Shirley Dobbs Kosar passes away

Shirley Dobbs Kosar,  a former Falls Press reporter who worked in the administration of Summit County Executive John Morgan, passed away Thursday, April 25.

Shirley was a Cuyahoga Falls resident.

Shirley’s obituary:

Shirley Rae

Kosar (Dobbs)

Shirley Rae Kosar, age

83, of Cuyahoga Falls

died on April 25, 2019.

She died peacefully at

Maplewood Memory Care

Facility.

Born in Akron, Ohio to

Raymond and Ferne

Dobbs on October 11,

1935, Shirley was a

standout student at South

High School. She was the

first member of her lineage

to attend college.

She studied journalism

and Russian at Ohio University

(1954-1956),

where she enjoyed

studying---along with

dancing, dating, and socializing.

She departed college

before finishing her degree

to marry and work in

public relations at Firestone

Tire and Rubber

Company. Later she

worked as a journalist for

the Falls News Press and

served in the administration

of County Executive

John Morgan. One of her

proudest achievements

was helping the Morgan

administration establish

the battered women’s

shelter in Akron. Never

one to leave a job undone,

Shirley finished her

bachelor’s degree in

1986.

In her retirement years,

Shirley lived in Vero

Beach, Florida and Mesa,

Arizona, before returning

to Cuyahoga Falls. Wherever

she lived, she made

friends quickly. Shirley

was passionate about

politics, women’s rights,

and jazz. Shirley liked

reading, swimming, and

watching basketball. She

traveled when she could,

with Hawaii and Aruba

being particularly favorite

destinations. Chocolate

was her favorite food.

Shirley loved her 14

grandchildren, Amanda,

Natalie, and Johnny Klag,

Joey and Maria Doll, Andrea

McNeeley (nee

Doll); Alex Doll, Laura

Price (nee Doll), and

Robert, Anna, Abigail,

Kevin, Nathan, and Peyton

Kosar; and her great

grandchild, Tyson Klag.

Shirley was preceded

in death by her parents,

her sister, Patricia, and

her late-in-life love, Cliff.

She is survived by her six

children, Jacqueline Klag,

Michael Doll, Thomas

Doll, Valerie Wilson, Kevin

Kosar, and Gary

Kosar, and her sons- and

daughters-in-law, John

Klag, Cecilia Doll, Julie

Doll, Rick Wilson, Laura

Kosar, and Jenn Kosar.

Per Shirley’s wishes,

she will be cremated and

there will be no calling

hours or service. Her

family will hold a private

celebration of her life. Her

friends and all others are

welcome to contact the

family, and encouraged to

make a donation to the

Battered Women’s Shelter

of Summit & Medina

Counties.

 

Former BJ City Hall reporter John Higgins had a reunion with former BJ columnist Stuart Warner and Debbie Van Tassel Warner, Stuart’s wife and former BJ Sunday editor, in Arizona.

John and wife Mary Ann had family in Washington State when John was at the BJ. They live in Seattle today.

John was taking a holiday from Seattle for a Grand Canyon vacation with his wife and daughter. Not even the hat and the umbrella were enough to protect him for the 103-degree heat.

John's articles won several state awards during his time at Ol' Blue Walls.

Stuart posted the photo on the BJ Facebook page.

Paula Tucker’s Kent State memoir a semifinalist

Former BJ State Desk reporter Paula Tucker is a semifinalist for the Florida Writers Association Golden Palm Awards for her book, “Surviving: A Kent State Memoir.” The book will be published by Sunbury Press, based in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania.

Paula was a witness to the Kent State shootings on May 4, 1970 when four students were killed and nine were wounded by the Ohio National Guard.

The first Royal Palms were awarded in 2006.

Lawrence Knorr is publisher of the Sunbury Press.

Paula divides her time between her Tallmadge home and The Villages, Florida.

Helen Coy passes away

Helen Opal Coy, who was a BJ management administrative assistant for most of her 50 years at 44 E. Exchange street, passed away Saturday, April 20.

