July 24, 2007

Doug Marlette

Doug Marlette, a Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist, educator and author, died on July 10 in a car accident. He was 57.

Born in North Carolina, Marlette became interested in cartooning when he was in the first grade. Consumed by the need to create, he ignored the advice of a counselor who once warned him that artists "were a dime a dozen," and studied art and philosophy at Florida State University. Marlette launched his artistic career in 1972 drawing editorial cartoons for The Charlotte Observer. He later worked for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Newsday, the Tallahassee Democrat and the Tulsa World.

Over the course of the next 35 years, Marlette created enough cartoons to fill half a dozen books. He also won the National Headliners Award for Consistently Outstanding Editorial Cartoons three times, the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Award for editorial cartooning twice and the First Prize in the John Fischetti Memorial Cartoon Competition twice. The only cartoonist ever awarded a Nieman Fellowship at Harvard University, Marlette even won the Pulitzer Prize in 1988 for his work at the Observer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Not everyone appreciated his perspective however. In 2002, Marlette drew a cartoon that depicted an Arab driving a rental truck with a nuclear weapon on board. The caption read: "What Would Muhammad Drive?" Soon after the cartoon's publication, Marlette received more than 20,000 e-mails, including numerous death threats, and was denounced on the front page of the Saudi Arab News by the secretary general of the Muslim World League.

In 1981, Marlette launched Kudzu, a comic strip featuring a teen who dreams of leaving his tiny hometown to become a writer. Syndicated worldwide in hundreds of newspapers, Kudzu strips were also collected into seven volumes. The final strip will be published on Aug. 26.

When he wasn't creating political and/or humorous cartoons, Marlette penned an ethics column for Esquire and contributed to The New Republic, The Nation, Men's Journal, The Paris Review, the Columbia Journalism Review and Salon.com. He also co-wrote the screenplay, 'Ex,' with Pat Conroy, the bestselling author of "The Prince of Tides." In 2001, Marlette delved into the fiction realm with the publication of "The Bridge." The novel was voted Best Book of the Year for Fiction by the Southeast Booksellers Association, and one of the best books of the last five years by BookSense, the American Booksellers Association. His second novel, "Magic Time," was published in 2006.

Most recently, Marlette taught at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and at the University of Oklahoma's College of Journalism and Mass Communication. He was inducted into the UNC Journalism Hall of Fame in 2002.

Marlette was riding in the passenger seat of a car driven by John Davenport, a Mississippi high school theater director, when it skidded across a rain-slicked road and smashed into a tree. The cartoonist was visiting Mississippi to help a group of students produce a musical based on his "Kudzu" comic strip. Davenport was not seriously injured in the accident.

On July 12, N.C. Governor Michael F. Easley selected Marlette to posthumously receive the honor of membership to the North Carolina Order of the Long Leaf Pine, which is the highest civilian honor bestowed by the head of that state.

"I always thought it was going to be Doug giving the eulogy at my funeral," Conroy said at Marlette's funeral service. "He used to make up eulogies about me. The obituary would start: 'An unknown writer died on Fripp Island...'"

• View Marlette's Pulitzer Prize-Winning Cartoons

• Listen to a Tribute From NPR

July 16, 2007

Roy Torcaso

Roy Reed Torcaso, a Maryland notary public who left his mark on constitutional law, died on June 9 from complications of prostate cancer. He was 96.

Born in Enumclaw, Wash., Torcaso was the son of a Catholic father and a Protestant mother. Although raised to believe in a god, he became an atheist and remained a nonbeliever his entire adult life. This decision proved to be a hindrance in his future professional endeavors.

Torcaso was in his 30s when he enlisted in the Army. He spent World War II in England and was reactivated for duty during the Korean conflict. Upon his return to the states, Torcaso became a bookkeeper for a construction company in Bethesda, Md. When his boss encouraged him to became a notary public in 1959, he completed the required documentation and went down to the Montgomery County Circuit Court to take the oath of office.

There Torcaso's application was blocked by a clerk named Clayton Watkins, all because he refused to declare a belief in a god. At the time, Article 37 of Maryland's constitution stated that "no religious test ought ever to be required as a qualification for any office of profit or trust in this State, other than a declaration of belief in the existence of God." Since Torcaso refused to do so, Watkins disqualified him as a notary. He responded by taking the state to court.

Over the next two years, Torcaso received legal assistance from the American Civil Liberties Union and the American Jewish Congress, however the Maryland courts ruled against Torcaso, saying his rights were not infringed because no one had forced him to seek a notary public designation. He also became a target of harassment. He received several antagonistic phone calls, one calling him a "dirty Communist," and another labeling him an "atheistic bum." One caller even insulted Torcaso's wife.

The case, Torcaso v. Watkins, eventually worked its way through the appellate courts and landed at the U.S. Supreme Court. In June 1961, the justices unanimously ruled in Torcaso's favor, saying the Maryland test for public office "cannot be enforced against [Torcaso], because it unconstitutionally invades his freedom of belief and religion guaranteed by the First Amendment and protected by the Fourteenth Amendment from infringement by the States." Article VI of the U.S. Constitution bars religious tests for federal office. This ruling prohibited the states from using religious faith or a belief in a god as a criteria for assuming a public office.

