Welcome, God and All...
It's been some time since I allowed myself the opportunity to post a reflection. Enough has been going on, and it's getting harder to make postings quickly. I promise more on that in the near future.
Today, though, we once more approach the day of All Hallows; that time in the Church year when we reflect on our own mortality by recalling all who have died. It has become an annual tradition of mine to borrow from the Wikipedian almanac and offer a partial listing of the famous and infamous who were summoned into eternal life over the last twelve months. When I last checked, my name wasn't on the list...but you never know...
2021
November
November 7 – Dean Stockwell, American actor (b. 1936)
November 11 - F. W. de Klerk, 7th and last State President of South Africa and Nobel laureate (b. 1936)
November 26 – Stephen Sondheim, American composer and lyricist (b. 1930)
December
December 10 – Michael Nesmith, American musician and television personality (b. 1942)
December 11 - Anne Rice, American author (b. 1941)
December 26 - Desmond Tutu, South African Anglican archbishop, activist and Nobel laureate (b. 1931)
December 31 – Betty White, American actress (b. 1922)
2022
January
January 2 - Richard Leakey, Kenyan paleoanthropologist and conservationist (b. 1944)
January 6 - Peter Bogdanovich, American film director (b. 1939)
January 6 - Sidney Poitier, Bahamian-American actor, activist and ambassador (b. 1927)
January 20 - Meat Loaf, American singer and actor (b. 1947)
February
February 7 – Douglas Trumbull, American film director, special effects supervisor and inventor (b. 1942)
February 10 - Duvall Hecht, American rower, publisher and Olympic champion (b. 1930)
February 12 – Ivan Reitman, Czechoslovak-born Canadian film director and producer (b. 1946)
March
March 13 – William Hurt, American actor (b. 1950)
March 23 – Madeleine Albright, Czechoslovak-born American politician (b. 1937)
March 25 – Taylor Hawkins, American musician (b. 1972)
April
April 9 – Jack Higgins, English author (b. 1929)
April 18 – Sir Harrison Birtwistle, English composer (b. 1934)
April 26 – Klaus Schulze, German composer and musician (b. 1947)
May
May 17 – Vangelis, Greek composer and musician (b. 1943)
May 26 - Alan White, English drummer and songwriter (b. 1949)
May 27 – Angelo Sodano, 54th Secretary of State of the Holy See (b. 1927)
June
June 6 – Valery Ryumin, Soviet cosmonaut (b. 1939)
June 14 – A. B. Yehoshua, Israeli novelist, essayist and playwright (b. 1936)
June 27 – Leonardo Del Vecchio, Italian businessman (b. 1935)
July
July 8 - Shinzo Abe, 57th Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1954)
July 8 - Luis EcheverrÃa, 57th President of Mexico (b. 1922)
July 29 – Juris Hartmanis, Latvian-born American computer scientist (b. 1928)
August
August 8 – Dame Olivia Newton-John, Australian singer and actress (b. 1948)
August 12 – Wolfgang Petersen, German film director and producer (b. 1941)
August 30 - Mikhail Gorbachev, 8th and final leader of the Soviet Union and Nobel Peace Prize recipient (b. 1931)
September
September 8 – Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms (b. 1926)
September 15 – Saul Kripke, American philosopher and logician (b. 1940)
September 28 – Coolio, American rapper and actor (b. 1963)
October
(through October 25)
October 4 – Loretta Lynn, American country singer and songwriter (b. 1932)
October 11 – Dame Angela Lansbury, Irish-British American actress and singer (b. 1925)
October 24 – Ash Carter, American politician (b. 1954)
October 28 - Jerry Lee Lewis, 87, American Hall of Fame singer ("Great Balls of Fire", "Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On", "High School Confidential") (b.1935)
In addition, we remember the many unnamed who died from natural disasters and pandemic illness. We also remember all who died due to acts of violence all over the world, especially in the war between Ukraine and Russia.
May all the faithful departed now rest forever in the arms of our loving Savior; and. through your superabundant mercy, O God, rest in peace.
Until we meet again, may the same God be with you...
+the Phoenix
