Clarke Co. GA - Obits from the Athens Daily News/Banner-Herald 19 Dec 1999 Thanks for permission from the Athens Daily News /Banner-Herald http://www.onlineathens.com/ ************************************************************************ USGENWEB ARCHIVES NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. http://www.usgwarchives.net/ *********************************************************************** OBITUARIES Story last updated at 8:56 a.m. on Sunday, December 19, 1999 Kao Yang Des Moines, Iowa Kao Yang, 80, died Friday, Dec. 10, 1999. A native of Laos, Mrs. Yang was a daughter of the late May Yang and Cher Vang Her. Services will be at 8 a.m. Monday at Evans Funeral Home, Jefferson, with the Pastor Chue C. Yang officiating. Burial will be in Georgia Memorial Park, Marietta. Survivors include her husband, A-Seu Yang, Des Moines; a daughter, Xai Lee, Des Moines; four sons, Seng Yang, California, Charsoua Yang, Des Moines, Her Yang, Commerce, Sou Yang, Jefferson; two sisters, Ying Her, Wisconsin, and Mao Her, Laos; a brother, Xay Tou Her, Pennsylvania; 37 grandchildren; 29 great-grandchildren. Athens Daily News/Banner Herald Sunday, Dec. 19, 1999. Šopyright 1999 Athens Newspapers Inc. OBITUARIES Story last updated at 8:55 a.m. on Sunday, December 19, 1999 Cecil Jennings Athens Cecil R. Jennings Sr. died Friday, Dec. 17, 1999. A native of Hawkinsville, Mr. Jennings was a son of the late Duncan L. and Velma Jennings. He was a 39-year resident of Athens and was owner of Jennings Insurance Agency. Services will be at 2 p.m. today at Lord & Stephens Funeral Home, East, with the Revs. Lee Hunter and Joe Dooley officiating. Burial will be in Athens Memory Gardens. Survivors include his wife, Lucille Jennings; two sons, Cecil Robert Jennings Jr., Belhaven, N.C., and Patrick Lewis Jennings, Athens; seven sisters, Shelvia Smith, McDonough, Tiny Bennett, Perry, Sweetie Kilpatrick, Baton Rouge, La., Madelyn Heath, Columbus, Dannie Jennings, Houston, Scooter Manning, Hawkinsville and Barbara Smith, Eastman; a brother, Harold Manning, West Palm Beach, Fla.; five grandchildren; nieces and nephews. Pallbearers will be Larry Elder, Tony Elder, Shannon Elder, Justin Elder, Billy Smith and Steve Jennings. Athens Daily News/Banner Herald Sunday, Dec. 19, 1999. send this notice to a friend email the editor Šopyright 1999 Athens Newspapers Inc. OBITUARIES Story last updated at 8:55 a.m. on Sunday, December 19, 1999 Julia Dearing Danner Athens Julia Dearing Danner, 76, of 266 Springdale St., died Friday, Dec. 17, 1999. A native of Clarke County, Mrs. Danner was a daughter of the late Monroe Goodwin and Julia Martha Daniels Dearing, and was the widow of Walter Newman Danner Jr. She was a life-long resident of Athens, had worked as a secretary in the guidance department at the University of Georgia, and was a member of the Athens First Presbyterian Church. Services will be at 2:30 p.m. today at Evergreen Memorial Park with Dr. W. Glenn Doak officiating. Survivors include a stepdaughter, Virginia Nan Danner Tate Smith, Butner, N.C.; a stepson, Ray Danner, McLean, Va.; a sister, Edith Johnston; and five grandchildren. Honorary pallbearers will be Corey Danner, John Tate, Stillman Tate, Jim Tate, Fred Johnston and Tom Wellman. The family is at the residence. Lord & Stephens Funeral Home, East, has charge of the arrangements. Athens Daily News/Banner Herald Sunday, Dec. 19, 1999. send this notice to a friend email the editor Šopyright 1999 Athens Newspapers Inc. OBITUARIES Story last updated at 8:49 a.m. on Sunday, December 19, 1999 Billy Michael Barnes Athens Billy Michael Barnes, 36, of 387 Flint St., died Thursday, Dec. 16, 1999. Mr. Barnes was a son of Gene and Florene Coleman, Athens. He was a member of Mt. Zion Baptist Church. Services will be at 11 a.m. Monday at Mack and Payne Funeral Home with Dr. James Washington