Obituaries
Thoughts and memories of our community members who have passed. Share your tributes in our Obituaries Group. Flag as Inappropriate
Posts awaiting your approval 0
Pam Estrada April 18, 2013 at 11:58 pm
To the family of Coach Cary: I know it's hard to lose someone you love, especially when it happens…Read More so unexpectedly. I hope it helps a little to know that you're in my thoughts and prayers. My prayers also go out to Coach Ben and the LaX players and particularly to Caid, my wonderful Grandson who admired and looked up to Coach Cary. Who always has had a passion for whatever sport he was playing but with the passion that Coach Cary showed, may Caid and the team push their passion to the highest limit. May God Bless you all in this time of sorrow. Pam Estrada
Melissa Downey April 22, 2013 at 03:46 am
Our prayers go out to the Smith family & friends. Cary was in many activities & school with…Read More my son Andrew & was a great boy. Your loss is one we all hope never to encounter & I know no words can really help heal at this painful time. Your beautiful family is in our thoughts & prayers, may God keep you strong & draw you closer. +xo+ Melissa Downey Bayer
Coach Glenn April 24, 2013 at 03:23 pm
I speak for Beach Cities Youth Lacrosse - We are deeply saddened by his sudden loss. Our well…Read More wishes and prayers are with the Smith family. We sincerely hope his persona lives on through Los Al lacrosse.
Herb April 19, 2013 at 08:48 pm
Tina, I have not visited the site for a while and I see that you are still making it your personal…Read More forum. That is unfortunate, because you have violated the purpose of the site. This is not a place for theological discussion, for the putting down of other believers or condemnation of a family or their dead child. Please consider others in your discourse.
Brenda February 25, 2013 at 03:30 pm
RIP Mr. Rafferty. Far to young to loose you and we must work harder to find a cure for cancer.
Martin Henderson (Editor) February 26, 2013 at 12:52 am
Scott Raftery was a delight to work with. He did not insulate himself in a press box, but would meet…Read More the people and athletes he worked for. He was also a pro, and really "got it." At one of his first softball finals as an administrator, a coach from El Modena acted like a jerk, totally didn't get the "Pursuing victory with honor" mantra of the CIF; as I recall the incident, Raftery fired off a letter to inform him and his principal that if he didn't clean up his act, he wouldn't be allowed back. The Southern Section office lost a champion.
CDM Sports Lover February 23, 2013 at 06:22 pm
Alleged ? Really, lets stop with the political correctness....He flat out murdered them in cold…Read More blood. He is no hero, he was a coward and deserved the ending that he reaped in the mountains...Respect those who were his victims including police officers and innocent people who were the victims of this sociopath. Thanks
Silence Dogood February 23, 2013 at 07:18 pm
OMG, OMG, I just figured it out! It's so obvious! The incredibly thin-skinned bully JustUs is…Read More actually the incredibly thin-skinned bully Sarah Palin! Welcome to the Patch Governor!
shawna schoch February 1, 2013 at 05:18 pm
I am so shocked and I feel so sad. What a gorgeous, sweetheart of a guy. Never a mean word. HB will…Read More never be the same.
beergut February 3, 2013 at 05:04 am
I was lucky enough to meet Don about six months ago setting at the park bench in front of Seal Beach…Read More Safety Center, He was so friendly and telling his story to another gentleman about his skateboarding experience. I have never met a more friendly person. Seeing him later around town and he always had a smile on his face.
Waldo's Friend February 3, 2013 at 04:41 pm
Hi beer gut , He was unforgettable . Glad you had the chance to meet him , I can see him smiling at…Read More us and like to think he is with me in spirit. Thank you for the kind words, one thing about Don was his generosity of heart , he Really loved people.
He suffered many hardships and like many artistic people, had times when life was difficult for him but he always had a kind heart and a smile and made me laugh..omg ... The stuff he did.. So many memories flooding back now..He will always be remembered as "The Amazing Waldo Autry"
AMERIKANISCH January 20, 2013 at 04:15 pm
Nixon was actually very liberal.
Affirmative action and bussing minorities to "white"…Read More schools happened under Nixon's administration. Also, Nixon ended the Vietnam War- not soon enough, of course, but it was LBJ who escalated it to huge proportions. Of course, since he had a "D" by his name, he gets a free pass from this rather partisan and myopic crowd.
Nixon is the Republican that liberals love to hate, but in truth he was rather liberal himself.
