William G. Roll, American psychologist and parapsychologist. died he was 85.

William G. Roll was a noted psychologist and parapsychologist on the faculty of the Psychology Department of the University of West Georgia in Carrollton, Georgia, in the United States  died he was 85..


(July 3, 1926 – January 9, 2012) 

Early years

Roll was born in 1926 in Bremen, Germany where his father was American Vice-consul. At the age of 3 after his parents divorced, he moved to Denmark with his mother, Gudrun Agerholm Roll. According to Roll whilst he was in his childhood in Denmark he began having out-of-body experiences at night.^[1] His mother died in 1942 and in 1946 he went to America with his father, who had come to Denmark with the American Allied forces. During the last year of the war, Roll participated in the Danish resistance movement against the Germans.

Career

Roll enrolled at the University of California, Berkeley in 1947 where he received his BA majoring in philosophy and psychology. A year after graduating he went on to Oxford University where he did parapsychology research for eight years. During this period, he was president of the Oxford University Society for Psychical Research. At Oxford, he wrote his thesis which earned him his M. Litt. degree, "Theory and Experiment in Psychical Research". His thesis was later published in the United States by Arno Press.
Sometimes credited as William Roll, or informally, Bill Roll, he was a parapsychologist since the 1950s and authored or coauthored many investigation research papers, articles, and four books: The Poltergeist (1972), Theory and Experiment in Psychical Research (1975), Psychic Connections (1995, with co-author Lois Duncan), and Unleashed: Of Poltergeists and Murder: The Curious Story of Tina Resch (2004, with co-author Valerie Storey). He is also notable for making several appearances in the television show Unsolved Mysteries, among them an episode discussing disturbances on the RMS Queen Mary. (In this episode he was mistakenly credited as being Danish-born.)
Roll was invited by J. B. Rhine to join the Parapsychology Laboratory of Duke University, where he worked from 1957-1964. In 1964 he became president of the Parapsychological Association. In 1958, he coined the term "recurrent spontaneous psychokinesis" (RSPK)^[2] in a research paper written with J. G. Pratt that dealt with their investigation of objects moving in a home in Seaford, Long Island, New York USA, that was centered around a 12-year old son of an affected family.^[3] It was Roll's first case.^[4]
In 1961, Roll became Project Director of the Psychical Research Foundation (PRF), an off-shoot of J. B. Rhine's Laboratory. After Rhine's retirement from Duke, the PRF left the Duke campus, but in 1969 it returned to Duke as a sponsored program of the School of Electrical Engineering.^[5][6] The connection between Duke and the Foundation ended in the late 1970s.^[7]
Roll received a Ph.D. in psychology from Lund University in 1989 for a thesis entitled, "This World or That: An Examination of Parapsychological Findings Suggestive of the Survival of Human Personality After Death".
In the 80s and 90s, Roll held various positions at University of West Georgia, including Professor of Psychology and Psychical Research, assistant professor, and instructor. In later years, Roll retired from teaching, though he taught a course in parapsychology at the University of West Georgia in 2007, and continued to write, speak at conferences, and conduct occasional investigations. He was awarded the Parapsychological Award for a Distinguished Career in Parapsychology in 1996 and the Dinsdale Memorial Award from the Society of Scientific Exploration in 2002.
Roll's most famous case was as the lead investigator on the 1984 "Columbus Poltergeist" case, in which remarkable color photos were taken by a veteran newspaper photographer for the Columbus Dispatch newspaper, Fred Shannon, which allegedly showed spontaneous telekinesis events in action occurring in the home of Columbus, Ohio teenager Tina Resch.
Roll's research and published writing concerning psychic phenomena focused on theorizing about and testing for scientific explanations, but some of his theories postulated concepts that extend beyond mainstream science.^[7][8]
Roll's last research, as presented to the American Psychological Association, claimed that the root cause of psychic phenomena is a combination of modern physics (i.e., quantum mechanics) and neuroscience. According to Roll all objects and individuals have "psi fields" around them which are the carriers of psi information.^[9]
Roll died at the age of 85, in a nursing home in Normal, Illinois. William G. Roll last resided in the state of Georgia, and is survived by his adult children (Lise, Leif, and Bill), and his wife Lydia.^[10]

Selected publications

• Roll, W. G. (1968). Some physical and psychological aspects of a series of poltergeist phenomena. Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research, 62, 263-308.

• Roll, W.G., Burdick, D., & Joines, W.T. (1973). Radial and tangential forces in the Miami poltergeist. Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research, 67, 267-281.

