Obituaries News Review

William P. Koller | Funeral director, 88

admin — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 16:07:10 +0000

William P. Koller, 88, who was known for the kindness and compassion he showed to families who came to his funeral home in Roxborough, died yesterday of complications from Alzheimer’s disease at Normandy Farms in Blue Bell, where he had been a resident for about five years.

Mr. Koller, who grew up in Manayunk and graduated from St. Joseph’s Prep in 1938, started the Koller Funeral Home with his wife, Peggy, in 1946, after he returned from serving for three years as a pharmacist’s mate in the Navy during World War II.

Together, Mr. Koller and his wife, who celebrated their 66th wedding anniversary in May, worked tirelessly to serve neighborhood families, building the business into a local landmark. Mr. Koller remained active in the business until he developed Alzheimer’s and moved to Blue Bell. His son William P. Jr. and his daughter Betty Koller Flam now run the funeral home.

Mr. Koller was active with Holy Family Roman Catholic Church and later Immaculate Heart of Mary Roman Catholic Church, and was a member of the Knights of Columbus Cor Mariae Council 4100.

In addition to his wife, son and daughter, Mr. Koller is survived by sons James, Michael and Stephen; daughters Mary Therese Ferro, Marguerite Koller Stokes, Anne Palopoli, Jeanne Quinn, Helene Harchut and Christine Kohler; 55 grandchildren; and 25 great-grandchildren.

Viewings will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday and from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. Friday at Koller Funeral Home, 6835 Ridge Ave. A Funeral Mass will be said at 10 a.m. Friday at Immaculate Heart of Mary Roman Catholic Church, 819 Cathedral Rd. Burial will be in Calvary Cemetery, West Conshohocken.

Memorial donations may be made to Immaculate Heart of Mary Roman Catholic Church, 819 Cathedral Rd., Philadelphia 19128.

Reagan Information Agency chief Charles Wick dies (AP)

admin — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 13:07:20 +0000

Reagan credited Wick, who was part of his famed “kitchen cabinet,” with modernizing and computerizing the USIA. He helped expand its budget through volunteers and private sector donations. Under Wick, USIA launched a live global satellite television network, known as WorldNet, and Radio Marti, which broadcast to Cuba.

Charles Wick; Reagan Ally Ran U.S. Information Agency

admin — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 10:07:30 +0000

Charles Z. Wick, 90, a Hollywood agent and entrepreneur who became the longest-serving director of the U.S. Information Agency and an original member of the “kitchen cabinet” that financed Ronald Reagan’s first run for the California governor’s office in 1966, died July 20 of cardiopulmonary failure at his home in Los Angeles.

James Orr

admin — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 07:07:50 +0000

James Orr was private secretary to the Duke of Edinburgh for 13 years, between
1957 and 1970. His appointment came at a time when his employer had overcome
the obstacles put in his way by the old guard at Buckingham Palace and had
clearly defined his role.

Educational psychologist Burton Faldet dies at age 79

admin — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 05:07:10 +0000

Burton Faldet, an educational psychologist who worked for many years with Science Research Associates, was a steady volunteer and board member for a wide spectrum of social service groups.

Dr. Faldet, 79, died of cancer Wednesday, July 16, in Northwestern Memorial Hospital, said his wife, Marion.

After teaching at rural schools in his home state of Iowa for a few years, Dr. Faldet came to Chicago in 1955 as a psychologist for the University of Chicago Lab Schools in Hyde Park. He left in 1963 to begin work toward a doctorate, and then took a job with SRA, a company owned by IBM that developed educational materials, in 1965.

In 1987, he left SRA to form his on consulting service, Test Consultants Ltd. He also taught education at colleges including Governor’s State University, Illinois Institute of Technology and Northern Illinois University, his wife said.

Walter T. Kerwin Jr. | Four-star general, 91

admin — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 01:07:10 +0000

Walter T. Kerwin Jr., 91, a retired four-star general who was the Army’s second-highest-ranking officer in the mid-1970s and an architect of the all-volunteer Army, died July 11 in Alexandria, Va.

As the Army’s deputy chief of staff for personnel, Gen. Kerwin helped create a policy that scrapped the draft and led to the launch of an all-volunteer Army in 1973.

The voluntary enlistment program has been in place for 35 years and is credited with the development of a more effective and professional fighting force.

In 1974, Gen. Kerwin was named vice chief of staff, the Army’s No. 2 official. During his four years as vice chief, he sought to raise salaries, educational standards and morale.

Born in West Chester, Gen. Kerwin was a 1939 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy.

As an artillery officer during World War II, he helped coordinate a massed barrage that helped Allied forces make a successful beach landing at Anzio, Italy. He also fought in North Africa and Sicily before being wounded in December 1944 in France.

After the war, he held positions in intelligence before being assigned to the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico in 1953.

After attending specialized Army training schools, Gen. Kerwin was sent to Germany in 1961 to command an artillery division. He moved on to Allied military headquarters in Paris in 1963 as the officer responsible for nuclear targeting in Europe.

Gen. Kerwin served in Vietnam from 1967 to 1969 and took on his role as deputy personnel chief at the Pentagon in 1970. He retired in 1978.

- Washington Post

Estelle Getty of ‘Golden Girls’ dies at 84 (AP)

admin — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 22:07:20 +0000

After her success in “The Golden Girls,” other roles came her way. She played Cher’s mother in “Mask,” Sylvester Stallone’s in “Stop or My Mom Will Shoot” and Barry Manilow’s in the TV film “Copacabana.” Other credits included “Mannequin” and “Stuart Little” (as the voice of Grandma Estelle).

William Bradford; High-Ranking Diplomat in Chad, Sierra Leone

admin — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 19:07:20 +0000

William G. Bradford, 83, a career Foreign Service officer who served as U.S. ambassador to Chad from 1976 to 1979 and later operated an international consulting firm, died July 16 of lung cancer at Inova Fairfax Hospital. He lived in McLean.

Professor Ann Lambton: Persian scholar

admin — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 16:07:20 +0000

Ann Lambton, known as Nancy to her friends, devoted the greater part of her
life to Iran and the study of Iran. Iranians who knew her thought she was
either a saint, a scholar, a spy or all three. She was tough, physically and
mentally, and almost an ascetic. She was a walker, a climber, a horsewoman
and a squash player. She was a scholar who wrote some of the standard works
on Iranian language, agriculture, land tenure and history. She was involved
in some of the most dramatic of 20th-century Iranian political events. She
was a devout Christian.

USS Indianapolis survivor, executive

admin — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 13:07:20 +0000

Herbert Jay “Jack” Miner II was 19 and had been a radio technician aboard the USS Indianapolis for just 13 days when the cruiser was hit by Japanese torpedoes and sunk.

Floating in the South Pacific for four days, Mr. Miner was one of 317 men, out of a crew of nearly 1,200, to survive the ordeal. It was the worst single loss of life at sea in the history of the U.S. Navy, with many of the men surviving the attack only to die of exposure, dehydration and shark attacks.

A longtime Chicago paper company executive, Mr. Miner, 82, died of congestive heart failure on Saturday, July 12, at his home in Lake Forest, said his daughter Nancy Guenther.

The story of the Indianapolis is well-chronicled in books and film, while Mr. Miner’s own tale, which he later told to his family, school groups and writers, had its own unique twists.