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NORDGREN, GARY EUSTIS
09/07/02
Gary Eustis Nordgren, a retired maintenance worker, died Wednesday in a tractor accident at his home. He was 56. Mr. Nordgren was born in New Orleans and was a lifelong resident of Folsom. He retired from the maintenance department of the Causeway Commission. Survivors include his wife, Sandy Bulloch Nordgren; a son, Gary Nordgren Sr.; two daughters, Melissa Eshleman and Cynthia Nordgren; four brothers, Geoffrey, George, Glenn and Gordon "Butch" Nordgren; three sisters, Gretchen East, Gina Graham and Gayle Ross; and five grandchildren. A funeral will be held today at 3 p.m. at E.J. Fielding Funeral Home, 2260 W. 21st Ave., Covington. Visitation will begin at 1 p.m. Burial will be in Garden of the Pines Cemetery.
ARBUTHNOT, DAN A.
09/13/02
Dan A. Arbuthnot, a retired longshoreman, died Saturday of heart failure at Field Memorial Community Hospital in Centreville, Miss. He was 71. Mr. Arbuthnot was born in Centreville and lived in New Orleans for the past 30 years. Survivors include his wife, Jessie M. Arbuthnot; a son, Kevin Smith; four daughters, Shavone Arbuthnot, Lovie Kipp, Marydia Jennings and Denie K. Graham; a brother, James Arbuthnot; three sisters, Laura Mae Williams, Lovie Deajon and Irma Smith; 10 grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. A funeral will be held Saturday at noon at Emery Hill Church of God in Christ in Centreville. Burial will be in Emery Hill Cemetery. Williams Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
THURMAN, EARL
09/12/02
Earl Thurman, 80, oil industry manager
Earl Thurman, who survived four deadly Japanese prison camps in World War II and went on to a successful career in the oil industry, died Aug. 31 at his home in Algiers. He was 80.
A native of Denison, Texas, and a graduate of the University of Oklahoma, Mr. Thurman began his professional career with Magnolia Petroleum Co., which eventually became Mobil Oil. At the time of his retirement, Mr. Thurman had spent 33 years with Mobil, many of them as a manager in exploration and production.
Mr. Thurman saw five years of service in the Pacific Theater, nearly four of which he spent as a prisoner of war. At the time of his release, a sergeant with a Purple Heart, he was 6-foot-4 and weighed 103 pounds. He had survived malaria, beriberi, dengue fever, diphtheria and several brutal beatings, and he had been wounded in the fight for the peninsula of Bataan in the Philippines.
"Listen, I went through hell," he said in a Times-Picayune interview in 1995. "All of us did. I saw so many die. Oh, I tell you, I saw so many. In the big prison camp, they died at the rate of 350 a day. Buried in big trenches."
Held for a time in the notorious Billibid Prison in Manila, Mr. Thurman stayed alive on a diet of rice and tea.
"The only protein was from rice worms, little worms about an inch and a half long," he said. "The doctors always told us to eat them, they're protein, but I always picked mine out. I couldn't bring myself to eat a worm."
Eventually Mr. Thurman was sent to a prison camp outside Funatsu, Japan, where he worked in the lead and zinc mines. Once, while there, he was accused of stealing cigarettes and was tortured and beaten, a memory that haunted him the rest of his life.
"I would wake up screaming at night," he said. "I would dream they were beating me. My wife would shake me and wake me up. I think about it every day almost."
When he finally got the news that the war was over -- in a prison camp near Toyoma, Japan -- Mr. Thurman fell to his knees and cried. Then he ate a chocolate bar that was part of an American airdrop to the prisoners.
"I always thought we'd win the war; I just didn't know when," he said. "But I never gave up. Oh no, you couldn't do that. I never thought I'd die in there."
Mr. Thurman was a member of the Westside Christian Church in Algiers. His survivors include his wife, Doris M. Thurman; a daughter, Lou E. Thurman-Dolloff of Saratoga, Calif.; and two sisters, Esther Thurman Nachimson of Irving, Texas, and Doris Jean Mercer of Edmond, Okla.
A memorial service will be held Saturday at 1 p.m. at Westside Christian Church, 4000 MacArthur Blvd., Algiers. Visitation will begin at noon.
Mothe Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
HUNTER, ELLA ‘MA ME' HARVEY
09/19/02
Ella "Ma Me" Harvey Hunter, a homemaker, died Saturday of complications from Alzheimer's disease at Pendleton Memorial Methodist Hospital. She was 83. Mrs. Hunter was born in Brundidge, Ala., and lived in New Orleans for the past 50 years. She was a member of Christian Fellowship Cathedral, Plymouth Rock Baptist Church, Eastern Stars and the Original Exclusive Twenties Social and Pleasure Club. Survivors include her companion, Juan "Pappa John" Salono; a daughter, Constance Lavigne; two brothers, Ennoris Harvey of Chicago and William Harvey of Detroit; a sister, Mildred Flowers; three grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren. A funeral will be held Saturday at 10 a.m. at Christian Fellowship Cathedral, 7643 Lehigh St. Visitation will begin at 8:30 a.m. Burial will be in Mount Olivet Mausoleum. Davis Mortuary Service is in charge of arrangements.
