Vic Fazio, a moderate California Democrat who became an influential party leader in the U.S. House of Representatives during his two decades on Capitol Hill, died March 16, 2022 at his home in Arlington, Va. He was 79. The cause was melanoma, said his wife, Kathy Sawyer, a retired Washington Post journalist.
A self-described institutionalist, Mr. Fazio represented the Sacramento area from 1979 to 1999 and was a member of the House Appropriations and Armed Services committees. He supported ethics reforms as well as environmental and water-reclamation programs. He provided government funding for projects in his area, including a vast wetland and wildlife preserve between Davis and Sacramento that is known as the Vic Fazio Yolo Wildlife Area. It was dedicated by President Bill Clinton in 1997. Mr. Fazio was chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in 1994 when Republicans won control of the House for the first time in 40 years. Nevertheless, as a measure of his standing and ability to work across the aisle, he was chosen the next year as chairman of the House Democratic caucus and served for four years.
Victor Herbert Fazio Jr. was born in Winchester, Mass., on Oct. 11, 1942, and grew up partly in Madison, N.J. His father was an insurance salesman, and his mother was a homemaker and dress shop manager. He graduated in 1961 from the private Williston Academy in Easthampton, Mass., (now the Williston Northampton School) and received a bachelor’s degree in history in 1965 from Union College in Schenectady, N.Y.
He came to California on a Caro Foundation fellowship in public affairs and worked as a legislative consultant. He also was a co-founder, in 1970, of the now-defunct California Journal magazine, which covered state government and politics. He served in the California State Assembly before winning a U.S. House seat in 1978. After leaving Congress — he did not seek reelection in 1998 — he spent more than two decades as a lobbyist, first with the firm of Clark & Weinstock and then with Akin Gump. Over the years, his clients included Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the industry’s premier trade association. At his death, he was board chairman of the National Parks Conservation Association and served on the board of the Prevent Cancer Foundation.
His first marriage, to the former Joella Mason, ended in divorce. His second wife, Judy Neidhardt Kern, whom he married in 1983, died in 2015. A daughter from his first marriage, Anne Fazio, died in 1995 of complications from leukemia. In 2017, he married Sawyer. In addition to his wife, of Arlington, survivors include a daughter from his first marriage, Dana Lawrie of Granite Bay, Calif.; two stepchildren, Kevin Kern of Fair Oaks, Calif., and Kristie Kern of Portland, Ore.; and four granddaughters.

It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of Duncan Roy McMartin, in his 71st year, loving husband of Gwen Rich-McMartin of Harrington Sound Road, Bermuda. Duncan is also survived by his sister Marcia McMartin; sister-in-law Katherine Rich; cousins Charlie McMartin, Duncan Cameron McMartin and Bruce McMartin; godson Michael Midgett; goddaughters Alexandra McMartin and Jacquelyn Midgett. Duncan was predeceased by his father Duncan McMartin and mother Hilda (Ferguson) McMartin. A graveside service will be held Wednesday, January 26, 2022 at 3:00 p.m. at the family plot at St. John’s Church, Pembroke. In accordance with Covid-19 restrictions attendees are required to wear masks and adhere to social distancing. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to PALS www.pals.bm or Bermuda SPCA www.spca.bm.

We lost a kind, sensitive, wonderful friend when John K. Koerner passed away on August 20, 2021. He was born in Flint, Michigan, on April 24, 1945, into an incredibly loving family. His father, Carl, worked for General Motor, and climbed the executive ladder in the foundry division. The family was moved throughout the Midwest, ultimately landing in the corporate headquarters in Saginaw, Michigan. John also had an incredible mother, Madelon, and leaves behind brother Jim and sister Martha. Oldest son John grew up mostly in Saginaw and attended Arthur Hill High School where he swam competitively and had a wonderful group of friends. He played the guitar, had a wonderful voice, and sang with a bunch of his buddies. And they had fun.

John was aspiring to attend medical school, and thinking prep school might improve his options, he spent his last two years of high school at Williston. He attended Colgate University where he majored in English and then entered the VISTA program. They had him providing counselling for the underserved in Portland, Oregon. He explored being an electrician and then achieved a degree in programming; but, along the way, he was developing a deepening attraction to serving people, especially in a spiritual way.

