"Death is the end of one story and the beginning of another." --Philip Moeller
NEWS & NOTES
The last word
You've probably read a Robert D. McFadden story without even realizing it. The brilliant New York Times journalist — and one of its most prolific obituary writers — retired earlier this month after spending 63 years at the newspaper and accumulating more than 4,200 bylines.
McFadden was once known as a "rewrite man." Reporters in the field would cover an event (a natural disaster, a plane crash, the destruction of the World Trade Center) and phone in the details. McFadden would then transform those details into the “lede-all,” or the big story that helped readers understand major breaking news. He was so good at this process, turning facts and observations into poetry, that he received a Pulitzer Prize for spot news reporting in 1996.
For the last decade or so, McFadden has written obituaries for The Times, chronicling the lives of the famous, infamous and fascinating people who've recently died. His subjects included fashion maven Iris Apfel, mob boss Whitey Bulger, TV host Regis Philbin, Pentagon Papers leaker Daniel Ellsberg, comedian Joan Rivers, gun inventor Gaston Glock, photographer William Klein, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and actor James Earl Jones.
McFadden also pre-wrote hundreds of obituaries. These profiles were deeply researched and reported; he would even reach out to the subjects to make sure his facts were correct.
"Advance obituaries, as they are known in the newsroom, are as varied as the deeds, misdeeds, triumphs, failures and accomplishments of the people who are profiled," he wrote in his bio. "Far from being morbid, obituaries, following a sentence to announce a death, are explorations of a life in all its aspects."
At the time of his retirement, more than 250 of McFadden’s advance obituaries are still waiting to be published. Which means we'll be reading McFadden obits for many years to come.
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Mourning is not just a human condition
Do cats experience grief? Researchers at Oakland University in Michigan say they might.
The team surveyed 412 cat caregivers about how their feline companions reacted after another pet in the home died. Although the researchers did offer some caveats about the study’s results, they noted that the data showed some cats exhibited behaviors that were commonly associated with grief, including eating and playing less, sleeping more and opting to spend more time alone. Some cats also sought more attention from their caregivers and appeared to look for the deceased animal.
“For me, the most compelling finding is that when cats were reported to change their behavior in ways that would be consistent with what we would expect for grief, it’s predicted by things like the length of time that the animals lived together or the amount of time that they had spent together engaged in various activities or the quality of their relationships,” psychology professor Jennifer Vonk, who co-authored the study, said.
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You cannot cheat death
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NOTABLE OBITS
* Frankie Beverly, the lead vocalist and co-founder of the soul-funk band Maze, died at 77. From 1977 to 1993, Maze turned out R&B hits such as "Golden Time of Day," "We Are One," "Southern Girl" and "Before I Let Go." In May, the block of North Norwood Street between Church Lane and West Godfrey Avenue in Philadelphia was renamed Frankie Beverly Way in his honor. (Nardine Saad and August Brown, Los Angeles Times and Dan DeLuca, The Philadelphia Inquirer)
* Dancer Michaela Mabinty DePrince, who rose from an orphanage in Sierra Leone to become a second soloist with the Boston Ballet, has died. She was 29. Her memoir, "Taking Flight: From War Orphan to Star Ballerina," was published in 12 countries and translated into multiple languages. DePrince also advocated for children affected by conflict and violence. (Malcolm Gay, Boston Globe)
* John Dowlin, 82, a bicycle activist and environmental crusader, died. Dowlin spent more than five decades lobbying for bike lanes in Philadelphia, accommodations for bikes on public transit, better bike parking and effective safety enforcement. He was also a U.S. delegate on the 1983 Moscow-to-Washington Bike for Peace tour. (Gary Miles, The Philadelphia Inquirer)
* Beloved frozen-custard entrepreneur Ted Drewes Jr. died at 96. Drewes was the proprietor of Ted Drewes Frozen Custard in St. Louis, Mo., an establishment known for its signature dish: concrete (so named because the shake is so thick it can be served upside down). He also spent over 50 years selling Christmas trees each holiday season. (Lauren Brennecke, St. Louis Public Radio and Apple News)
* Waffle House president and CEO Walt Ehmer died at 58. The chain of 24-hour diners has more than 1,900 locations in 25 states. In 2020, the White House consulted with Ehmer about how to reopen the economy during the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic. (David Aaro, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Apple News)
* Alfred Goldberg, who served as chief historian for the office of the defense secretary for more than three decades, died. He was 105. Goldberg advised the Warren Commission that probed the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and compiled insider accounts from the Pentagon after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorism attacks. (Brian Murphy, The Washington Post)
* Singer and guitarist Tito Jackson, an original member of the Jackson 5, has died at 70. The band, founded in 1964, amassed 17 Top 40 singles on the Billboard charts, including six No. 1 hits. Jackson later pursued a solo career and released two albums, "Tito Time" (2016) and "Under Your Spell" (2021). He had most recently been performing with three of his siblings as The Jacksons. (Miriam Di Nunzio, Chicago Sun-Times and Apple News)