Two months later, Torcaso received his commission as a notary public. During the oath, he vowed to uphold the laws of the state of Maryland and the federal Constitution, but he did not declare a belief in a deity or a pantheon of gods. His first assignment was to witness his daughter's application to take an exam for a ham operator's license.

Torcaso later worked a series of bookkeeping jobs and devoted much of his free time to civil rights. He served as the president of the Washington chapter of the American Humanist Association, and as the Washington-area president of The Hemlock Society, a right-to-die organization. He also became a humanist counselor, which allowed him to officiate at weddings.

Virginia only allows ordained ministers perform marriage services, thus blocking Torcaso -- and other nonbelievers -- from doing so. In response, he sued the state. Unlike his previous suit, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear his case in 1989.

"Roy Torcaso lived a full life and advanced religious and civil rights for all of us. I'm thankful that he had the guts to take a principled stand. I also look forward to the day when lawmakers ... realize that it's time to clear away the last vestiges of bigotry by officially removing those antiquated provisions from their constitutions," Steve Benen said on his blog, The Carpetbagger Report.

July 9, 2007

Bob Evans

Restaurateur Bob Evans cooked up a recipe for success -- and for great tasting sausage.

Born in Sugar Ridge, Ohio, Evans opened his first restaurant, The Malt Shop, in the 1940s, but sold the business to a friend when he enlisted in the Army. After World War II ended, he launched a 12-seat, 24-hour truck stop restaurant in Gallipolis, Ohio, to help pay the mortgage on his farm. The sign over the restaurant said it all: "No beer, just fine food."

At the time, sausage was generally made from hog scraps. Determined to produce a better-quality sausage, Evans culled together $1,000, three hogs, 40 pounds of black pepper, 50 pounds of sage and other secret ingredients and began experimenting. Using the best parts of the hog, including the hams and tenderloins, he created a sausage that was a huge hit with the truckers who tasted it. Many would eat their breakfasts at his restaurant, then purchase 5- or 10-pound tubs of sausage to take home to their families. In response, Evans built a sausage plant on his farm and sold even more tubs to area groceries and meat markets.

In 1953, Evans joined forces with five friends and relatives to incorporate Bob Evans Farms, and purchase a sausage packing plant in Xenia, Ohio. The first Bob Evans restaurant, which was originally called The Sausage Shop, opened on the Evans' farm in 1962. A year later, the company went public, trading on the Nasdaq under the symbol BOBE. Today, the chain of 590 red brick restaurants operates in 18 states and brings in $1.6 billion annually. Evans' signature sausage is on every menu, along with other comfort foods like meatloaf and gravy, country-fried steaks and whole pies.

Wearing a white Stetson hat and a string tie, Evans frequently appeared in the restaurant's early advertising, urging customers to "come on down and visit us." Millions did so. The restaurant chain, which promotes good service and farm-fresh food in a homey environment, also operates 108 Mimi's Cafe casual restaurants in 19 states, and sells sausage and other products in U.S. grocery stores. Bob retired in 1986, and his cousin Dan Evans took over as CEO. Dan retired in 2000; today, no Evans family members are involved with the company.

A "man of the soil" who was passionate about 4-H and other farm-related programs, Evans spent nearly 40 years preserving wildlife on his farm. In 2003, he and his wife Jewell donated 20 horses and $75,000 to West Virginia University's Davis College of Agriculture, Forestry and Consumer Sciences to promote the creation of an undergraduate degree minor in equine management.

His conservation efforts earned him three honors from the National Wildlife Federation. He also received the Ohio Wildlife Conservationist of the Year and the Ohio Governor's Award, and was inducted into both the Ohio State Fair Hall of Fame and the 4-H Hall of Fame.

Evans died on June 21 of complications from pneumonia. He was 89.

July 3, 2007

Charles L. Remington

Charles Lee Remington, a renowned naturalist and educator who was considered the father of modern lepidoptery, died on May 31. Cause of death was not released. He was 85.

Born in Reedville, Va., Remington spent much of his childhood in St. Louis chasing and collecting butterflies with his father, P. Sheldon Remington. His passion for butterflies continued into adulthood; he studied biology at Principia College in Illinois and served as a medical entomologist during World War II. Remington's work in the Pacific involved researching the insect-borne epidemics the servicemen experienced. Remington even suffered from the "fiery pain" of a centipede bite in the Philippines when one of the creatures made a snack out of his armpit. After extracting the insect from his sleeping bag, Remington preserved the specimen and later shared it with his students.

Upon his return to the states, Remington received his Ph.d from Harvard University, where he worked on the systematics of bristletails (silverfish) and other primitive arthropods. In 1947, he co-founded The Lepidopterists' Society, an organization dedicated to fostering collaborative research and exchange on butterflies and moths. The society, which has thousands of members in over 60 countries, publishes the Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society. Remington served as president of the society and editor of its journal.

In 1948, Remington took a teaching position in the department of zoology at Yale University. Over the next 44 years, he taught a variety of courses on ecology, evolution, entomology, bioethics, endangered species and the biodiversity crisis, and became a mentor to several generations of scientists and amateur collectors, including author Vladimir Nabokov, monarch biologist Lincoln Brower and nature writer Robert Michael Pyle. In 1958, he was a Guggenheim Fellow at Oxford University.

