Rose Broske

Rose Broske, the subject of “The Dash Between” in the March 7, 2010, edition of the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram, used to tell her children, “Go with the flow.”

The flow took her, her husband, Bud, and several other young adults from Elyria, Ohio, to Hawaii during World War II. The men went as civilian employees of the Navy shortly after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Rose and some of the women who followed took jobs in Honolulu with the War Department.

The Broskes remained in Hawaii for a few years after the war, but their decade in the U.S. territory before it became a state left its imprint. They decorated the rec room in their house with bamboo furniture and furnishings. Rose was cooking stirfry — with pineapple – before it became a popular dish in the states and gave hula lessons to family, friends and students at St. Mary Catholic School in Elyria.

Rose and Bud Broske, 1940s

Rose’s name showed up frequently on the society pages of her hometown paper as a member of several social groups and softball teams in the late 1930s and later as a leader of the Catholic Daughters of the Americas at her church.

Read more about “The Dash Between” July 31, 1920, when she was born Rosemarie Kaiser on the North Side of Pittsburgh, Pa., and Feb. 10, 2010, when the great-grandmother from Carlisle Township, Ohio, died at Welcome Nursing Home in Oberlin at age 89, here.

To recommend people for “The Dash Between” obit features for the Elyria Chronicle, Medina County Gazette, ObitsOhio.com or other print or online publications, contact Alana Baranick at alana.baranick@obitsohio.com or 216-862-2617.

Maggie Terry

Maggie Terry “touched thousands and thousands of students, who came through the door in one way or another,” said Rick Panfil, general manager of Campus Dining Services at Oberlin College.

“She was like their mother away from home to a lot of students, and I think they felt that,” Panfil said.

Read more about ”The Dash Between” December 31, 1947, when she was born Maggie Edwards in Demopolis, Ala., and Jan. 25, 2010, when the hard-working, no-nonsense mother of two died at age 62, in the February 21, 2010, edition of The Elyria Chronicle.

Donald W. Gumble Sr.

Donald W. Gumble Sr., 82, of Avon Lake, Ohio, who died Thursday, February 18, 2010, worked as a millwright for Midland Steel Products in Cleveland, Ohio, for 32 years until 1976.

Don, a member of UAW Local 486 in Cleveland, worked for American Ship Building in Lorain, Ohio, for two years. He retired in 1989 after 10 years as manager of the maintenance department at Ohio Extended Care in Lorain.

He was a ham radio operator, whose call letters were KB8SHN.

Don served on various boards and youth groups at Avon Lake United Church of Christ. He was an assistant Boy Scout Leader for Troop 300 of Avon Lake.

He belonged to Mid-Century Masonic Lodge 725 F.&A.M., Avon Lake, for 50 years and to the Royal Arch Masonic Lodge 187, Lakewood, Ohio. He was a life member of A.A.S.R. Valley of Cleveland and a past patron of Avon Lake Chapter 557 Order of the Eastern Star. 

Don was born March 30, 1927, in Cleveland and lived in Avon Lake since 1954.

During World War II, he graduated from the Merchant Marine Academy. He served with the Marines during the Korean War.He was also a member of American Legion Post 221, Avon Lake. 

Survivors include his wife of 60 years Clara E. Gumble (nee Bossell); son, Donald W. (Deborah) Gumble Jr. of Sheffield Lake, Ohio; daughters, Nancy (Herbert) Trautman of Springfield, Ore., and Gail (Dale) Bonar of Salem, Wis.; 18 grandchildren; and 11 great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his son, David M. Gumble, in 2004, and his parents, William and Margaret (nee Knob) Gumble.

 A memorial and a Masonic service will take place at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 6, 2010, at Avon Lake United Church of Christ, 32801 Electric Blvd., Avon Lake. Rev. Kelly Brill pastor will officiate.

 The family suggests memorial contributions to The American Breast Cancer Foundation, 1220-B East Joppa Rd., Suite 332, Baltimore, MD 21286.

Arrangemens: Richard J. Reidy Funeral Home, Lorain.

Mason had told friends that he had met a large number of gays in uniform after he was drafted into military service in the early 1950s.

He said he found that fact surprising. He was even more amazed that heterosexual servicemen treated him and other gay comrades with respect.