• Roll, W.G., Burdick, D., & Joines, W.T. (1974). The rotating beam theory and the Olive Hill poltergeist. In W.G. Roll, RL. Morris & J. Morris (Eds.), Research in Parapsychology, 1973, (pp. 64–67). Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow.

• Roll, W.G., & Gearhart, L. (1974). Geomagnetic perturbations and RSPK. In W.G. Roll, RL. Morris & J. Morris (Eds.), Research in Parapsychology, 1973, (pp. 44–46). Metuchen, N.J: Scarecrow.

• Roll, W.G. (1986) Theory and Experiment in Psychical Research (Perspectives in psychical research). Ayer Co. Pub. (reprint of 1975 publication of M. Litt. thesis).

• Roll, W.G., Maher, M., & Brown, B. (1992). An investigation of reported haunting occurrences in a Japanese restaurant in Georgia. The Parapsychological Association 35th Annual Convention, Proceedings of Presented Papers, August 9–13, 151-168.

• Radin, D.I., and Roll, W.G. (1994). A radioactive ghost in a music hall. Proceedings of the 39th Annual Convention of the Parapsychological Association, 337-346.

• Duncan, Lois & Roll, W.G. (1995) Psychic Connections. Delacorte Books for Young Readers.

• Roll, W.G. & Persinger, M.A. (1998). Is ESP a form of perception? Contributions from a study of Sean Harribance. Journal of Parapsychology, 62, 116-118, abstract.

• Roll, W.G. & Persinger, M.A. (1998). Poltergeist and nonlocality: Energetic aspects of RSPK. Proceedings of Presented Papers: The Parapsychological Association 41st Annual Convention, August 6–9, 1998, 184-198.

• Roll, W.G. (2000). Poltergeist and space-time: A contemplation on Hans Bender's Ideas About RSPK. The Parapsychological Association, 43rd Annual Convention, Proceedings of Presented Papers, August 17–20, 316-332.

• Roll, W.G. & Nichols, A. (2000). Psychological and electromagnetic aspects of haunts. The Parapsychological Association 43rd Annual Convention, Proceedings of Presented Papers, August 17–20, 364-378.

• Roll, W.G. (2003). Poltergeists, electromagnetism and consciousness. Journal of Scientific Exploration, 17, 75-86. Online

• Roll, W.G. (2004). The Poltergeist. New York: Paraview (reprint of 1979 edition).

• Roll, W.G. & Valerie Storey (2004). Unleashed: Of Poltergeists and Murder: The Curious Story of Tina Resch. Paraview Pocket Books.

• Roll, W.G. (2006). On Apparitions and Mediumship. In L. Storm and M.A. Thalbourne (Eds.) The Survival of Human Consciousness (pp. 142–173). Jefferson, NC. McFarland & Company, Inc.

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Salvador A. Rodolfo, Sr., Filipino war hero, died from leukemia he was 92.

Col. Salvador Rodolfo, Sr. was a Filipino War Hero who liberated the Island Province of Catanduanes in the Philippines from the clutches of the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II died from leukemia he was 92.. He was known in Catanduanes as “Phantom” or the "Man who Never Dies", based on the comic book hero created by Lee Falk in 1936.

(7 February 1919 – 9 January 2012) 

He organized the Catanduanes Liberation Forces (CLF), the guerilla unit that paved the way for the liberation of Catanduanes in 1945. The CLF fought the Japanese without any external help. They were fearless and fought so hard that the Japanese forces were virtually destroyed before even the American forces, the supposed liberators, arrived in Catanduanes in 1945.^[1]

Personal life

Rodolfo was born in 1919 in Bato, Catanduanes, Philippines. He was a descendant of Don Juan Rodolfo of Almeria, Spain who went to the Philippines in the 18th century and married the daughter of Datu Bantog, who was then one of the Tribal Chieftains in Catanduanes, in order to put to a halt the hostilities between the natives and the Spaniards. The Rodolfos played an important role in Catanduanes politics in the Spanish Colonial Period. His father, Roman Rodolfo, was an undefeated Mayor of Bato, and his mother, Maria Tan Arambulo, was a Chinese businesswoman.^{[citation needed]}

World War II

When the Second World War broke out, Rodolfo was called to arms in defense of the Philippines against the invading Japanese Imperial Forces. He fought in the three-month Battle of Bataan in 1942, and was a survivor of the Bataan Death March, a Japanese war crime in which thousands of prisoners of war were forcibly transported after being defeated. While in Camp O’Donnel in Capas, Tarlac, he met the then Lt. Ferdinand E. Marcos, who would later on become President of the Philippines. He was released later. After being released from the concentration camp in Capas, Tarlac, Rodolfo organized the Catanduanes Liberation Forces.