Helen Coy

Don’t confuse her with the late Virginia Coy, her sister-in-law, who also was administrative secretary, to editor Paul Poorman.

Virginia was married to the late Al Coy, an early fixture on the Cuyahoga Falls Amateur Baseball Association board with me. Helen’s obituary lists Al as Olin Coy.

Virginia and Al's son, Don Coy, married the late BJ printer Al Hunsicker's daughter, Pam. Don and Pam live in Norton.

Helen was born to Melville and Ethel Coy.

Helen was a Haven of Rest volunteer for more than 50 years and received its auxiliary’s Woman of the Year award in 1992.

Helen’s obituary:

Helen Opal Coy, 92, passed away peacefully on April 20, 2019 at the Gardens of Western Reserve.

Virginia Coy

 

Helen was born on January 21, 1927 in Cuyahoga Falls, daughter of the late Melville and Ethel Coy.  She worked as the Administrative Assistant to the Editor at the Akron Beacon Journal where she retired with over 50 years of service.  Helen attended and was a member of Riverside Alliance Church for over 70 years. She was a member of the Akron Baptist Temple Golden Agers where she enjoyed many travel adventures.  She was an active volunteer with the Haven of Rest Ministries for over 50 years and received the Woman of the Year Award in 1992, from the Haven of Rest Auxiliary.  Helen began her musical career at age three in the Akron area churches as a vocalist and continued serving the Lord Jesus Christ through her music ministry sharing her talents as a pianist and organist.  Her greatest joy in life was serving the Lord Jesus Christ, through her music ministry and enjoying her family. 

 

In addition to her parents, Helen was preceded in death by her brother and sister-in-law, Olin and Virginia Coy.

 

She is survived by nieces and nephews, Dan (Denise) Coy, Don (Pam) Coy, Cindy (John) Casper and Linda (Greg) Kolat; as well as numerous great and great-great nieces and nephews and many good friends.

 

The family would like to thank the staff of The Gardens of Western Reserve and The Gardens of Western Reserve Hospice for their love and care shown to Helen.  They would also like to thank Grace Church for providing the luncheon.

 

Visitation for will be held Tuesday, April 30, 2019, from 10:30-11:30 am, memorial service immediately to follow at 11:30 am at the Clifford Shoemaker Funeral Home, 1930 Front St., Cuyahoga Falls.  She will be laid to rest at Rose Hill Burial Park. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Haven of Rest Ministries, 175 E. Market St., Akron, OH 44308.

Only one life, twill soon be past; only what's done for Christ will last.

 

To view tribute video, send condolences or sign the guest book visit www.cliffordshoemaker.com .



Drummer boy Patrick Carney in action

Patrick Carney teams with Petkovic for album

Black Keys’ Patrick Carney, son of retired BJ reporter Jim Carney, and Cobra Verde’s John Petkovic teamed up in the Sad Planets band to record the ‘Akron, Ohio’ album.

The Akron natives were in the Grammy-winning Black Keys band (Carney) and Death of Samantha band (Petkovic).

Carney will remain with Black Keys and Dan Auerbach, another Firestone High grad. Carney and Auerbach will launch another Black Keys tour this fall that includes a stop at the frequently renamed Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, home of the NBA’s Cavaliers.

Carney and Petkovic have been friends nearly all of their lives.

Both have performed or watched the late Ralph Carney, Jim’s brother and a multi-instrumentalist, when Ralph did his gigs.

To read the PD article, go to https://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/2019/04/black-keys-patrick-carney-and-cobra-verdes-john-petkovic-team-up-as-sad-planets-with-akron-ohio.html

Brain tumor for Dale Allen

Former BJ Editor Dale Allen has a brain tumor.

“It’s in the left side of my brain, which supports speech and words and possible some right-side motion,” Dale reports.

Dale Allen

He’s surveying his options, which include chemo, radiation or surgery.

He is scheduled for a consultation with Cleveland’s University Hospital surgeon.

Dale has a hip replacement in 2016 after falling during a Black Friday horror shopping event.

Since he left 44 E. Exchange Street Dale has divided his time, depending on the weather, between his Akron and Muzzy Lake in Portage County homes.

