Year 2011

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February - March -May - July - October- November- December

February 2011

Milo Richmond Alexander died August 13, 2010 in New Haven, Conn. He was born in the Canal Zone, graduated from Canal Zone Junior College, and the University of Texas. He worked two careers; first with Pan Am Airways and then with the U.S. Information Agency. He was a member of the Panama Canal Society.

Robert Dodge Atwood, 90, of St. Petersburg, Fla., died October 27, 2010. He was born in Bocas del Toro where his father worked for United Fruit Company.

Arch Dale Bishop, 92, of Kerrville, Texas, died December 16, 2010. After graduating from high school in West Virginia, he joined the Marines and was honorably discharged in the Canal Zone where he was employed as a police officer. During World War II he rejoined the Marines and served in the South Pacific and Japan. After the war, he returned to the Canal Zone and joined the Internal Audit Staff of the Panama Canal Company from which he retired in 1973. He was a member of the Panama Canal Society.

Sara Hammond Chavez, 58, died December 7, 2010. She was born in Panama, grew up in the Canal Zone and graduated from Balboa High School in 1970. She worked for the Panama Canal Company until 1983 and then for the Department of Defense. She was a member of the Panama Canal Society.

William R. Dixon, 94, of St. Petersburg, Fla., died November 26, 2010. He moved to the Canal Zone in 1941 and retired as a supervisor of the Atlantic side operations of the Motor Transportation Division. He was a member of the Panama Canal Society.

Charles Peter Farley, Jr., 84, died December 26, 2010 in Florissant, Mo. He was married to Joanne Flynn Farley and was a member of the Panama Canal Society.

Glenn E. Farrell, Lt.Col., USAR, died December 28, 2010. He was an Airborne Green Beret and served in "Just Cause." He was a retired Panama Canal Probation Officer.

Marjorie "Marje" (Harrington) Foster, 81, of Palm Harbor, Fla., died December 7, 2010. She grew up in the Canal Zone and graduated from Cristobal High School in 1947. She retired from the Panama Canal Company in 1984. She was a longtime member of the Panama Canal Society and Past President from 1994-1995.

Catherine W. Hopkins "Catsy" Schafer, 96, of San Diego, Calif., died January 11, 2011. She married William N. Taylor in 1938 and they went to the Canal Zone where she worked at the military hospital in Fort Clayton. After her husband's death, she remained in the Canal Zone and later married Lt. Col. Vernon L. Schafer. She was a member of the Panama Canal Society.

Jolene Jones Smith, 66, died November 21, 2010 in Nashville, Tenn. She lived in Gamboa from 1944 to 1948 and from 1960 until graduating from Balboa High School in 1962.

Ruth (Schmidt) Tortorici died November 23, 2010 in Inverness, Fla. She went to the Canal Zone shortly after her birth on December 15, 1924, and was part of the "Fishing Schmidt Family" on the Atlantic side. She married Peter A. Tortorici in 1945 and lived on the Atlantic side until her retirement in 1974. She was a member of the Panama Canal Society.

Jenny Gladys Turner, 95, died October 3, 2010 in Dallas, Texas. No further information available.

Frank Gonzalez of Alma, Ark., and Clearwater, Fla., died November 19, 2010 in Alma. He was married to Sharon DeVore Gonzalez and they made many trips to Panama and the Canal Zone. He was a member of the Panama Canal Society.

James (Jim) Paul Hunt, 84, of St. Petersburg, Fla., died November 29, 2010. He was a former Attendance Officer for Curundu Junior High School and a Guidance Counselor at Balboa High School.

Mildred M. (Villanelli) Nehring, 90, of Hazelton, Pa., died December 3, 2010. She lived in the Canal Zone with her husband and children until his retirement in 1974.

Bruce Edward Orvis, 74, died January 15, 2011 in Tulsa, Okla. He went to the Canal Zone in 1950 and graduated from Balboa High School in 1954. He graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a civil engineering degree and settled in Tulsa.

Gertrude A. Paige, a longtime resident of the Panama Canal Zone and a member of the Panama Canal Society, died February 7, 2010 in Conyers, Ga.

Douglas John Phillips Sr., 69, died December 18, 2010 in Panama. He was born in Panama, graduated from Cristobal High School in 1960 and attended Canal Zone College. After college he returned to the Canal Zone in 1972 and began working for the Panama Canal Company. He retired in 1999 and remained working for the Panama Canal Authority until 2009.

Sam Porter, 73, of Wellington, Fla., died November 15, 2010. He was stationed in the Panama Canal Zone and served as a Marine Diesel Engineer. After leaving the military he went to work in the Canal Zone and retired as a Police Lieutenant in 1981.

