Results tagged “obituary”

Washington Wizards owner Abe Pollin has passed away at the age of 85, the Washington Post is reporting.

Perhaps best known throughout the nation for one of his works in Washington – the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, located along the Tidal Basin – Bay Area landscape architect Lawrence Halprin died on Sunday of natural causes. The FDR Memorial features one of Halprin's boldest waterfall elements, a major feature for which his work was known. Fittingly, Halprin also believed that the well-loved FDR Memorial best represented his accomplishments. For those who have never toured the plaza, the FDR Memorial is divided into sequential landscape arenas, which represent significant stages of the President's life using text, seats, statues, and segmented space. Though the Memorial is driven by narrative and experience, nothing is sacrificed in terms of form or composition.

Very sad news for D.C. residents and lovers of half-smokes the world over: Ben Ali, co-founder of Washington institution Ben's Chili Bowl, passed away Wednesday night, (as City Desk also reports). He was 82.

Our hearts are heavy as word reaches us that Bruce Robey, the co-founder of the Voice of the Hill newspaper and the H Street Playhouse, died Sunday night of an apparent heart attack. He was 65. Mark Segraves has a lovely tribute to Bruce up online already. The last time DCist spoke to Bruce, he was telling us all about his newly relaunched version of Hill-Talk, the online bulletin board that used to be an integral part of Voice of the Hill before it was sold to the Current newspapers. Bruce and his wife Adele have long been tireless advocates of improving the quality of life of District residents, and Bruce will be sadly missed.

Erich Kunzel, who was familiar to Washingtonians from his regular appearances at the podium of the National Symphony Orchestra Pops at annual Independence Day and Memorial Day concerts on the Capitol Lawn, died this morning near his home in Maine. He was 74.

       

Statements on the passing of Sen. Edward Kennedy have been coming in all morning. If you only read one obituary on the long-serving senator, read The Boston Globe's lengthy remembrance, which describes Kennedy as having become "a Democratic titan of Washington who fought for the less fortunate, who crafted unlikely deals with conservative Republicans, and who ceaselessly sought support for universal health coverage." We've seen flags at half-staff all over town today. Official and unofficial Washington are both in mourning.

Robert Novak, the conservative commentator often referred to as The Prince of Darkness, has succumbed to brain cancer at the age of 78. Kenneth Tomlinson at HumanEvents.com, which published the Evans-Novak Report up until it was canceled last year, confirmed the news this morning. Novak, perhaps now best known for his role in outing CIA agent Valerie Plame, first announced he had been diagnosed with a fatal brain tumor almost exactly a year ago, and promptly decided to retire. The diagnosis came just a short time after Novak struck a homeless man with his car in downtown Washington.

Word spread through the local music community yesterday that Clark Sabine, singer for the local band Statehood, had finally succumbed to his long battle with cancer. Sabine, 33, died Tuesday night at a hospice facility in Arlington. His bandmates posted this message to their website overnight:

We are deeply saddened to tell you that Clark passed away on Tuesday evening at a hospice in Arlington, VA. He was first diagnosed with melanoma in February of 2008, and after a series of surgeries and treatments, we thought he was in the clear. In the fall the cancer returned and spread to other parts of his body. Experimental treatments were in the works, but we needed chemotherapy to shrink some of the tumors before beginning this treatment. In May, we found out that the chemo was not working and that the condition was terminal. Clark was 33 years old.

Continue reading "Clark Sabine, of Local Band Statehood, Dies at 33"

Contempory composer Nicholas Maw died yesterday at the age of 73. Born in England, Maw moved to the United States after his first marriage ended in divorce, making his home in Takoma Park with Maija Hay, a ceramics artist. For much of that time he was on the faculty of Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore and had some success getting his music performed by American ensembles, including here in Washington, like the Left Bank Concert Society.

Ronald Henderson, owner of 14th Street stationery and gift store Pulp, died Feb. 15 at his home in Provincetown, Mass., of complications related to AIDS and liver cancer. He was 56.

Hilda Mason, 91, who served more than 20 years on the D.C. Council, died yesterday at Washington Hospital Center.

Just how do you recruit a 19-year-old woman to live in a studio apartment atop a big chair in Southeast Washington? This was the incredible feat achieved by Charles Wendell Curtis, who the Post profiles in an obituary today. Curtis was the man who built Anacostia's 19 1/2 foot tall Big Chair in 1959 to promote his family's furniture store. The original chair -- when built touted as the World's Largest Chair -- was replaced last year by an aluminium replica, after time and weather had taken its toll on the mahogany version. But it maintains its status as an area landmark.

From the Associated Press via WTOP:The top editor of the Washington Business Journal was found dead at his home Monday. John McCalla was 38. A spokeswoman for the D.C. medical examiner says the cause of death would be determined pending further tests. Our readers may remember McCalla best as a perennial nominee in Fishbowl DC's Hottest Media contest. It's a tragic loss for local journalism, and we at DCist express our sympathies to his family,...

