Star-Telegram.com: Obituaries

British comic was known for his role on 'On the Buses'

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 22:33 CST

LONDON — Reg Varney, 92, a comic actor who played a cheerful Cockney bus driver in the British sitcom On the Buses, died Sunday at a nursing home in Budleigh Salterton, England.

Born in London in 1916, Mr. Varney began his career as a singer, piano player and comic in the rough-and-tumble world of pubs, music halls and working men’s clubs. He joined the Royal Electrical Engineers during World War II but continued to perform as part of a touring show entertaining the troops.

After the war, he kept touring the music hall circuit and played a variety of TV roles before becoming a household name in Britain with On the Buses. Mr. Varney played Stan Butler, a happy-go-lucky driver tormented by the ire of his irascible boss, Inspector Blake.

With its cheeky humor and large doses of slapstick, the show was a huge hit, running for seven series from 1969 to 1973. It was exported around the world and remains enduringly popular.

Obituary: Family man passed on his building skills to his children

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 23:07 CST

By ANNA M. TINSLEY

J.J. O’Brien grew up wanting to be a firefighter like his great-grandfather, grandfather and father.

But at 5 feet 8 inches, he ended up being 1 inch too short to join a Chicago-area fire department several decades ago. That put him on a path to build homes and churches — a craft he passed down to many of his eight children.

"He taught us how to pour concrete, put a roof on a house, put walls up . . . wire a house, install windows, doors, lay brick," said Jim O’Brien, 40, Mr. O’Brien’s youngest child. "He taught us everything about how to build a house from the ground up."

Mr. O’Brien, who retired from his job as a general contractor in the early 1990s, died Friday after fighting cancer for more than half his life. He was 81.

He was born Feb. 15, 1927, in Chicago to John J. and Mary Neudecker O’Brien. He attended St. Mel’s High School in Chicago, where he met his sweetheart, Isabel Delgado, whom he married in 1949.

They raised four girls and four boys, now ages 57 to 40, in Chicago until the family moved to Crowley in the early 1980s so Mr. O’Brien could build homes in a retirement village.

He was known for much more than his construction skills.

His children say he taught them important lessons, such as how to fish and change a flat tire. His oldest daughter, Mary Ann Zevchak, said she got to drive the car after she changed a flat tire on it. It took her a little while because she had problems with the lug nuts.

Mr. O’Brien made a big deal out of Christmas. He collected toys for inner-city children, left reindeer tracks on the front yard and made noises that sounded like Santa’s sleigh landing on the rooftop during the night.

In his later years, after his wife died in 2001, he made what some of his children called a "Charlie Brown Christmas tree" — taking a leafless branch, standing it up straight and decorating it with strands of lights and envelopes filled with money for his children.

"He would go the whole mile for Christmas," said Jim’s twin, Mark O’Brien, 40. "He made it magical."

And he was known for his great love of his wife, with whom he shared the song Let Me Call You Sweetheart. He nicknamed her Queenie, said his daughter Kathleen Hester, 44.

"Dad always wanted to give Mom everything she wanted," Hester said. "If she wanted a Cadillac, he got her that. If she wanted a baby grand piano, he got her that. If she wanted to go to Hawaii, they went to Hawaii."

After his wife died, Mr. O’Brien wanted to see Alaska, so several of his children went on a cruise with him. "It was something he really enjoyed and was glad he got to do," said Jim O’Brien, who shared a room with his dad on the trip.

"The things he really wanted to do, he did," Hester said of her dad. "He made all of his trips."

Other survivors include children Joan Beth, John O’Brien and Erin Urbanek; 22 grandchildren; and 22 great-grandchildren.

Services Visitation, 6-8 p.m. today, Mayfield Kiser Funeral Home, 12301 S. Interstate 35W. Mass of Christian burial, 10 a.m. Wednesday, Saint Ann’s Catholic Church, 100 SW Alsbury Blvd., Burleson. Burial at Burleson Memorial Park.

Founder of first hospice program in the U.S.

Sun, 16 Nov 2008 23:33 CST

HARTFORD, Conn. — Florence Wald, a former Yale nursing dean whose interest in compassionate care led her to launch the first U.S. hospice program, has died. She was 91.

Her daughter, Shari Vogler, said Saturday that Ms. Wald died Nov. 8 of natural causes at her Branford home.