Mason believed the reason for the lack of testosterone-filled hubris was simple. During wartime, soldiers were more preoccupied with staying alive than worrying about their fellows’ sexual preferences.

I never met Mason, who resided in Lakewood, Ohio, before he died Nov. 4, 2007, at age 76. I learned about his military experience and other aspects of his life while writing “A Life Story” obituary feature about him for The Plain Dealer in Cleveland, Ohio, which was published Dec. 3, 2007.

I gleaned facts, anecdotes and comments by interviewing his friends and reviewing an oral history he had recorded for the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) Collection at the Western Reserve Historical Society.

Did Selective Service ask Mason about his sexual orientation? Did Mason tell? I don’t have the answer to those questions.

In reality, such questions and answers had no effect on his soldiering experience. He loved the Army. It allowed him to travel away from the small village of Clinton, Ohio, where he grew up, and to gain self-confidence.

Mason later became a promoter of his urban neighborhood in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, and its LGBT community. He also became a political activist with the Log Cabin Republicans.

You have to wonder. What would Mason say about the “Don’t ask, Don’t tell” debate?

This essay was written by Alana Baranick, a freelance writer from Brooklyn, Ohio, and director of the Society of Professional Obituary Writers, who swears that she learned most of what she knows by writing obituaries. To comment on this post, find its twin on Alana’s Facebook page.

Ann Brand

Ann Brand packed a lot of living into “The Dash Between” Feb. 13, 1924, when she was born Anna Ivka in Cleveland, Ohio, and Jan. 16, 2010, when she died at St. John Westshore Hospital in Westlake, Ohio.

She raised five kids, drove a school bus in Avon, Ohio, worked as a cashier at Discount Drug Mart in Westlake and volunteered at the Senior Center in North Ridgeville, Ohio, during her “Dash,” a.k.a. life.

Her life story is featured in the Sunday, February 7, 2010, edition of The Elyria Chronicle-Telegram.

To recommend people for “The Dash Between” obit features for the Elyria Chronicle, Medina County Gazette, ObitsOhio.com or other print or online publications, contact Alana Baranick at alana.baranick@obitsohio.com or 216-862-2617.

Cynthia Harsa

Cynthia Harsa (nee Grego), 54, of Lorain, Ohio, a 1973 North Olmsted High School graduate, died Thursday, January 28, 2010.

 She was born March 17, 1955, in Bay Village, Ohio, and grew up in North Olmsted, Ohio. She resided in Lorain for the last 23 years.

Mrs. Harsa worked at Flingers at the meat counter. She previously worked for Tops in Elyria, Ohio, starting in 1986.

 Her life was her family. Cynthia was a member of Cross Community Church in Elyria. She enjoyed colleting cookie jars and Pillsbury Doughboy figurines.

 Survivors include her husband of 34 years, Barry W. Harsa Sr.; sons, Barry W. Harsa Jr. of San Antonio, Texas and Jeremy M.(Nikki) Harsa and Fred Lozano Jr., both of Lorain; daughters, Angela M. Harsa and Carmen Lozano, both of Lorain; sisters, Sandra Grego of Columbus, Ohio, and Elizabeth Smith of Elyria; grandchildren, Dominic, Talia and Kaitlynn Harsa and Nicholas and Olivia Lozano; and many nieces, nephews and friends.

 She was preceded in death by her parents, John A. and Nora E. (nee Dillow) Grego, and a brother, John Grego, Jr.

 Family will receive friends from 2-6 p.m. Sunday, January 31, 2010, at Richard J. Reidy Funeral Home, 1783 East 31st Street, South Lorain, (440) 277-8164, where funeral service will be held at 10 a.m. Monday, February 1, 2010. Rev. Chanuncey Bowen, pastor of The Messiah Ministry, Elyria, will officiate. Burial will follow at Sunset Memorial Park, North Olmsted.

This obituary was composed by the funeral home and the family and edited slightly by ObitsOhio.com.

Tom Kuns

Today - Sunday, January 24, 2009 - The Elyria Chronicle-Telegram features “The Dash Between” Dec. 20, 1941, when Tom Kuns was born in Sandusky, and Jan. 2, 2010, when the Lorain barber died at home of a heart attack at age 68.

Tom groomed the heads of many Lorain politicians, clergymen and children and could carry on conversations of interest to each of them. Politics became his favorite topic in recent years.

