June 25, 2009

OBITUARIES

Richard Miller

Richard (Dick) Miller died at Community Hospital in Springfield on Thursday, June 18. He had turned 94 on March 31 and celebrated the event with a gathering of friends. He was born in Spencerville, Ohio, to the late Elizabeth and John Miller.

He was predeceased by his brothers Nolan, John and Gaylord.

At 15 months old, Dick became deaf due to an illness. Dick’s mother was determined that he would not be held back by his disability. To this end she worked with him very diligently, helping him to learn lip reading as well as the written word. His elder brother, Nolan, spent long hours, as Dick told it, insisting that he learn words by reading and memorizing from the dictionary. Dick used to say, “Most people think of a word as a sound, but I had to memorize their image.” Sometimes, when talking with Dick, he would stop and spell out a word in the air with a finger, before going on with the conversation on paper.

Dick was home-schooled by his mother, then the family moved to Detroit so that he could attend Mackenzie High School, graduating in 1936. Concerned for his safety on the busy streets of Detroit, since he couldn’t hear car horns or traffic and had been hit several times, the family spent time in the country whenever possible.

Dick was an accomplished painter and artist. He attended the Art Student League of New York for two years (1940–1942) and again in 1965, where he studied under George Bridgman and Harry Sternberg. He also attended Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan, developing an expressionistic style to his work and artistic curiosity and skills that would be the focus of his life. He loved the natural world and his work expressed his emotional experience of it. His favorite artist was Egon Schiele.

“Being deaf is very lonely,” he often said, “but I’d rather have my eyes and see all the beauty than be blind.”

Dick moved to Yellow Springs 55 years ago to live with Nolan in a now-gone house adjacent to the Antioch College science building and later they were joined by their mother. Dick and Nolan bought property on Glen Road (Grinnell Circle), southeast of Yellow Springs, where Dick built a small home and studio for himself. After their mother died, Nolan built a small home adjacent to Dick’s, joined by a breezeway.

Dick was an avid gardener of both vegetables and flowers, making the Glen Road home visually beautiful inside and out. Both excellent cooks, Dick and Nolan lived there together until shortly before Nolan’s death at age 99. At the age of 93 Dick moved to Yellow Springs, where he could walk to the library on his own. He made a lovely home for himself again, surrounding himself with beautiful objects he had made and collected over the years.

Dick was a self-employed artist for most of his life, which was a wonderful outlet for his love of beauty and his sense of humor. Besides being a gifted draftsman and painter, he experimented with a wide range of materials, including woodcuts (printmaking), oils, pen and ink, stone sculpture and pottery. In the late 60s and early 70s he taught ceramics for the Yellow Springs Arts Council (at Carr Greenhouses on South High Street), teaching with deft demonstrations the techniques of wheel-thrown pottery and glazing. He loved to try new glaze combinations, testing new recipes on small tiles or tiny thrown test bowls and coming up with exciting combinations he would then spray carefully onto his pottery.

During this time he also taught painting classes to any Yellow Springs youth who were interested. He, along with Dottie Moore, hand-painted all the posters for the Little Art Theatre for 35 years (when there were three movies a week) until Antioch bought the Little Art in 1987.

Dick was a very gregarious person who enjoyed getting out and meeting people. He traveled the world, including Asia, Europe and South America, which all influenced his art. When Nolan went to Europe on sabbatical, Dick went with him and then traveled to many different countries on his own. When asked how he got by, not speaking or knowing any language but English, he would mime, showing that there was a universal language of friendship. He liked to make friends, and did so as he traveled. He often talked about Kai-san, a Japanese Zen monk who lived for several years near Yellow Springs. They became friends and Dick traveled to Japan to visit him and developed an interest in oriental art and philosophy.

Dick and Nolan had a remarkable relationship. Dick often said how important Nolan was to him throughout his life. When Dick didn’t understand something he read, Nolan would patiently explain it, giving Dick an ongoing education. Dick was devoted to his brother, helping him live at home as long as possible as Nolan gradually lost his sight and hearing. Throughout his life, Dick used his wonderful sense of humor to lighten both his solitude and time spent with friends, and he didn’t need words to get his humor across to whomever he was talking to.

A memorial service will be held the last weekend in August, the date and time to be announced. In memory of Dick, donations may be made to the Yellow Springs Senior Center, as the center was central to helping Dick live on his own to the end. During the last year of his life, he expressed gratitude for the center’s help and had wished to do something in return. For questions on the memorial, contact Faith Morgan, 937-767-2551.

