Valley of Life | Online Memorial Blog

“Who are the best historians? Who are the storytellers? Who lived through the Great Depression of the ’30s, World War II that changed the whole psyche and map of the world, a Cold War, Joe McCarthy, Vietnam, the ’60s, that’s so often put down today and I think was an exhilarating and hopeful period, and, of course, the computer and technology. Who are the best ones to tell the story? Those who’ve borne witness to it. And they’re our storytellers.” Thus were the sentiments of the exceptional author Studs Terkel who passed away in Chicago today. He was 96 years old.

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We all have mentors or teachers that inspire us and make us better than we ever thought possible. For many of Hollywood’s finest actors and actresses, they lost that inspirational individual. On Friday, October 24, 2008, Milton Katselas died from heart failure at the Los Angeles Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. He was 75 years old.  Gene Hackman, George Clooney, Michelle Pfeiffer, Alec Baldwin and Patrick Swayze all studied under Katselas.

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Australian born Olive Riley, best known in online circles as the world oldest blogger, passed away on Saturday, July 12 at the age of 108.  A friend introduced Olive to blogging in 2007 and she was instantly hooked.

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Benihana restaurant owner and creator, Rocky Aoki, died July 10 at the age of 69 due to pneumonia, a complication from cancer.  His wife and six children were by his side in New York when he passed away.

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Beloved children entertainer, Larry Harmon, who became a household name as Bozo the Clown, died of congestive heart failure on Thursday, July 3 at the age of 83.  Harmon dauned the costume of Bozo the clown several times but mostly licensed the character and his likeness out to others.

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