The Daily Goodbye

Good morning, everyone.

Rev. Angus Finucane, a Dublin priest who became a missionary to Africa, died Tuesday. "There can be few Irish people, of his generation or of any other generation, who have contributed as much to improving the lives of so much of humanity," said the current head of the Third World charity, Concern.

Richard C. Christian, who helped form the giant advertising agency Marstellar Inc., died Saturday. The firm produced memorable campaigns, including one that made an actor portraying crying American Indian a symbol for Keep America Beautiful's anti-littering campaign (an ad that is highly controversial within the Native American community because actor Iron Eyes Cody wasn't native American).

Some people are lawyers and some are musicians, but rarely does someone excel at both. George Selaiden's day job was lawyering but at night, the saxophonist sat in on jazz bands led by Woody Herman, Artie Shaw and Benny Goodman. His favorite memory? While playing in Billy Eckstine's band he performed a solo on his saxophone, and "when he stopped, the song kicked in again, the dancing kids in the audience all applauded. And then he heard all the applauding in the back - it was Eckstine and the band, and they stood up and applauded," his daughter said.

There's so much bad news about the real estate and mortgage business in the past couple of years, that here's another reminder that not everyone's a stereotype. Ken Kunzman, a successful real estate salesman, in 1988 suggested that interest paid on Realtors' escrow accounts be put into a trust fund and used to help low-income families find a place to call home. The result, the Minnesota Housing Trust Fund, has invested millions of dollars into affordable housing programs over the past 20 years.

All news is local, and an editor who worked in the news cauldron of New York City then retired and bought the Snowmass Sun in Colorado wouldn't be surprised to learn that his obit was headlined "Former Sun owner dies in New York." Bob Hollingsworth penned his own obit, which was used after his death Tuesday.

It's always interesting to see what small-town newspapers do with the obits of well-known local citizens who have attracted major-league coverage. Here are two: mobster Carlo Mastrototaro and writer Sara E. Wright. Be sure to read the comments from readers under the Mastrototaro obit.