Thurlow Jefferson

Thurlow Jefferson Sr. passed away on Father’s Day, June 21, surrounded by family. Thurlow was born in 1928 in Yellow Springs to Nathan and Lillian (Thompson) Jefferson.

Thurlow graduated from the Ohio Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Home in Xenia. He later served in the United States Army, bravely fighting in the Korean War. Shortly after being honorably discharged, Thurlow became employed with Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. While at Wright-Patterson, Thurlow was selected to attend a summer training institute to further develop his electronic and diagnostic skills. He and his family spent the whole summer of 1973 at Fitzsimmons Air Force Base, in Denver. Thurlow went on to become a quality control inspector and later retired after 36 years of dedicated service.

Affectionately known as “Jeff,” he was actively involved with his church and community. At the First Baptist Church in Yellow Springs, Thurlow served as chairman of the Deacon Board. He also was a member of the Senior Choir, Male Chorus and Pulpit Committee. During the building of the church’s new location on Dayton Street, Thurlow and his wife, Ruddnette, served as committee chairpersons of the church dedication program.

One of Thurlow’s most cherished memories was serving as scout master to the Webelos Cub Scouts. Some of the group’s members were his son, Thurlow Jefferson Jr., Martin Brown, Alston Simpson and Ben Bebko, to name a few.

After spending time with the youth of Yellow Springs, Thurlow later became a member of the Yellow Springs Men’s Group. In his free time, Thurlow was an avid hunter fisherman and he took several trips to Lake Erie with his brother and local resident, Gilbert Newsome.

He was preceded in death by his sister, Betty McCormick; and brother, Nathan Jefferson.

Thurlow is survived by his loving and dedicated wife of 47 years, Ruddnette Dixon Jefferson; Martena Burnside of Springfield, Ohio; Mark Mabra, of Concord, N.H.; Kimberly (Michael) Bragg, of Morristown, Tenn.; Tracy Jefferson, Alpharetta, Ga.; Thurlow Jefferson Jr., Dayton, Ohio; and Sharon Jefferson, suburban Detroit, Mich.

Visitation will be held on Saturday, June 27, at the First Baptist Church, beginning at 11 a.m., followed by the funeral at 1 p.m., with internment at Glen Forest Cemetery after the service.

Sagha Skinner

Sagha Skinner of Yellow Springs died Tuesday, June 9, at his residence. He was 49.

He was born March 25, 1960, to Thelma and Elliot Skinner in Brooklyn, N.Y. He moved to Ohio in 1983 to attend Central State University.

From that point on, Sagha made Yellow Springs his home. An avid sports fan, Sagha enjoyed coaching youth sports in Yellow Springs and creating athletic opportunities for both boys and girls at the youth level. Sagha was a constant presence at many sporting events in town and his desire to support the youth in town never ceased. 

His family and many friends will miss his hearty laugh and generous smile that helped them make it through the day. 

He was preceded in death by his father, Elliot Skinner.

He is survived by his son, Jordan Skinner and daughter, Theresa Skinner, both of Yellow Springs; his mother, Thelma, of New York; one sister, Gail (Lawrence) Holland of Spring Valley, N.Y.; two brothers, Victor, of Manhattan and Touray, of Freehold, N.J.; one stepson, Jovan King of Dayton; stepmother Gwen Mikell of Washington, D.C.; former wife and mother of his children, Lorena Skinner; two aunts, Patricia Smith of Wichita, Kan., and Bernice Walcott of Caracas, Venezuela; two uncles, Robert, of San Francisco, and Morris, of Brooklyn; a special friend, Karen Adams of Yellow Springs and a host of other relatives and friends.

A memorial service was held Monday, June 15 at the Central Chapel AME Church, Yellow Springs. A private graveside service was conducted Tuesday, June 16, at the St. Paul Catholic Church Cemetery, Yellow Springs, where Sagha was laid to rest next to his father-in-law, Charles Christopher.

In lieu of flowers the family requests that donations be made to US Bank under the name Sagha Skinner.

David Landes memorial celebration planned

Family and friends of David Landes will host a potluck celebration in his memory at the Glen Helen Building, Saturday, July 11, from 3 to 8 p.m. There will be music, stories, good food and good friends. All are welcome.

Landes died unexpectedly on Oct. 13, 2008. He was a 1965 graduate of Antioch College, and received his Ph.D. in economics from Washington University in St. Louis, Mo.

Mass for Umoja Bakari

A mass will be held at St. Paul’s Catholic Church on Saturday, June 27, at 5 p.m., to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the passing of Umoja Iddi Bakari. All are welcome to join Umoja’s family in this memorial occasion, as well as for the reception to follow.