Catanduanes Liberation Forces

The Catanduanes Liberation Forces^[2] headed and organized by Rodolfo was the back bone of the resistance movement in Catanduanes. It performed numerous ambuscades against the Japanese Imperial Army and conducted intelligence gathering, which was necessary in paving the way for the eventual liberation of the province by the Americans. During his exploits as a guerilla leader, Rodolfo was rumored several times to have been killed in battle but time and again he keeps on coming back to destroy every vestige of enemy control in the province of Catanduanes, hence he was called “Phantom” or the Man who never dies.

Liberation

On February 8, 1945, when Rodolfo was about to declare the independence of the province after he and his men killed every Japanese Imperial Army and burned every Japanese garrison in Catanduanes, one of his men approached him and said that there were Japanese reinforcements on board 2 vessels approaching the island. He then talked to his men, most of whom were wounded and exhausted, he said:

Japanese reinforcements are coming. I have two options for you, we can go to the hills and save ourselves and wait there until the Americans arrive, but I assure you that all civilians left behind will be massacred by the incoming Japanese, or we can repeat what happened in the Battle of Thermopylae and stand our ground. Most of us will die, but we will live forever in the pages of history as the men who fought for the liberation of Catanduanes"

With that, everybody decided to stand their ground and fight the incoming Japanese. They went to their posts to wait for the enemy’s arrival but then, as if by providence, American planes arrived and bombed the Japanese vessels. Rodolfo declared independence of the entire province on February 8, 1945.^[3]

Later Life and Death

In later years, he played a role in local politics in the 80's and 90's serving as Senior Provincial Board Member of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan and acting Vice Governor in Catanduanes. He was a key ally of the late Gov. Leandro Verceles, Sr. ultimately bringing an end to the political dynasty in the province.
In 1995, he was appointed as Chief Security Consultant in the Bureau of Immigration under then Commissioner Leandro Verceles during Pres. Fidel V. Ramos Administration.
He was granted US Citizenship in 1992 after the US Congress passed the law granting citizenship to the USAFFE Veterans who served under Gen.Douglas McArthur. He decided to stay in America for good in 2002.
He died a very peaceful death surrounded by family members on January 9, 2012 at Los Robles Hospital in Thousand Oaks, California. His last words to his son were "You will succeed for as long as you are on God's side". He was a month away from his 93rd birthday.
His remains lie in the Garden of Valor in Valley Oaks-Griffin Memorial Park in Westlake Village, California.


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Mae Laborde, American actress, died she was 102.

Mae Laborde was an American television and film actress, who began her career at the age of 93 and who was active until her death at age 102 died she was 102.. She was best known for her appearances on Talkshow with Spike Feresten as well as portraying Gladys on It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

(May 13, 1909 – January 9, 2012) 

Background

Born in 1909 to Paul and Fereday Shamlian,^[1] in Fresno, Laborde arrived in Los Angeles at the height of the Great Depression. She met her husband, Nicholas Laborde, when he was the conductor on Los Angeles' old Red Car trolley line that she took home from work. She worked throughout her life, including a stint as bookkeeper for Lawrence Welk.^{[citation needed]}
She began acting in 2002 in her 90s.^[2] She was also the subject of the featured article on Yahoo! on March 30, 2007.^[3] She appeared frequently on Talkshow with Spike Feresten. Although not an acting gig, she appeared as an interviewee in the 1998 KCET production of "More Things That Aren't Here Anymore" hosted by veteran broadcaster Ralph Story.
On Saturday, February 21, 2009, three months before her centennial, she was awarded an honorary DTV converter box on Feresten's show in recognition of her very funny taped clip showing her difficulties in attempting to install a DTV converter box. The clip has been ranked #1 as the most-watched viral download. Laborde died in 2012, aged 102, in Santa Monica, where she had lived for more than 80 years.^[4]

Family

Laborde outlived both her husband, Nicholas, and their only child, their daughter, Mrs. Shirley Miller. Laborde was survived by three grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.^[5]




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Augusto Gansser-Biaggi, Swiss geologist, died he was 101.

Augusto Gansser-Biaggi  was a Swiss geologist who specialised in the geology of the Himalayas. He was born in Milan died he was 101..