Read Tom’s story and view photos depicting him and his family, beginning with a portrait of Tom at age 1, here.

To recommend people for “The Dash Between” obit features for the Elyria Chronicle, Medina County Gazette, ObitsOhio.com or other print or online publications, contact Alana Baranick at alana.baranick@obitsohio.com or 216-862-2617.

Ray Church

My feature about “The Dash Between”  October 9, 1918, when Wellington VFW chaplain Ray Church was born, and December 23, 2009, when the retired radio and TV repairman died, landed on the front page of the Elyria Chronicle on Sunday, January 10, 2010.

The 91-year-old lifelong resident of Wellington, Ohio, was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for his service as a radio operator with the 176th Field Artillery Battalion in France during World War II.

Ray was honored in October 2009 by the Wellington Fullbackers for his more than 50 years of raising the flag at Wellington Dukes home football games.

Click this link to read Ray’s story.

To recommend people for “The Dash Between” obit features for the Chronicle, Gazette, ObitsOhio.com or other print or online publications, contact Alana Baranick at alana.baranick@obitsohio.com or 216-862-2617.

Dick Zunt

Dick Zunt, 78, of Cleveland, Ohio, retired Plain Dealer sportswriter and champion of all high school athletes, coaches and athletic events, died January 2, 2010.

After retiring with more than 40 years of shining a spotlight on high school sports, Dick performed assorted duties for various Ohio High School Athletic Association’s state tournaments and state track meets.

He also served on the Sports Advisory Council for the Ohio Bicentennial Commission, even in his retirement.

Read more about Dick’s career and his selfless spirit in the obituary written by his friend Mike Peticca, the commentary by fellow sportswriter Dennis Manoloff and the column by Terry Pluto in The Plain Dealer. (Click their names to access their articles.)

Jo Corrigan, who works in the Plain Dealer research department, remembered some of the qualities that endeared Dick to more than just the sports community.

“Dick would crack a joke to lighten a moment and giggle at his own joke,” Corrigan said . “Dick Zunt was everyone’s support. He was there if you lost a loved one. He would be at the wake.

“Dick provided rides to friends with car troubles or health issues. If he thought it would help, he gave money to folks struggling through tough times.

“He had a passion for his work with high school athletes and the news. He had a strong sense of fairness. He spoke with love, respect and pride about his children.

 ”I have often heard the phrase ‘men for others’ associated with St. Ignatius and Jesuit philosophy. Dick Zunt lived that philosophy.”

Dan Coughlin, a former Plain Dealer sportswriter, retired Fox Channel 8 sportscaster and one of Dick’s best friends, delivered the eulogy. The Plain Dealer recorded it.

Friends may call from 2-4 and 6-9 p.m. Tuesday, January 5, 2010, at Chambers Funeral Home, 4420 Rocky River Drive, Cleveland.

Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Wednesday, January 6, 2010, at St. Patrick Catholic Church (West Park), 4427 Rocky River Drive, Cleveland.

Condolences and more: www.chambersfuneral.com.

This “In Remembrance” of Dick Zunt was compiled by another of Dick’s friends, Alana Baranick, former Plain Dealer obituary writer.

Bernie O'Donnell

I recently had the privilege of writing feature obituaries for two exemplary fathers: Bernie O’Donnell and Tommie Lee Jackson Sr.  Their stories ran earlier this week in the Elyria Chronicle and Medina County Gazette, respectively.

Bernie O’Donnell, a retired Elyria carpet salesman who died December 6, 2009, at age 91, shared hands-on parenting chores with his wife back in the 1950s and ’60s, when changing diapers and making breakfast for seven kids was considered “women’s work.”

Tommie Lee Jackson Sr.

Tommie Jackson Sr., 65, a retired foundry worker who also died in December, and his wife considered themselves the parents of 18 children. They never distinguished between those who were born to them, adopted by them or placed with them through family services.

Read ”The Dash Between” for Bernie O’Donnell in the Elyria Chronicle of December 27, 2009, here.

Here’s the link to Tommie Jackson’s “Dash” ran in the Medina County Gazette on December 28, 2009.

To recommend people for “The Dash Between” obit features for the Chronicle, Gazette, ObitsOhio.com or other print or online publications, contact Alana Baranick at alana.baranick@obitsohio.com or 216-862-2617.