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Obituary

Vito Berretta (March 25, 1958 – July 7, 2012) 27-year veteran of FDNY dies at 54  – NY Daily News

Vito Berretta (March 25, 1958 - July 7, 2012)

Vito Berretta (March 25, 1958 – July 7, 2012)

27-year veteran of FDNY dies at 54
Lt. Vito Berretta known as extreme athlete

BY JOE KEMP / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
PUBLISHED: MONDAY, JULY 9, 2012, 2:00 AM

A veteran city firefighter, who was known as an extreme athlete who organized grueling hikes through the mountains upstate and 50-mile bicycle tours on Long Island, died on Saturday. He was 54. Lt. Vito Berretta — a 27-year vet of the FDNY who was assigned to Engine Co. 282 in Borough Park, Brooklyn — died from complications after a heart attack while with his family, friends said.

Colleagues remembered Berretta, who also helped with rescue efforts after the Sept. 11 attacks, as an inspiration who was strong in both body and mind.“He was the type of guy that wanted to do and see everything,” said FDNY Captain George Farinacci, who worked at Ladder Co. 148 for 10 years in the same firehouse with Berretta. “He also wanted everyone to come along with him for the trip.”

Farinacci said that Berretta organized two trips a year for his fellow smoke-eaters. One was a 50-mile bicycle ride in Montauk, L.I.; the other, a hiking trip in the Adirondacks.The mountain climbs were “infamous, because it was so grueling that the two Marines we had in the house were pleading for mercy,” said Farinacci, a 21-year veteran firefighter. “The guys couldn’t keep up with him.”

If Berretta wasn’t traveling, or taking pictures to add to his collection of thousands of photographs, he could be found with his nose in a book, Farinacci said. Berretta — a married father of three — would recommend books to people, especially if he heard you were going somewhere.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/27-year-veteran-fdny-dies-54-article-1.1110179#ixzz20F9NxJso
27-year veteran of FDNY dies at 54  – NY Daily News.

Vito is the husband of my dear friend and colleague Genevieve Berretta. Our hearts go out to you and your family. It was an honor to know Vito and to have had his images of neons shared on this site. Peace.

Sound recording of Vito Berretta’s funeral procession.

Remembering Ray Douglas Bradbury (August 22, 1920 — June 5, 2012)

© Ray Bradbury

Spingarn’s – Orange, NJ

© Frank H. Jump

© Frank H. Jump

SPINGARN-Harry. On September 4, 2002. A former clothing merchant in Orange, NJ. Survived by his wife Joyce (nee Frankel), sons, David, Arthur, and Roger, and their wives, five grandchildren, and a brother Edwin. – NY Times Paid Notice Obituary

Leys The Jeweler – Butte, MT

© Frank H. Jump

Butte Public Library - Flickr

The Jewelers' Circular - August 1901 - Google Books

Wilkes-Barre Clothier – DeMun Sign Co – Boscov’s Boston Store – A Christmas Carol – Fowler, Dick & Walker – Marguerite Dick Obit – April 17, 2011

© Frank H. Jump

Google Books

© Frank H. Jump

© Frank H. Jump

© Frank H. Jump

Courtesy of Captain Clint – Northeast Rails

Boston Store ad – Flicker

The Boston Store is on South Main Street, just off Public Square in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. Now Boscov’s, it originally opened in 1879, but sold to Boscov after millions of dollars of renovation destroyed by Hurricane Agnes flood in the early seventies.

WILKES-BARRE BOSCOV’S TIMELINE

1879: Fowler, Dick and Walker, three Scottish immigrants, establish a department store in downtown Wilkes-Barre.

1911: Solomon Boscov arrives in Reading and begins peddling merchandise in Berks and Lancaster counties. He later opens a store in downtown Reading.

1954: Solomon’s son, Albert Boscov, and son-in-law, Edwin Lakin, join the company and quickly raise sales. They open a second store in 1962.

1950s: The Fowler, Dick & Walker store undergoes a $5 million renovation project that takes nearly 10 years. It includes an expansion to South Franklin Street, the installation of escalators and more floors, and a 1,000-vehicle parking facility.

1972: The store sustains extensive damage when Tropical Storm Agnes causes flooding. The same year, Boscov’s Department Store opens its first store outside of its hometown of Reading.

