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William J. Zoppo, 74, contractor
Charlestown
Saturday, November 13, 1999
William J. Zoppo of Charlestown, a highway contractor and real estate developer, died Saturday at his home. He was 74.
Born in Roslindale, Mr. Zoppo received his degree in engineering and went to work for his father's company, R. Zoppo Company Inc, eventually rising to the status of president and chairman. The company was involved with numerous projects throughout New England and upstate New York, including a major portion of the original Deer Island Treatment Facility in the 1960s.
Mr. Zoppo was active in the Utility Contractors Association of New England and the Construction Industries of Massachusetts. He was an avid sailor and a life member of the Norwood Knights of Columbus Council 252.
Mr. Zoppo is survived by his wife, Jane M. (Smith); two sons, William A. of Needham and David of Westwood; four daughters, Susan Thurston of Cadiz, Ky., Elizabeth of Walpole, Mary Jane Barry of Foxboro and Anne of Nantucket; his brother, Thomas R. of Portsmouth, R.I., and nine grandchildren.
A funeral Mass was held yesterday at St. Denis Church, Westwood.
Burial was in Fairview Cemetery, Hyde Park.
Arrangements by the Gillooly Funeral Home, Norwood.
Julie Adams, 25, nurse's aide
East Bridgewater
Saturday, November 13, 1999
Julie A. Adams of East Bridgewater, a certified nurse's aide, died Wednesday in Brockton Hospital after being in a coma for 21 months. She was 25.
Born in Stoughton, Ms. Adams was a graduate of South Easton Regional Vocational High School in 1992.
She was employed as a certified nurse's aide at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and enjoyed dancing, the beach and her family.
Ms. Adams is survived by her mother, Dorothy (Prior); a sister, Sherry M. of East Bridgewater; her grandmother, Virginia Prior of New Hampshire; and many nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles and cousins.
A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. today in Blanchard Funeral Chapel, Whitman.
Burial will be in Colebrook Cemetery, Whitman.
Olga A. Bills, 68, retired Polaroid technician
Dedham; Stoddard
Sunday, April 25, 1999
Olga A. (Peterson) Bills of Stoddard, N.H., a retired technician, died Thursday morning at Newton - Wellesley Hospital in Newton following a brief illness. She was 68.
Born in Boston, Mrs. Bills was raised and educated in Roxbury. She moved to Dedham in 1962 and lived there for 27 years. In 1989 she moved to Stoddard.
Mrs. Bills was employed for 23 years as a quality technician by Polaroid Corp., retiring in 1988.
Wife of the late Erik A., she is survived by one daughter, Linda A. Palardy of Bellingham; two sons, Arthur E. of Fitzwilliam, N.H., and Kris J. of Dedham; one brother, Jacob Peterson of Dedham; one sister, Mildred Thoma of Roxbury; and six grandchildren.
A funeral service will be held at 10 a.m. tomorrow at St. Luke's Lutheran Church, Dedham.
Burial will be in Knollwood Memorial Park, Canton.
Arrangements by Folsom Funeral Service, Dedham.
Kenneth M. Bova, 51, was writer
Chelsea; Revere
Saturday, November 13, 1999
Kenneth M. Bova of Chelsea and Revere, a writer, died Saturday in New Orleans. He was 51.
Born in the West End, Mr. Bova was raised in Chelsea and Revere. He attended St. Rose Elementary School and graduated from Immaculate Conception High School in Revere.
He was stationed in Japan with the Air Force during the Vietnam War to work on communications satellites.
Mr. Bova is survived by his mother, Katherine M. of Brockton; and two brothers, Gerard of Halifax and Leo C. of Quincy.
A memorial Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. today at St. Andrew the Apostle Church, Jamaica Plain.
Burial is in St. Michael's Cemetery, Jamaica Plain.
Mary Cushing, 90, an avid gardner
Beverly Farms
Saturday, April 24, 1999
Mary M. (Loring) Cushing of Beverly Farms, a homemaker, died Tuesday at home after a lengthy illness. She was 90.