Jr. officiating. Burial will be in Mt. Zion Baptist Church cemetery, Stephens. Survivors in addition to his parents include his wife, Rose A. Barnes; three sons, Wesly Barnes, Terrance Barnes and Brand Barnes, all of Athens; stepson, Armond Payne, Athens; a sister, Ruth Barnes, Athens; five brothers, John Barnes, Arthur Barnes, Stanley Barnes and Thomas Barnes, all of Athens, and Jackie Barnes, Winder; grandmother, Amie Laura Barnes, Athens. The family will receive friends from 5-9 p.m. today at 230 Kennedy Circle, Athens. Athens Daily News/Banner Herald Sunday, Dec. 19, 1999 send this notice to a friend email the editor Šopyright 1999 Athens Newspapers Inc. OBITUARIES Story last updated at 9:00 a.m. on Sunday, December 19, 1999 Willie J. Pilgrim Martin Willie J. ''Bill'' Pilgrim, 86, of 600 Woods Road, died Saturday, Dec. 18, 1999. A native of Franklin County, Mr. Pilgrim was a son of the late Elijah and Lelia Bryson Pilgrim, was the widower of Laura Ruth Crooks Pilgrim, and was preceded in death by a son, Raymond Lee Pilgrim. He was a retired farmer and was of the Baptist faith. Services will be at 2 p.m. Monday at Pruitte Funeral Home, Royston, with the Rev. Gettis Allen officiating. Burial will be in Rose Hill Cemetery. Survivors include a daughter, Patricia Ann Mastonia, Lavonia; three sons, Steve J. Pilgrim, Martin, Robert Lee Pilgrim, High Point, N.C., and Kent W. Pilgrim, Oakwood; a sister, Katie Hunnicutt, Canon; a brother, Winford Pilgrim, Royston; 10 grandchildren; 17 great-grandchildren; and several great-great-grandchildren. The family is at the residence and will receive friends from 7-9 p.m. today at the funeral home. Athens Daily News/Banner Herald Sunday, Dec. 19, 1999. send this notice to a friend email the editor Šopyright 1999 Athens Newspapers Inc. OBITUARIES Story last updated at 8:43 a.m. on Sunday, December 19, 1999 Betty Jo Morris Colbert Betty Jo Waggoner Spence Morris, 69, of 931 Sorrow Patterson Road, died Saturday, Dec. 18, 1999. A native of Madison County, Mrs. Morris was a daughter of Joel Hollis Waggoner and the late Hester Peterman Waggoner, was the widow of Farris F. Spence and Walter Morris, and was preceded in death by a daughter, Bertha Rebeca ''Beth'' Spence. She was retired from Social Services in South Carolina and was a member of Edwards Chapel Baptist Church. Services will be at 11 a.m. Monday at Edwards Chapel Baptist Church. Burial will be at 3 p.m. in New Silver Brook Cemetery, Anderson, S.C. Survivors include two sons, James Michael Spence, Martinsville, Va., and Ronald Dale Spence, Columbia, S.C.; two stepsons, Keith Morris, Gainesville, and Danny Morris, Atlanta; two sisters, Dorothy Brooks, Crawford, and Carol Haggard, Danielsville; a brother, James Edward Waggoner, Colbert; and nine grandchildren. The family will receive friends from 7-8:30 p.m. today at Brown's Funeral Home, Danielsville. Athens Daily News/Banner Herald Sunday, Dec. 19, 1999. send this notice to a friend email the editor Šopyright 1999 Athens Newspapers Inc. OBITUARIES Story last updated at 8:40 a.m. on Sunday, December 19, 1999 Mrs. Sarah Odom Sticher Athens Sarah Odom Sticher, 140 Chestnut Lane, died Friday, Dec. 17, 1999. A native of Fulton County, Mrs. Sticher had lived in Athens most of her life. She was the daughter of the late Robert and Mary Cronin Odom and the widow of the late Clavin H. Sticher, Sr. A son, Lt. Col. Calvin H. Sticher, Jr., preceded her in death. Mrs. Sticher was one of the original founders and life charter members of the Pink Ladies at St. Mary's Hospital where she had volunteered over 25,000 hours. She was nominated for the Athens Volunteer of the Year Award in 1998. She was a member of The Veterans of Foreign Wars, The American Legion, St. Mary's Auxiliary, and a charter member of the Athens Country Club. She was a member of St. Joseph Catholic Church, the