Good morning, Washington. As you may have heard, former President Gerald Ford passed away yesterday. The Post has all of the currently available details, as well as the detailed obituary you would expect. Moussaoui Barriers To Remain In Alexandria: The Post reports on a story near of particular interest to us. Alexandria resident Jim Savage has been trying to get rid of the allegedly-temporary security barriers that were placed around the town's courthouse for the trial of Zacarias Moussaoui. Now that the trial has concluded, the barriers should presumably be removed. Perhaps unsurprisingly, officials disagree, and they now say that the barriers will be replaced with permanent versions. We suppose it's best to let the experts make the call, but we still can't help despairing at the idea of D.C. and its suburbs being permanently disfigured by the last half-decade's (admittedly understandable) invasion of jersey barriers, bollards and poorly-placed planters. Introducing The Singing Cabbie: NBC4 warns us to keep an eye out for Diamond Cab number 555. Manned by Ricky Celdran, passengers in the taxi are treated to performances of songs from the driver's repertoire of about thirty tunes. We can't tell if this would be fantastic or horrifying. Has anybody run into Mr. Celdran? Fatal End To Standoff With Reservist: The standoff between Maryland police and an army reservist has ended tragically, according to the Post. James Emerick Dean had barricaded himself in his father's house after receiving news that he would be headed to Iraq. The authorities were called, the situation escalated, and Dean was ultimately shot by a sheriff's deputy. Briefly Noted: Fundraising going well for Fenty's inaugural party... Virginia DNA review project not going so well... Man rescued in Rock Creek Park... Seriously, don't thaw pipes with a blowtorch... New condos planned for top floor of building housing soup kitchen... No blue laws on New Year's Eve, either... This Day In DCist: One year ago we reviewed Wicked and celebrating some Washington sports victories.. Two years ago we brought news of Wegmans and covered an MMORPG with a local connection. Image posted to DCist Photos by Flickr user christaki

With the revival of classic cookbooks propelled by the releases of The Silver Spoon and Julie and Julia -- the blog-turned-book in which Julie Powell writes on cooking every recipe in Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking -- it’s worth noting the death of chef and cookbook writer Edna Lewis, 89. Lewis didn't just compile recipes. Having authored The Taste of Country Cooking, she's largely credited with explaining and showcasing Southern cooking to...

Betty Friedan, feminist, author, and founder of the National Organization for Women, passed away on Saturday, February 4 at her home in the District. Friedan wrote "The Feminine Mystique," a key work of feminist literature that launched the second-wave of feminism. In it, Friedan expounded on the trials and tribulations of the modern housewife, many suffering from what she penned as "the problem that has no name."

We were just finishing up an obituary for D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams' recently deceased blog when a DCist source frantically ran into the press-room, bearing a copy of today's D.C. Examiner. There, on page 3, was proof that the blog is still alive, maybe on life-support, but kicking no less.

We're saddened by the passing of one of America's architectural giants, Philip Johnson, a larger-than-life figure who transformed our notion of space and design. Johnson lived in the shadow of Frank Lloyd Wright for much of his early career. About a decade after Wright died in 1959, Simon and Garfunkel wrote a song in tribute to the master architect. Though Johnson's life was certainly filled with intrigue, drama and intense public criticism (for his architecture...

MLK Day Parade Canceled: The AP, via the Post, reports that the 27th annual Martin Luther King Day parade in Ward 8 has been canceled because of the cold temperatures. Apparently, the health of Ward 8's councilmember, former Mayor Marion Barry, had been speculated to have been partly to blame for the cancellation, enough so that the AP in the second paragraph flatly said that is wasn't to blame. (But perhaps we're just reading too...

This website was featured in Washingtonian magazine's "Best of Washington" feature in their December edition, now available at newsstands. Describing us as collectors of "tidbits of political and cultural arcana," they mention our posts on Keri Strug's armoire and our obituary of Au Pied du Cochon.

Plain Old Pearson's, the storied liquor store on Wisconsin Avenue, is closed today because of the death of Samuel Eisenberg, who introduced discount liquor to the nation's capital after Prohibition. Pearson's was originally a pharmacy, but Eisenberg started a small liquor department that eventually grew and grew into what we know today.

Dupont Rowhouse Ablaze: An 18th Street NW rowhouse went up in flames yesterday. No one was hurt, but flames from the building's third floor shot up "high enough to be seen several blocks away," the Post reports. Cardinal Dies: Cardinal James Hickey died at his Northeast nursing home at the age of 84. Hickey led the Washington archdiocese for 20 years and "created the metropolitan area's most extensive nongovernmental network of social services, an achievement...

DCist was in Gallery Place/Chinatown/East End/Penn Quarter (take your pick) last week to take a look at the massive soon-to-be-completed building at the southeast corner of Seventh and H streets. Already, Urban Outfitters and Benetton have opened their doors. A movie megaplex will open soon, along with some more retail, infusing the Seventh Street corridor with more pedestrian traffic.