1980: Boscov’s Department Store expands to Wilkes-Barre, purchasing what is now known as Fowler, Dick & Walker The Boston Store, as well as another store in the Laurel Mall, Hazle Township. The Wilkes-Barre store remains open during the conversion and holds a grand opening the following year – Times Leader

Christmas Carol – Fowler Dick & Walker

Marguerite Dick |   Visit Guest Book

April 17, 2011

Marguerite Dick, 76, of Tunkhannock, formerly of Wilkes-Barre, died Sunday, April 17, 2011, in Mercy Special Care Hospital, Nanticoke. Born in New York City, N.Y., Marguerite was a daughter of the late James H. and Margaret Pezneker Wilson. She grew up in New York City, but resided for most of her adult life in Wilkes-Barre. Marguerite had resided in the Tunkhannock area for the past nine months. She had been employed by TWA, New York, N.Y., for several years. She worked as clerk for Fowler, Dick & Walker, The Boston Store, Wilkes-Barre. She had also been employed by First Eastern Bank, and PNC Bank, Wilkes-Barre branches, American Red Cross, Wilkes-Barre, and Greenwald & Berk Insurance Company, Kingston. Marguerite was an avid bowler. She was an active volunteer for numerous area cancer groups, and was a member of First Church of Christ, Wilkes-Barre. Preceding her in death, in addition to her parents, were husband, Robert Hale Dick; and brother, James Wilson Jr. Surviving are her children, Christopher R. Dick, Brigantine, N.J.; Patricia Ann Wardell and husband John, Tunkhannock, Pa., with whom she resided; Douglas Dick, Mehoopany, Pa.; grandson, Kyle J. Wardell; and brother, Woodrow Wilson, Edwardsville. Funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m. Thursday from the Harold C. Snowdon Funeral Home Inc., 140 N. Main Street, Shavertown. Pastor Larry Reed, of the Harvest Assembly Church, Harveys Lake, will officiate. Interment will be made in the Forty Fort Cemetery. Friends may call from 4 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the American Cancer Society , 190 Welles St., Suite 118, Forty Fort, PA 18704, or American Lung Association of PA, 71 N. Franklin St., Suite 207, Wilkes-Barre, PA 18701. – Times Leader

Frans Broekveldt III – 2 Oktober 1940 – 9 Februari 2009 – Amsterdam – Badhoevendorp, NL

Frans as a child.
Frans Broekveldt III - Adolescent in the Dam Square

Frans Broekveldt III – Adolescent in the Dam Square

Frans as a young adult.

Frans as a young adult.

Rekening from our last meal together with my mother at a local Chinese restaurant.

“Rekening” from our last meal together with my mother at a local Chinese restaurant.

My maternal uncle, Frans Broekveldt III died in his sleep over the weekend in his new home in Badhoevendorp, Amsterdam. Frans was survived by his wife Dickey Broekveldt, two daughters Susan & Sonia, and his grand daughter Linsey and grand son Rick and his only sister Willy Broekveldt-Jump. Condolences may be sent to the family Broekveldt – Azaleastraat 38, 1171WV, Badhoevendorp, Amsterdam, NL and Willy Jump, 1445 Geneva Loop 17E, Brooklyn NY 11239. 

I’ll always remember him listening to his Ben E. King albums up in the attic bedroom on the Geuzenstraat. On occasion he would read to me from his thick oversized book about evolution or rail against the evil imperialist and racist America. He loved his motorcycle when he was riding it. He cherished his grandchildren and family. 

Willy Jump & Amy Ashworth [1924 – 2017] – PFLAG Moms from Nederland

NYC Gay Pride March 1992

NYC Gay Pride March 1992

Parents of Gays  briefly became POLAGM – (Parents of Lesbians & Gay Men) & ultimately PFLAG (Parents & Friends of Lesbians & Gays). My suggestion to the PFLAG board one year to follow our course of reflecting inclusion in our organization’s name was to call ourselves PFLABAGASTR – Parents & Friends of Lesbians & Bisexuals & Gays & Sometimes Transgendered. They didn’t go for it.

My mother, Willy Jump, first marched with me at the National Gay & Lesbian March on Washington in 1979, of which I was part of the planning in 1978 in Philadelphia as representative of Gay People at Queens College. We went backstage to meet some of the National POG parents and NYC parents, Amy Ashworth being the woman my mom was drawn to immediately since they look like sisters (and later became as close as sisters). I also met the British gay rock & roller Tom Robinson, with whom I became pen-pals for a year and later visited in London in 1980.

1980 was my Mom’s first NYC  Gay & Lesbian March. I had been marching with my girlfriend from John Adams High School, Elaine Calenda since 1976 (the Bi-Centennial Summer of Love). I told my mom to meet me on the corner of  Bedford & Christopher Streets an hour before the march actually begun it’s illegal lurch uptown towards Central Park- thinking it wouldn’t be that crowded yet. I’m not sure when the first legally obtained permit for the march was but it was a march until it became a parade.