FOX, DOROTHY DAVIS
09/19/02
Dorothy Davis Fox, a retired social worker, died Sept. 6 at her home in San Diego, Calif. She was 76. Mrs. Fox was born in Ashtabula, Ohio, lived in Cleveland and New Orleans and in Wilmette, Ill., for the past 30 years. She received a bachelor's degree from Newcomb College and a master's degree in social work from Tulane University. She was a psychiatric social worker at agencies in New Orleans; Akron, Ohio; Cleveland; Chicago; and Northfield, Ill. She also was a coordinating therapist for psychiatric services at the Josselyn Center in Northfield for 25 years. Survivors include two daughters, Ann Kathryn Fox of San Diego and Dorothy B. Fox of Bowman, Ga.; and two sisters, Mary Methe of Wilmette, Ill., and Barbara Levenhagen of New Orleans. A memorial service was held Saturday at First Unitarian Universalist Church in San Diego. Benbough Chapel in San Diego was in charge of arrangements.
ARMSTEAD, ELDRIDGE MICHAEL ‘PIG' ‘EL'
09/14/02
Eldridge Michael "Pig" "El" Armstead, a roofer with TCA Contracting Co., died Sept. 6 of a gunshot wound at Charity Hospital. He was 48. Mr. Armstead was a lifelong resident of New Orleans. Survivors include his companion, Kim Williams; a son, Ryan Crawford; two daughters, Cyntrell and Erica Armstead; his mother, Ruby Bass Armstead; and seven brothers, Warren Armstead Sr., Eddie and Theodore Armstead, Frederick Armstead Sr., Lionel Armstead Sr., Nathaniel Armstead Sr. and King Robinson. A funeral will be held today at 11 a.m. at D.W. Rhodes Funeral Home, 3933 Washington Ave. Visitation will begin at 10 a.m. Burial will be in Mount Olivet Cemetery and Mausoleum.
HEBERT, MARK S.
09/12/02
Mark S. Hebert, a machinist at Scott Armature of Harvey, died Aug. 4 of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease at his home. He was 45. Mr. Hebert was born in Belle Chasse and lived in Terrytown for the past four years. He attended Belle Chasse High School. Survivors include a son, Jonathan Hebert of Ponchatoula; a daughter, Tessa Hebert of Ponchatoula; his father, Haren Hebert; his mother, Doris Lee Hebert; and two sisters, Gail Fank of Portland, Ore., and Peggy H. Sessions. A funeral was held Aug. 12 at Westside/Leitz-Eagan Funeral Home.
NEWMAN, MARIETTA
09/10/02
Marietta Newman, a retired seamstress, died Thursday at Waldon Nursing Home. She was 84. Mrs. Newman was born in New Orleans and lived in Kenner for the past year. She was a parishioner of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church. Survivors include a stepdaughter, Edna Floyd of Crosby, Miss. A Mass will be said Wednesday at 11 a.m. at Richardson Funeral Home, 11112 Jefferson Highway, River Ridge. Visitation will begin at 10 a.m. Burial will be in Providence Memorial Park.
CURRERA, IRMA PETROLIA
09/21/02
Irma Petrolia Currera, a retired receptionist, died Wednesday of cancer at her home. She was 77. Mrs. Currera was born in St. Rose and lived in Kenner for the past 19 years. She was a member of Chateau Estates Lakefront Garden Club. Survivors include a son, Michael Vincent Currera of Slidell; a daughter, Kris Ann Currera of Kenner; two sisters, Betty Stern of Gonzales and Noelie Carpenter of Prairieville; five grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren. A funeral will be held today at noon at Lake Lawn Metairie Funeral Home, 5100 Pontchartrain Blvd. Visitation will begin at 9 a.m. Burial will be in Lake Lawn Park.
ROBBINS, ROBERT ‘BOB' JR.
09/14/02
Robert "Bob" Robbins Jr., a safety inspector at Chalmette Refinery, died Sunday of a gunshot wound at the corner of Senate and Buchanan streets. He was 48. Mr. Robbins was a lifelong resident of New Orleans. He graduated from Booker T. Washington High School. He was an Army veteran. Survivors include his companion, Desiree Pittman; two sons, Jason Allen and Robert Pittman; a brother, Robert Robbins III; two sisters, Lauren and Mary Robbins; and 10 grandchildren. A funeral will be held today at 9 a.m. at D.W. Rhodes Funeral Home, 3933 Washington Ave. Visitation will begin at 8 a.m. Burial will be private.