John moved to Los Angeles and took a job at the University of Southern California as a Benefits Manager, assisting employees. While in Los Angeles John became increasingly more involved in spirituality and multiple religions; he traveled and spent time in the Middle East and Egypt.

When he returned home, he moved into an apartment in Marina Del Rey, retiring and focusing on spirituality. He made a life of going to the beach, visiting the Whole Earth café, being with friends and meditating. We miss his incredible smile and how easy it was to “catch up” with John and laugh all the way through it. John revered his family and friends, and let it be known that he loved us all and hoped that we would always know that. We do.

It is with great sadness that we share the loss of Alan R. Epstein, who passed away in his sleep on the afternoon of December 15, 2021. He was born to Ethel Baume Epstein and Sidney Epstein. He graduated from Williston Academy and attended Columbia University.

At the age of 13, Alan decided he wanted to become a photographer. And, as he would say, he lived photography every day for decades. He opened his first studio, called The Studio, in 1970 on Maple Street in Holyoke. He operated there for ten years. He then opened Epstein Photography with his wife Laura (Angie) Roy-Epstein. It was a gathering place for artists and creatives, who still speak of him fondly.

Alan was an award-winning visual collaborator and photographic artist who created powerful images. In his studio, Alan recreated the morning light and made cut flowers look like they were dancing in the wind.

Alan will be deeply missed for his inappropriate sense of humor, his cooking, his wild intelligence, and his capacity for long and inspiring conversation. And he will continue to be loved for all these things and so many more.

There is simply no one else like him.

He is survived by his partner Carole Guthrie; his four children, David Epstein, Audra Epstein, Mischa Epstein, and Max Epstein; and grandchildren Isabella Epstein, Gabriel Epstein, and Alexa Wilson.

Richard Arthur De Angelis died unexpectedly in Marseille, France, on July 30, 2021, of pneumonia. Born May 4, 1944, he contracted polio when only 2 ½, giving him a slight limp. Rick spent three years of his early childhood in Athens, Greece, where his father worked for the American mission, later the Marshall plan. He entered Williston Academy in 1958 when his father moved with the rest of the family to Bologna, Italy, for an appointment as professor of public administration. Rick excelled academically at the prep school, becoming valedictorian of his class and editor of the school newspaper.

Rick graduated in 1966 from Harvard, where he studied under the noted sociologist Lawrence Wylie. Wylie introduced him to field research in France, and enabled his participation as one of seventeen student authors of Chanzeaux: A Village in Anjou, the portrait of a rural community in western France; the book served as a conservative counterpart to Wylie’s acclaimed Village in the Vaucluse. Rick’s Francophilia continued in graduate school, bringing him the acquaintance of his future wife Françoise and some riveting experiences of near revolution in Paris during the 1968 Events of May. His experiences then would inform his dissertation, published in 1982 as Blue-Collar Workers and Politics: A French Paradox. World politics would continue to dominate Rick’s professional life, as he gained his doctorate in political science from the University of Chicago (1979, where he studied with Nathan Leites and Aristide Zolberg. Rick went on to teach in universities in San Diego, Nancy (France), Zaria (northern Nigeria), Adelaide, and, for a three-year period, in Bologna at the School of Advanced International Studies of Johns Hopkins.

Rick spent the bulk of his academic career at Flinders University in Adelaide, South Australia, where he found the academic community intellectually congenial, the climate ideal, and the landscape endlessly appealing (in a brief autobiography he called his time in Australia “almost paradise”). In later years he fought a rearguard action against the Australian government’s educational reforms, propelled by a belief that privatization, bureaucratization, and the elimination of intermediating review bodies undermined the unusual progressive, international character of Flinders. In 2009 he retired to live with his wife in the Provençale village of Sérignan, where he worked on a French version of his political thriller, The Adler Tape. Rick’s wife of 52 years, an accomplished poet with a compelling predilection for the natural world, suffered a severe stroke in January, 2020 and died after a prolonged, hospital-bound illness just two days before Rick.