As dean of the Yale University School of Nursing in the 1960s, Ms. Wald updated its curriculum to include a stronger focus on comfort for dying patients and their families.

Her passion for hospice care was sparked when she heard a lecture by the founder of St. Christopher’s Hospice in London. She later left Yale to study at St. Christopher’s.

She returned to organize Connecticut Hospice in 1974 in Branford, widely accepted to be the first U.S. hospice program. Her husband and children also became deeply involved in the hospice movement, Vogler said.

Ms. Wald was born April 19, 1917, in New York and graduated from Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts in 1938 before receiving her master’s degree in nursing from Yale in 1941. She was a nurse, research assistant and teacher before becoming dean of Yale’s nursing school in 1959.

The hospice movement, which includes more than 3,200 programs nationwide, focuses on providing care for terminally ill patients and their families.

Ms. Wald said that before hospice care arrived, many physicians’ focus on the evolving technology of medicine took away from attention to patients’ needs.

Yale held a memorial service for Ms. Wald, Vogler said.

Arlington educator devoted herself to helping small businesses

Sat, 15 Nov 2008 23:52 CST

By AMAN BATHEJA

ARLINGTON — Jo-An Weddle’s working life took many turns, but she eventually found her niche in helping small businesses stay competitive.

"My brother called her 'the small-business guerrilla fighter,’ " daughter Dana Weddle said. "She was really passionate about developing small businesses and keeping jobs in the United States."

Ms. Weddle, the director of the Small Business Development Center for Enterprise Excellence at the University of Texas at Arlington, died Monday, two years after being diagnosed with breast cancer. She was 57.

Ms. Weddle was born Sept. 29, 1951, to Ed and Frances Ckodre in South Texas, her daughter said. In 1977, she graduated from Texas A&M University-Commerce, which was then East Texas State College. She had stints as a systems analyst for J.C. Penney, as a real estate worker and as owner of a floral design business.

"She was very ambitious, and she fought for everything that she ever got," Dana Weddle said.

After more than 10 years out of the work force, Ms. Weddle went back to school and earned a master’s degree in business administration from UT-Arlington in 1991.

Ms. Weddle’s work as a graduate research assistant developed into a role as director of the Small Business Development Center. For the rest of her life, Ms. Weddle threw herself into advising small businesses.

In 1997, she displayed a passion for her work in a Star-Telegram article about a series of business workshops she helped organize.

"Today’s problems are different from the problems of tomorrow," Ms. Weddle said.

"So we come from the standpoint of teaching businesses how to fish instead of giving them a fish. We teach them to create a vision, to have a plan and how to create an environment where people can do their best."

Other survivors include a son, Justin Weddle of Arlington; her mother, Frances Ckodre of Nordheim; a sister, Kathleen Parks of Cuero; and brothers Lawrence Ckodre of Victoria, Robert Ckodre of Nordheim, Gary Ckodre of Houston and Donnie Ckodre of Arkansas.

To contribute Ms. Weddle’s funeral was Friday. The family suggests that donations in her memory be made to Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Attn: Gift Management Services, 5005 LBJ Freeway, Suite 250, Dallas, TX 75244. Online: www.komen.org/donate

Obituary: Lonnie Sharelle McMenamy was a simple, fun-loving homemaker and mother

Sat, 15 Nov 2008 00:09 CST

By DARREN BARBEE

One day while out driving, Lonnie Sharelle McMenamy saw a man beating his son in a ditch.

Standing just a couple of inches over 5 feet, Ms. McMenamy got out of her car and got between the man and his son. She told the man he wasn’t going to hit the boy anymore.

"She got the man to quit and took the boy to his grandma’s," said her daughter Donetta Davenport.

Ms. McMenamy was caring, loving and unwilling to back down. She is described by family members as a simple, fun-loving homemaker and mother, someone who never met a stranger.

"I think when somebody gives up their personal ambitions to stop and just raise a family, I think that’s probably what she was most passionate about," Davenport said.

Ms. McMenamy, of Burleson, died Tuesday from complications of diabetes, family members said.

From birth she faced long odds. She weighed little more than 2 pounds, and the doctor, who delivered her at home, told her mother he would return if she survived the night.

She was so tiny she was fed with an eyedropper.