Kathryn J. Potter, 92, died December 14, 2010. She married her husband in the Canal Zone in 1940 and they remained there for 33 years before retiring. She was a member of the Panama Canal Society.

Myra Davis Walston died December 26, 2010 in Vallejo, Calif. She was born in Colon and spent most of her childhood years on the Atlantic side. In 1937 she married a Canal Zone police officer and they lived in Pedro Miquel and Balboa until his transfer to the Dredging Division in 1944. They lived in Gamboa and Diablo until he retired in 1967. She was a member of the Panama Canal Society.

Janice Etta Junkin-Whitney, 92, died November 11, 2010 in Tallahassee, Fla. She taught school in the Panama Canal Zone and after her retirement in 1981 she moved to Tallahassee. During the last four years of her life she returned to her beloved Panama for summers and Christmas holidays in Mariato/Playa Reina. She was a member of the Panama Canal Society.

William A. Wichman, 90, of Tamarac, Fla., died July 28, 2010. As a young man he traveled to the Canal Zone where he worked until retirement as a Systems Accountant for the Panama Canal Company. He was a member of the Panama Canal Society.

March 2011

Elizabeth "Liz" (Zent) Beall, 82, died February 23, 2011, in Largo, Fla. She was born in Arizona but spent her formative years in the Panama Canal Zone. She moved to Washington, D.C. in the late '70s working for Senator Pete Domenici of New Mexico until she retired to Largo, Fla., in 1989. She was a member of the Panama Canal Society.

Thomas V. Bright, 68, died February 21, 2011 in Arlington, Va. He was born and raised in the Canal Zone and graduated from Balboa High School in 1961. After serving in the Army, he returned to the Canal Zone and was with the Canal Zone Police Force for 20 years, and then the Personnel Division until 1999. He remained in Panama until he became ill and returned to the U.S. for treatment at Johns Hopkins Medical Center in Baltimore, Md.

Doris "Rusty" Folger, 85, of Charlotte, N.C., died March 15, 2011. She married George Folger in 1946 and they went to the Canal Zone in the early 1950s. She worked for the U.S. Army, first as a secretary and later as an intelligence analyst until 1977. She was a member of the Panama Canal Society.

Muriel E. Gordon, 91, died in Panama City, Panama, on January 20, 2011. She was raised and educated in Red Tank in the Canal Zone. After high school she worked as a cashier, cook and waitress in various clubhouses and commissaries.

Virginia Ann "Vita" Lewis-Whittaker, 53, of Panama died suddenly on January 17, 2011 from a two-vehicle accident on her way to West Palm Beach. She was a family service specialist in Palm Beach County, and earlier was a preschool teacher at Head Start at MacDill AFB in Tampa.

John Anthony McNatt, 72, died February 17, 2011, in Juneau, Alaska. He was born in Gorgas Hospital and graduated from Balboa High School in 1956. After completing an apprentice program, he worked for the Locks Division as a marine electrician, electrician, and mule operator off and on until 1975 when he transferred to FAA in the Canal Zone. He transferred to Alaska in 1978 where he retired in 1993. He was a member of the Panama Canal Society.

Robert Donald Mitchell, 85, of Coon Rapids, Minn., died April 30, 2010. He moved to the Canal Zone in 1940 and graduated from high school in 1945. After serving in the Navy, he returned to Canal Zone Junior College and after graduating, worked for IAGS until 1958.

May 2011

Elizabewth J. "Jeanne" Bennett, 66, died March 8, 2011 in Dunedin, Fla. She was born in the Canal Zone and maintained a lifelong connection with the Panama Canal.

Audrey Benoit Bowman, 88, died April 9, 2011 in Gainesville, Fla. She went to the Canal Zone at the age of 2 and graduated from Balboa High School in 1941, married her husband shortly thereafter and was widowed at 39. She worked in various offices until she retired in 1985. She was a member of the Panama Canal Society and worked Registration at the annual reunions.

Phyllis Allen Christoph, 69, died May 8, 2011 in Tyler, Texas. She graduated from Balboa High School in 1961 and attended CZJC for a year and a half. She was a member of the Panama Canal Society.

Howard Linden Clarke II, 94, died April 8, 2011 in St. Petersburg, Fla. He was born and raised in the Canal Zone, graduated from Balboa High School in 1938, and worked 37 years for the Canal until he retired from the Industrial Division on the Atlantic side. He was Past President of the Panama Canal Society in 1978-79 and a member for many years.

