Obituaries

Remembering a disco diva, Donna Summer

Fri, 18 May 2012 09:53:26 -0400

Donna Summer didn't care for the "Queen of Disco" title.
I remember when she told me. I was 19, a music reporter intern in Dallas, and she was the first of many celebrity interviews I've done in the past 13 years.
So the news of her death on Thursday stung.

Disco legend Donna Summer dead at 63

Cindy.Clayton — Thu, 17 May 2012 11:47:34 -0400

By Mesfin Fekadu NEW YORK Disco queen Donna Summer, whose pulsing anthems such as "Last Dance," ''Love to Love You Baby" and "Bad Girl" became the soundtrack for a glittery age of sex, drugs, dance and flashy clothes, has died. She was 63.

'Where the Wild Things Are' author Sendak dies

Cindy.Clayton — Tue, 08 May 2012 09:02:24 -0400

By Samantha Critchell NEW YORK Maurice Sendak, the children's book author and illustrator who saw the sometimes-dark side of childhood in books like "Where the Wild Things Are" and "In the Night Kitchen," died early today. He was 83.

Obit | Agent led WWII mission to rescue 500 airmen

Thu, 03 May 2012 21:28:50 -0400

NEW YORK George Vujnovich, the intelligence agent who organized a World War II mission to rescue more than 500 U.S. bomber crew members shot down over Nazi-occupied Serbia, has died at his home in New York. He was 96. Vujnovich is credited with leading the so-called Halyard Mission in what was then Yugoslavia. It was the largest air rescue of Americans behind enemy lines in any war.

Obit | Mom started foundation to honor son, aid others

Sat, 28 Apr 2012 00:08:52 -0400

By T. Rees Shapiro

Janet Manion, who established a nonprofit foundation that supports veterans and the families of fallen troops in honor of her son, 1st Lt. Travis Manion, who was killed in Iraq, died April 24 at a hospital in Doylestown, Pa. She was 58. She had complications from cancer, said her husband, Tom Manion.

Leader of Pearl Harbor survivors group dies at 90

Bill.Sizemore — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 15:29:00 -0400

VIRGINIA BEACH
Frank Chebetar, one of a dwindling band of Pearl Harbor survivors in Hampton Roads, has died at 90.
Chebetar was a cook on the destroyer Phelps when Japanese aircraft attacked U.S. naval forces in Hawaii on Dec. 7, 1941 - the event that propelled the United States into World War II.
He spent much of the next 70 years helping keep the memory of the attack alive.

Ocean View's own "Red Rooster" dies at 80

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 20:21:23 -0400

NORFOLK The Red Rooster had big ideas. With no budget for campaigns, he ran twice for City Council in the past decade, hoping to improve his beloved Ocean View. A self-taught painter, he planned to drive a trailer to New York City, sleep in it and make a million bucks selling his art on the street.

R.G. Moore, developer who built Va. Beach, dies at 83

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0400

VIRGINIA BEACH R.G. Moore, the most prolific real estate developer in Virginia Beach history, has died at 83 after a long illness. Over half a century, Moore developed more than 19,000 lots and built more than 14,000 homes. He developed land for more than half of all new homes built in Virginia Beach during the 1980s, a decade when the city exploded in population.

Colorful Catholic priest Rev. Thomas Quinlan dies

sarah.hutchins — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 11:50:04 -0400

VIRGINIA BEACH The Rev. Thomas Quinlan gained a flock of followers for his devotion to helping the poor and his push for civil rights.

Obituary | Gill was standout athlete at Granby, U.Va.

aimee.green — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 20:59:25 -0400

Barney Gill's list of sports accomplishments is long enough to make many athletes blush. A halfback, he helped Granby High School to state football titles in 1944-46, leading Virginia in scoring in '45 and '46. He was a standout in track, baseball and basketball, and lettered in football and basketball at the University of Virginia from 1947-49.