JustUs January 22, 2013 at 01:02 am
I don't care if you were bonded with him at the hip at birth, Ginelle. Citron failed miserable at…Read More his fiduciary obligation to the citizens of Orange County and should have done 5 years or more in state prison for his crimes. A man doesn't pled guilty to 6 felonies unless he has done something terribly wrong. And he was in charge of the public treasure, whether you like it not. Trying to pass off Citron's failings on another human being is totally wrong and a grave insult to the Orange County taxpayers. I understand that you probably had an emotional bond with Citron. We didn't and don't. All we know is that he hurt many people with his hairbrained investment schemes and should NEVER have been in a position of so much financial trust and responsibility. On top of that, he was very weird IMO.
Ginelle Dexter January 22, 2013 at 01:27 am
Yeah, and you all in the OC think Moorlach walks on water. He's of the same mold as Raabe. How…Read More much of the county's money did he waste on lawyers trying to fight a lost cause against the Sheriff Dept?
Said my peice...I'm out of here.
jeanne flippin December 21, 2012 at 09:30 pm
well ok ok... I didn;'t respect Haidl, seem him interviewed about that son of his and he was an…Read More enabler, no doubt about it. But hey, the man is dead, nobody should rejoice in another man's death, just my opinion
jeanne flippin December 21, 2012 at 09:31 pm
well ok ok... I didn;'t respect Haidl, seem him interviewed about that son of his and he was an…Read More enabler, no doubt about it. But hey, the man is dead, nobody should rejoice in another man's death, just my opinion
Sue Westfall December 23, 2012 at 08:38 pm
If you didn't know Don you should not comment. He was a kind and generous man - was he perfect...no,…Read More no one is. He took responsibility for his mistakes and paid dearly for them. He was always kind, loving and generous to our family and he had a rye sense of humor - we will miss him. May he rest in peace.
jodi walker November 24, 2012 at 03:17 pm
Me and my sister very much,Enjoyed watching dallas growing up.and enjoyed watching larry…Read More hagmann.play the part as j.r.Eweing
mocker November 24, 2012 at 06:30 pm
I am moved to tears by this mans passing. He portrayed a good guy, falling all over genie trying to…Read More control her next ill informed move yet never succeeding. Yet never giving up and never tiring of the girl he loved. I relate to that. He was able to portray a man who could live w/o controversy or enemies and yet have to hide so much from those who were looking a little to closely. On the other side was JR Ewing. A soap opera in prime time. ??...it single-handedly ended my watching network tv on a regular basis. As a young adult, I was able for the first time to make my own decision to break away from mind numbing network programming. Then came HBO and cable and I never went back. Only today with the very sad news of the death of Larry Hagman, was I finally informed who really shot JR. I already forgot or I would tell you. I hope his next mission with Major Healey is a good one. You don't find a jeanie like Barbara Eden every day. Luckily its a grand cosmos.
wayne avrashow November 8, 2012 at 11:42 am
I had the honor of observing and learning from Art when I was a deputy to two other City…Read More Councilmembers and then I practiced law with him. A charming rogue who understood human nature and motives. He loved life...he was the Original. Wayne Avrashow
Way, brilliant, irrascable,
enea ostrich November 8, 2012 at 02:56 pm
He will be missed. He wasn't just the owner of Don the Beachcomber. I never knew anyone nicer,…Read More unless it was family at home and good friends who greet you and make you feel at home whenever you come visit. In his later years he was content with owning this wonderful place, and although the restaurant part of it was a bit pricey, the tiki bar was what made it an icon and a place to be reckoned with in the area. I truly hope the family can keep it going but if they don't, then I hope the next owner turns it into a complete tiki bar and entertainment only center. The food is good there but deserves to be simplified and let the bar be it's guide. It is a winner right there with top drinks that anyone who has been to a tiki bar can truly appreciate. The bartenders there are super awesome and they deserve for this place to keep existing, even without Art there. The place won't be the same without him, but it could be a place to honor his memory and keep alive what he truly loved before he died--an oasis away from all the chaos in life
cheryl clark October 28, 2012 at 02:18 am
Thanks, John, for writing about this sad reminder of the waste of war.
Nora Aqqad November 2, 2012 at 10:16 am
Suicide silence was my favorite screamo band. i dont know how long it will take to heal but suicide…Read More silence stops here they better throw in a new lead singer that would define disrespect. Mitch Rest in Peace. We all love you
Noah Hellgren November 2, 2012 at 03:49 pm
I met Mitch at mayhem fest in 2011 and he is the biggest inspiration I have to this day. When I went…Read More to shake his hand and say it was an awesome show, he denied the handshake and gave a pound, so for now on I will on give people pounds.R.I.P. Mitch you will never be forgotten
rob rutherford December 27, 2012 at 01:32 am
Heard on TV tonight Mitch passed away. Sitting here recovering from my own bike accident, wishing…Read More Mitch could have also made it. Thoughts go to family and their loss.