Remington's research outside the classroom focused on evolution, specifically a theory he developed called the "biological species concept." Remington believed that plants, insects and mammals in certain isolated areas, called suture zones, tended to interbreed, or hybridize, with close relatives. This biological phenomenon was originally discredited by others in the field, but has since been revived and reconsidered.

Although Yale didn't have an insect collection when he arrived, Remington became curator of the entomology division at the Peabody Museum of Natural History and created one from scratch. His collection eventually contained 2.5 million specimens, including the world's largest collection of insects that are gynandromorphs (part male and part female).

In his free time, Remington founded the New Haven Entomological Society, a group that promotes entomology in Connecticut, and the Xerces Society, a nonprofit environmental organization that focuses on invertebrates which are essential to biological diversity. He also co-founded Zero Population Growth, a grassroots organization dedicated to controlling overpopulation.

In 1996, Remington created the first U.S. preserve for the Magicicada, a cicada that appears by the millions once every 17 years. The cicada's arrival in the summer of that year brought Remington a unique form of fame; he discussed the creature at length with numerous media outlets, and described the insect as a culinary treat. To prove his point, he cooked and ate several boiled and fried cicadas on camera.

• Listen to a Tribute From NPR

June 27, 2007

WE

WE, a rare two-headed albino rat snake who became a corporate icon and popular tourist attraction, died on June 19 of natural causes at the age of 8.

A conjoined twin and a hermaphrodite, WE had both a boy and a girl head. The snake arrived at the St. Louis Children's Aquarium (now known as the World Aquarium) in 1999 after being acquired from an Indiana snake breeder for $15,000. Most two-headed snakes live for only a few months, but WE thrived in the new environment. Experts attributed this to the fact that both heads were connected to the same stomach.

When WE was only a few weeks old, the snake was thinner and shorter than a pencil. Over the next eight years, he/she grew to almost five feet long and more than an inch thick. Last year, caretakers attempted to breed WE with Golden Girls, a two-headed snake from Wisconsin, but the process was unsuccessful. Plans were in the works to try breeding WE again this summer.

In 2004, a disgruntled city museum employee abducted WE. The man planned to sell the snake, but a tip led authorities to his garage where they recovered WE.

A popular attraction at the aquarium, WE received more than 1 million visitors during its lifetime. The snake was featured in over 450 magazine and newspaper articles worldwide and appeared on the TV program "Live With Regis and Kelly."

In 2005, the aquarium attempted to auction WE on Reptileauction.com for $150,000, but there were no takers. The snake was being sold to fund conservation research, educational programming and exhibit development at the aquarium. Instead, the failed auction brought the snake a great deal of attention on the Internet and a corporate sponsorship deal. Nutra Pharma paid $15,000 to make WE its brand icon. The Florida-based biopharmaceutical company is developing treatments for multiple sclerosis and HIV using modified snake venom.

The aquarium has established the WE Memorial Fund to further support educational programming about the watery world. A taxidermist will preserve WE's body so the rare snake can be displayed for future generations to see.

• Watch a Video of WE Eating

June 22, 2007

Don Herbert

Science is fun for everyone. That's the message Donald Jeffry Herbert tried to convey to millions of children as "Mr. Wizard."

Herbert made the subject of science seem both mysterious and magical. His weekly, half-hour educational program, "Watch Mr. Wizard," which aired in black and white on NBC from 1951 to 1964, introduced young viewers to the joys of conducting experiments with simple household items. With the help of his young assistants, Mr. Wizard explained what makes a cake rise, how water comes out of a kitchen tap and why seashells sound like the ocean. He even showed kids how to cook a hot dog with a battery.

"Watch Mr. Wizard" won a Peabody Award and three Thomas Alva Edison National Mass Media Awards, and was reinvented on Nickelodeon in the 1980s as "Mr. Wizard's World." In both programs, Herbert eschewed a lab coat and professorial attitude. Instead his informal approach to teaching made science accessible, and instilled a sense of wonder in his audience. "Over the years, Don has been personally responsible for more people going into the sciences than any other single person in this country," George Tressel, a National Science Foundation official, once said.

Born in Waconia, Minn., Herbert always had a passion for the theatre. In high school, he played the lead role in the school play; in college, he was the director of the Pioneer Players. He graduated from La Crosse State Teacher's College with a degree in English and science, then spent the next several years honing his acting skills. He worked as a stage hand and actor for the Minnesota Stock Co., did summer stock with Nancy Davis (Reagan) and performed as magician and master of ceremonies in Winnipeg, Canada. He had just moved to New York City to break into the big time when World War II put a hold on his show business plans.

Herbert enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1942, and graduated from his training as a pilot and second lieutenant. He was shipped overseas, where he completed 56 bombing missions over northern Italy, Germany and Yugoslavia. For courage under fire, he earned the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with three oak-leaf clusters.

Upon his return to the states, Herbert moved to Chicago, where he worked as an actor, model and writer. He taught radio writing at the Chicago Radio Institute, and developed programs based on interviews he captured on his portable audio tape recorder. Many of those interviews ended up on the radio show "It's Your Life."

When Herbert created an early version of his "Mr. Wizard" show and presented it to potential advertisers, none of them were interested. Once he turned the program over to producer Charles Power, however, "Watch Mr. Wizard" found both a sponsor (The Cereal Institute) and a home (WMAQ, Chicago's NBC affiliate). During its first year on the air, Herbert produced 28 live episodes. The following year, 1952, he produced 39 "Watch Mr. Wizard" episodes and began appearing on CBS as a progress reporter for "General Electric Theater." After profiles of Herbert appeared in American Boy magazine, Science Digest and TV Guide, thousands of Mr. Wizard Science Clubs formed in the United States.