Davenport said one of her "silly" memories was the times her mother spent drawing pictures of smiling faces with corkscrew smiles and stars for eyes.

"I just remember sitting down and laughing at the different ones she’d draw," Davenport said.

Ms. McMenamy’s interests ranged from jewelry and gambling to Elvis and arts and crafts.

"She could turn anything into something beautiful," her daughter Nanette Ballard said.

A specialty was her hand-sewn dolls with hand-painted faces, which she sold in a sideline business called Sharelle’s Little Texans. If she was touched by a family’s request for a doll, for a sick child for instance, she would give a doll away.

Later in life, she enjoyed spending time with friends at the local senior citizen center, where she could play a ruthless hand of cards.

She had an easy way of making friends, Ballard said.

"She never knew a stranger," she said. "She would stop and talk to anybody. She could always find a friend in anyone."

Her daughters always could count on her to be a confidante.

"She would help us get through whatever it was," Davenport said.

Not too long ago, Ms. McMenamy’s sister, Mary Kay Standard, sat with her in the hospital.

"I didn’t realize how much I loved her until this happened," Standard said.

Drummer was known for work with Jimi Hendrix

Thu, 13 Nov 2008 23:23 CST

PORTLAND, Ore. — Mitch Mitchell, drummer for the legendary Jimi Hendrix Experience and the group’s last surviving member, was found dead in his hotel room early Wednesday. He was 61.

Mitchell was a powerful force on the Hendrix band’s 1967 debut album, Are You Experienced?, as well as the trio’s albums Electric Ladyland and Axis: Bold As Love.

The Englishman had been performing with the Experience Hendrix Tour, which ended a tour Nov. 7 in Portland.

Hendrix died in 1970. Bass player Noel Redding died in 2003.

An employee at Portland’s Benson Hotel called police after discovering Mitchell’s body. Mitchell apparently died of natural causes, a deputy medical examiner said.

"He was a wonderful man, a brilliant musician and a true friend," said Janie Hendrix, chief executive of the Experience Hendrix Tour and Jimi Hendrix’s stepsister.

During his career, Mitchell played with Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, Muddy Waters and others.

Russell Wayne Bentley Sr.

Thu, 13 Nov 2008 23:34 CST

By TREBOR BANSTETTER

FORT WORTH — Russell Wayne Bentley Sr. had two great loves in life — music and family.

When they conflicted, family always came first. But that didn’t stop Mr. Bentley, known to audiences as "Uncle Russ," from performing country-Western music for fans whenever he could.

"Music and singing were his great loves in life," said his son, Russell Bentley, noting that his father shared stages with Willie Nelson, Boxcar Willie and other legends during his long career.

Mr. Bentley died of heart failure Tuesday. He was 78.

Born Oct. 7, 1930, in Fort Worth, Mr. Bentley came from a family with a long history in Fort Worth. His grandfather, Hugh Dugan, was the owner and operator of the H. Dugan Wagon Yard, which was just west of the Tarrant County Courthouse during the city’s early days.

"It was certainly one of the earliest wagon yards in Fort Worth," said Quentin McGown, a historian and an associate judge in Tarrant County Probate Court. The wagon yard likely dated to 1878, McGown said.

A photo of the wagon yard, where buggies and wagons were sold and serviced, is in a collection of historic photos at the University of Texas at Arlington. It is also featured in a new book of Fort Worth photos by McGown.

Mr. Bentley attended Paschal High School in Fort Worth and attended a carpentry program at Texas Christian University.

He worked for Melody Mobile Homes and New Way Mobile Homes as a purchasing agent and administrator, his son said.

He later worked for Tarrant County, overseeing the inventory of vehicles impounded in drug cases, until he retired in 2000.

Mr. Bentley embraced music as a child, despite never being formally trained. In 1950, he was awarded Texas male vocalist of the year in a statewide competition, Russell Bentley said.

He made regular appearances for years at the Louisiana Hayride music show in Shreveport, as well as at clubs and venues in Fort Worth, including the Johnny High Country Music Revue.

In addition to singing, he played the guitar and mandolin.

"He was one of those guys who could just pick up an instrument and play it," his son said.

But Mr. Bentley always resisted opportunities to broaden his music career that would have required him to leave Fort Worth.