Predeceased by his wife, Rick is survived by his daughters Cybèle Coquis and Christina De Angelis; his son-in-law Eric Coquis; two grandsons, Antoine and Alexandre Coquis—all in France; his sisters Nancy Morgan and Anita De Angelis; and his brother Paul.

Jeffrey Burke Thomas, 72, of Richmond, Virginia, crossed the bar, as the sailors say, on Wednesday, November 17, 2021. He was the son of the late George and Mimi Thomas; and was predeceased by Jana, his wife of 35 years. He is survived by his daughter, Catherine; son-in-law, Andrew; and granddaughter, Saoirse; his son, Burke; brother, George and wife, Anara; nephews, George and Daniel; cousins, Thia, Christie and Laurie and their children, Becket, Paul, Kendra, Micah, Jenny, Reaghan and Towner; and his brothers-and-sisters-in-law Ed, Francey, Ellie, Rusty, Ellen, Walter; and nieces and nephews Ren, Jesse, Emily, Jenny, Brett, Zach, Gene, Zoe, Bradley, Lindsey, Blake, Taylor, Emily, Patrick, Adelaide, Pete and Will.

Jeff was born in New York City on August 29, 1949 and left after six weeks to live with his parents in South America. George spent his career establishing international operations for A.H. Robins Pharmaceutical Company, now part of Pfizer, as Mimi founded local Christian Science reading rooms. Jeff attended schools in Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina, where his headmaster would ring a bell at noon to signal the students to switch from Spanish to English. He moved to the United States at age 13 to attend Williston Academy in Massachusetts and graduated as class president. He attended Wesleyan University, where he again served as senior class president, as well as goalie on the varsity hockey team, followed by graduate studies at the Darden School at the University of Virginia. He delighted in putting bawdy stories in the middle of his papers when he believed his professors were not paying attention. His game was never discovered.

He worked as an investment banker for Wheat First Securities (Wachovia) before owning a number of successful small businesses, ranging from Virginia Controls to A-1 Security to an ornamental ironmaker in Winchester, providing stable employment for dozens of families. After retirement, he sought to give back through public service as a basketball coach at St. Catherine’s School, Saint Gertrude, Jamestown High and St. Edward Epiphany. He co-authored The Complete Guide to Coaching Girls’ Basketball with Hall of Fame UNC coach, Sylvia Hatchell. He pursued his dual passions for boating and photography by publishing feature articles and cover photographs for Sailing and Cruising World. Later, he tried his hand at writing screenplays, winning multiple competitions including Best First Screenplay at the Richmond International Film Festival. He also dedicated his time and skills as a writer to tutoring high school students on their college admissions essays.

Jeff had a unique love of wooden boats and enjoyed sailing with sea dogs, Alex, Bill, Chris, Clinton, George, Mike and Paul and sea pups, Matt, Mary Vaughn and Katie. He was schooled in celestial navigation and could predict the weather by reading the clouds. He also had a special place in his heart for Kit Kats, Krispy Kreme, Goombay Smashes and sea shanties.

He traveled with his wife on eight medical and humanitarian mission trips to Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Peru. He served as interpreter and sponsored the education of several Dominican medical students.

Jeff could play any instrument he picked up and speak a new language in a month. He won every board game and was an especially intuitive chess player. He remained an avid UVA basketball fan during the brief time between Ralph Sampson and Tony Bennett, always watching games in the same pair of lucky shorts that were validated after 30 short years. He was wildly funny, warm, generous, kind, fair-minded and eternally optimistic. He endeavored to make everyone he met feel special. He stood faithfully by his beloved wife, Jana during many years of her difficult illness. As his own health waned, he had the great privilege of a wonderful travel companion and friend (Judy), the care of a fantastic team of nurses (Abby, Whitney and Crystal) and the support and love of many, many friends and family members. Despite his physical limitations, he spent the last year of his life writing a children’s book (The A to Z Guide to Boating) dedicated to his granddaughter, Saoirse.

A funeral celebration for Captain Jeff will be held outdoors in the spring. Donations may be made to Church Hill Activities and Tutoring (CHAT).