Dick W. Collver, 83, died March 18, 2011 in Amarillo, Texas. He was an educator in the Panama Canal Zone schools for 20 years, and Past Grand Exalted Ruler of BPOE 1414. He was also active in the United Way and the Ancon Theater Guild.

Cecile L. Demers, 89, of Largo, Fla., died April 21, 2011. She worked in the Canal Zone for the federal government until she retired in 1973. She was a member of the Panama Canal Society.

Pauline Elizabeth Fulop, 64, died May 5, 2011 in Port Barre, La. She was employed as an Inspector General for the Panama Canal Commission for 19½ years until retiring in 1991. She was a member of the Panama Canal Society and a devoted volunteer for Port Barre High School for 13 years.

Kathleen Gilley, 62, died February 8, 2011 in Williston, Fla. She was born and raised in the Canal Zone. She was the Dancing Greyhounds which began in 1978 as the all-breed Panama Canal Kennel Chapter Drill Team. She was a board member of the Club Canino de Panama and the Panama Canal Kennel Chapter.

Kathleen Kelsey Suk, 70, died February 8, 2011 in Dothan, Ala. She formerly lived in Mobile and was a member of the Panama Canal Society.

Trevor W. Swett Jr., 85, died January 23, 2011 in Bethesda, Md. In the early 1970s he commanded a brigade in the Panama Canal Zone. Later he served as assistant to the chief negotiator of the Panama Canal treaties.

Ginger Lea Teer (Newland) of Tampa, Fla., died January 26, 2011. She graduated from Balboa High School in 1969 and moved to Florida in 2005. She was a member of the Panama Canal Society.

James William Violette died March 17, 2011. He attended Canal Zone schools and graduated from Balboa High School in 1967. He was a member of the Panama Canal Society.

Francis Pedro Kerr, 61, of North Myrtle Beach, S.C., died March 29, 2011. He was born in Panama and graduated from Balboa High School in 1970. He was a member of the Panama Canal Society.

Patricia C. Lees, 68, died March 28, 2011 in Ocala, Fla. She was a member of the Panama Canal Society and a former director for the Boy Scouts of America.

Doris M. Leeser, 89, died December 26, 2010 in San Diego, Calif. She moved to Panama from New York in 1947 and worked for the Panama Canal Company until retiring in 1983 from the Financial Planning Division. She was a member of the Panama Canal Society.

John Arthur Morales, Sr., 97, of California, Mo., died March 28, 2011. He was born in the Republic of Panama a year before the opening of the Canal, graduated from Balboa High School in 1931, served in the U.S. Navy during World War II at Rodman Naval Base. He retired in 1971 after 40 years of service. He was a member of the Panama Canal Society.

Robert "Bud" J. Risberg, 89, died March 23, 2011. He worked for the Panama Canal Company beginning as a Management Trainee and retired in 1981. He received the Master Key to the Locks for his civic volunteer activities. He was a member of the Panama Canal Society.

Fred Joseph Ryan Jr., 63, of Missoula, Mont., died March 30, 2011. He was born in the Canal Zone and graduated from Cristobal High School in 1965. He worked as an electrician in the Canal Zone and in Montana. He was a member of the Panama Canal Society.

Patricia W. Ryan, 65, of East Wakefield, N.H., died May 7, 2011. She was a graduate of Balboa High School class of 1963 and prior to her retirement, was a flight attendant for Delta Airlines for 36½ years. She was a member of the Panama Canal Society.

Margaret Ostrowski Spiros, 88, of Columbia, S.C., died January 28, 2011. She worked for the U.S. Embassy in Panama and married her late husband in 1952. She later worked from 1953 to 1965 for the Air Force Credit Union and from 1966 to 1980 in the Schools Division from where she retired. She was a member of the Panama Canal Society.

Inga "Sue" Prier Wallace, 86, died February 26, 2011 in Kennebunk, Me. She was born in Colon. She was a graduate of Skidmore College in New York and worked in Costa Rica and the Canal Zone before marrying in 1958. She left the Canal Zone in 1983. She was a member of the Panama Canal Society.

Beatrice "Bee" (Harris, Buel, Jackson, Lambert) Winford, 98, died March 31, 2011 in Lakeland, Fla. She went to the Canal Zone in 1914. She retired as a Food Services Supervisor for Gorgas and Corozal Mental Health Hospitals in 1972. She was a member of the Canal Zone Gem Mineral Society and the Canal Zone Bottle Collectors Association.