"He always said he had a family to take care of, and he did not want to leave for any reason whatsoever," Russell Bentley said.

The only attempt he made was in 1986, when he joined several shows in the burgeoning country music scene in Branson, Mo. During his time there, Mr. Bentley performed with Boxcar Willie and banjo player Buck Trent, among others.

But after about six weeks, he decided to return home.

"He said, I’ve got grandkids in Fort Worth and they need me there," Russell Bentley said.

In addition to Russell Bentley, survivors include son Dusty Bentley; eight grandchildren; and one great-grandson.

Engineer played key role in North Texas transportation projects

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 21:51 CST

By ANTHONY SPANGLER

ARLINGTON — Always searching for a way to fix things, Gordon Shunk accepted his diagnosis of dementia six years ago and was determined to use his condition to help others.

Mr. Shunk, a transportation engineer who participated in dementia research at the Memory Clinic at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, succumbed to his illness Nov. 5, donating his brain for further study. He was 69.

"It is ironic for someone who lived so right to be struck with this disease," said his wife, Franceen Lyons. "A lot of people would be depressed or ask 'Why me?’ But that was never my husband. He would say that we had everything in life going for us and that we could handle it."

Born in Kankakee, Ill., Mr. Shunk earned a bachelor’s degree through DePauw University and Purdue University.

He also earned a master’s degree and doctorate in urban planning and engineering at Purdue. After college, Mr. Shunk moved to Virginia. He came to Arlington in the early 1970s. After a brief hiatus in San Francisco, he returned to Arlington and worked for the North Central Texas Council of Governments as transportation director.

Mr. Shunk is best known for helping local officials create Dallas Area Rapid Transit and the Fort Worth Transportation Authority and plan freeway projects. He also worked for the Arlington office of the Texas Transportation Institute of Texas A&M University.

Walt Humann, a Dallas businessman considered a founding father of DART, said Mr. Shunk played a pivotal role in most transportation projects.

"In those days, Gordon was responsible for helping develop the base-line data on where transit corridors should be placed and estimating how many people might ride," Humann said. "He provided the fundamental underpinning of the DART system. Gordon was involved in not only transit but in highway and tollway planning."

Mr. Shunk was respected for his technical expertise and his people skills, a rare combination in transportation engineers, Humann said.

"He was able to pull together cities and the state of Texas on planning because he had the technical credibility with both city engineers and the state highway department," he said.

Mr. Shunk enjoyed traveling to see and photograph transportation systems. A percussionist and marching band member as a child, Mr. Shunk enjoyed listening to music.

Mr. Shunk volunteered at the Arlington Life Shelter, serving meals with fellow congregants of St. Peter and St. Paul Episcopal Church.

"He was a godsend to the homeless at the Arlington Life Shelter," said Becky Orander, the shelter’s executive director. "He provided nutritious meals and encouraged the residents on their job searches."

Mr. Shunk was especially proud that his son, Kevin, followed in his footsteps and became an engineer. Even his 6-year-old grandson, Harrison, vows to become an engineer.

"That child loves to take things apart and put them back together," Lyons said. "I think my husband was tickled that his engineering mindset was being passed on to his son and grandson."

Besides his wife, Mr. Shunk’s survivors include sons Stephen Shunk and Kevin Shunk and two grandchildren.

Service A memorial Mass is scheduled for 4 p.m. Saturday at the St. Peter and St. Paul Episcopal Church, 3600 Morris Lane in Arlington.

Longtime Arlington car dealer was the Mayor of Division Street

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 23:35 CST

By MARK AGEE

ARLINGTON — Always in a fedora and matching suit, Glenn Hickson dressed like a movie star and made his name selling cars on a string of lots on Division Street over five decades, beginning in the 1950s.

"When he opened his first lot, he put up a neon sign that had his name on it and an arrow pointing into the lot," said his son Gary Hickson. "For the first month, he said, he drove up and down Division just to look at it. He thought he’d hit the big time.

"He said he wouldn’t have been any prouder to have his name up in lights in Las Vegas."

Mr. Hickson, 83, known as the Mayor of Division Street, died last week of brain cancer. He was diagnosed over two years ago, Gary Hickson said.

"They told him he only had six months to live," his son said. "He had such a strong will to live and fought so hard. He didn’t give up."