Born in Westwood, Mrs. Cushing attended Oldsfield School in Baltimore, Md.
In 1966, Mrs. Cushing and her husband moved from Westwood to Beverly Farms.
She was an avid gardener all her life. She was a member of the National Society of Colonial Dames, the Herb Society of America, Essex County Club, Vincent Club, Somerset Club, Badminton and Tennis Club of Boston, Singing Beach Club of Manchester, and the Widows Society.
Mrs. Cushing served on the boards of the Noanett Garden Club, the Dedham Visiting Nurse Association and the North Shore Children's Friends and Family Services Society.
She was also a volunteer and later chairman of the Animal Rescue League of Boston for more than 50 years.
Wife of the late photographer George M. Cushing Jr., Mrs. Cushing is survived by three sons, George L. of Beverly Farms, Edward B. of Ipswich and John D. of Essex; a daughter, Margaret C. of New York City; five grandchildren; and a great - granddaughter.
A memorial service will be held at 3 p.m. today in St. John's Episcopal Church, Beverly Farms.
A private burial will be held.
Arrangements by J.S. Waterman and Sons Eastman - Waring Funeral Homes, Boston.
Albert J. Donahue, 99, Edison boss
Dedham
Sunday, April 25, 1999
Albert J. Donahue of Dedham, a retired division head at Boston Edison, died Wednesday at Milton Hospital. He was 99.
Born in Boston, Mr. Donahue was educated in local schools. He had lived in Dedham for 67 years.
Mr. Donahue worked at Boston Edison for 47 years, retiring from the position of division head of electrical operations.
He was a fourth - degree Knight at the Bishop Minihan General Assembly and a member of the Dedham Knights of Columbus 234. He was a member of the Dedham Retired Men's Club and the Boston Edison Club.
He is survived by his wife, Doris M. (Volmerhausen); five daughters, Mary T. Pihl of Sudbury, Margaret E. Bodine of West Brookfield, and Barbara A. Savi, Irene E. Welch and Patricia D. Stering, all of Dedham; 12 grandchildren; and eight great - grandchildren.
A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 11 a.m. tomorrow at St. Mary's Church, Dedham.
Burial will be in Brookdale Cemetery, Dedham.
Arrangements by George F. Doherty & Sons Funeral Home, Dedham.
Andrew J. Dooley, 71, district court justice
Taunton
Sunday, November 14, 1999
Judge Andrew J. Dooley of Taunton, former presiding justice of the Taunton District Court, died Thursday at his home of leukemia. He was 71.
Born in Taunton, Judge Dooley attended Monsignor James Coyle High School and the University of Notre Dame, where he graduated cum laude. After graduation, he taught in the Taunton public schools and worked in the Claims Department of the Kemper Insurance Co. He was also a member of the trial staff of the Boston law firm Segalini and Burke. He later received a law degree from Suffolk University Law School.
Judge Dooley was elected to the Taunton Municipal Council and served from 1970 to 1976. He was appointed clerk magistrate of Brockton District Court by former Gov. Edward King in 1980 and presiding justice of Taunton District Court two years later. He served there until his retirement in January 1998.
He was a member of the American Legion, Knights of Columbus, Taunton Lodge of Elks, Boston Bar Association, the Massachusetts Judges Conference and the Friends of the Taunton Public Library.
Judge Dooley is survived by his wife, Alice M. (Ricci) White Dooley; two sons, Joseph W. and Thomas M., both of Taunton; a daughter, Kathleen S. Lynch of Taunton; two step - sons, William R. White of Old Orchard Beach, Maine, and Thomas Michael White of Taunton; a sister, Barbara A. Laughlin of Taunton; an aunt, an uncle and several grandchildren, nieces and nephews.
A funeral Mass will be held at 10 a.m. tomorrow at St. Mary's Church, Taunton.
Burial will be in St. Francis Cemetery, Taunton.