NBC canceled "Watch Mr. Wizard" in 1965, but Herbert continued his campaign to educate the youth of North America. He went to Canada and produced "Mr. Wizard," a TV show that was carried on the CBC nationwide. He received grants from the National Science Foundation and The Arthur P. Sloane Foundation and used the money to make the "Experiment Series." Herbert wrote/illustrated articles for the "Science for the Classroom From Mr. Wizard" series, and penned several books, including "Mr. Wizard's 400 Experiments in Science" and "Mr. Wizard's Supermarket Science." He also created more than 100 "How About..." reports that were freely distributed to television stations.

In 1986, Herbert received a Golden Anniversary Award from Ohio State University, and a "Distinguished Television Science Reporting" honor from AAS/Westinghouse Science Journalism Awards. Five years later, he was given the Robert A, Millikan Award from the American Association or Physics Teachers for his "notable and creative contributions to the teaching of physics." When he received the Council for Elementary Science International's Science Advocate Award in 2000, an audience of 1,000 science teachers gave him a standing ovation.

Herbert died on June 12 of bone cancer. He was 89. Less than a week after his death, the U.S. House of Representatives honored him for his "profound public service and educational contributions."

• Watch the Opening Credits for "Mr. Wizard's World"

June 16, 2007

Jan Romary

Janice-Lee York Romary, a champion foil fencer who competed in six Olympic Games, died on May 31 from complications related to Alzheimer's disease. She was 79.

Born in Palo Alto, Calif., Romary developed a passion for the sport of fencing, the European martial art of swordplay, as a young girl. She trained with Ralph Faulkner, a fencing master who taught Errol Flynn, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Basil Rathbone and many others how to wield a sword for the silver screen, and participated in the women's fencing club at the University of Southern California. In 2004, photographs of Romary were featured in the "Women of Troy" exhibition, which celebrated the achievements of female USC athletes.

The sport of fencing requires athletes to be both smart and swift. Performed on a strip that's 6-feet wide by 44-feet long, participants earn points by landing a valid hit or touch. Fencers win a bout by scoring 15 points in direct elimination play, or 5 points in preliminary pool play. At the Olympics, there are no preliminary rounds; initial seeding is determined by world rankings.

Romary won 10 national championships over the course of 18 years, and only missed the 1959 championship tournament because she was pregnant. After giving birth, she returned to competition and won a gold medal at the 1967 Pan American Games. Her total of 10 foil championships is the most of any man or woman in America.

From 1948 until 1968, Romary competed in the women's individual foil event at six consecutive Olympics, finishing fourth in 1952 and 1956. She carried the U.S. flag at her final Olympics, the Mexico City Games, and was the only fencer to ever win the Helms Foundation Athlete of the Month Award.

While her fencing skills were widely praised, Romary preferred to promote her longevity in the sport. "Fencing is like a physical chess game," she once said. "You must think ahead to third and fourth intentions. As you get older, your physical ability may diminish, but you mature mentally. You compensate by out-thinking your opponent."

After retiring from competition, Romary served as the women's administrator for the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, where she was responsible for all U.S. women competitors, and as the commissioner of fencing for the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. In the late 1970s, she was inducted into the United States Fencing Association Hall of Fame.

Romary's husband, Charles, was an oceanographic engineer and fencer. Together, they ran Clean Water Systems, a water purification business in Klamath Falls, Ore.

June 9, 2007

Harvey Weinstein

Harvey J. Weinstein, the former CEO of a tuxedo manufacturing company who was once kidnapped and buried alive, died on May 13. Cause of death was not released. He was 82.

Born in Brooklyn, Weinstein was the son of Emanuel Weinstein, who co-founded the clothing company Lord West Formal Wear in the 1940s with his partner Al Westreich. Harvey enlisted in the Marines at 18, and fought at Iwo Jima during World War II. Upon his return to the states, he earned a degree from the University of North Carolina, then joined the family business.

Over the next five decades, Lord West grew into one of the largest formal wear manufacturers in the United States. The company produced 100,000 tuxedos a year, some under the company name and others for Ralph Lauren, Robert Stock and Pierre Cardin. As CEO of Lord West for 24 years, Weinstein became known as "The Tuxedo King," but all of his employees affectionately referred to him as "Mr. Harvey." He also founded Tuxacco, a Pennsylvania company that produced and imported formalwear accessories.

Weinstein was admired by his colleagues and friends, but envied as well. On Aug. 4, 1993, Fermin Rodriguez, who sewed pants at the Lord West factory in Queens, his brother Francisco Antonio Rodriguez and a man named William Rivera accosted Weinstein as he left a local diner. They forced him into a car at knifepoint, placed a hood over his head and wrapped a wire metal noose around his neck.

The kidnappers drove to Manhattan and stashed Weinstein inside a 8-foot-deep, barrel-shaped pit located just north of the 158th St. exit of the Henry Hudson Parkway. They shackled his legs, right arm and waist to the wall and covered the top of the crypt with a 100 lb. steel plate weighted down by cinderblocks, wood and dirt.

