Post Mortem: July 26, 2009 - August 1, 2009
Ombudsman's Look at Obits
We generally toil in complete anonymity here on the Obits desk, but every now and then a light breeze of recognition comes our way. This weekend the Post ombudsman, Andy Alexander, takes a look at what we do here in Obits. As Alexander and Obits editor Adam Bernstein point out,...
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Matt Schudel
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August 1, 2009; 12:04 PM ET |
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Corazon Aquino Dies
Corazon Aquino, the unassuming widow whose "people power" revolution toppled a dictator, restored Philippine democracy and inspired millions of people around the world, has died at the age of 76. She served as president of the Philippines from 1986 to 1992, the first woman to hold that position. She was...
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Matt Schudel
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July 31, 2009; 5:57 PM ET |
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The Daily Goodbye
Morning, all. Welcome to Friday. Have you had the yen to run away to the sea? Warren Titus made that possible, even if just for a week or 10 days. He was one of the fathers of the modern cruise concept; he helped convert staid British liners into cruise ships,...
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Patricia Sullivan
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July 31, 2009; 8:18 AM ET |
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Last Survivor of Esquimalt
Post Mortem welcomes occasional submissions by other obit reporters and experts. Vancouver-based obit writer Tom Hawthorn writes: The deaths of two Canadian seamen in recent weeks leaves Joseph Wilson as the last living survivor of the sinking of the Esquimalt. The minesweeper was on patrol in the approaches to Halifax...
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Adam Bernstein
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July 30, 2009; 3:00 PM ET |
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Military
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Death of a Princess
A fabulously wealthy, stunningly beautiful Indian princess, married to a fabulously wealthy, stunningly handsome maharaja, is not someone we usually write about in the obit pages of The Washington Post, but Gayatri Devi, was so intriguing and her life so exotic that we just couldn't resist. Her grandfather, Elizabeth Bumiller...
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Joe Holley
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July 30, 2009; 10:34 AM ET |
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The Daily Goodbye
Good morning, readers. It's high summer in the sultry, humid portion of the Northern Hemisphere but instead of languishing by a pool with a cool drink and uncounted millions, we (and you) soldier on. Reverend Ike, who preached the blessings of material prosperity to nationwide television and radio audiences, has...
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Patricia Sullivan
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July 30, 2009; 8:12 AM ET |
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George Russell
George Russell, who died this week, was an immensely important figure in music history who is totally unknown to the general public. Russell was a jazz composer, occasional bandleader and theoretician. I'm not surprised if you've never heard of him, but if you're aware of any musical expression deeper than...
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Matt Schudel
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July 29, 2009; 11:23 AM ET |
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'Giving Up The Ghost'
Some years ago, I'd begin my workday by walking down the marble halls of a historic pink-granite building, settling in before my computer in a stately, high-ceilinged office and assuming my identity as a white-haired woman in late-middle age with a distinctive Texas twang and a salty wit known to...
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Joe Holley
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July 29, 2009; 10:28 AM ET |
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The Daily Goodbye
Good morning (and isn't it a wonder how having a houseguest will get you up and going early? I propose a new Twitter hashtag: #NoExcusesWednesday.) You may not remember a time when people found jobs via newspaper want ads, but way back in the 1960s, children, you looked for work...
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Patricia Sullivan
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July 29, 2009; 8:05 AM ET |
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Obit as Equalizer
NYT columnist Frank Rich wrote last Sunday that the often-friendly relationship between the press and the Washington establishment has caused too few reporters to speak truth to power. He wrote that The Washington Post's obituary of former Defense Secretary Robert McNamara, "... pointedly or not, included a photo of a...
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Adam Bernstein
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July 28, 2009; 1:17 PM ET |
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The Daily Goodbye
Merce Cunningham's obit, from three sources: Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, New York Times -- which one works best? Seriously, we'd love to hear your thoughts. A World War II escape and evasion adventure marked the life of Virgil R. Marco. After he got home, he went into insurance but...
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Patricia Sullivan
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July 28, 2009; 8:13 AM ET |
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Choreographer Merce Cunningham Dies
Merce Cunningham, the avant-garde choreographer whose unorthodox approaches and discoveries throughout a six-decade career [starting in 1942] made him one of the most important artists of the 20th century, influencing filmmakers and directors as well as choreographers worldwide, died Sunday night, the Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation said. He was 90....
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Patricia Sullivan
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July 27, 2009; 10:41 AM ET |
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The Daily Goodbye
Good morning, all (and is it already Monday again?). A music critic who helped teach audience how to listen to symphonies, concertos and choral works, Michael Steinberg died of colon cancer Sunday at N.C. Little Hospice in Edina, Minn. Jim King, a Florida legislator who gave Floridians the right to...
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Patricia Sullivan
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July 27, 2009; 8:27 AM ET |
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Death of an Enfant Terrible
Among the more interesting obits in the news today is that of Dash Snow, a star-crossed artist who died of a drug overdose at age 27 in a New York hotel room. A New York Times article reported that detectives found the following items in his room: an empty can...
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Joe Holley
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July 26, 2009; 5:18 PM ET |
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