Jolly Elders of Green Acres Baptist Church, the Tuckston Senior Citizens of Tuckston United Methodist Church, and the Double W's Club of the First United Methodist Church. Survivors include sons and daughters-in-law, Charles Ralph and Karen Sticher, Athens; Clifford Anthony and Deborah Sticher, Hampton; Christopher Cronin and Janice Armbal-Sticher, Athens; sisters, Leonore Barton and Martha Anne Conger, both of Atlanta; grandchildren, Dawn Sticher-Strehlke, Medfield, Mass.; Michael Shayne Sticher, Atlanta; great-grandchildren, Jake Calvin and Dylan Shayne Strehlke, both of Bedfield, Mass. A funeral mass will be held Monday at 1 p.m. from St. Joseph Catholic Church with Father Tim Gadziela officiating. Interment will follow in Oconee Hill cemetery at 2 p.m. A prayer service for Mrs. Sticher will be said at 4:30 p.m. Sunday at Bernstein Funeral Home with Rev. Bill Lakin officiating. The family will receive friends from 5-7 p.m. Sunday. Pallbearers will be Bruce Cobb, Billy DeFino, Joe Odom, Michael Barton and Tony Barton. The family asks that contributions be made to the St. Mary's Hospital Auxiliary Scholarship Fund, 1230 Baxter Street, Athens, Ga. 30606. Bernstein Funeral Home in charge of arrangements. @obit tagline:Athens Daily News/Banner HeraldSunday, Dec. 19, 1999 send this notice to a friend email the editor Šopyright 1999 Athens Newspapers Inc. OBITUARIES Story last updated at 8:36 a.m. on Sunday, December 19, 1999 Joann McDuffie Maysville Joann McDuffie, 56, of 711 West Ridgeway Road, died Friday, Dec. 17, 1999. A native of Commerce, Mrs. McDuffie was a daughter of Kate McCoy, Commerce, and the late Jimmy McCoy. Services will be at 2 p.m. today at Ridgeway Baptist Church, Commerce, with the Rev. Bill Manus officiating. Burial will be in the church cemetery. Survivors include her husband, Leon McDuffie; two daughters, Kim Laalk, Watkinsville, and Wendy Thomas, Commerce; a son, Chad McDuffie, Commerce; a sister, Marie Evans, Commerce; two brothers, Randy McCoy, Marietta, and Tim McCoy, Homer; and six grandchildren. Ivie Funeral Home, Commerce, has charge of the arrangements. Athens Daily News/Banner Herald Sunday, Dec. 19, 1999. send this notice to a friend email the editor Šopyright 1999 Athens Newspapers Inc. OBITUARIES Story last updated at 8:35 a.m. on Sunday, December 19, 1999 Robert Pledger Jefferson Robert Alexander Pledger, 82, of 1711 B. Whitfield Road, died Saturday, Dec. 18, 1999. A native of Clarke County, Mr. Pledger was a son of the late Rufus Alexander and Minner Burger Pledger. He was a World War II Army veteran, a retired auto mechanic, and a member of Lebanon Methodist Church Services will be at 2 p.m. Monday at Lebanon Methodist Church with the Rev. Howard Banks officiating. Burial will be in Evergreen Memorial Park. Survivors include his wife, Ruby Jones Pledger; a daughter, Janice Logan, Jefferson; a son, Alex Pledger, Jefferson; five sisters, Mary Pledger, Estelle Pledger, Ruth Hopkins, Doris Jones and Agnes Smith, all of Athens; a brother, Harvey Pledger, Jefferson; and two grandchildren. Pallbearers will be John Holliday, Dennis Sikes, Roger Carthern, Terry Fulcher, Don Brown and Walt Temple. The family will receive friends from 5-9 p.m. today at Evan Funeral Home. Athens Daily News/Banner Herald Sunday, Dec. 19, 1999. Šopyright 1999 Athens Newspapers Inc. OBITUARIES Story last updated at 8:32 a.m. on Sunday, December 19, 1999 John Allen Hoagland Winder John Allen Hoagland, 88, of 130 Plantation Road, S.W., died Friday, Dec. 17, 1999. A native of Indianapolis, Mr. Hoagland was a son of the late John William Hoagland. He was employed with FMC Peerless Pump, and was a former member of Cedar Creek Baptist Church. Services will be at 2 p.m. Monday at Wise-Connolly Funeral Home. Survivors include his wife, Haleen Stephens Hoagland; a daughter, Shirley Stephens Hamilton, Lawrenceville; a