Weinstein remained in that dank hole for 12 days, with only a couple pieces of fruit and some water for sustenance. In total darkness, the 6-ft. 2-in. businessman managed to free himself from the metal bonds and feel his way around the tomb, which was about 5 feet wide by 5 feet long. Although the kidnappers had tossed in a blanket for him to sleep on, the room was too narrow for him to lie down.

While Weinstein was buried alive, wondering if he'd ever see daylight or his family again, a massive manhunt was launched throughout New York City. As hundreds of officers searched for the missing executive, the kidnappers and their accomplices -- two men and Fermin's girlfriend Aurelina Leonor -- called his family and business over 50 times to demand $3 million. To prove he was still alive, the kidnappers recorded his voice several times, and once lowered a cell phone into the hole so he could beg his children to pay for his release.

Weinstein's sons twice attempted to pay the ransom with duffel bags filled with $50 and $100 bills, but the kidnappers didn't show up at the drop-off points. Then on Aug. 16, 1993, Fermin collected a bag filled with ransom money left near Highbridge Park in Manhattan, and met up with his brother. When the siblings failed to make contact with the family or release Weinstein three hours later, as promised, police arrested them and retrieved the cash.

Two NYPD detectives found Weinstein in the well-camouflaged crypt near the Hudson River that same day. After hearing his faint cries for help, Detective William Mondore and Detective Reuben Santiago dug through six inches of dirt and debris, removed the steel plate covering the top of the crypt ande pulled Weinstein to safety. Weinstein's first words were: "Thank God you're here, and I'd like to have a cigarette." Relieved to know the businessman was still alive, Det. Mondore pulled out a pack of Newport Lights and lit one for Weinstein and one for himself.

All of the kidnappers and their accomplices were arrested. Fermin Rodriguez, who was the mastermind of the kidnapping plot, got 20 years to life with no chance of appeal or parole. His brother was found mentally incompetent to stand trial and hospitalized. Rivera, who held Weinstein at knifepoint and also worked at Lord West, received a sentence of 12-and-a-half to 37-and-a-half years. Victor Tejada, who made ransom calls to the family, plead guilty to second-degree kidnapping and got a sentence of 8-and-a-third to 25 years. Another man, who cooperated with prosecutors, received less than 3 years in prison. Fermin's girlfriend Leonor was the only one to refuse a plea deal and go to trial; the jury convicted her after only three hours of deliberation. She received a sentence of 25 years to life for making 19 ransom calls and doing nothing to help the victim.

Weinstein emerged from his harrorowing experience 15 pounds lighter, but otherwise healthy. Although the criminals were brought to justice, he lamented the fact that two of his abductors were Lord West employees. Weinstein sold his share of Lord West to several partners and retired in 1999. The company is now known as Flow Formal Alliance LLC.

June 3, 2007

Yahweh Ben Yahweh

Yahweh Ben Yahweh, the infamous founder of a violent black-supremacist sect in South Florida, died on May 7 of prostate cancer. He was 71.

Born Hulon Mitchell Jr. in Kingfisher, Okla., he was the eldest of 15 children and the son of a Pentecostal minister. Mitchell spent much of his childhood studying religion and singing in the church choir, and claimed he knew he was divine when he was only three years old. He served a stint in the U.S. Air Force and earned a psychology degree from Phillips College in Oklahoma.

During the civil rights era, Mitchell helped organize sit-ins in the South, but he became disillusioned with the movement, calling the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. "that dead dog preacher." He returned to school to study law at the University of Oklahoma, and economics at Atlanta University, and joined the Nation of Islam, adopting the name "Hulon X." He then preached as "Father Michael" and "Brother Love" before moving to Miami in 1976. There the self-proclaimed "Black Messiah" changed his name yet again, this time to "Yahweh Ben Yahweh," the Hebrew words for "God, son of God," and became the founder and spiritual leader of the Nation of Yahweh.

Unlike leaders of other religious sects, Yahweh didn't believe in celibacy. Twice married and the father of four children, he frequently slept with many of his female followers, some as young as 10 years old. The charismatic leader, who was known for wearing jeweled turbans and flowing white robes, often called himself the "Original Jew," and said his disciples were the true descendants of a long-lost tribe of Israel. He was always guarded by a group of men called the Circle of 10, each of whom were armed with a six-foot wooden staff. Many of Yahweh's teachings were laid out in his book, "You Are Not A Nigger! The Original Black Bible (Our True History, The World's Best Kept Secret)."

Formed in 1979, the Nation of Yahweh is a cult of Christianity. Although based on teachings of the Bible, the group believes Yahweh was the son of God, and that God, Jesus and the apostles were all black. Followers were urged to break from the "immoral world" and publicly state that they would die and/or kill for God/Yahweh. Each male member was also required to drop their "slave name" and adopt "Israel" as a surname.

Also known as the Church of Love, the Nation of Yahweh promoted Christian teachings, family values and urged kids to stay away from drugs. At its height in the 1980s, the cult claimed thousands of members and built an empire of businesses worth approximately $100 million. Community leaders praised the organization for helping to rejuvenate several blighted Miami neighborhoods. In 1987, the Miami Urban League presented Yahweh with its highest humanitarian award. Three years later, Miami Mayor Xavier L. Suarez declared Oct. 7 to be Yahweh Ben Yahweh Day and gave him the keys to the city.

