All in Obituary

Marion M. Fukushima

Long-time Swarthmore resident Marion Fukushima died peacefully on January 3 in Burlington, Vermont. She was 92. She and her husband Toshiyuki Fukushima made their home in Swarthmore from 1956 - 2015 and raised their six children there.

Roberta Brogan

Roberta (Bobbie) Brogan, 93, passed away on Sunday, December 8, 2019, at Palos Verdes Senior Living in Peoria, Arizona, with her family at her side. She lived a blessed life full of love for her family, for her dogs, and for golf.

Eugene L. Melcher

Eugene L. (Gene) Melcher, 79, passed away Wednesday, December 4, 2019, at home, with his wife Emilie (June) Spring-Melcher by his side. Gene graduated from Swarthmore High School in 1959 and was president of his class. He played ninth grade heavy-weight football, soccer, ran track, and was manager of the Swarthmore High School football team under Coach Millard Robinson. Gene was a lifeguard and taught swimming at Spring Haven Country Club.

Tate F. Roderick

Tate Francis Roderick, 19, of Wallingford, passed away on Thursday, December 5, 2019. Tate was born in Fort Worth, Texas, on October 22, 2000, and graduated from the Dr. Robert Ketterer Charter School in 2019. He loved music and animals, especially his dog Luvee and cat Johnny. Tate, who touched many lives, had a beautiful soul and a big heart. He will be dearly missed.

Jonathan Stone Sutton

Jonathan Stone Sutton, 75, passed away on Thursday, November 21, 2019, surrounded by his loving family. Jon was a founding partner of Growth Properties, which was at the forefront of the rebirth of Old City in Philadelphia.

Kathleen V. L’Armand

Kathleen Virginia L’Armand passed away in her home in Swarthmore on November 16, 2019. She was 77. She is survived by her husband of 56 years, Adrian; four children, Felix (Angela), Nathan (Lori), Catherine (Jeremy), and Jacob; seven grandchildren, Phineas, Beatrice, Oliver, Sidney, Maeve, Samuel, and Leo; a sister, Sally; and brothers, Warren, Paul, and Scott. Kathleen was predeceased by her sister Carol.

Richard Lee Corrigan

Longtime Swarthmore resident Richard “Dick” Lee Corrigan died on Wednesday, November 6, 2019, at the Snow Hill Nursing Home. He was 86. Born in Baltimore, Mr. Corrigan was the son of the late Henry and Cleta Franey Corrigan. 

Henry F. Thorne, Jr.

Henry F. Thorne, Jr. of Wallingford, Pa., passed away November 6, 2019 from complications of congestive heart failure. He was 76. Born in 1943 in Brockton, Mass., to Henry F. Thorne and Dorothy W. (Trott) Thorne of Braintree, Mass., Hank graduated from Braintree High School in 1961 and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1965, then served in the U.S. Navy for 5 years as a Naval Intelligence Officer, before attending the Wharton School of University of Pennsylvania, where he received his M.B.A. in 1972.

Thomas Hewett

Thomas Hewett of Wallingford died at the age 78 on October 26, 2019. Tom was born in Logan, Utah, to Frank and Louise Hewett. Tom is survived by his loving wife, Angela, whom he married in 1968; three children, Kathryn Giorgianni (Frank), Eric (Anna), and Dave; eight grandchildren; and his sister, Sara Osborne of Salt Lake City.

Andrew Wayne Moss

Andrew Wayne Moss, a 1986 alumnus of Strath Haven High School, died October 10 in Plainfield, N.J. He was diagnosed with the neurodegenerative disorder Huntington’s disease in 2004, as was late his father, William Wayne Moss, formerly of Swarthmore.

Dietlind “Linde” Heintz

Dietlind “Linde” Heintz, age 88, died on July 10, 2019. Linde was born in Kraliky, Czech Republic, in 1930. At the end of World War II, her family left their home and fled to Vienna, Austria. She and her sister lived in a children’s home sponsored by the American Friends Service Committee for the next few years until her parents were able to secure an apartment adequate to house them as a family. After high school, Linde attended a textile school and worked in the textile industry.

Mary R. Welsh

Mary R. Welsh passed away peacefully in her sleep on August 16, 2019 at her nursing home at Shell Point, Fort Myers, Florida. She was born Mary Rose Williams in Gaddsten, Alabama, on June 22, 1932. She was the eldest of two children. Her family moved to Columbus, Ga., where Mary excelled as a student, graduating from high school at the age of 15. Around the same time, she was discovered by a modeling agency. She was first a hand and foot model, and then later, a model for Coca-Cola. She featured prominently in the highly successful “Have a Coke” campaign.

Edmund Jones

Edmund Jones of Swarthmore passed away on September 14, 2019 at the age of 101. Ed was born on April 15, 1918 in Chester, Penna to the late Henry Walter Jones and Margaret Witmer Jones. In 1930 the family moved to Swarthmore. He graduated from Swarthmore High School (1935), Swarthmore College (1939), and the University of Pennsylvania Law School (1942). In 1941 he married Adalyn F. Purdy (Lyn). They were married for 72 years until she passed in 2013.