(28 October 1910 – 9 January 2012^[1])

Career

His geological researches were global in scope:

• East Greenland (1934), a 4 month expedition under Lauge Koch.
• Himalaya (1936), a 8 month expedition under Arnold Heim.
• Colombia (1937–1945, for Shell)
• Trinidad (1947–1950, for Shell)
• Iran (1951–1958, chief geologist of the National Iranian Oil Company)

He got the Tibetan variant of malaria at the First Swiss Himalaya Expedition, and thereafter a lifelong resistance. He circumambulated Mount Kailash disguised as a pilgrim, discovering at the foot of the mountain the origin of one rock seen in the Indian part of the Himalayas and a sensation: seafloor rocks on its South side (ophiolites). Later on, he interpreted this Indus-Yarlung-Tsangpo Suture Zone (ISZ) as the border between the Indian and the Eurasian Plate.
Iran: using his field notes and relief pictures taken by the Iranian Air Force, he chose a 50x 12 km area. Four drillings were not able to go through a huge salt and gypsum layer. Only Number 5 was successful, the largest known 'wildcat' oil gusher, North of Qom (Iran) on 26 August 1956 (3,000 m deep, 80,000 tons oil/day). The gas got lighted up on 13 September, sometime later the well closed itself.^[2][3]
From 1958 until 1977, he was professor of Geology at the University and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, from where he carried out several researches in the Himalayas (Nepal, India and Bhutan). There were five expeditions between 1963 and 1977 to Bhutan. In 1980 and 1985 he was invited by Deng Xiao Ping to Tibet.
Notes: the Greenland expedition included Professor Eugen Wegmann (University of Neuchâtel), Swiss geologists René Masson and Eduard Wenk. The Bhutan expeditions were possible with the help of Jigme Dorje Wangchuks, King of Bhutan and his adviser Fritz von Schulthess.

Family

After the first Himalayan expedition he married Linda Biaggi (Toti) from Lugano. The family has two sons and four daughters: Ursula (1941), Mario (1943), Luca (1945), Manuela (1949), Francesca (1956), Rosanna (1959). He named Pico Toti, Sierra Nevada del Cocuy (Colombia) after his wife following their joint first ascent. She died in 2000 (Alzheimer's disease). Gansser-Biaggi turned 100 on 28 October 2010.^[4]

Awards

• Patrons Medal of the Royal Geographical Society in London for the book: “The Geology of the Himalayas“
• Wollaston Medal (the highest award granted by the Geological Society of London).
• Prix Gaudry (the highest award granted by the French Geological Society)
• Steinmann Medal of the Geological Society of West Germany
• King Albert Medal of Merit for his mountain research
• In 1983 the University of Peshawar in Pakistan gave him the title of "Baba Himalaya" (Father of the Himalayas).
• in 2005 he became honorary member of the Nepal Geological Society.

Publications

• Heim, Arnold; Gansser, Augusto (1938). Thron der Götter: Erlebnisse der ersten Schweizer Himalaja-Expedition. Zürich/Leipzig: Morgarten-Verlag. p. 270. It gratefully acknowledges Sven Hedin's literature about the Himalayas.
• Heim, Arnold; Gansser, Augusto (1939). Central Himalaya Geological Observations of Swiss Expedition, 1936. p. 246.
• Heim, Arnold; Gansser, Augusto (1994). Thron der Götter: Erlebnisse der ersten Schweizer Himalaja-Expedition. Dehli: Book Faith India. pp. XXV, 233. ISBN 81-7303-012-X.
• Gansser, Augusto (1938). "Der Nevado del Cocuy: Columbianisches Bergerlebnis". Die Alpen (8).
• Gansser, Augusto (1962). Lateinamerika - Land der Sorge und der Zukunft. Sozialwissenschaftliche Studien für das Schweizerische Institut für Auslandforschung 9. Erlenbach-Zürich/Stuttgart: Rentsch. p. 315.
• Gansser, Augusto (1964). Geology of the Himalayas. London/New York/Sydney: Wiley Interscience. p. 289.
• Markus, Ursula; Gansser, Augusto; Olschak, Blanche Christine (1971). Bhutan: Land of hidden treasures. London: Allen & Unwin. p. 63.
• Gansser, Augusto (April 1973). "Generalised geological map of the Andes 1:20,000,000: Facts and theories on the Andes, Twenty-sixth William Smith Lecture". Journal of the Geological Society, London 129 (2): 93–131. doi:10.1144/gsjgs.129.2.0093.
• Gansser, Augusto (1973). "Orogene Entwicklung in den Anden, im Himalaja und den Alpen: ein Vergleich". Eclogae Geologicae Helvetiae (Lausanne) 66: 23–40.
• Gansser, Augusto (1974). "The Roraima problem (South America)". Mitteilungen aus dem Geologischen Institut der Eidg. Technischen Hochschule und der Universität Zürich (Zuerich) 177: 80–100. Note: It is about the Guyana Shield, the Tepuys and Mount Roraima.
• Gansser, Augusto (1981). "The Geodynamik History of the Himalaya, in Zagros, Hindu Kush". In Gupta, H. K. and Delany, F. M. Himalaya-Geodynamik Evolution. Geodynamik Series 3. American Geophysical Union. pp. 111–121.
• Gansser, Augusto (1983). Geology of Bhutan Himalaya. Basel/Boston/Stuttgart: Birkhäuser. p. 181. ISBN 3-7643-1371-4.
• Markus, Ursula; Gansser, Augusto; Olschak, Blanche Christine (1983). Bhutan: Königreich im Himalaja. Freiburg im Breisgau: Atlantis. p. 104. ISBN 3-7611-0652-1.
• Gansser, Augusto (1999). Schalensteine: prähistorische Kult-Objekte. München: Verlag Dr. Christian Müller-Straten. ISBN 978-3-932704-66-6.