The Nation of Yahweh also preached hatred and religious separatism for blacks. The group was linked to nearly two dozen brutal murders and the fire bombing of a Delray Beach, Fla., neighborhood. Yahweh was accused of sending followers to kill "white devils" as part of an initiation rite, and ordered victims' ears or heads cut off as proof they were slain. In Nov. 1990, he and 15 followers were indicted on three counts of federal racketeering and extortion charges. The indictment mentioned 18 instances of racketeering that included 14 killings, two attempted killings, extortion and arson. Although he was defended by former federal judge and current U.S. Rep. Alcee L. Hastings (D-Fla.), Yahweh was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder, but not racketeering, and sentenced to 18 years in prison. He served 11 years before being released on parole in 2001.

The Nation of Yahweh is still active, with chapters in the United States and Canada. While members continue to view Yahweh as the "Grand Master of All, the God of the Universe, the Grand Potentate, the Everlasting Father and the persecuted Messiah," many have since abandoned the cult's racist tenets. Yahweh's final years were spent landscaping, reading and writing.

May 27, 2007

Diego Corrales

Diego "Chico" Corrales, a world champion boxer, died on May 7 in a motorcycle crash. He was 29.

Born in Columbia, S.C., and raised in Sacramento, Calif., Corrales was only 3 years old when he began visiting a boxing gym with his stepfather, Ray Woods. He earned a chef's degree at a culinary trade school; however, boxing was his true calling.

Corrales stood 5 feet 10 1/2 inches tall, and fought most of his career at 130 pounds. He turned pro in 1996 and had a professional record of 40-5-0, with 33 wins coming by way of knockout. Corrales' style was simple: punch big, hard and fast. A fan favorite, he was utterly fearless in the ring, and willing to fight all comers.

Corrales won the IBF super featherweight title in the 7th round by knocking out Roberto Garcia in 1999. He held onto the world title until Floyd Mayweather Jr. handed him his first defeat. In their 2001 match-up, Mayweather knocked Corrales down five times and stopped him in the 10th round. Four months after the loss, Corrales was sentenced to two years in prison on a domestic abuse charge for beating his pregnant wife, Maria. She later divorced him.

After a year-long stint in prison, Corrales was released for good behavior. He resumed his career and went on to win the vacant WBO junior lightweight title in March 2004. Five months later, he moved up to lightweight rank and won that WBO belt after stopping Acelino "Popo" Freitas in the 10th round.

Corrales was best known for getting up after two 10th-round knockdowns to stop Jose Luis Castillo on May 7, 2005. His dramatic KO of Castillo led the Boxing Writers Association of America to call the slugfest the "fight of the year." Corrales was knocked out by Castillo in the rematch, then had three straight fights undermined at the weigh-in. Last October, he moved up two weight classes to fight Joshua Clottey in Springfield, Mo. Corrales was knocked down in the 9th and 10th rounds and lost by a unanimous decision. Although he was still in training, his career never recovered.

In July 2006, Corrales' vehicle and motorcycle licenses were revoked for a drunken driving conviction of an Oct. 2005 arrest. He also faced arrest stemming from a failure to appear in January on a 2006 DUI charge. Corrales married a second time, but was estranged from his pregnant wife, Michelle, at the time of his death.

Exactly two years after his most famous bout, Corrales was riding a 2007 Suzuki 1000 motorcycle at a high speed when he tried to pass a northbound 1997 Honda Accord on a busy residential street west of the Las Vegas Strip. To avoid an oncoming Mercedes, he got back in the northbound lane and slammed into the Honda's trunk. Corrales, who was wearing a helmet and riding without a license, was thrown from the bike and pronounced dead at the scene, police said. The driver of the Mercedes escaped injury; the driver of the Honda suffered a minor shoulder injury.

Corrales listed "God" as his hero on his MySpace page. He enjoyed riding bikes, watching gangster movies, skiing and playing golf in his spare time. He is survived by his five children. A sixth child is due in July.

"He fought recklessly and he lived recklessly. That was his style," Corrales' promoter, Gary Shaw, said.

• Listen to a FightFan.com Interview With Corrales

• Watch Video From the Corrales vs. Castillo I Bout

May 20, 2007

Dwight Wilson

Percy "Dwight" Wilson, a Canadian World War I veteran, died on May 9. Cause of death was not released. He was 106.

Wilson was born on Feb. 26, 1901 in Vienna, a hamlet outside of London, Ontario. When World War I began, he felt honor-bound to serve his country and fight against the Germans. After finishing the 10th grade, Wilson trained as a mounted bugler in the local militia. In 1916, he lied about his age to enlist in the 69th Artillery Battery in Toronto as a bugler-trumpeter. At 15, he was a full three years shy of the legal minimum.

Wilson did his basic training in Camp Niagara and Camp Petawawa in Ontario before getting shipped overseas. During the grueling two-week voyage aboard the R.M.S. Grampian, the teen tried to calm his seasickness by singing for the other members of the Canadian Expeditionary Force.

Once he arrived in England, Wilson's superiors quickly realized he was underage. Instead of sending him to the front lines in France, they ordered Wilson to dig trenches in Dover. However, his trumpeting skills were put to good use; each morning he'd rouse his fellow soldiers at sunrise with "Reveille," and each evening he'd repeat the performance to announce "lights out." Out of the 600,000+ Canadians who fought in World War I, more than 69,000 of them died on the battlefields of Europe, and 172,000 were wounded.

