Winter & Spring 2007

It is sweet to see the sun beaming upon green grass and colorful flowers once again! It also means there will be a general meeting on Saturday, April 21st at 2:00 pm!

      We, the board members, are so proud to announce that our 80th Anniversary Luncheon, at Roosevelt Hotel, right across from the famous Chinese Mannequin on Sunday, March 11th, was a smashing hit with over 260 people in attendance! I want to commend Chairperson Elaine Aikin and her committee for their hardworking efforts and doing a fantastic job!

      John Maucere, a newly LACD member, emceed wonderfully with two screens showing “The LACD Story” which was produced in 1985 and slide show with more than 150 old and modern photographs. Both screens played these repeatedly for more than an hour, giving the audience to reflect every detail while walking down the memory lane at the same time.

      It was great to see old timers who came from different places such as Frances Pasley (88 years old) and her sister Maydeen Watt (94 years old) from Las Vegas, Pat Zinkovich, the daughter of West Wilson, from Benicia and Tom Elliott’s family: his daughter Debby DeStefano from Washington, DC, Nicky Elliott, Dave Elliott, and grandson named Tom Elliott (his father is Dave). Tom’s son, Nicky, sang three different songs in American Sign Language. Such a beautiful sight.

      Pat shared two pictures with us: Los Angeles Sphinx Athletic Club for the Deaf, before it was changed to Los Angeles Club of the Deaf, was first officially formed in 1926! Pat told the audience that she was in her mother’s womb when that picture was taken. Her father, West, was with the club for nearly 60 years.

      All but three LACD’s 1955 basketball cheerleaders and Coach Henry DeLaO also made it to the event: Hazel Davinger, LaRue Emmer, Joyanne Maucere, Marilyn Bayarsky, Cheri Ames, Renah Ben-Ari, and Beverly McCallon. Surprisingly, LaRue decided to donate her cheerleader outfit to LACD for its future museum. Thank you very much, LaRue!

Obituaries

      Curtis Pasley died at the age of 90 and was buried on July 14th in Las Vegas, Nevada. He was survived by his son and wife, Frances. Curtis served on LACD Board a number of years and even worked as a chef for LACD briefly.

      Frank Scolaro, who resided on third floor at the GLAD building, passed away from a heart disease last December. He would often walk down to second floor and joined us when we had our regular Bank Night. He was survived by his three sons, daughter and grandchildren.

      Helen Udkovich, who lived in Pilgrim Towers, died peacefully on Christmas Day and had memorial service in Mt. Sinai two days later. She left her daughter, Hedy Stern, and two granddaughters and one grandson.

      Bob Skinner passed away on March 12th, the day after LACD’s 80th Anniversary Luncheon, in Northridge. There was memorial service at CSUN where his wife, Joan, and his three daughters and grandchildren attended. Bob was also a longtime LACD member and officer.

      Rita & Abe Winzelberg’s daughter, Debbie, lost her long- time companion, Mark Morrison, during the month of March. Mark died at the young age of 40 from a heart attack in Reno, Nevada. Abe and Rita went up there to join the family and they all went to Lake Tahoe, Debbie and Mark’s favorite camping place where they sprinkled his ashes before heading over to Mark’s sister’s house for another memorial service.

Highlights

      Ray Harris and Rachel Stone are elated to say their oldest daughter, Raychelle, has recently completed her PhD courses and already begun on her dissertation, Raylene, second daughter, who already received a PhD and is now teaching with the Psychology Department at Gallaudet University, and the youngest daughter, Rayanne, graduated with a bachelor’s degree in nursing from John Hopkins University last spring and now works at one of the largest hospitals in Denver, Colorado.

      Dwight Holmes and Hazel Davinger went to San Diego last December for two days to visit his nephew who they have not seen for seven years. They also took the opportunity to take him to Sea World. While they were there, one of the whales skyrocketed out of the water and slapped into the water, splashing all over Hazel. Boy, was she soaked! They all enjoyed themselves very much.

      Joanne Gleicher moved out of Pilgrim Towers during the last week of March, and will move in Moreno Valley with her daughter, Becca after her one-month stay in Florida. She loves being a nanny to Becca’s two children. Joanne will also fly back to Maryland for another visit her with son, Robert, sometime later this summer. She was there last January and stayed with him and his family for two months. Such a lady of leisure, isn’t she?! Her youngest son, Jonathan will marry Giner Navarrete, who works as a professional interpreter, in the fall.

      Larry Dubin is pleased to announce that five LACD members, Joanne Gleicher, Judy Fromberg, Lois Johnson, Murray Sanchez and Mary Greenstone, served as clerks during the election poll with Larry as their inspector last fall. Larry has been doing that for more than 20 years and uses only deaf people in his group, possibly a first in California. Because of this, Larry received an award from the city of Los Angeles where he said, “We, the Deaf people, want to serve civil duties as much as hearing citizens do.” He also is proud that he slimmed down by 15 pounds due from cutting back on sweets although he misses them very much.

      Our VP John Goul enjoys every waking moment of his retirement. Here’s a taste of his typical day: he walks to Starbucks around the corner every morning, reads LA Times before working out at Bally Fitness then swims 30 to 50 laps. At nighttime, he goes back to Bally to exercise lightly while socializing with people in the pool. His wife, Shelley, continues to work as a substitute teacher at Marlton School. They are going to build a new, small house that includes family room, bathroom, and studio in the back. They will match the style inside their present house. This project will begin during the month of May.

      My husband, Rusty, was thrilled to see his cousin, Floyd, from New York who stayed with us for a few days last January. They have not seen each other for almost 60 years! They enjoyed catching up with news and sharing family photographs.

      Helen Mepham is so proud of her 11-year-old granddaughter, Allison Macofsky, who became a regular on the “On Air With Ryan Seacrest,” a morning radio show. Last December, she was one of the featured stars in the Belmont Shore Christmas Parade which was her first major public appearance since she landed on Seacrest’s show. Her name is mentioned in the newspaper, and she hopes her new job will lead to more opportunities in the entertainment industry.

Birth Announcements

      Mary Greenstone just became a great-grandmother for the second time when her granddaughter, Kristine, gave birth to a baby boy, named Justin last November. Kristine and her husband, David, already have a 4-year old daughter, Emily. In fact, Mary flew to Sacramento for one week and spent her 87th birthday with them and her son, Myron and his wife, on April 5th.

      Helen Tingley is tickled pink when she and John became first-time grandparents. Their daughter, Joan, had a baby girl named Amelia Margaret on December 17th.

      Ken Watson became grandfather again when his daughter, Kristen, welcomed another boy on February 5th at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in West Los Angeles. Evan, the new baby, weighed 8 lbs, 8 oz and measured at 20 ½ inches long.

Reminder: LACD’s general meeting will take place on Saturday, April 21st at 2:00 pm. Be seeing you all there!

Etta