son, Glen Hayden, Michigan; three grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; and three great-great-grandchildren. The family is at the residence. Athens Daily News/Banner Herald Sunday, Dec. 19, 1999. Šopyright 1999 Athens Newspapers Inc. OBITUARIES Story last updated at 8:30 a.m. on Sunday, December 19, 1999 Carl Daniel Adams Washington Carl Daniel Adams, 70, of 1413 Lincolnton Road, died Saturday, Dec. 18, 1999. A native of Wilkes County, Mr. Adams was a son of the late Reuben Daniel and Molly Saxon Adams. He was a former member of the National Guard, an X-ray technologist, and a member of the First Baptist Church of Washington. Services will be at 2:30 p.m. Monday at Resthaven Cemetery with the Rev. Albert Huyck and Dr. John Childers officiating. Survivors include his wife, Rosalyn Rives Adams; two daughters, Lynn A. Welsh, Augusta, and Charlotte A. Hyatt, Horse Shoe, N.C.; a son, Carl Daniel Adams Jr., Fayetteville; a sister, Maude A. Mortti, Clearwater, Fla.; three brothers, O'Neil Adams, Tignall, and Arnold Adams and Vernon Adams, both of Washington, and three grandchildren. Pallbearers will be Kirby Ashcraft, Phil Robb, Charles Rhodes, Pierce Barden, Jerry Robinson, G.W. Moore, Mort Hill, Dr. S.K. Brown and Bobby Randall. The family will receive friends from 6-8 p.m. today at Hopkins Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to either Washington First Baptist Church Building Fund, 105 W. Robert Toombs Ave., Washington, GA 30673; Wills Memorial Hospital, 120 Gordon St., Washington, GA 30673; Wilkes County Cancer Society c/o Gladys Roth, 101 Parkway Drive, Washington, GA 30673; or to a favorite charity. Athens Daily News/Banner Herald Sunday, Dec. 19, 1999 Šopyright 1999 Athens Newspapers Inc. OBITUARIES Story last updated at 8:30 a.m. on Sunday, December 19, 1999 F.W. Morris Athens F.W. Morris, of 210 Forest Road, died Saturday, Dec. 18, 1999. A native of Albemarle County, Va., Mr. Morris was a son of the late John C. and Myra M. Branham Morris. He was a World War II Navy veteran, involved in the liberation of the Philippines and the occupation of Japan, while also serving in China. He was a retired real estate agent with First Class Realty, was a member of the Mt. Vernon Masonic Lodge, Royal Arch and Knights Templar, the American Legion Post, and Green Acres Baptist Church. Services will be at 2 p.m. today at Evergreen Memorial Park with the Rev. Mark Babin and Mr. Hardy McKenny officiating. Survivors include his wife, Audrey Whitlow Morris; a daughter, Peggy Crawley, Athens; a son, Dr. William P. Morris, Birmingham, Ala.; and three grandchildren. Honorary pallbearers will be the members of the Men's Sunday school class at Green Acres Baptist Church. Memorials may be made to the American Cancer Society Clarke County Unit, 1060 Gaines School Road, Athens 30605, or the American Diabetes Association, Corporate Square, Building 1, Suite 127, Atlanta 30329. Bernstein Funeral Home has charge of the arrangements. Athens Daily News/Banner Herald Sunday, Dec. 19, 1999. Šopyright 1999 Athens Newspapers Inc. OBITUARIES Story last updated at 8:27 a.m. on Sunday, December 19, 1999 Dr. Roy Blankenship Athens Dr. Roy Blankenship, 68, of 165 Great Oak Drive, died Friday, Dec. 17, 1999. A native of Washington, D.C., he was a son of the late Herman Clifton and Clarice Mae Aldred Blankenship, and was preceded in death by a brother, Capt. Charles Blankenship. Dr. Blankenship received degrees from the University of Maryland in College Park, followed by a post doctoral degree at the Cancer Institute at Bethesda Medical Center. He was an adjunct professor in the microbiology department at the University of Georgia and was a retired research microbiologist for USDA at Russell Research. He was a member of various poultry trade associations, a member of the Athens Choral Society, and Tuckston United Methodist Church, where he sang in the choir. Dr. Blankenship was a veteran of the United States Air Force. Memorial services will be announced later. Survivors include his wife, Judy Blankenship of Athens; stepmother, Mildred S. Blankenship of Athens; sons and daughters-in-law, Dr. Jeffrey and Lou Blankenship of Lilburn, Dr. Mark and Teresa Blankenship of Athens, Matthew and Selena Blankenship of Jesup, and Dr. John and Cindy Blankenship of Memphis, Tenn.; nine grandchildren; several nieces and nephews. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Tuckston United Methodist Church, in memory of Dr. Roy Blankenship. Lord & Stephens Funeral Home, East, is in charge of arrangements. @obit tagline:Athens Daily News/Banner HeraldSunday, Dec. 19, 1999 send this notice to a friend email the editor Šopyright 1999 Athens Newspapers Inc. OBITUARIES Story last updated at 8:24 a.m. on Sunday, December 19, 1999 Edna Ruth Johnson Nicholson Edna Ruth Parker Johnson, 83, of 1939 Ed Bennett Road, died Friday, Dec. 17, 1999. A native of Buncombe County, N.C., Mrs. Johnson was a daughter of the late Leonard Clifton and Edna Morgan Parker, and was the widow of John Ponder Johnson Jr. She was a homemaker and a member of Center United Methodist Church. Services will be at 3 p.m. today at Center United Methodist Church with the Revs. Howard Conine and Richard Cathy officiating. Burial will be in the church cemetery. Survivors include a daughter, Barbara Farmer, Nicholson; two sons, Clifton Johnson, Delaware, and John Johnson, Atlanta; and a sister, Hilda Swimm, Asheville, N.C. Little-Ward Funeral Home, Commerce, has charge of the arrangements. Athens Daily News/Banner Herald Sunday, Dec. 19, 1999. Šopyright 1999 Athens Newspapers Inc. OBITUARIES Story last updated at 8:22 a.m. on Sunday, December 19, 1999 D.H. Raper Cornelia D.H. Raper, 84, of Foster Street, died Friday, Dec. 17, 1999. A native of Whitfield County, Mr. Raper was a son of the late John Robert and Evelyn Fraker Raper, and was the widower of Mary Clarise Pulliam Raper. He was a retired grocery merchant and Habersham County deputy sheriff. He was a member of the Cornelia Chapter of the Independent Order of the Odd Fellows, Cornelia Lodge # 92 F & AM, and the Cornelia First United Methodist Church. Services will be at 3:30 p.m. today at Whitfield Funeral Home, South, with the Revs. Terry Rice, Paul Morris and Edwin Taylor officiating. Burial will be in Level Grove Cemetery. Survivors include a daughter, Sue Roach, Cornelia; three sons, Douglas ''Pete'' Raper, Cornelia, Bill Raper, Alto, and Victor Raper, Gainesville; a sister, Lora M. Miller, Chattanooga, Tenn.; 10 grandchildren; and 11 great-grandchildren. Athens Daily News/Banner Herald Sunday, Dec. 19, 1999. Šopyright 1999 Athens Newspapers Inc. OBITUARIES Story last updated at 9:02 a.m. on Sunday, December 19, 1999 Deaths elsewhere Rex Allen Sr. Actor TUCSON, Ariz. -- Rex Allen Sr., a singer and actor in Westerns who also served as the voice on Walt Disney films and TV shows, died from injuries suffered when he accidentally was run over by a car. He was 78. Police believe his caretaker did not realize Allen was behind the car when she began to back it up, police spokeswoman Judy Altieri said. Detectives were attempting to determine whether Allen had fallen before he was hit. Allen, who grew up on an Arizona ranch, starred in several western movies, including a television series called ''Frontier Doctor.'' His signature stallion for the western movies was Koko the Wonder Horse. Among his narration credits are more than 80 Walt Disney films and the animated classic, ''Charlotte's Web.'' Tom Bates Author PORTLAND, Ore. -- Tom Bates, an Oregon author and award-winning journalist, died Thursday after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 55. Bates worked as a staff writer for The