In 1917, Wilson was discharged and sent back to Canada for being too young. He re-enlisted in the 69th Battery but was discharged again a year later. When World War II started in the late 1930s, Wilson served as a captain in Stratford's 7th Perth Regiment Reserves. He offered to re-enlist in the service but was deemed too old for active duty. For his willingness to serve his country, and his repeated efforts to do so, Wilson received the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal and the McCrae Medallion.

Wilson was studying at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto when he met singer and pianist Eleanor Dean. They wed in 1927 and remained together until her death in 1993 at the age 94. The couple had two sons, four grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

Wilson began working for Bell Canada in 1919 and remained with the telecommunications company until his retirement in 1966. (He collected a pension for 41 years.) Wilson also sang baritone in the Bell vocal group and performed in an inaugural broadcast when the Canadian radio network was being established. In his spare time, he enjoyed reading, singing and following the Toronto Blue Jays and Maple Leafs.

With Wilson's death, John Babcock is now the last surviving Canadian veteran of the First World War. Babcock, a 106-year-old naturalized American citizen living in Spokane, Wash., was recently offered the option of having a state funeral with full honors when he dies. He respectfully declined the honor.

May 14, 2007

Wally Schirra

Walter Marty "Wally" Schirra Jr., the only astronaut who flew in three of the nation's pioneering space programs (Mercury, Gemini and Apollo), died on May 3 from a heart attack. He was 84.

Born in Hackensack, N.J., Schirra was raised by a pair of barnstormers. His father, who was an officer in the Army Signal Corps, flew bombing and reconnaissance missions over Germany in World War I, and later performed stunts in a bi-plane at county fairs and air circuses. His mother sometimes performed wing-walking stunts during these shows. Although Schirra was only 13 years old when he first took the controls of his father's plane, he knew flying would be a major part of his future. Schirra graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1945 and earned his wings in 1948. During the Korean War, he flew 90 missions and brought down two enemy planes. Upon his return to the states, Schirra completed his coursework at Safety Officers School (University of Southern California) in 1957 and graduated from the U.S. Navy Test Pilot School in 1958. A year later, he began a rigorous training program to become one of the world's first astronauts.

Seven men were chosen from a pool of 110 candidates to become pilots for America's first space flight program, the Mercury 7 project. Schirra was a member of that elite group, along with Gordon Cooper, Scott Carpenter, John Glenn, Alan Shepard, Virgil "Gus" Grissom and Donald "Deke" Slayton. Schirra piloted the fifth Mercury flight on the Sigma 7, which orbited the Earth six times over nine hours in 1962. He served as backup command pilot for the Gemini 3 mission and commanded the history-making Gemini 6 flight in 1965. During the Gemini 6 mission, the crew made the first non-docking rendezvous with the orbiting Gemini 7 spacecraft -- and drank the first cup of coffee in space.

Schirra's final mission in 1968 involved commanding Apollo 7, the first manned flight of the Apollo program. During the course of the 11-day mission, the crew made 163 orbits, provided the first televised pictures from an American spacecraft and helped qualify the spacecraft for later moon missions. With Schirra's death, Glenn and Carpenter are the last remaining survivors of the original Mercury astronauts. The trio were featured in the 1979 book, "The Right Stuff," by Tom Wolfe, and in the 1983 film adaptation of the same name. Actor Lance Henriksen portrayed Schirra in the movie.

In 1969, Schirra retired from the Navy as a captain and left NASA, having logged 295 hours and 15 minutes in space. After exiting the space program, he worked as an analyst for CBS News and became president of Regency Investors Inc., a financial company based in Denver. Schirra spent several years participating in various other business ventures before opening his own consultancy, Schirra Enterprises, in 1979. Five years later, he helped found the Mercury Seven Foundation (now the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation), which creates college scholarships for science and engineering students. Schirra published his memoirs, "Schirra's Space," in 1988 and co-authored the 2005 book, "The Real Space Cowboys," with Ed Buckbee, a former NASA public affairs officer and the first executive director of the U.S. Space & Rocket Center. He also became a celebrity spokesperson for Actifed, a cold medicine he used during the Apollo 7 mission.

Schirra received numerous honors, awards and commendations during the course of his military and space careers. He attained 3 honorary doctorate degrees: one in Astronautical Engineering from Lafayette College in Pennsylvania, one in science from USC and one in astronautics from N.J.I.T. He earned three Air Medals, three Distinguished Flying Crosses, a U.S. Navy Distinguished Service Medal, a Kitty Hawk Award, a Great American Award, a Golden Key Award and a Haley Astronautic Award. Schirra was also inducted into the Aerospace Hall of Fame, the International Aviation Hall of Fame, the International Space Hall of Fame, the National Aviation Hall of Fame and the Astronaut Hall of Fame. In 2005, he was named a NASA Ambassador of Exploration and presented with a moon rock in his name.

Although he was a hardworking and witty fellow, Schirra also had a reputation as a prankster. During his Mercury 7 flight, he smuggled a corned beef sandwich onboard inside his space suit to share with his crew. His most famous practical joke, however, occurred in 1965. Ten days before Christmas, Schirra and Stafford were approaching the West Coast when they reported seeing an unidentified flying object coming straight at them. A few minutes later, Stafford and Schirra began playing "Jingle Bells" on a harmonica and a string of bells, and declared the UFO to be Santa Claus.