July 2011

Edward Neil Belland, 96, of Rapid River, Mich., died April 26, 2011. After graduating from Michigan Tech University and working for a short time at Bethlehem Steel Corp., he went to work as an admeasurer for the Panama Canal Company. He married Norma Acker of Rapid River in the Canal Zone in 1941. While in the Canal Zone he sang in a barbershop quartet and was a member of the chorus. He was a member of the Panama Canal Society.

Sandra Elaine (Hughes) Claflin, 72, a 50-year resident of Brevard County, Fla., died June 21, 2011. Born in Ancon, Canal Zone, she graduated from Cristobal High School in 1957, and moved to Cocoa Beach in 1961. She worked as an Executive Secretary Aerospace, Kennedy Space Center on the Mercury, Apollo & Shuttle programs. She was a member of the Panama Canal Society.

Robert (Bob) D. Donaldson, Jr., 90, died May 9, 2011, in Rockport, Maine. He graduated from the University of Minnesota and earned an advanced degree from Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, N.J. He went to work in the Canal Zone in 1954 and retired in 1981 after becoming Chief of the Engineering Division. He was a member of the Panama Canal Society.

Betty M. (Flenniken) Dunning of Rogers, Ark., died during Easter. She graduated from Cristobal High School in 1952. No further information is available at this time. She was a member of the Panama Canal Society and an area reporter for Arkansas.

Victoria E. Borell Edwards died May 28, 2011 in Homestead, Fla. She spent most of her life in the Canal Zone.
No further information is available. She was a member of the Panama Canal Society.

Phyllis Anne (Fi) Buechle Everson, 93, of Sarasota, Fla., died May 14, 2011. She was born in Panama. She graduated from Pennsylvania State University with a degree in Journalism, then returned to Panama to teach English at a Catholic Girls' School, and work for Panama's Star&Herald newspaper. She was the widow of Bernhard I. "Emo" Emerson and a member of the Panama Canal Society.

Alice J. (Hannigan) O'Regan, 74, of Franklin, Mass., died April 9, 2011. She was born in Panama, graduated from Cristobal High School in 1954, and earned a BA in Business Education from the University of Northern Colorado and a Master's in Guidance Counseling from Framingham State University. She was a high school guidance counselor, a teacher, and a member of the Panama Canal Society.

Captain Burley Fenton Pruett, 85, of Cape Girardeau, Mo., died May 15, 2011. He was a navy veteran serving in World War II and the Korean War. He retired as a Panama Canal pilot. He was a member of the Panama Canal Society.

June Barlow Riesz, 72, died May 6, 2011 in Palm Coast, Fla. She graduated from Balboa High School in 1957 and earned an associate degree from Canal Zone Junior College. She met and married her husband John in Washington, D.C., and they spent the next 35 years with the Department of Agriculture in various assignments. In retirement she worked as a Group Travel Specialist and was instrumental in organizing cruises for the benefit of the Panama Canal Museum. She was a member of the Panama Canal Society.

Fredrick W. Spurlin, 73, died January 21, 2011 at San Fernando Hospital in Panama, R.P. He earned bachelor's and master's degrees at Southern Illinois University. In 1974 he took a position at the Canal Zone College Learning Resource Center and moved to the Canal Zone. He retired in La Chorrera where he founded the Ex-Pat group there and enjoyed the company of those new to Panama.

October 2011

Paul B. Adamson, Jr., of Birmingham, Ala., died September 10, 2011. He was stationed in Panama after college and met and married Barbara Erikson (CHS'61). He was a member of the Panama Canal Society.

Christopher L. Bensen, 55, died September 9, 2011 in Lehigh Acres, Fla. He was born in the Canal Zone, graduated from Cristobal High School in 1974, and attended Canal Zone Junior College. He was a member of the Panama Canal Society.

Chiquita Cassibry (Chita) died August 3, 2011 in Spanish Fort, Ala. She and her husband Hugh Cassibry married in the Canal Zone and lived there until 1973. She was employed in the Comptroller's Office of the Panama Canal Company, worked at Gulf Shores National Seashore in Alabama, and later was employed by the U.S. Navy in Pascagoula, Miss. She was a member of the Panama Canal Society.

Carolyn B. Christoph died September 11, 2011 in Sarasota, Fla. She worked as an RN at Coco Solo Hospital until her retirement.

Peter Tiernan Corrigan Jr., 71, died May 21, 2011 in Sarasota, Fla. He graduated from Balboa High School in 1959 and attended Canal Zone Junior College. He was a member of the Panama Canal Society.

Milly Del Rubio (Boyd), 89, of San Pedro, Calif., died July 21, 2011. She was born (one of three triplets) in Gorgas Hospital. She attended Balboa High School. She later performed with her late sisters as the Del Rubio Triplets for many years.