Panglonymous November 4, 2012 at 06:45 pm
Capital!
For a little multimedia kick, maybe offer the option of a refrain like this:…Read More
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ovum-GjYWKQ#t=2m28s
playing when the red report pops up. Could be quite amusing in the supermarket as the app catches on... :-)
met00 November 4, 2012 at 08:41 pm
"Every time we turn to the government to "protect us" we increase the cost of…Read More government and decrease the amount of liberty we have. "
read about New England Compounding Center and how NOT having government regulation can kill you. Oh, and if you want to know how they didn't get regulated... try reading on how they were successfully lobbying for even looser regulation.
"The company’s president and co-owner, Greg Coniglario, was also revealed to have hosted a fundraiser for Massachusetts Republican Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA), one of 10 senators to sign a letter asking the FDA to loosen regulations on the drug compounding industry.
Raw Story (http://s.tt/1rS8s)"
John Webb November 4, 2012 at 09:01 pm
A few years back it was DDT. The liberal environment people convinced forward thinkers like the…Read More ones backing Prop. 37 to come out against DDT. As usual the people who suffered the most were the ones least able to protect themselves. Many have died in third world countries because all the smart people came out against DDT. Now you have these same people going after GMO. Keep coming up with all these dangers and eventually you will make food a scarce item. Living in abundance is not an accident. If you outlaw everything that protects crops eventually we will reduce the abundanced we have. If people regect GMO foods, competitors will advertise they are GMO free and we don't pay for another government agency to save us. Trust yourself not the some bureaucrat.
Jasper, Prop. 32 is not backed by a business. Prop 32 stops big business and Unions.
SSG Cliff Rodgers October 25, 2012 at 11:13 pm
Rahab Sista,
Hoew dare you use this forum to spew your own agenda. Doug is…Read More right while you have the right to say what you want you need to have respect for the family of this courageous soldier. he chose to do a job that many WILL not do to protect your freedoms and those of the the Afghan people. It never ceases to amaze me that the people who exercise "Their rights" are those who would never lift a hand to defend them. People like you make me sick to think I have defended your right to be insensitive and uncaring of others. Do us all a favor an crawl back under the rock you climbed out from.
Cliff
SSG Cliff Rodgers October 25, 2012 at 11:27 pm
Bonnie,
You are correct. I should have waited as well, but you see I am stationed at the…Read More Joint Forces Training Base and work there as a Blackhawk mechaninc. My comrades and I have stood side by side on our flight line each time a Fallen Hero returns home to salute him or her we have heard and felt each tear shed by the families as they greet their Hero. I can not stand to witness such disrespect by such truly uninformed people. My apologies to the family and everyone else here.
Cliff
Karen Sumpter October 26, 2012 at 09:09 pm
Tommy, you are loved and will be missed. Your little boy is the image of you at that age. Your…Read More wife vowed to kiss him every night like you asked her to before you deployed this last time. Your mom and dad has a light in their life that has gone out, and I pray that they will eventually know some level of comfort in their lives down the road. Your son is your legacy, your parents are finding comfort in him. They kiss you through him, they hug you through him. God Bless you Tommy. It is your time to rest, we'll take it from here.
Ben A. Singer October 23, 2012 at 10:27 pm
I was fortunate to work with John as my teaching professional for the last three years. He was a…Read More gifted teacher who simplified the game for his students and helped them find the true joy in practice and play. I was literally walking off the Cruiser Course Tuesday at 5:30 PM when I found out about his passing. I will miss his advice on golf, life and all else in between. Hit 'em straight and long, dear friend. You are missed.
Dan Avery October 22, 2012 at 12:44 am
Jim,
Eugene McCarthy was also from Minnesota. But while Humphrey was merely a politician and, in…Read More the words of Hunter S. Thompson, a douche bag...McCarthy was a poet warrior.
Thompson had Hubert's number. We need more McCarthy's, especially today. Humphrey was a "nice" man who worked inside the system to do whatever good he could do. But as Met points out above, that's not really enough. We need the poet warriors who live near the edge in order to turn this ship in the proper direction.
Yeah I know that was a mixed metaphor. But it's good to struggle with images no? :)
Dan Avery October 22, 2012 at 12:48 am
By the way, I'm sorry you joined the world. We still need good people.
Eileen Algaze October 23, 2012 at 04:06 am
"McGovern is the American Hotdog" -- the campaign slogan for a rally we held at Orange…Read More Coast College in 1972. There weren't many of us liberal Dems in Orange County back then (OC has come a long way). George McGovern and his presidential campaign inspired me, my family and friends to get politically active and assertively support Democratic candidates and issues. Thank you, Mr. McGovern. You will be missed. Peace.
