Last Chapter Archives - Page 3 of 3

Stanley Gumberg, 81 Gumberg joined his father’s real estate brokerage and turned it into one of the region’s most successful real estate development companies, building the Waterworks and Cranberry malls and North Hills Village. Until his death, he remained chairman of the J.J. Gumberg Co., which controls some 15 million square feet of retail property. …

Gumberg, Cappy, Thomas, Lascheid, Cantini, Handler Read More »

Obituaries

Semple, Burns, Ellis, Simon, Phillips

by PQ Staff

Dock Ellis, 63 One of baseball’s most colorful, controversial and bizarre figures, Ellis was a Pittsburgh Pirates star, who once pitched a no-hitter on LSD. In an era of social upheaval, Ellis was branded a militant by the media because of his vocal advocacy for racial equality. His 1970 no-hitter came about after he had …

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Obituaries

Melodia, Cai, Jaffurs, Sittsamer, Lee, Edmunds, Healy, Packer

by PQ Staff

Mario Melodia, 78 He returned to Pittsburgh from Broadway, building a career as a dancer, choreographer and teacher. He danced and choreographed for national audiences but left his biggest mark as a teacher of dancers of all stripes, launching the careers of many.He had a dance studio Downtown, taught for more than three decades at …

Melodia, Cai, Jaffurs, Sittsamer, Lee, Edmunds, Healy, Packer Read More »

Obituaries

Donovan, Morris, Hattler, Schloss, Pausch, Pidgeon, Diven, Witter, Handy, Harmeier, Jones, White

by PQ Staff

Bishop Edward V. Donovan, 76 After working as a metallurgist with U.S. Steel for 20 years, Edward Donovan turned to religion, forming a prayer group that ultimately broke away from the Catholic Church and became the Community of the Crucified One.Under Bishop Donovan’s leadership, the Community grew to include its own priests and nuns and …

Donovan, Morris, Hattler, Schloss, Pausch, Pidgeon, Diven, Witter, Handy, Harmeier, Jones, White Read More »

Obituaries

Purkey, Martin, Forrester, Beckwith, Lacey, Jones, Horan

by PQ Staff

Lee H. Lacey, 89: For nearly 30 years, Lacey was the president and CEO of Harmarville Rehabilitation Center. During his tenure, the facility, now part of HealthSouth, nearly tripled in capacity and changed from a home for poor mothers into a state-of-the-art center for people recovering from debilitating sicknesses and injuries. Robert T. Purkey, 78 …

Purkey, Martin, Forrester, Beckwith, Lacey, Jones, Horan Read More »

Obituaries

Stanish, Vargo, DePasquale, Cope, Holmes, Cain

by PQ Staff

Rudolph B. Stanish, 94: Stanish was known as the “Omelet King” for cooking for such personages as JFK, Paul Mellon, Goldman Sachs and Marilyn Monroe. The Yukon, Westmoreland County native was sent as a teenager to Newport, R.I., where he began his career as a domestic worker. After working in the kitchen, he soon became …

Stanish, Vargo, DePasquale, Cope, Holmes, Cain Read More »

Obituaries

Miller, Rogal, Tannehill, Schmidt, Woodruff, Levinson

by PQ Staff

Eliza Miller, 92: She was an artist who was best known for her sculptures in steel but whose large, ceramic works can be found in local schools and playgrounds. She was born into a prominent family, and her grandfather designed a famous steel mill in Homestead, which he named after her — the Eliza Furnace. …

Miller, Rogal, Tannehill, Schmidt, Woodruff, Levinson Read More »

Obituaries

McCullough, Chiodo, Boesel, Bernard, Moore, Wargo, Hansen, Prosser, Aiken

by PQ Staff

C. Hax McCullough Jr., 81 McCullough was a writer and a great advocate for Pittsburgh. His projects often included supporting the arts, and he wrote histories of the Pittsburgh Symphony, opera in Pittsburgh, West Penn Hospital, The Pittsburgh Golf Club and corporate histories.He had a love for music which began as a youngster in Point …

McCullough, Chiodo, Boesel, Bernard, Moore, Wargo, Hansen, Prosser, Aiken Read More »

Obituaries

Bickel, Nickel, Magobern, Rhoades, Elmer, Lerner, Anderson

by PQ Staff

Minnette Bickel, 85: A national award-winning portrait artist, Bickel painted hundreds of portraits of notable Pittsburghers and national figures. She would get a feel for the subject and then be guided by intuition. She was among the founders of Carnegie Museum’s Women’s Committee and was known as a charming, friendly and stylish person. Elbie Nickel, …

Bickel, Nickel, Magobern, Rhoades, Elmer, Lerner, Anderson Read More »

Obituaries

Lewis, Becker, McCarl, Shafer, Giddens, Frick, Jacobs, Fowkes, Campbell

by PQ Staff

Raymond P. Shafer, 89: Pennsylvania’s Republican governor from 1967 to 1971, Shafer of Meadville extended the legislative term to two years, made Pennsylvania the first state to allow public workers to unionize and tried unsuccessfully to institute income taxes.He later chaired a national commission on drugs, which recommended the Nixon administration legalize possession of small …

Lewis, Becker, McCarl, Shafer, Giddens, Frick, Jacobs, Fowkes, Campbell Read More »

Obituaries

Cooper, Schafer, Tobias, Wobb, Johnson, Joyner, Harper, Thrift, Fischer, Schloss

by PQ Staff

Dr. William M. Cooper, 87: William Cooper possessed tremendous medical knowledge, superior diagnostic skills and a compassionate manner that helped many patients and Greater Pittsburgh alike. The hematologist was also an innovator, helping to form the Central Blood Bank of Pittsburgh and serving as its first medical director. He served as medical director of the …

Cooper, Schafer, Tobias, Wobb, Johnson, Joyner, Harper, Thrift, Fischer, Schloss Read More »

Obituaries

Heyward, Soffer, Trimarchi, Shekell, DeBolt, O’Connor, Rea, Edwards, Little

by PQ Staff

E. James Trimarchi, 83: Over the past 23 years, Trimarchi built a small Indiana bank with $31 million in assets into the $6 billion First Commonwealth Financial Corporation, serving as its first president and CEO and retiring as chairman six months before his death.A native of Indiana who served as a naval officer in the …

Heyward, Soffer, Trimarchi, Shekell, DeBolt, O’Connor, Rea, Edwards, Little Read More »

Obituaries

Smith, Detre, Ringer, Marshall, Hodges, White, Kerr, Patrick, Halpern, Hazo, Stautner, Lowenthal, Irvis, Hodges, Walton, Turner

by PQ Staff

James Ignatius Smith III, 74: Smith became the first executive director of the Allegheny County Bar Association and built it into one of the most vital in the country. He was in charge from 1963 until 2001 and built membership from 1,900 to 6,500 and staff from seven to 70.Smith was dedicated to the association …

Smith, Detre, Ringer, Marshall, Hodges, White, Kerr, Patrick, Halpern, Hazo, Stautner, Lowenthal, Irvis, Hodges, Walton, Turner Read More »

Obituaries

Rice, Adebimpe, Genge, Barnes, Tate, Wilson, Williams, Rockwell, Wile, Kidney

by PQ Staff

Charles Owen Rice, 96: Monsignor Rice was termed “The most important Catholic social activist in 20thcentury Pittsburgh.” Known as the “Labor Priest,” he was a fiery advocate of working people — a regular on picket lines and protests of many stripes from the 1930s until the end of the century. He delivered the invocation for …

Rice, Adebimpe, Genge, Barnes, Tate, Wilson, Williams, Rockwell, Wile, Kidney Read More »