Newton Obituaries

Priscilla Cobb Payne, 104, Newton North Class of 1925

Priscilla Cobb Payne was born in Cincinnati, OH, and grew up in Newton, MA.

Priscilla Cobb Payne, 104, passed away on April 30, 2012, at Fox Hill Village in Westwood, MA. According to her obituary on the Folsom Funeral Service website, Payne was born in Cincinnati, OH and grew up in Newton, MA. Payne graduated from Newton North High School in 1925 and attended Dean College, Tufts University and the University of Massachusetts. She did graduate work at both Harvard and Boston University before going on to work as a teacher in Jamaica Plain and as associate director of the Learning Disabilities Foundation and the Landmark Schools, in Prides Crossing, Mass. She was listed in Who's Who of American Women. 

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Legendary Newton Violinist Roman Totenberg Dies

According to the Boston Phoenix blog, Totenberg was still teaching at his Newton home yesterday.

Renowned violinist and teacher Roman Totenberg has passed away at the age of 101, WBUR reported this afternoon.  Totenberg, a Newton resident, grew up in Poland and was known for his remarkable talent from a young age. He went on to work with a several famous 20th-century composers and play for numerous presidents, kings and dignitaries. According to a report on the Boston Phoenix Phlog, Totenberg was still teaching yesterday from his hospital bed in his Newton home, despite the fact that his kidneys were failing.  Totenberg was a longtime professor at Boston University and is the father of NPR correspondent Nina Totenberg. For more details and a full report, read more on WBUR, the Boston Phoenix Phlog or on Boston.com. Note: The YouTube …

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Family, Friends and BC Community Say Goodbye to Franco Garcia

The 21-year-old West Newton resident and Boston College student tragically drowned in the Chestnut Hill Reservoir. His funeral was held earlier today in Chestnut Hill.

"He was my teddy bear." As Boston College student Katherine Corteselli shared memories of her best friend Franco Garcia, young college students sat alongside professors, priests, police officers and family members, dabbing tear-filled eyes with each recollection.  "He gave the absolute best hugs...what I'm going to miss the most are those hugs," Corteselli said during today's funeral Mass for Garcia. Hundreds of people -- whether they knew Garcia or not -- flooded a St. Ignatius Church in Chestnut Hill this morning to say one last goodbye to the Boston College student whose life was tragically cut short when he drowned in the Chestnut Hill Reservoir.  Garcia, 21, was a West Newton resident, a chemistry major and member of the school's …

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Creative Visionary Steve Jobs, Gone

The ex-Apple CEO affected the lives of millions of people. Did he touch yours?

Steve Jobs, whom CNN refers to as "the visionary in the black turtleneck,"  has died, says Apple, the company he co-founded and led. His creative drive is responsible for bringing the sleek elegance of iPhones, iPads and iPods to millions. MSNBC reports that Apple announced his death without giving a specific cause. He had been battling pancreatic cancer. Cupertino Patch says mourning has begun at Apple headquarters. Likewise, in the Twitterverse. The Boston Globe says he died only weeks after resigning his post as CEO of the company he co-founded as a 21-year old. Jobs was 56.   Jobs was not without controversy. But tell us: did he affect your life? The comments section below awaits.

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Jerry Reilly

4:37 pm on Thursday, October 6, 2011

Poll Question: What was Steve Jobs' most innovative product? I'd have to say it was the Lisa computer - a commercial flop but way ahead (too far ahead) of its time. The first consumer computer with a mouse, desktop, icons, windows, etc. - everything that we now think of as "a computer". Lots of people and companies come up with one really good product. Steve Jobs did it over and over and over …   more ›

Human Rights Activist Yelena Bonner Dies

The Russian human rights activist, who lived part-time in Brookline, passed away on Saturday.

Yelena Bonner, widow of Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov and renowned for being a "fearsome" critic of Soviet-era right abuses, died Saturday at the age of 88, after a long illness. A statement posted on the website of the Andrei Sakharov Foundation by her daughter, Tatiana Yankelevich, and son, Alexey Semyonov, says a memorial service will take place at noon Tuesday, June 21, at Stanetsky Memorial Chapel, 1668 Beacon St., Brookline. The statement said that, according to Bonner's wishes, her body will be cremated. The urn with her ashes will be interred at the Vostryakovo Cemetery in Moscow, with her husband, mother, and brother. Bonner reportedly had been splitting her time between Brookline and Moscow. Bonner was born in Soviet …

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