Dale, vowel-avoiding Features Editor Jim Nolan and I were the midwives for Channels’ birth in 1980. It was a Management By Objective (MBO) project for Dale.

A few years later, Dale had me slow down the BJ computers while Knight-Ridder representatives were in the building to determine if Ol’ Blue Walls needed more mainframe power. I did.

KR folks went back to Miami and the BJ got its upgrade to superpower mainframe.

Tony Tomsic, who worked for the Cleveland Press and, starting in 1981, for Sports Illustrated and the NFL,  and who photographed the first 48 Super Bowls, passed away Sunday, April 21.

Tomsic took many famous Super Bowl photos, including the one of Vince Lombardi celebrating a Green Bay Packers Super Bowl II championship that is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton.

Nine of Tomsic's pictures were included in the NFL's 1999 coffee-table book "Best Shots," commemorating the greatest NFL photographs of the century. Tomsick’s photos were on 20 Sports Illustrated covers.

Tomsic was in the documentary "Keepers of the Streak," along with John Biever, Walter Looss and Mickey Palmer as the only photographers covering the first 48 Super Bowls.

Tony was inducted into the Cleveland Journalism Hall of Fame by the Press Club in 1994.

Tony also was struck in 1996 by a baseball thrown from the outfield by an angry Albert Belle that cut Tony’s left hand.

Tomsic, working for Sports Illustrated, was standing near the Indians' dugout before the game against Toronto when he was struck in the left hand by a ball Belle threw from the outfield. Belle had been angered because Tomsic took his picture while he was stretching earlier.

 

Tomsic didn't mention it till a Cleveland reporter asked him about it.

"I didn't want to make a big thing out of it," Tomsic said. "But when a player is on the field, he is fair game."

Tomsic said he had backed off after Belle shook his finger at him for taking his picture.

Indians pitcher Orel Hershiser, fellow Tribe players Alvaro Espinoza and Omar Vizquel came to Tomsic’s rescue.



John Backderf

Derf graphic novel based on 1970 Kent State shootings

Former BJ artist John “Derf” Backderf will publish a “Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio” graphic novel in April 2020.

May 4, 2020 will be the 50^th anniversary of the 4 killings and 9 woundings of Kent State students by the Ohio National Guard during a Vietnam War protest.

"Four dead in Ohio" is the repeated line from Neil Young’s lyrics in the anti-war “Ohio” performed by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.

To read the Hollywood Reporter article, go to

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/kent-state-four-dead-ohio-revisits-1970s-student-shooting-tragedy-1203464



Carolyn with Milan Zban (left) and Roland Queen

Former BJ sportswriter Carolyn White passed away Sunday, April 7 in Cleveland.

Carolyn was at Ol’ Blue Walls from 1977 to 1985. She left the BJ for USA Today, where she remained into the early 2000s.

She was the first female African-American sportswriter at the BJ and was one of two African-American sportswriters at USA Today.

Former Mizell Stewart managing editor Mizell Stewart is on the USA Today staff today as senior director of news strategy. 

Mizell responded to me:

"Charlene Washington, newsroom office manager for USA TODAY, said White joined the staff in 1986, covering high school sports and the America's Cup, among other topics, and made a mean peach cobbler. "Just a really sweet woman with a big heart," Washington said."

 

In 1986, Carolyn, Roland Queen and the late Milan Zban shared an award for their story on sports financing. Carolyn also won an award for her story on scarcity of African-Americans in Akron area high school coaching.

Carolyn was arrested while trying to cover the Washington Redskins Super Bowl parade in 1988, even though she had press credentials. The charges were dropped.

Carolyn once wrote an article about trying out for the Cleveland Cavs' Teddy Bears cheerleaders.

There has been no obituary and funeral arrangements published for Carolyn yet.

Marilyn Paulk first tipped me off. Ken Krause and Mike Williams provided me photos of Carolyn.

Carl Dangel passes away

Carl Dangel, who was a BJ reporter for 10 years before moving on to PR work at General Electric, Goodyear and General Tire and the PD, passed away Wednesday, April 3.