So here I am looking for my Mom amongst the throngs of leather queens, drag queens, dykes on bikes and twinks screaming, “MOM!  MOM?” on a nearby lightpost that I had climbed up. Almost immediately this handsome older guy with an impish smile and  a little space between his teeth came up to me and tugged my pantleg shouting over the din in an incredibly coarse voice that seemed incongruous to his appearance – putting his fingernail up to his mouth to hide his incredulity- “You really aren’t looking for your MOM but some big queen you call MOM – right?” No- I said, slowly realizing to whom I was responding. “I really am looking for my Mom.”

Then in rapid fire breathy dragon voice that sputtered like a typewriter on steroids – “OH MY GOD! If my mother would just even acknowledge my being gay let alone come march with me! COME MARCH WITH ME? I could just die right now and go to heaven. Do you know how lucky you are? I have to meet this WOMAN! MOM! MOM! MOM!”

And almost as soon as he had appeared , so did my mother “Hi Frankie. Who is your friend?” “This is the infamous Harvey Fierstein” I proudly exclaimed (“Points! Points! You are scoring here Harvey raspily whispered”)- “and this is my mother, Willy Jump,”  I continued.  Harvey grabbed my mother around the neck and planted a wet one on her cheeks.

Coincidentally, the two of them would run into each other for the next decade at LGBT events and panel discussions. I ran into Harvey repeatedly over the years from book signings to rides on the subway while he was going to the theatre to perform Torch Song-  to spotting him on Parade floats – always with a warm greeting “HOW’S YOUR MOTHER?”

Harvey! Mother is fine! She says hello!

PFLAG Annual Dinner 1985

PFLAG Annual Dinner 1985

International Gay Games Amsterdam 1996

International Gay Games Amsterdam 1996

PFLAG Annual Dinner 2006

PFLAG Annual Dinner 2005

PFLAG Annual Dinner 2005

PFLAG Annual Dinner 2005

UPDATED: April 18, 2017

I learned today of the passing of Amy Ashworth. She will be forever in my heart.

OBITUARY:

Amy Ashworth

Ojai, CA

Amy Ashworth (born Am?lie Wilhelmine Marie Everard) passed away in Ojai on April 6, 2017, at the age of 92. She was born in Haarlem, the Netherlands, on August 31, 1924.

Amy grew up in the Netherlands, the youngest of nine children in a blended family. As a young woman she worked as a nurse during World War II in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam an experience that proved to be formative in her life-long passion for justice and immigrated alone to the United States after the war. While working at the Dutch Consulate in New York City she met and married her partner in love and in life, Richard Goodspeed Ashworth. The pair became the proud parents of three boys, Pieter Thomas (Tucker), Everard and Eric. As Dick’s practice of admiralty law flourished, the Ashworths moved to Bronxville in Westchester County, from which home base Amy was the leader in many family hiking, camping and canoeing expeditions. Most famous among these were month-long camping trips at Lake Saranac in the Adirondack Mountains. Dick’s business brought many opportunities for travel abroad and visits home to the Netherlands. The couple continued their global travels after Dick’s retirement.

Amy and Dick’s life took an unanticipated turn when their eldest son Tucker came out to them in 1972. This event transformed the couple into gay rights activists, advocates not only for their own sons, but for all gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people, particularly youth. Dick and Amy were founding members of Parents of Gays, which later became the New York chapter of Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG). The couple were formative in establishment of PFLAG as a national organization, today comprising 400 chapters across the US. They worked tirelessly for gay civil liberties, in helping parents accept their gay children, and supporting people whose parents found that acceptance difficult. It was an incredibly moving experience marching in the 1987 New York Gay Pride Parade with Dick and Amy and the PFLAG contingent. It wasn’t just the heightened cheers from the crowd for the parents group, or the shouts of recognition for Amy as the parade marched down 5th Avenue, but most tellingly the man who stepped out into the parade to quietly shake Amy’s hand and thank her for saving his life with her compassion.

Amy was a dynamic and compelling public speaker. In the 1970s and 1980s Dick and Amy lobbied Congress for gay rights and appeared on national television shows such as Phil Donahue and Merv Griffin to talk about their personal experiences and encourage other families to embrace their gay children. For a time Amy hosted a gay community-themed talk show on New York cable television and, among many honors, was a 1992 recipient of the Stonewall Award, which recognizes individuals whose efforts have enhanced the quality of life for gay men and women.

After the boys were grown and embarked on their careers Tucker in public relations, Everard in environmental science and Eric as a literary agent Dick and Amy moved back to Manhattan, happily residing in the West Village and enjoying the cultural and culinary delights of New York City.

Dick and Amy lost their two gay sons to AIDS. Amy was not one to let these heartbreaking events stop her work on behalf of the gay community, and she and Dick became advocates for AIDS research funds and the rights of those infected with HIV.

