Mary Katherine Courtney Wyatt, a longtime Claremont resident, died in Pomona on March 30, 2014 following a pacemaker implant that went awry. She was 99.
She was born in Maryville, Missouri on September 24, 1914, the second daughter of William E. and Bess S. Courtney. She and her older sister Ellen lived with their parents in Kansas City, Missouri, while summers were spent with their mother’s relatives in Maryville as the only nieces of nine doting aunts and uncles.
Barbara Bolinger Mitchell died on September 3, 2014 at her Palm Desert home after a valiant six-and-a-half-year battle with colorectal cancer. She was 68. She was surrounded by family and friends she loved, and who loved her deeply. Typical of her spirit, throughout her long illness she fiercely powered through every situation and obstacle that confronted her.
She was born in Pomona on May 21, 1946 to Bob and Evalynn Bolinger and raised in Claremont. Her parents were onetime owners of the Village Grille and Casa Flores, and Mr. Bolinger served on the city’s planning commission.
Ray Eberle of Upland died August 15, 2014 at Silverado Sierra Vista Memory Care Community in Azusa from frontotemporal dementia. He was 73.
He was born in Buffalo, New York on April 27, 1941, the son of Raymond and Genevieve Eberle. He grew up playing all kinds of sports but excelled in baseball and basketball. Indeed, he earned the family nickname of “Mickey,” for his hot bat and beautiful blue eyes. He attended St. Joseph’s Collegiate Institute on a sports scholarship during high school and was signed as a “bonus baby” by the Detroit Tigers
Longtime Claremont resident Linda “Lin” Humphrey died in her sleep at her home here on August 14, 2014. She was 74. Ms. Humphrey was an English professor at Citrus College for many years prior to her retirement in 2004.
Described by a legion of friends as “one of a kind,” Ms. Humphrey’s family is planning a memorial for her in the fall. A more complete account of her life will published in a future edition of the COURIER.
Langdon Elsbree, a longtime Claremont resident, died on June 21, 2014, two days before his 85th birthday.
Mr. Elsbree began his life on June 23, 1929, becoming a “birthright Friend” and resident of Wallingford, Pennsylvania. His first formal education was at The School in Rose Valley, founded by a group of parents, after the theories of Dewey, Ruskin and Morris, followed by secondary years at Swarthmore High and George School. His bachelor’s degree came from Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana in 1952.
During his undergraduate years, Mr. Elsbree, known as “Lang” by friends, held a variety of jobs to help pay for his education.
Professor, world traveler, grandmother
Lore M. Dormer, a longtime Claremont resident, died on July 2, 2014. She was 89.
She was born in Stuttgart, Germany in 1925 and earned a master’s degree from Eberhard Karls University in Tübingen, Germany. In 1954, she met Major Thomas L. Dormer, then a captain in the US Army who was stationed at Rivers Barracks in Giessen, Germany as part of the 331st Communication Reconnaissance Company. They were married soon after and moved to Claremont in 1961.
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