Carl Dangel

Dangel attended 2012 calling honors for BJ retiree Art Cullison at the Billows Fairlawn chapel.

Mark Price, who delves into history for the BJ, once reported on a 1960 review by Dangel about the “Psycho” movie at the Palace Theater.

Carl’s sister, Janet Ann Dangel Myers, passed away in Nashville in 2014. She was a St. Vincent High grad and a nurse.

Carl’s obituary:

Carl Dangel was born on January 21, 1933 to Bernard and Mary Dangel in Akron, Ohio.  He died peacefully in the presence of his family on April 3, 2019 at the Village of St. Edward in Fairlawn.  He is predeceased by his parents; his sister, Janet Dangel Myers, and his son-in-law, Bob Berzonsky.

Carl is survived by his wife, Joan Latham Dangel.  High school classmates, they married in 1954 and had seven children.  He loved his wife and his children and their spouses – Dennis (Jill Demeter), Jo (Diane Kovachik), Theresa Berzonsky, Andy (Pam Appledorn Dangel), Peggy (Brian Cohen), Bernadette (Tim Burton), and Kate Bame (Pete Gori).  Also celebrating their grandpa’s life are Kristen Berzonsky (Fred Ricci), Julie Berzonsky, Lauren and Sydney Dangel, Brendan and Caitlin Tedaldi, Colin, Gretchen, and Evan Burton, and Emily and Annie Bame.  Carl is also survived by brother, Tom (Poochie); and sister, Linda Radwany (Les).

Carl was a hard-working, loyal, and compassionate man who lived his life in service to God, his family, and to the community.  He graduated from St. Vincent High School in 1951 and he and Joanie remained dedicated and actively involved alumni through their entire lives.

He was also a proud alumnus of The University of Akron, earning his college degree in journalism in 1960, while he was a young father.  His studies carried him through a career studded with accomplishments and interesting assignments that he happily shared through the years.  He worked for ten years at the Akron Beacon Journal where his writing, community knowledge, and connections with people resulted in wonderful story telling.  After his work at the Beacon, was an editor at General Electric Lamp Division in Nela Park.  Some of his favorite career highlights followed in his service at Goodyear Tire and Rubber and then at GenCorp.  At Goodyear, he worked in the public relations department, with plum assignments with the blimp fleet and crew and in the race tire division.  His last career stop was at GenCorp, working in community and government affairs.  He traveled often to Washington DC where he worked on Capitol Hill and at White House conferences.  

Carl also worked part-time for more than 20 years on the sports desk at the Cleveland Plain Dealer and as a correspondent for the Catholic Universe Bulletin. He served on the National Alumni Board at UA and as a board member at both St. Edward and the Catholic Service League.  He was active with the United Way of Summit County and with the National Press Club.    

Calling hours will be on Sunday, April 7 at Ciriello and Carr Funeral Home, 39 South Miller Road, Fairlawn from 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM.  Mass of Christian Burial will be held 10AM Monday, April 8 at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church, 164 West Market Street.  Private Burial later.  

In lieu of flowers, please consider a gift to St. Vincent-St. Mary High School, 15 N. Maple Street, Akron, 44303 or to The Village of St. Edward, 3131 Smith Road, Fairlawn 44333 to honor Carl’s memory.  

Feran writes about his PD ouster

Tom Feran, among those laid off by the PD, wrote the PD article about the layouts before he left the building.

Feran was among 14 Guild newsroom members exiting the PD. He volunteered for it to save a job for another Guild member.

From 2008 to 2017 newspaper newsroom staff was reduced by 45%. Additionally, more than 2,400 media jobs have been eliminated this year.

The BJ, which once had 340 journalists, will be down to 33.

To read the article, click on

https://www.cleveland.com/news/2019/04/plain-dealer-lays-off-a-third-of-unionized-newsroom-staff.html?fbclid=IwAR2TT1G7mXJpULa3SxCWlakmn5AIwm86sZZoim418LjYO-vqL6-tSzrJfII