Mr. Hickson was born in the West Texas town of Winters and moved to Fort Worth as a teenager. When he was 18 he married Alline Robbins. The two were together 65 years.

She described her husband as a character with a strong personality, someone who insisted upon writing his own obituary. She said he was proud of the Mayor of Division nickname, which he included in the obituary.

Mr. Hickson once discovered a decades-old picture of himself hanging in Southside Bank on Park Row Drive. He was dressed impeccably, as always, sitting in the first car that rolled off the assembly line at the General Motors plant in Arlington, his wife said.

"He always used to go to that bank in person, and he knew everybody," Alline Hickson said. "I told him he just went there because his picture was on the wall. He thought he was a celebrity in that bank. I thought it was so funny."

Mr. Hickson opened his first car lot with friend Dick Jones in Fort Worth 1946, and they moved to Arlington in 1950 to start a Lincoln Mercury dealership. Mr. Hickson’s various dealerships, most of which focused on the resale of upscale autos, were part of the Golden Arlington Auto Aisle — a promotional theme that made Division Street a hot spot to buy a vehicle in the 1950s and ’60s.

Mr. Hickson was also named one of Lincoln Mercury’s top 10 dealers nationwide and won a trip to New York to view a taping of The Ed Sullivan Show, Gary Hickson said.

"He was one of the best salesmen I ever saw," Gary Hickson said. "He just had a way with people. He was very funny and a great storyteller. All of that goes along with the negative stigma of a used-car salesman, but you never heard a bad thing about my dad."

Mr. Hickson moved his businesses from Division Street in the 1990s and retired in 2002, his family said. In a 2005 Star-Telegram article about the decline of Division Street, he said, "It’s a slum."

"It was a good car street," he said. "We sold more cars than some dealerships in Dallas. . . . We worked hard, night and day, and treated people right."

Other survivors include son Glenn Hickson Jr., three grandchildren and two sisters.

Funeral 1 p.m. today in the chapel at Arlington Funeral Home, 1221 E. Division St. Burial will follow at Moore Memorial Gardens, 1219 N. Davis Drive.

We worked hard, night and day, and treated people right."

Mr. Hickson
in 2005

Arlington man is remembered as devoted father, husband and son

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 06:53 CST

By JOHN AUSTIN

Everything he touched turned green.

So instead of heading for Wall Street, where his father had been an E.F. Hutton executive, Edward Bronson Holschuh Jr. spent his life outdoors, in nursery sales and gardening.

"He was always in the yard" mowing the grass or drinking coffee, said his son Edward "E.B." Holschuh III. "That’s where he was happiest." E.B. Holschuh said one of his dad’s fondest memories was winning yard-of-the-month honors in Grand Prairie.

Mr. Holschuh died at home in Arlington on Thursday at age 70. His son, who lives nearby, checked on Mr. Holschuh and found his body, attributed the death to a heart attack.

"Scared the hell out of me," his son said.

Mr. Holschuh’s sons, daughter and sister remember Mr. Holschuh as a good dad and brother and a devoted son who helped his own parents in their old age.

"He was captain of his high-school football team" and was voted class president several times, said Mr. Holschuh’s sister, Lina Coffey. "He was a good kid."

Mr. Holschuh grew up in New Jersey. He attended Colby College, married a girl from the neighborhood and graduated from Fairleigh Dickinson University in 1964. A New Jersey National Guard veteran, Mr. Holschuh moved the family to Grand Prairie in the 1970s and got into the nursery business.

"He was voted most-vocal fan" when the boys played football, younger son Thomas Holschuh said. "We always knew he was there, and so did everybody else. It was always encouragement. "

E.B. Holschuh said Mr. Holschuh helped others with drinking problems through his work in Alcoholics Anonymous.

"It was a demon that afflicted him," E.B. Holschuh said. "It was a battle."

Despite the problems, Mr. Holschuh remained on good terms with his relatives and former wife.

"I always knew that I was loved," E.B. Holschuh said. "I was very blessed to have had him around

Mr. Holschuh’s daughter felt the same.

"He always had a smile on his face," Jenifer Holschuh Mahaffey said, adding that her father left the yard in good shape. "Everything looks good."

Other survivors include grandchildren and a former wife.

Memorial service 7 p.m. today at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Arlington.