* James Earl Jones, who belonged to the rarefied cadre of performers who received Tony, Emmy, Grammy and Academy awards, died at 93. Throughout his seven-decade career, Jones's commanding presence and acting prowess earned him broad acclaim from critics and colleagues. He reveled in playing meaty character roles on Broadway and in a wide variety of films, including "Field of Dreams," "The Sandlot," "Sneakers" and three action films based on Tom Clancy's books. Jones was also beloved to generations of fans for providing an intimidating voice to villain Darth Vader in the Star Wars franchise, a kind and fatherly voice to Mufasa in the Disney animated classic "The Lion King" and a resonant voice to promos for CNN. (Adam Bernstein, The Washington Post and Robert D. McFadden, The New York Times)
* Brian Ketcham, 85, a New York engineer who lobbied for improvements in traffic engineering to protect the environment, died. A founder of Transportation Alternatives, a nonprofit group that promotes alternatives to automobile use, Ketcham advocated for rebuilding the subways and the creation of bus-only lanes. (Sam Roberts, The New York Times)
* First baseman Ed Kranepool, 79, who joined the New York Mets as a teenager and remained with the baseball team for 18 seasons, died. Known as "Steady Eddie," Kranepool played in more games than any Met, and in 1969, he hit a home run that helped the team win a World Series title over the Baltimore Orioles. (Richard Sandomir, The New York Times)
* Fashion designer Mary McFadden, 85, who designed clothes that were popular with socialites, including former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, died. McFadden was the first female president of the Council of Fashion Designers of America. Her work is currently featured in the exhibition, "Modern Ritual: The Art of Mary McFadden,” at Drexel University in Philadelphia. (Elaine Louie, The New York Times)
* Female impersonator Chilli Pepper, who was known for her pantomime performances at The Baton Show Lounge in Chicago in the 1980s and '90s, died. Although her age was not released, friends described her as "ageless." As a guest on the daytime talk shows "Donahue" and "Oprah," Pepper educated millions about drag as an art form, the gay community and AIDS. In 2007, she was inducted into the Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame. (Mitch Dudek, Chicago Sun-Times and Apple News)
* Peter Renaday, a prolific actor who provided the voice to rat sensei Master Splinter in the original "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" TV series, died at 89. His nearly 200 film and TV credits included a mixture of both voice and live-action roles. He also provided the voice to the animatronic Abraham Lincoln at Walt Disney World's The Hall of Presidents and the animatronic bear characters Henry and Max at Disney World’s original Country Bear Jamboree attraction. (Greg Evans, Deadline)
* Donald Sheppard, a British veteran of World War II who landed on the beaches of Normandy during D-Day and helped to liberate the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, died. He was 104. After returning home from the battlefield, Sheppard drove oil tankers for a living. He spent his retirement years honoring the members of his fallen comrades-in-arms, raising money for veterans and speaking to schoolchildren about the war. (Amelia Nierenberg, The New York Times)
* French-Italian singer/actress Caterina Valente, who performed on television with Dean Martin and Perry Como, died. She was 93. Valente spoke six languages and sang in 11. She received a Grammy nomination in 1959 for her vocals on the love song "La Strada del’ Amore.” (Harrison Smith, The Washington Post)
FAMOUS DEATHS IN HISTORY
On September 16, opera singer Maria Callas (53), fantasy novelist Robert Jordan (58) and playwright Edward Albee (88)
On September 17, industrialist Charles Alfred Pillsbury (56), Welsh fashion designer Laura Ashley (60) and fiberglass co-inventor John Thomas (83)
On September 18, rock guitarist/singer Jimi Hendrix (27), Pulitzer Prize-winning short story writer Katherine Anne Porter (90) and Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (87)
On September 19, President James A. Garfield (49), author Jackie Collins (77) and opera singer Stephen Gould (61)
On September 20, British photographer Robert Whitaker (71), Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Charles Kenneth "CK" Williams (78) and director Curtis Hanson (71)
On September 21, Roman poet Virgil (50), Scottish novelist/poet Walter Scott (61) and actor Willie Garson (57)
On September 22, French mime Marcel Marceau (84), baseball player/coach/manager Yogi Berra (90) and British author Hilary Mantel (70)
On September 23, psychologist Sigmund Freud (83), Chilean poet/politician Pablo Neruda (69) and choreographer Bob Fosse (60)
FAMOUS LAST WORDS
“This dying is boring.” --Richard Feynman
MOMENT OF GRATITUDE
Thanks to Yura Lytkin, Unsplash, Poynter, The Pulitzer Prizes, The New York Times, Anna Ogiienko, Science Direct, NPR, Stephen Cave, TED, YouTube, the Los Angeles Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, the Boston Globe, KSDK News, St. Louis Public Radio, Apple News, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Washington Post, the Chicago Sun-Times, WGN News, Deadline, Moksh Chitkara, On This Day, Playback.FM, Britannica: This Day in History, Time and Date, Wikipedia, A Bit of Good News, Mental Floss and Deposit Photos for art and story suggestions.
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Jade- These are so interesting. Particularly the findings on cats and quality of relationships. I appreciate you sharing these. Hope you’re well this week? -Thalia
I like the results of last weeks poll!! Nobody’s business 💯