VIRGINIA BEACH A memorial service is being held today at the Convention Center for Bishop Barnett K. Thoroughgood, who collapsed and died after preaching a sermon at New Jerusalem Church of God in Christ. He was 62. The sermon urged the congregation to seek God because “tomorrow is not promised to you.”

NORFOLK Thousands of people turned out Monday to say goodbye to attorney and philanthropist Peter G. Decker Jr. in a sendoff more befitting a head of state than a private citizen. Several thousand people jammed into the Norfolk Waterside Marriott convention center for a memorial service that briefly snarled downtown traffic and attracted most of the city's political elite.

Robert W. Daniel, who served five terms in the 1970s representing Virginia's 4th Congressional District, died Saturday of a heart attack while vacationing in Florida. He was 75. Daniel was first elected in 1972 as a Republican and served on the House Armed Services Committee. At the time, the district included Suffolk, Portsmouth, Chesapeake and 17 other cities and counties.

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Peter G. Decker Jr., a flamboyant attorney and judge and political figure who helped revive downtown, gave the city its iconic mermaid symbol and raised tens of millions of dollars for charity, died Friday after a four-year fight against cancer. He was 76.

The idea wasn't new. TV shows featuring teens dancing while popular acts performed their latest hits had been done. But before 1971, nothing like "Soul Train" existed. The variety show took the template Dick Clark had set with "American Bandstand" and made it funky, showcasing almost exclusively black dancers and artists.

LOS ANGELES Don Cornelius, creator of the long-running TV dance show "Soul Train," shot himself to death Wednesday morning at his home, police said. He was 75.

Officer responding to a report of a shooting found Cornelius at his Mulholland Drive home at around 4 a.m., police said.

VIRGINIA BEACH Former longtime state Del. Glenn B. McClanan, husband of former City Councilwoman Reba McClanan, died Thursday night, according to acquaintances. He was 77. McClanan, a Democrat, served in the House of Delegates from 1972 until 1991, when he lost his seat to current Gov. Bob McDonnell. McClanan was an attorney with an office in Kempsville for many years.

SUFFOLK Sylvester Jones, a longtime Planning Commission member, educator, civic leader and churchman, has died of a massive heart attack. He was 79. Family members said Jones was stricken at home Tuesday evening and taken by ambulance to Sentara Obici Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Etta James was the original ferocious urban soul sister - before Aretha Franklin, before Chaka Khan, before Mary J. Blige.
James' music, roiling with transcendent emotion, linked the glory of the Baptist church with the funk of the pool hall.
The singer, perhaps best-known for the definitive version of "At Last," died Friday of leukemia complications. She was 73.

NORFOLK For an hour on Tuesday, they silenced the questions that had been running through their heads all week - questions about justice and accountability and teen violence, and a frustrating lack of answers.