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Ruth Fernández, Puerto Rican contralto and politician, Senator (1973–1981), died he was 92.

Ruth Fernández  was a Puerto Rican contralto and a member of the Puerto Rican Senate  died he was 92.. According to the "Comisiones Nacionales para la Celebración del Quinto Centenario" (National Commission for the Celebration of the Fifth Centennial), she is said to be one of three artists whose contributions have helped unite Latin America. The other two artists named were Libertad Lamarque from Argentina and Pedro Vargas from Mexico.


(23 May 1919 – 9 January 2012)

Early years

Fernández (birth name: Ruth Noemí Fernández Cortada ^{[note 1]}} was born in the Bélgica sector of barrio Cuarto in Ponce, Puerto Rico^[1][2][3] to Santiago Fernández and Rosa María Cortada.^[4] Fernández's mother died when she was six years old and she was raised along with her four other siblings by her grandmother.^[5] She received her primary and secondary education in her hometown. As a child she learned to play the piano and was very active in her school and community's activities. In high school she organized her own musical group. She became a professional singer at the age of 14 when she would go to the local radio stations, WPRP and WPAB, and sing for 50 cents a day, in 1935. Fernandez was heard by Mingo, a bandleader of a locally popular band and was hired into his band in 1940. She then performed in nightclubs, dances and casinos.^[6][7][8][9]

Musical career

Fernández started to gain popularity and in 1941, at age 22, she was signed by Columbia Records with whom she recorded her first hit song, "Cuando Vuelvas" (When you return) a theme written by Myrta Silva. Her first appearance in New York was in The Latin Theater of New York. There the Master of Ceremonies, Hector del Villar, introduced her as "El Alma de Puerto Rico hecha cancion" ("The Soul of Puerto Rico Turned Song"). That moniker was to stay with her forever.^[6]
When Fernández returned to the island, she enrolled in the University of Puerto Rico in 1943 with the intention of becoming a social worker. However, she once again joined Mingo and his band, the "Whoopee Kids" and toured with them throughout the Caribbean, Central and South America.^[7]

Breaking racial barriers

Fernández was the very first successful Afro-Puerto Rican female singer, and as such, she broke color barriers and stereotypes. The Mingo band was contracted to perform at a benefit for the American Red Cross in the Condado Vanderbilt Hotel on August 4, 1945. The director of the orchestra told her that according to the hotel's rules, she had to enter through the kitchen door like all other black musicians (a de facto integration rule, illegal at the time in Puerto Rico, but still in place at the time out of concern for American patrons of the hotel). Ruth however, did not follow the instructions and entered through the main entrance, driven by a chauffeur on a Packard automobile. She went on stage and performed before the astonished audience. When asked in a documentary years later how she felt about the incident, she replied: "Me llamaron negra. ¿Negra? ¿Y qué?" ("They called me a negro. Negro? So what?"). She was particularly proud about how well dressed she was that day, "wearing more decorations than Douglas MacArthur". From that point on she proudly and constantly referred to herself (even in songs such as "Soy la que soy") as "La Negra de Ponce" ("The Black Woman from Ponce)", making reference to her racial heritage and her city of origin. She often also joked that she considered herself "Insoportablemente Ponceña" ("unbearably Ponceña").^[10]

External audio

You may listen to Ruth Fernández's "Borincana." here.