Arrangements by O'Keefe - Wade Funeral Home, Taunton.
Mel Torme, singer's singer and co - writer of `The Christmas Song,' dead at 73
Saturday, June 5, 1999
LOS ANGELES - Mel Torme, whose warm, smooth vocal delivery made him a hero to fellow jazz and pop singers and earned him the nickname ``The Velvet Fog," died today. He was 73.
Torme, who had suffered a stroke in August 1996, was rushed from his home in Beverly Hills to University of California, Los Angeles, at 1 a.m. He died of complications from that stroke at 1:45 a.m., said Rob Wilcox, Torme's publicist.
His wife and five children were at his side when he died, Wilcox said.
Even those who had heard little of his singing could not miss his other claim to musical immortality: He was co - author of the holiday pop classic ``The Christmas Song," which began ``Chestnuts roasting on an open fire ..."
The song was a huge hit for Nat ``King" Cole in 1946 and has been recorded by countless other singers, including Torme himself.
The man who began his performing career at age 4 didn't much like his nickname, saying he preferred jazz singing to velvet - fog crooning.
``It really wasn't until the end of my high school days, in 1943, that I determined to be a jazz singer," he says. ``Then I got sidetracked. (His manager) felt the way to the gold was for me to become a crooner.
``For a long period I was singing mushy, sentimental songs. I began to be called the Velvet Fog. I never liked it."
He said he was rescued by a recording executive who heard a bit of jazz in his style and urged him in that direction.
He saw his vocal career as a work in progress, ``a long learning curve."
Listening to recordings in a boxed CD set on his career, he said, ``The early songs are kind of callow. I cringe a little bit at them. They were part of the process, part of evolving."
He was his own arranger for much of his career, played piano and other instruments, acted in a few Hollywood films and even had a TV talk show for a while in the '50s. He was nominated for a best supporting actor Emmy in 1956 for a role in ``The Comedian," a ``Playhouse 90" production.
In all, he wrote some 300 songs, more than half, including ``Born To Be Blue" and ``The Christmas Song," with Robert Wells.
It was a sweltering summer day when they wrote ``The Christmas Song."
``I saw a spiral pad on his piano with four lines written in pencil," he recalled. ``They started, `Chestnuts roasting ... Jack Frost nipping ... Yuletide carols ... Folks dressed up like Eskimos.'
``He didn't think he was writing a song lyric. He said he thought if he could immerse himself in winter he could cool off. Forty minutes later that song was written. I wrote all the music and some of the lyrics. I've racked my brain to remember which lyrics I wrote. It doesn't matter."
When people would ask why he kept singing old songs, Torme said they're simply better than new songs. ``When young rock singers began writing their own, they displaced the community of songwriters who worked with grace, wit, charm, intelligence and brilliance."
In fact, Torme got so discouraged about the state of popular music that at one point in the '60s, he decided to chuck it and he went to school to become an airline pilot. Luckily, the pendulum swung back and interest in his work revived.
``Absolutely the lyric to me is 95 percent of what a song is. The singer is portraying a playlet to the audience, involving the audience in what he is saying. If the melody is attractive, that's frosting on the cake. The lyric is the cake."
Melvin Howard Torme was born in 1925 in Chicago and was singing on radio at age 4. In his late teens, he toured with comedian turned bandleader Chico Marx and later formed a group called the Mel - Tones.
He was soon having hits as a solo singer.
At 70, he said he maintained his vocal strength by taking care of himself: no smoking, only an occasional glass of wine, careful avoidance of drafts.
``Before I sing I force myself to have seven or eight hours of sleep. I can sing acceptably well on six hours. There is that little grade of difference between six hours and eight hours."
In a June 1994 concert at Carnegie Hall, he joked about his age. In ``You Make Me Feel So Young," the then 68 - year - old Torme sang, ``You know that age is just a number" then interjected ``If I could really believe that."
Torme is survived by his wife and five children - Steve, Melissa, Tracy, Daisy, and James.
Memorial services were not immediately announced.
