Gwen Duffy Obituary

Above, Gwen Duffy and yours truly at the White House in June 1982.

I was working on something when I happened to find an obituary for former Gardena (California) City Councilwoman Gwen Duffy.

She was a great friend and political ally back in the 1980s. She and I were part of the 1980 California Delegation to the Republican National Convention. The Delegation was invited to the White House for a reception in June 1982. Gwen and I both attended.

The Daily Breeze posted an obituary, which reads in part:

1922 – 2020 FIRST GARDENA COUNCIL WOMAN DIES The first woman to be elected to the Gardena City Council died on February 1, 2020. 

As Chair of the Committee to Preserve Property Rights in Gardena, Gwen helped to defeat a Gardena Redevelopment Agency ordinance. As a member of the Gardena Republican Women, Federated, she served as a member of the California Delegation of Reagan for President at the National Conventions in 1976, 1980, and 1984. She was a member of the VFW Ladies Auxiliary, Gardena Emblem Club, Gardena Valley Friends of the Library, Gardena-Carson Family YMCA Board of Directors, Gardena Valley YWCA, Gardena Sister City Association, Gardena Drug and Alcohol Abuse Prevention and Chair of the Gardena We TIP Committee. Gwen was the first woman elected to the Gardena City Council and served from 1982 to 1999. 

To read the full obituary, go here. 

Washington Post Getting Lots of Heat!

The Washington Post is really feeling the heat today.

I had to add mine for some fun:

Haruo Nakajima's Passing Noted Around The World

Above, Haruo Nakajima with his "Mangled Skyscraper Award" in 2008. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Although it is sad that Haruo Nakajima passed away today, it is heartwarming to know that he is being honored and recognized for his work around the world.

Several major news outlets in the U.S. are reporting the news of his passing.

They include Variety, TMZ and Huffington Post.

News outlets from several countries are also reporting the news of Nakajima's passing. They include the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Poland, Australia, Mexico and Chile.

Laura Moles (Vixxa Violet), R.I.P.

Above, Karlos Borloff and Vixxa Violet in the promo video for The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan.

This is one of those times when it is hoped that a report on someone's passing wasn't true. 

Unfortunately, it was. Her obituary has been posted by Legacy.com through the Times Herald in Pennsylvania.

Laura Moles, best-known around show biz and modeling circles as Vixxa Violet, passed away on April 2. She was 27.

Above, Laura was already a follower (circled) of this blog before she took part in the promo
video for The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan that was produced by Monster Madhouse.

Laura was a follower of this blog and it came as a pleasant surprise when I learned at a dinner with Jerry Moore ("Karlos Borloff" of Monster Madhouse) that she was the gal in the promo video for The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan by Monster Madhouse. After this discovery, I sent her a note thanking her for "spicing up" the promo video and I posted a spotlight blog for her.

She replied with:

THANK YOU, Armand, for showcasing me!!!
I really appreciate it.
For more Vixxa Violet, please visit my free-access website: http://www.vixxaviolet.com.

XO
Vixxa
January 23, 2012 

We had a few more communications following this. It is too bad that we did not have the chance to meet in person. She seemed to be a real sweetheart. From what I've heard about her, she was a joy to be with.

R.I.P.

UPDATE (4/23/14): I have since learned the circumstances of Laura's/Vixxa's passing. All I'll say is that it was accidental in nature and very tragic. 

USA Today's Passages 2013 By David Colton

Above, stop-motion effects artist Ray Harryhausen, just one of those we lost this year.

To many horror and science-fiction fans, the name David Colton is a familiar one. He is one of the moderators at the Classic Horror Film Board forum and he also oversees the annual Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards.

He wears another hat.

From USA Today:

David Colton is Executive Editor, and has been with USA TODAY since almost the beginning. He oversees all print products and occasionally writes a story or two himself.

One of his duties at USA Today is to compile the list of prominent people who passed away each year. He has compiled the 2013 list, "Passages 2013: Remembering Those We Lost."

It is one of the better tribute pages (even better than the annual Academy Awards tributes, who often annoyingly omits several passings of those in Tinseltown).

To see Colton's tributes, go here.