During World War II and the Korean War, she traveled overseas to entertain the soldiers of Hispanic descent.^[6][7] When she returned to Puerto Rico, she decided to go solo. In 1954, at age 41, Fernández participated in the first televised musical television show in the history of Puerto Rico, "El Show Libby's". She also had many other "firsts": she was the first woman to sing in a Puerto Rican orchestra; the first Puerto Rican woman to sing "popular" music at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City;^[11] the first Latina singer of romantic music to sing in the Scandinavian countries (with some notable success in Norway), and the first Latina to record with a North American band.^[7]
She had a long standing musical partnership with Lito Peña; she recorded two albums with his Orquesta Panamericana, and he wrote and arranged many of her most famous songs. One of these songs includes what has since become a Puerto Rican folk standard, the bomba song "(La Bomba) ¡Ay, qué rica es!". She also recorded with Machito Grillo's orchestra and with Los Hispanos as backup singers.
Fernández' performances in the United States were transmitted coast to coast under her contract with the CBS radio network. She also performed at the Carnegie Hall in New York in 1960. Among the many countries in which she has performed are Italy, France, Spain, Norway, Venezuela, Mexico, Panama, and Cuba.^[6][7] Fernandez has also appeared in two Spanish-language films, and has a notable role in the Afro-Puerto Rican documentary "Raíces", produced by the Banco Popular de Puerto Rico.

Personal life

Fernández was twice married; both marriages ended in divorce.^[12] Fernández had no children; because of her public acknowledgement of her nephews and nieces, and because of her philanthropic work with children, many Puerto Ricans nicknamed her "Titi Ruth" (Auntie Ruth), a term popularized by comedian José Miguel Agrelot. Flutist Néstor Torres is one of her nephews.^[8]

Optimism

Fernandez always stressed the positive in her life and in her interaction with people. Her most often repeated quote is "¡Arriba, corazones!" ("Hearts, go up!"). Fernández's signature song is the Lito Peña composition "Gracias, Mundo" ("Thank you, World"), which, in a way similar to Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World", depicts the planet in a very optimistic way. In many occasions, particularly at charity telethons, Fernández would be asked to sing the song as a closer, which she would do willingly. With some reluctance, but agreeing to it as to show she was a good sport, she accepted neighbor Sunshine Logroño's request to sing the song as the theme for his satirical movie, "Chona, La Puerca Asesina" (Chona, The Killer Pig), as a way to emphasize the deeds of Cambucha, the film's hero (played by Puerto Rican actress and singer Nena Rivera) of saving Puerto Rico from the giant piglet after which the film is named.^[7]

Awards and recognitions

Among the many awards and recognitions which have been bestowed upon her are:^[6]

• The Medal of Vasco Nuñez de Balboa from Panama;
• The Order of Francisco de Miranda from Venezuela;
• an Honorary Doctorate from the World University and
• the declaration of a "Ruth Fernandez Day" in the cities of Washington, D.C., New York City, Los Angeles, and in Puerto Rico.
• In 1963, Pablo Casals wrote and dedicated to Ruth Fernandez the song "Ven a Mi" (Come to Me).
• In Ponce, she is recognized as one of Ponce greatest musicians at the Park of the Illustrious Ponce Citizens

In 1985, she was given a tribute in recognition of the 50 years which she has dedicated to the artistic world with the participation of Mario Moreno "Cantinflas", Libertad Lamarque, Pedro Vargas, Olga Guillot and many others. She was also named by 500th Centennial commission as one of the three Latin American artists who have contributed the most in uniting Latin America.^[7]
In 2000, she was paid a tribute in the Antonio Paoli Hall of the Luis A. Ferre Center for the Performing Arts in Puerto Rico. During the tribute she was proclaimed "The Singer of the Century" of Puerto Rico.^[6]
In June 2012, the Senate of Puerto Rico approved Resolución Conjunta del Senado 957 (Joint Senate Resolution 957) to rename the Museo de la Música Puertorriqueña in Ponce as Museo de la Música Puertorriqueña Ruth Fernández in honor of the singer from Ponce.^[13]

