A Burholme resident and the retired supervisor of the Ryerss Museum and Library, Mary Louise Campbell died Jan. 10.

The 83-year-old began volunteering at Ryers in the ’60s, joined the staff in 1973 and retired 20 years later. Campbell is survived by her husband, three sons and five grandchildren. Her husband and son both have ties to the Philadelphia Inquirer, where you can read Campbell’s full obituary. continue reading »

Louis McKee. Photo by G.E. Reutter

Poet and educator Louis McKee passed away Nov. 21  at the age of 60, (1951-2011) after a long illness.

McKee taught English at Father Judge High School for three decades. Thousands of students passed through his class room, a right of passage at Judge. Many of those students followed in his footsteps, becoming teachers themselves.

Robert Burns, an English teacher at Central High School was one such student. Burns remembered the influence of McKee: continue reading »

Credit: All About Jazz

George “Butch” Ballard accomplished many things in his 92 years, for which he was honored last fall in the Northeast Philadelphia Hall of Fame.

Ballard died Saturday after a life spent in Frankford and devoted to music.

The jazz legend is survived by his wife of 67 years, the sounds of the Butch Ballard Trio and memories in Frankford — grew up in Plum Street, went to Harding and Northeast and was a Democratic ward leader. continue reading »

This column first ran back in October 2009, when our Women’s View columnist Donna Ward shared with us the story of her mother, Kitty, who was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1990.

Donna informed us Tuesday her mother passed away this spring:

“Many of you had kind words to say in regards to this column I wrote. It is with a heavy heart to inform you that the lady (my mother) in this article passed away May 28th of this year. Her story is epic and proves that getting breast cancer is not an immediate death sentence. She successfully fought her cancer for 21 years! I bow my head to the bravest woman I have ever known.”

We are reposting this column in Kitty’s memory. continue reading »

Bruce Conner helps lead a meeting of the Northeast Philadelphia History Network last March, when the group split from the Historical Society of Frankford.

Bruce Conner passed away last week following a car accident late last month. In the passage below, his friend and fellow historian, Jack McCarthy, remembers Bruce.

The Northeast Philadelphia history community suffered a major loss with the recent death of local historian Bruce Conner. Bruce had been in a coma following an auto accident in late February and died on March 9th. The accident occurred as he was driving home from one of the many local history meetings he regularly attended.

continue reading »

Bruce Conner, front, with (L to R) Frank Hollingsworth, Lou Iatarola, Sam Katz, Jack McCarthy, Nancy Morozin and Rev. Paul Andel at the screening of Katz's documentary on Jan. 18. Photo by Hillary Shemin.

Bruce Conner has passed away. The Northeast Philadelphia History Network, of which Bruce played a leading role, released the following statement a few minutes ago: continue reading »

Image courtesy of the Frankford Gazette

We’ve received word that Terry Tobin, former executive director of the New Frankford Community Y, has passed away. The Frankford Gazette has an obituary for Tobin, who also served on the Frankford CDC and Business Association boards.

His viewing and funeral will be held Monday, Jan. 10 at McCafferty Funeral Home at Frankford and Unruh avenues from 9 a.m. to noon.

This is the obituary that ran in the Inquirer:

TERRY P. on Jan. 4, 2011, age 67. Beloved husband of the late Linda. Loving Father of Tammy Reed (Joe) and Daniel M., Sr. (the late Joanne), devoted grand-father of Kevin, Mark, Michael, Jamie, Kelly, Walter, Joseph, Daniel, Jr. and Teresa, brother of Carol Hitchen (Barry) and Randy Tobin (Sharon). Also survived by many nieces and nephews. Long time president of Vogt C.A., Director of New Frankford Community Y, member of Rhawnhurst American Legion, Frankford H.S. Alumni as well as many other organizations. Relatives and friends are invited to his Viewing and Funeral on Monday Jan. 10, 2011 from 9 A.M.- 12 Noon at THE JAMES A. McCAFFERTY FUNERAL HOME, 6709-11 Frankford Ave. (at Unruh Ave.), 215-624-4200. Prayer Service 12 Noon in the Funeral Home. Interment Sunset Memorial Park.
Published in Philadelphia Inquirer & Philadelphia Daily News from January 6 to January 7, 2011

Funeral arrangements have been made for longtime St. Jerome parish pastor Father Graham. A parish mass will be held tonight at 7:30 pm at the Winchester Park church, followed by a viewing tomorrow from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. and an 11 a.m. mass led by Cardinal Justin Rigali. continue reading »

This obituary will continue to be updated. Help us honor Frances by leaving comments of your memories of her, and contacting us here with further details.

Not a month after calling for a moment of silence honoring another board member’s passing, Frankford Civic Association President Frances Clay died Wednesday.

Clay was 57.

continue reading »

Thelma Young at the September 2010 Frankford Civic Association meeting, of which she was a member for at least 15 years, according to the board's president. Click to enlarge.

Updated: Nov. 13 @ 11:14 a.m. with more family background.

Updated: Nov. 15 @ 10:22 a.m. with more personal details, courtesy of Northeast Times reporter John Loftus, who shared to limit the burden on the family.

NEast Philly will continue to update this profile of Thelma. We encourage anyone to contact us with additional information or share your memories of her in the comments below.

Thelma Young, 76, the feisty, passionate and funny, gray-haired, bespectacled and baseball-capped Frankford Civic Association board member, has died, a fellow board member has confirmed. Her age has not yet been confirmed, nor has the cause of death, though zoning board member Pete Specos referred to it as “sudden.”

“She was always active in the community, always looking to better the place she lived,” said Frances Clay, the President of the Frankford Civic Association. Young was a member of the both the civic association and the 15th Police District Advisory Council, or some form of it, for at least 15 years, Clay said. Young had spoken briefly during meetings about growing up in Frankford, though Clay couldn’t confirm details.

continue reading »