"It was impossible to know Wally, even to meet him, without realizing at once that he was a man who relished the lighter side of life, the puns and jokes and pranks that can enliven a gathering. But this was a distraction from the true nature of the man. His record as a pioneering space pilot shows the real stuff of which he was made. We who have inherited today's space program will always be in his debt," Mike Griffin, NASA Administrator, stated.

• Listen to a Remembrance From NPR

• Watch a Tribute Video From Foolish Earthling Productions

May 7, 2007

James Richards

Dr. James Robert Richards, a renowned veterinarian who dedicated his life to helping cats, died on April 24 from injuries he sustained in a motorcycle accident. He was 58.

Although he was born in Richmond, Ind., Richards grew up on a farm in Preble County, Ohio. There were no children his age living nearby so he befriended stray cats. The kinship he formed with these felines would affect him for the rest of his life.

Richards earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Berea College in Kentucky, and a doctorate in veterinary medicine from Ohio State University. He practiced at several small-animal clinics in Ohio before joining Cornell University in 1991 as the assistant director of the College of Veterinary Medicine's Feline Health Center, a leading facility for feline medical research and treatment. Richards was named director six years later. During his tenure, the center conducted research into feline cardiac disease, coronary thrombosis, hyperthyroidism and cancerous growths called sarcomas. Richards was also the director of the Dr. Louis J. Camuti Memorial Feline Consultation and Diagnostic Service, which answers calls from vets and cat owners at 1-800-KITTY-DR.

A past president of the American Association of Feline Practitioners, Richards regularly appeared on television and radio programs to discuss the best ways to raise and care for cats. He lectured to cat owners' clubs around the country and served as an adviser to Alley Cat Allies, a trap-neuter-return program to manage populations of feral cats. Richards served as editor-in-chief of CatWatch, a monthly newsletter published by the Cornell veterinary school, penned the column "Ask Dr. Richards," and wrote and/or edited numerous books and articles, including the "ASPCA Complete Guide to Cats," "The Well-Behaved Cat: How to Change Your Cat's Bad Habits" and "The Cornell Book of Cats." In his spare time, he enjoyed motorcycling, bicycling, hiking and kayaking.

Richards was riding his motorcycle in Willet, N.Y., on April 22 when he saw a cat in the middle of the road. In an effort to avoid hitting the animal, Richards was thrown from his bike and severely injured. He died two days later. The cat died in the accident as well.

"Jim didn't know how to say no to a good cause, and was always talking about how there was never enough time to do all the things we wanted to do for cats," said Lila Miller, ASPCA vice president of Veterinary Outreach. "He was an incredible man -- brilliant, compassionate, funny, humble, kind, generous, gracious and dedicated. He was a good friend to the ASPCA, and we all are heartbroken."

The 19th annual Feline Symposium, scheduled for July 27-29 at the College of Veterinary Medicine, will serve as a public tribute to Richards.

• Listen to an Interview on Steve Dale's Pet World

May 1, 2007

Wayne Schenk

Last December, Wayne A. Schenk received some grave news. Doctors told him he had lung cancer and only 12 to 16 months left to live.

A struggling tavern owner and longtime smoker, Schenk didn't have any health insurance. Since he served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1976 to 1980, the Veteran Affairs Hospital in Syracuse, N.Y., agreed to provide him with radiation and chemotherapy.

Schenk needed more aggressive cancer treatment in order to survive, and the VA's resources were limited. He requested a transfer to cancer centers in Pennsylvania and New York, but both were out of the VA's network and required patients to pay $125,000 upfront and have $250,000 in reserve. Schenk simply didn't have that kind of money. Although he considered selling his tavern, the Orange Inn in Naples, N.Y., Schenk knew a real estate deal would take too long and may not net enough money to pay for the specialized medical care he needed. With nothing to lose, he decided to play the New York State lottery.

Surprisingly, the long shot paid off.

On Jan. 12, Schenk won $1 million from a $5 scratch-off ticket in the lottery's High Stakes Blackjack game. The odds of someone Schenk's age developing lung cancer are roughly 1 in 5,000; the odds of winning the jackpot in High Stakes Blackjack are 1 in 2,646,000.

Unfortunately, the sudden windfall did not solve Schenk's health or financial problems. According to lottery regulations, the prize money could only be paid out in 20 annual installments of $50,000. Schenk didn't have 20 years ahead of him. He needed the lump sum award to even have a chance at staying alive.

As his health continued to decline, Schenk turned to friends, family, financial institutions, the media, even a N.Y. state assemblyman for help -- all to no avail. Legislation to create an exception in Schenk's case would take years to pass, and lottery officials refused to bend the rules for him.

In the final days of his life, the Canandaigua, N.Y., native married his girlfriend, Joan DeClerck. He was so ill during the wedding ceremony that he had to breathe through an oxygen tank. Before the disease weakened his health, he enjoyed traveling, ice fishing and hunting.

Schenk died on April 23 at the age of 51. He left the remainder of his lottery winnings to his wife.

April 25, 2007

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I'm incredibly thrilled by these honors -- and yes, it's a pleasure just to be nominated. If you would like to vote for us, or nominate your other favorite blogs, sign up here. Winners will be announced on June 2 at PostieCon in Orlando.