Political life

She was elected into the Senate of Puerto Rico, representing the district of Ponce as a member of the Partido Popular de Puerto Rico (Popular Democratic Party of Puerto Rico). Her loyalty to the party had been long standing: when Rafael Hernández Colón first competed for the office of governor of Puerto Rico in the 1972 elections, Fernández sang a campaign jingle for his campaign.
As a legislator, Fernández sought many reforms and better working conditions for the artistic class. She also sought after the interests of Puerto Ricans living in the United States; a tenement in The Bronx, New York is named after her, Ruth Fernández Apartments. After her senatorial term was over, she served as a cultural advisor for Hernández Colón. In 1990, she was selected by Imagen (Image) magazine as one the ten most powerful women in Puerto Rico.^[7]
At one time, she led the House of the Puerto Rican Artist organization. Her controversial tenure, spanning over a decade, ended with the granting of $500,000 to an actor's collective, with which they purchased the Teatro Coribantes, near San Juan's financial district (Hato Rey).^[7]

Retirement and death

Fernández retired from all activities in the 2000s (decade). She acknowledged suffering from Alzheimer's Disease, but 2010 newspaper interviews depicted her as having occasional moments of (very candid) lucidity.^[6] She died in San Juan on 9 January 2012^[12] of a septic shock and pneumonia.^[14] The government of Puerto Rico declared three days of national mourning for her death.^[5] She was buried in her hometown of Ponce at Cementerio Civil de Ponce.^[15][16]



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Bridie Gallagher, Irish singer, died she was 87.

Bridget "Bridie" Gallagher was an Irish singer, affectionately known as "The Girl from Donegal" died she was 87.. She was "Ireland's first truly international pop star".^[1]

^{(7 September 1924 – 9 January 2012)}

Gallagher shot to fame in 1956 with her recording of "A Mother's Love's A Blessing" and achieved international acclaim with her legendary rendition of "The Boys From County Armagh". During her career, which spans over six decades, she has appeared in many leading venues across the globe. She also made songs such as "The Homes of Donegal" famous.

Career

Gallagher started her singing in the Creeslough Hall with a local Ceili Band started by Bill Gallagher. The Creeslough Hall was owned by Jim Mc Caffrey and Bridie would make many more visits to the Creeslough Hall in her home town throughout her long and successful career. Bridie's talent was soon spotted in the 1950s by Billy Livingstone (no relation to her husband) who was a talent scout for Decca records, and she went to Belfast which was to become her base, therein she married Robert (Bob) Livingstone and had two boys, Jim and Peter. One son, Peter died in a motor accident in 1976 and the other later went on to tour with Gallagher.
Gallagher holds the record for the largest number of people in attendance in the Albert Hall London, with over 7,500 people,^[2] a record that was never equalled as it went on to be come an all seater venue. Gallagher become world famous and travelled all over the world, United States, Canada, Europe, Australia and was known as "The Girl from Donegal". Bridie played in many of the world's best known theatre's including London's Royal Albert Hall, Sydney Opera House and Carnegie Hall in New York. Bridie sang mainly ballads or as they later became known as Country and Irish. One of her best known songs was "The Boys From The County Armagh" which sold over 250,000 copies, the biggest selling Irish single at that time.^[3]
Bridie also recorded "Cottage by the Lee", written by Irish songwriter, Dick Farrelly. Farrelly achieved worldwide fame with his classic song, "The Isle of Innisfree", which was originally a worldwide hit for Bing Crosby and it was chosen by movie director, John Ford as the main theme music for his film, "The Quiet Man".
Gallagher had her own radio show on RTÉ. As well as many appearances on television (RTÉ, BBC, UTV, and coast to coast in the United States).^[4]

Personal life

Gallagher has lived in Belfast for most of her life. In 1976 she lost her 21-year-old son in a motorbike accident."She never really got over that (accident)," said her son Jim, "but she just kept going.". She was honoured by the people of Creeslough on 10 July 2000 with an event to celebrate her career. Members of her family from Creeslough and Donegal attended the event along with her two sisters and their families who travelled from Glasgow to be there along with an estimated crowd of 2,500 fans. A plaque paying tribute to Gallagher was unveilled. The following day she was honoured by Donegal County Council when the held a Civic Reception for her. "Bridie blazed the trail for many artists who followed after her and I'm sure that many of them looked upon her as a role model as they started their careers in the music world," council chairman Charlie Bennett said at the ceremony.
Gallagher died at her home in Belfast on 9 January 2012 at the age of 87.^[5][6] With her burial taking place in her native Creeslough.^[7]