Oregonian for the past five years. He had earned several degrees in Italian history, taught college, edited magazines and wrote books. After earning degrees from the University of Oregon and the University of Wisconsin, Bates took a job at Ohio University in 1971, but quickly grew disenchanted with academia. On May 9, 1972, he and his wife were among 75 who protested the U.S. Navy's mining of Hai Phong Harbor in North Vietnam. They were arrested and the university fired Bates. The Ohio Legislature then banned him from teaching at public colleges in the state. Bates returned to Oregon and became editor of the now-defunct Oregon Magazine. In 1980, Bates left Oregon Magazine for New West Magazine in Los Angeles. He later edited the Los Angeles Times Sunday magazine before returning to Oregon to write ''Rads,'' his 1992 book on the bombing of the U.S. Army Math Research Center at the University of Wisconsin. Bates won the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association award for best writing in 1997 for a series of features. He was diagnosed with cancer in 1997. Bates is survived by his wife, a daughter, two sons, his parents, two brothers and two sisters. Woodrow Borah OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- Woodrow Borah, a professor whose influential research asserted that the Spanish conquest of Mesoamerica decimated the native population, died Dec. 10 after a long illness. He was 86. Borah was a professor emeritus of history at the University of California at Berkeley, where he received his bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees. Borah's groundbreaking demographic studies, and their conclusions about the Spanish conquest are now universally accepted, said Tulio Halperin, another professor emeritus in history at UC Berkeley. Ken W. Clawson NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Ken W. Clawson, director of White House communications during the last months of the Nixon administration, died Friday of a heart attack. He was 63. Clawson was one of President Nixon's staunchest defenders during the Watergate scandal and remained loyal even after Nixon resigned. He joined Nixon's White House staff in 1972 as deputy director of communications and was named director of the office a year later. He left the White House in November 1974 and suffered a stroke shortly afterwards. Prior to joining Nixon's staff, Clawson was a White House reporter for The Washington Post. He also had worked as a reporter for the Monroe Evening News In Monroe, Mich., and The Blade of Toledo, Ohio. In 1967 he was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard. Roger Frison-Roche GRENOBLE, France (AP) -- Roger Frison-Roche, an avid mountaineer and writer who made the first live radio broadcast from the summit of Mont Blanc, has died in Chamonix in the French Alps. He was 93. The office of the mayor of Chamonix announced Friday that Frison-Roche fell into a coma on Thursday and died overnight. Frison-Roche wrote a series of books on mountaineering which sold more than 3 million copies over 50 years. In 1932, he produced the first live radio program from the summit of Mont Blanc, Europe's highest mountain, for Radio Lyon. Henry Helstoski RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- Former Rep. Henry Helstoski, an early opponent of U.S. involvement in Vietnam who became a critic of Washington after fighting a bribery charge, died Thursday after a long illness. He was 75. Helstoski, a Democrat from New Jersey who served six terms in the House, frequently spoke out against U.S. intervention in Vietnam after he was elected in 1964. In 1976, he was indicted for allegedly accepting an $8,000 bribe from South Americans seeking citizenship. He said political opponents were behind the charges, and the U.S. Supreme Court eventually dismissed the case. But Helstoski's