Wayne K. Farrow, 68, died September 3, 2011 in Francisco, Ind. He graduated from Balboa High School in 1962. He was a member of the Panama Canal Society.

Mary Linda Fealey, 60, died August 29, 2011 in Seattle, Wash. She was born in the Canal Zone, graduated from Balboa High School in 1969, and attended Canal Zone College. She was employed in the Canal Zone working for the Army and the Air Force. She retired as the first female Human Resources Office Manager in March 2009 at NAS Whidbey. She was a member of the Panama Canal Society.

Ralph K. "Tony" Frangioni, 94, died August 21, 2011 in Fort Walton Beach, Fla. In 1940 he went to the Canal Zone and worked for the Corps of Engineers. In 1946 he became a charter employee of IAGS, later transferring back to Washington, D.C. with the U.S. Army Map Service, and retired in 1969. He was a member of the Panama Canal Society.

Bernice B. Garzone, 80, of Inverness, Fla., died September 23, 2011. She and her late husband went to the Canal Zone where he was a Tugboat Captain for the Dredging Division until retiring in 1983.

Captain George T. Hull, 80, died September 7, 2011 in Panama City, Panama. He was the former director of the Marine Bureau from 1981 to 1997.

Father Arthur Kolinsky, C.M., died September 20, 2011. He went to Panama as a priest to work in Chiriqui for eight years. He later returned to Colon from 1982 to 1984 and then worked with Father John Kennedy on bilingual missions for about 20 years.

Shirley Sullivan Makibbin, 83, died June 18, 2011 in Newport News, Va. She was born in the Canal Zone and attended Canal Zone schools. After college she returned to the Canal Zone to teach where she became a principal and supervisor of instruction. In 1990 she became Chief of the Education Division of DODDS. She was a member of the Panama Canal Society.

November 2011

Joyce Catherine (Haldeman) Collinge, 97, died October 4, 2011 in Fort Myers, Fla. She was born in the Canal Zone, graduated from Balboa High School in 1931, and was a member of the Red, White and Blue Troupe. She spent her entire life on the Pacific side and when she left in 1961 she was working at Caribbean Command Headquarters in Quarry Heights. She was a member of the Panama Canal Society.

            Joan Marie Ridge (Cartotto) deGrummond of Valencia, Calif., died October 21, 2011. She was born in Ancon, graduated from Balboa High School in 1940, and attended St. Joseph’s College in Emmitsburg, Md. She worked for the Panama Canal Company as a secretary and was secretary to two Governors (W.P. Leber and David S. Parker) from 1968-71. She was a Canal Record reporter for many years and a member and volunteer for the Panama Canal Societies of Florida and California.

Richard E. DeTore, 102, of St. Petersburg, Fla., died November 1, 2011. He was a veteran of the Army, Army Air Corp, and retired from the Naval Reserve. He worked for the U.S. Navy in the Canal Zone and retired in 1968.

            Margaret “June” (Clayton) Fattorosi, 82, died January 2, 2011. June was born in Bogalusa, La. She went to the Canal Zone in 1956 to work at Cristobal High School as a Physical Education teacher until 1981 when she returned to Louisiana. She was a member of the Panama Canal Society.

            Francis “Bootsie” Leves of St. Petersburg, Fla., died October 21, 2011. He was born in Panama City, R.P., and graduated from Balboa High School in 1959. He was a member of the Panama Canal Society.

December 2011

Ray “Goose” Amato of Hepzibah, Ga., died October 25, 2011. He was a 1960 graduate of Balboa High School. He was a member of the Panama Canal Society.

            Mary Louise Condon, 93, of Fayetteville, Ark., died November 8, 2011. She taught school for 23 years in the Panama Canal Zone and retired in 1975. She was a member of the Panama Canal Society.

            Norbert (Norb) Edward Kraegel, 80, of Arizona died November 13, 2011. He was Chief Financial Officer of the Panama Canal Commission for seven years.

LaVerne Dorothy Larrabee, 83, died November 18, 2011 in Tallahassee, Fla. She accepted a teaching position in the Panama Canal Zone in 1963 and worked for Panama Canal Schools and later the Defense Dependent Schools system until retiring in 1983. She was a member of the Panama Canal Society.

            Captain Albert Lester Wilder, 93, of Ocala, Fla., died November 12, 2011. He went to the Panama Canal Zone in 1952 as a Ship Pilot where he worked until his retirement in 1982. He was a member of the Panama Canal Society and served as Chairperson of the Sunshine Committee.