Of all the souls to depart this planet in 2009, perhaps none was brassier than that of Lou Albano, 76, who grew up in Mount Vernon and who attended Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains. He died at Westchester Medical Center Oct. 14.
Albano was a staple of the wrestling world for decades: part athlete, mostly showman. His slogan “Always imitated, never duplicated” was often on his lips and was the title of his 2006 autobiography.
Albano might have faded from the limelight but for his business relationship with the rocker Cyndi Lauper, who cast him in several popular videos. Movie and TV roles followed, including parts in Brian DePalma”™s “Wise Guys” and in the Don Johnson TV vehicle “Miami Vice.”
Out of the limelight, Albano did his Catholic high school alma mater proud: He was married to the same woman for 56 years, raised four children and at the time of his death had 14 grandchildren.
Sister Mary Linehan, the former president of St. Joseph”™s Medical Center in Yonkers died May 26. The Sisters of Charity nun assumed presidency of the medical center in 1969 and held the position until 2000. Linehan earned undergraduate and graduate business degrees from Columbia University, was a licensed nursing home administrator and a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives.
“She spent the better part of 40 years as the heart and soul of St. Joseph”™s and left it and Yonkers a better place,” said James Landy, hospital board chairman and president and CEO of Hudson Valley Bank, at the time of her death. “Her death is a loss to us all.”
Edward Rondthaler died Aug. 19 at the age of 104 in Utah, as reported by the New York Times. He was a longtime Croton-on-Hudson resident who tried to push the world to spell phonetically (or as he would have written “foeneticly”). He was a renowned typesetter who is credited with revolutionizing the production of newspapers via the Rutherford photo-lettering machine, which streamlined the typesetting process. He was cofounder of the Massachusetts-based International Typeface Corp., a developer of various type fonts. He phonetically rewrote the opening line to John Keats”™ “Ode to a Nightingale” as “Mi hart aeks, and a drouzy numness paens.” He counted George Bernard Shaw and Theodore Roosevelt among like-minded linguists who favored easier spelling, according to the New York Times. The Times also reported Rondthaler composed a song for the 2006 centennial of the Croton Dam. His wife of 72 years, Dorothy, predeceased him in 2002.
Another Croton-on-Hudson resident, Richard Merkin, 70, died in September. Merkin”™s work would be instantly recognizable to readers of The New Yorker, where his characters cavorted in dapper fashions. Merkin himself was something of a dandy, often seen with a trademark boutonnière. He was a writer as well as an artist, penning a column for GQ magazine titled “Merkin on Style.” The New York Times reported he is pictured among the oddball assortment of people behind the Beatles on the cover of “Sgt. Pepper”™s Lonely Hearts Club Band,” the result of a friendship with the British artist who designed the iconic cover. Survivors included his wife Heather Merkin, according to the Times.
Mark Ettenger, Emelin Theatre board co-president, bore the bad news in early August after Larchmont resident and attorney Seth Kaplan died:
“On behalf of the Emelin Theatre Board of Trustees and staff, we are deeply saddened to announce the death of Emelin Board co-President Seth Kaplan, who passed away suddenly on Aug. 1.
“Seth was relentlessly committed to the mission and community of the Emelin Theatre, and his passion for the arts ”“ and life in general ”“ was evident in everything he did.
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“Vibrant and intelligent, Seth was an inspiring leader, whose careful advice helped guide the Emelin into a rebirth. He was quick to laugh, a thoughtful optimist who, in his good nature, didn’t just hope for the best, but actually made it happen.” Survivors include his wife Barbara and two children.
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M. Paul Redd, a resident of Rye and a denizen of the world of ink, died Jan. 9 at age 80. He was publisher of the Westchester County Press, the county”™s first African-American-themed newspaper and a 46-year Rye Democratic committeeman.
“Paul was a champion against inequity and injustice and constantly reminded those of us in public office to heighten our sensitivity to the inequality in our society,” said attorney and former County Executive and Lt. Gov. Al DelBello. Mount Vernon Mayor Clinton Young Jr. declared the day of his death a day of remembrance. Redd”™s wife Orial and a son survive him.
Edward Bracken died June 7. Bracken owned and operated service stations in Yonkers, Eastchester and Scarsdale. Later pursuits included becoming a licensed real estate broker and car salesman. A World War II veteran, he moved with his family to Rockland County in 1972 and was one of the founders of the village of Montebello. Survivors include his wife Dodie and two daughters, Kathryn Cupak of Montebello and Thompson & Bender public relations firm principal Elizabeth Bracken-Thompson.?Leo “Vince” LaSalva, a boxer and native of Pelham, died Dec. 2. He was 88.
The news came via Stephen Acunto, the dean of county boxing and a giant in the sport regardless of borders.
“Stylistically, Vinnie was a dancing boxer with a good dart jab,” Acunto related. “One of his severe handicaps was that he was known as a ”˜bleeder”™ in the fight game and that caused stoppage of a few of his important fights.”
Born Leo, the one-time Pelham High School shortstop (who won a tryout with the Yankees) fought under the name Vince to honor his brother who was killed in the Pacific Theater in World War II. Under Acunto”™s training and before 16,000 fans at Madison Square Garden, he knocked out Percy McGee in three rounds. “LaSalva captured three rounds and set McGee up with a jab followed by a right uppercut and then knocked out the crouching McGee,” Acunto recalled. LaSalva also fought at the Westchester County Center and at Yankee Stadium.
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Amir Tirosh, who owned Mount Kisco-based AirGator Inc., maker of digital navigational products, died in a plane crash in Wappingers Falls Nov. 22. A pilot and veteran of the Israeli Air Force, Tirosh wed technology with his passion for flying in his business, saying, “I was looking for something where I could marry vocation and avocation.” His family lives in Bedford.