political career ended that year, and he became an outspoken critic of life in Washington. He returned to teaching and he was also publisher of the Passaic Citizen, a weekly newspaper. Mike McCready FAYETTE, Iowa (AP) -- Mike McCready, a champion wrestler who developed winning teams as coach at Upper Iowa University, died Thursday. He was 49. A 1972 graduate of Northern Iowa University, McCready was in his 15th season at Upper Iowa. He had a 252-237-6 record and produced four NCAA Division III national champion wrestlers. McCready won nine U.S. Wrestling Federation national championships, five national amateur titles and a Pan American Games championship in 1975. He finished sixth in the 1975 world championships. Krishan Lal Sharma NEW DELHI, India (AP) -- Krishan Lal Sharma, the vice-president of India's ruling party who twice went to prison defending its Hindu nationalist ideology, died Friday. He was 74. Sharma died at the Ram Manohar Lohia hospital in New Delhi after a heart attack early Friday, Press Trust of India reported. Born on Nov. 1, 1925 in Lodhran town, which became part of Pakistan after India was partitioned in 1947, Sharma migrated with his family to the farming state of Punjab in northern India. For the next five decades, Sharma was an activist of the Hindu nationalist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the ideological fountainhead of Prime Minister Atal Bihari's Bharatiya Janata Party. Sharma was one of the spokesmen of the party. Grover Washington Jr. NEW YORK (AP) -- Grover Washington Jr., the jazz saxophonist who was among the first young musicians to burst onto the jazz-funk scene, died Friday night after collapsing at a television taping. He was 56. Washington collapsed Friday evening after taping a performance for CBS' ''The Saturday Early Show.'' He was pronounced dead at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital. Washington was one of the first musicians to enter the jazz-funk scene, a musical style that fused jazz and soul music. Born in Buffalo, N.Y., Washington was introduced to music by his saxophone-playing father. He joined his first band -- The Four Clefs -- as a teen-ager in 1959. In the early 1960s, Washington moved to Philadelphia, which became his home for life. He honed his rapid-growing abilities, playing in clubs until being discovered by organist Charles Earland, who put the young Washington on one of his albums. Washington's career took off in 1970 when he was featured on Johnny ''Hammond'' Smith's ''Breakout.'' Dick Williams CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- Dick Williams, who coached Catawba College to South Atlantic Conference baseball championships in 1992 and 1993, died Wednesday of complications from heart surgery. He was 71. Williams retired with a five-year record of 137-69 at the school. A native of Morganton, N.C., Williams also was a high school coach and athletic director in Charlotte. Andy Wiswell AIKEN, S.C. (AP) -- Producer Andy Wiswell, whose musical career spanned crooner Rudy Vallee to the 1960s Broadway musical ''Hair,'' died Friday following a short illness. He was 94. Wiswell got his start at Yale University, his alma mater, playing trombone in the Yale Collegiate Band with Vallee. He won a 1968 Grammy as producer for best score from an original cast album for ''Hair.'' In between, the producer worked on recordings with Perry Como, Kate Smith, Judy Garland, Harry Belafonte, Chet Atkins and Barry Sadler of ''Ballad of the Green Berets.'' He had five other Grammy nominations for his work with Broadway cast albums, including ''I Do! I Do!'' with Mary Martin in 1967. Some other noted Broadway musicals he worked with were ''Music Man, ''Hello, Dolly,'' ''Show Boat,'' and ''The Unsinkable Molly Brown.'' Wiswell, who was born in Maine, retired to Aiken in 1973. Šopyright 1999 Athens Newspapers Inc.