Dick passed away in 1998 and Amy established the Richard G. Ashworth Scholarship to assist gay youth in attending college. She continued her volunteer work, first as president of the New York chapter of PFLAG and then working in hospice and at God’s Love We Deliver, preparing meals for those with HIV/AIDS.

In 2007 Amy relocated to Ojai, California, to be closer to her son Everard and his family. In Ojai she continued her volunteer work at HELP of Ojai while enjoying the social life at The Gables and visits from her family and friends from all over the world.

Amy is survived by her son Everard, daughter-in-love Brooke, and beloved grandchildren Henry and Emma Ashworth as well as her son-in-spirit Gordon Stewart, God-daughter Susan Stewart, son-in-law Rick Kot, brother-in-law Karel Dahmen, sister-in-law Joan Nichols and numerous nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews both in the US and the Netherlands. The family gives grateful recognition to Amy’s longtime care-giver and friend, Chris Hansen.

A private celebration of life will be held at a later date. Should you desire to honor Amy through a memorial contribution, the family suggests a donation to PFLAG. https://www.pflag.org/supportpflag

Published in Ventura County Star on Apr. 9, 2017– See more at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/venturacountystar/obituary.aspx?n=amy-ashworth&pid=185028135&#sthash.GY3fFEJm.dpuf

UPDATE:

Willy Jump died on April 22, 2020 from complications of COVID-19.

Donations in the name of Willy Jump can be made to:

PFLAG NYC
130 East 25th Street, Suite M1
New York City, N.Y. 10010

Checks made payable to PFLAG NYC

or online @PFLAG NYC
or http://www.pflagnyc.org/donate

Where donations can also be made in the memory of Willy Jump

For Philip H. Reed (February 21, 1949 – November 6, 2008) – World AIDS Day 2008

Facebook

Phil Reed- Facebook

Phil and I dated for almost a year in 1989 after working together in ACTUP and on other various Gay/Lesbian interests. Although our relationship was often tumultuous, I remember him fondly and always admired his tenacity and honesty. Few black politicians, entertainers, or public figures were (or still are) openly gay (and openly HIV+). Reed dedicated his life to public service and he shall be sorely missed.

Reed was most happy when at his family summer home on Martha’s Vineyard where he and his twin sister spent many happy summers as children with their mom, who was of German descent. I recall him proudly showing me around the island in August of 1989. In the afternoon setting sun at Gay Head, we walked through a narrow pathway towards the water where his family had beach access- also which was adjacent to Lillian Hellman’s property. He told me about the time he had seen her there just staring out at the sunset as we were. I don’t think I have ever seen him living in the moment and full of life as I did that afternoon- except perhaps at various political rallies. Coincidentally, Reed was in Berlin the week the wall came down and that was also thrilling for him.

Phil Reed & Andy Humm at the ACT-UP Stop the Church Rally 1989 - St. Patricks Church

Phil Reed & Andy Humm at the ACT-UP Stop the Church Rally 1989 - St. Patrick's Church © Frank H. Jump

In 2000, we shared an oncologist which I told Phil officially made us alter kakers. Reed struggled with multiple myeloma to which he ultimately succumbed (and complications of pneumonia). I am glad he lived long enough to see Barack Obama win the Presidency. There will be a memorial for Phil Reed at the Riverside Church, Thursday December 4th from 6-8PM. More details below:

The family and friends of Philip H. Reed invite you to attend a memorial service celebrating Philip’s contributions to his community, his city and his country. Please join us at the Riverside Church, 490 Riverside Drive between W. 120th and W. 122nd Streets, on Thursday, December 4, 2008 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Philip’s family has requested that anyone wanting to honor Philip’s memory should make a contribution in his name to any of the following organizations:

The Callen-Lorde Health Center
356 W 18th St
New York, NY 10011
212-271-7200
www.callen-lorde.org

The Metropolitan Community Church of New York
446 W 36th St
New York, NY 10018
212-629-7440
www.mccny.org

The Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation
383 Main Ave 5th Floor
Norwalk CT 06851
209-229-0464
www.multiplemyeloma.org

Rauschenberg Dead @ 82

Talking Heads Speaking in Tongues - Rauschenberg Cover
Rauschenberg cover for Talking Heads Speaking in Tongues

BURNING DOWN THE HOUSE! I bought this limited edition Rauschenberg cover in 1983 @ Tower Records and never opened it. Now to dig it out. Irony: Rauschenberg outlived Tower Records. I went to a church as a child where they supposedly spoke in tongues and I knew then and there that religion was mumbo jumbo.

Rauschenberg Talking Heads cover

LA Times obit

Yale Arts Library Blog

We’ll Miss You Mr. Whipple

We'll Miss You Mr. Whipple
Dick Wilson – (July 30, 1916 – November 19, 2007), born Riccardo DiGuglielmo

I knew you were Italian!