Panglonymous October 20, 2012 at 02:50 pm
This piece and others note that the CA 47th CD contest is a "nationally watched race."…Read More
Why then was it omitted that Rossmoor and environs has a significant population of affluent "very likely voters" sympathetic to the goals of the *national* Tea Party movement? (A large and active chapter, 405/605 Tea Party Patriots, meets locally.)
Given that context, when did Mr. Lowenthal cancel his appearance for this "debate"?
And why?
http://belmontshore.patch.com/blog_posts/is-gary-delong-tea-party-approved
Panglonymous November 1, 2012 at 04:11 pm
Come, OC brethren, traverse the rope bridges with us hand-in-hand, make landfall where the comments…Read More flow like wine (same piece, LA county, 109 comments and counting. :-)
http://belmontshore.patch.com/articles/republican-candidate-long-beach-gary-delong-no-scientific-evidence-man-causes-climate-change-flip-flop-4-7-t-h-congressional-district-congress-national-race
Jean johnson October 18, 2012 at 10:34 pm
Thanks to a HERO who gave all. Hope huge comfort and support for the family and friends.
Rhonda Butow-Barkley October 16, 2012 at 12:39 pm
RIP. We are forever grateful for your bravery and services to our country! Our sincerest condolences…Read More to family and friends. sincerely.
Janet Whitcomb August 26, 2012 at 07:20 pm
I think everyone was on pins and needles the entire day. It was a relief to know Armstrong and…Read More Aldrin had landed. But then the second stage of anxiety began. When Armstrong left the capsule and said his famous words, the sense of relief was palpable throughout the nation . . . perhaps the world. Still, I don't believe anyone felt 100% secure until all three men were retrieved after splashdown and, once a period of quarantine was over, allowed to become (if you'll excuse my Warner Bros. cartoon jargon) earthlings again.
About a minute after Armstrong stepped out onto the moon, I went outside and stared up at it in wonderment. It was a warm night and the universe seemed especially accessible. I remember feeling only slightly jealous of those at Disneyland, who had the opportunity to watch the whole thing on a large screen set up in Tomorrowland.
Some time later I remember my mom reading a magazine and quoting the quote Charles mentions. She seemed to think it a justification for not exercising! But obviously Armstrong had to have been in tip-top shape to do all that he did.
Nancy Wride August 26, 2012 at 11:24 pm
Is this the Janet who used to write for the Press Telegram or in Long Beach?
Matt Gaffney August 27, 2012 at 02:55 pm
I was washing dishes at the Colony Kitchen with Tommy Littman. We kept ducking into the Crest Room,…Read More that's where the TV was. I remember standing there looking down the bar & seeing Neil Armstrong walk on the moon. Margie Oehlert, Paul's Mom, was standing in front of me. A never to be forgotten experience.
James Dyckes August 15, 2012 at 02:38 pm
Wonderful man and doctor. One year ago today he diagnosed my little girl with Type I diabetes. He…Read More will be missed.
Dan Keller December 20, 2012 at 04:33 am
I helped Joel move to Long Beach as a newly minted pediatrician in 1976 by driving a U-Haul truck…Read More from Rochester, NY. He was a sweet and caring man then and obviously managed to keep that same wonderful spirit throughout his career. I remember sitting at dinner with him so many years ago when he was first starting out. He got paged, went to a phone (no cell phones in those days) and came back with a smile on his face. He was so glad he could reassure a new mother over something involving her infant, and I could see he was going to be the kind of pediatrician any family would be lucky to have. I'm so sorry for his family, patients, friends, and associates.
Cynthia Stava August 14, 2012 at 07:05 pm
There wasn't a kinder and more gentle man and doctor. He was with my boys from birth until their…Read More teens. I'm so sad to hear of this wonderful man's passing...he will be missed!!
Lynne Cawley August 17, 2012 at 06:20 pm
I worked for Drs. Kaplan and Widelitz in the early 90's and hold those memories dear to my heart.…Read More Dr. Widelitz was more than kind--he was funny and smart and loved kids of all ages. He will be missed by all who knew him. My condolences to his family and the staff of the office and to the community he so faithfully served.
Cheyenne Calderon August 21, 2012 at 02:36 am
Wow. I'm only 14, but when I was littler, my mom said that Dr. Widelitz saved my life & I…Read More wouldn't be here with out him. I remember everytime I went in to get a check up, he would always make me laugh even if it wasn't my best day. He was a kind, gentle, funny man. He was 23, & 21 year old sisters pediatrician too. We will miss him. He will be greatly missed by everyone that had him in his life.
Former Los Alamitos City Treasurer Passes Away
Comment Recommend John Crandall