseph Shleser, Of Blessed Memories; and her sister, Gertrude Victor, Of Blessed Memory. Ann is survived by her beloved children, Karen (Arnold) Kent, Kevin Wasserman, and Rosalind (Jerry) Joseph; her 7 grandchildren, her 11 great-grandchildren, and 2 great-great grandchildren.

Arrangements under the direction of Groman Eden Mortuary, Mission Hills, CA.

Morris H. Klein of Highland Beach and Albany passed away June 19, 2016. He was born in Brooklyn and grew up in Hunter, N.Y. He was a graduate of Cornell University and the Albany College of Pharmacy. Serving in the U.S. Army during World War II, he took part in the invasions of the islands held by the Japanese in the South Pacific. After returning from the war, he and his brother, Raphael owned and operated indoor and outdoor theatres in the Albany area. He was a member of the Temple Israel in Albany and past commander of the Albany Jewish War Veterans and a comissioner on the New York State Lobbying Commission. He is survived by his widow, Bea; his brother, Raphael; his son, Philip (Roni); daughter Deborah (Gary); and five loving grandchildren, Allison, Juliana and Grant Klein, and Jennifer and Stephanie Goldberger. Services and burial took place in Delray Beach, Fla. 

Paul L. Krentzman, age 81, passed away peacefully from Parkinson's on June 16, 2016, at his Beverly Hills home with his family by his side. Born and raised in Connecticut, Paul graduated Wesleyan University w/honors and UCLA law school. He served in the Air Force during the Vietnam War. He was a trial attorney, who helped and represented thousands of injured clients over a lengthy career. Paul was a Beverly Hills Commissioner for 18 years and the 3rd President of Stephen S. Wise Temple. Paul and Sandy, who were married for 55 years, have incredible friendships in Los Angeles and San Francisco. They had countless wonderful gatherings at their home for family and friends.

The genius and brilliance of Paul's quick wit always amazed everyone! He was the consummate wordsmith, perennially funny, intelligent and astute. Bobpop had very devoted grandchildren - Oliver, Akira, Lola and Mia - who loved him and spent time at his side throughout his illness to be near him. Sandy and her three boys, Adam, Greg (et Sophie) and Chad will greatly miss their Dad's guidance and generosity. Sister-in-law Phyllis Cole and brother-in-law Mike Attie spent a lifetime of fun with Paul! He'll be missed by his nephews, nieces and devoted friends.

Private services will be conducted by his niece, Rabbi Leah Loeterman Fein, on June 20, 2016. In lieu of flowers, please donate to the Parkinson's Resource Organization at 760-773-5628.