Discography

Singles

• A Mother's Love's a Blessing/ I'll Remember You Love, In My Prayers (1956)
• The Boys From the County Armagh/ Kilarney and You (July, 1957)
• The Girl from Donegal / Take this Message to my Mother (1958)
• At the Close of an Irish Day / Two Little Orphans (1958)
• The Hills of Donegal / My Mother's Last Goodbye (1958)
• I'll Forgive But I'll Never Forget / Poor Little Orphan Boy (1958)
• Hillside in Scotland / Johnny Gray (1958)
• The Kylemore Pass / Cutting the Corn in Creeslough (1958)
• Goodbye Johnny / The Faithful Sailor Boy (1958)
• I Found You Out/ It's A Sin To Tell A Lie (December 1958)
• If I Were a Blackbird / The Moon Behind the Hill (1959)
• Moonlight in Mayo / In The Heart of Donegal (1959)
• I Left Ireland and My Mother Because we were Poor / Star of Donegal (1959)
• Noreen Bawn / Moonlight on the River Shannon (1959)
• Hills of Glenswilly / The Old Wishin' Chair (1959)
• Orange Trees Growing in Old County Down / The Crolly Doll (1959)
• I'll Always Be With You / Stay With Me (May 1959)
• Irish Jaunting Car / Johnny My Love(1960)
• My Lovely Irish Rose / Don't Forget To Say I Love You (1960)
• Homes Of Donegal / Ballyhoe (1960)
• Rose of Killkenny / Shall My Soul Pass Through Old Ireland (1960)
• The Castlebar Fair / Home To Mayo (1962)
• Christmas In Old Dublin Town/ I'll Cry Tomorrow (December 1962)
• A Little Bunch Of Violets/ The Bonny Boy (1966)
• The Wild Colonial Boy/ Poor Orphan Girl (1967)
• Destination Donegal / The Turfman From Ardee (1967)
• The Glen of Aherlow / Henry Joy (1967)
• Cottage On The Borderline / Rose of Mooncoin (December, 1967)
• Swinging In The Lane / 5,000 Miles From Sligo (October, 1970)
• If I Had My Life To Live Over / Golden Jubilee (1971)
• Just Like Your Daddy/ No Charge (March, 1976)
• A Mother's Love's a Blessing / The Road To Creeslough (October, 1976)

Extended Plays

• The Girl From Donegal, No. 1
• A1: The Girl From Donegal
• A2: Take This Message To My Mother
• B1: At The Close Of An Irish Day
• B2: Two Little Orphans

• The Girl From Donegal, No. 3 (1958)
• A1:Hill Of Donegal
• A2: I'll Forgive But I'll Never Forget
• B1: The Boys From County Armagh
• B2: The Poor Orphan Boy

• Bridie Gallagher (1959)
• A: Moonlight On The Shannon River
• B1: I Left Ireland And Mother Because We Were Poor
• B2: The Hills Of Glenswilly

• Bridie Gallagher (EP) (1959)
• A1: I Found You Out
• A2: Two-Faced Moon
• B1: It's A Sin To Tell A Lie
• B2: Somebody Cried At Your Wedding

Long Plays

• At Home With Bridie Gallagher (1962)
• Little Bunch of Violets (1966)
• In The Heart of Donegal (1968)
• Bridie Gallagher Sings Irish Requests (1970)
• The Half Door (1978)

Discography Sources = ^{[8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]}


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Alex DeCroce, American politician, New Jersey General Assembly Minority Leader (since 2004), died he was 75.

Alex DeCroce  was an American Republican Party politician, who served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 1989 until his death on January 9, 2012, where he represented the 26th legislative district died he was 75..

(June 10, 1936 – January 9, 2012)


He was the Assembly's Republican Leader since 2003, served as the Republican Conference Leader from 2002 to 2003, and was the Deputy Speaker from 1994 to 2001. DeCroce served in the Assembly on the Legislative Services Commission.^[1]
DeCroce served on the Morris County Board of Chosen Freeholders from 1984 to 1989 and as the Freeholder Director in 1986.^[1]
DeCroce attended Seton Hall University.^[1] He was born in Morristown, and resided in Parsippany-Troy Hills.^[2]

Death

DeCroce died on January 9, 2012 after collapsing in a bathroom inside the Statehouse, just moments after the 214th Legislature held its final voting session.^[3] He was 75. On January 25, 2012, his widow, BettyLou DeCroce, was selected by the Morris County Republican Committee to replace him in the Assembly until a November 2012 special election is held.^[4]


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