April 2004

Leo John Cannon, 75, of Gainesville, Fla., died January 6, 2004 at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, after a lengthy illness. In l970, Leo and his family traveled to Panama via the Inter-American Highway where he went to work in the Engineering & Construction Bureau and the Executive Planning Council until 1986.

Lillian Bishop Clarke, 84, died on March 24, 2004 after a short illness at Fairfax Nursing Center, Fairfax, Va. She was Executive Secretary in the office of the Governor of the Canal Zone.

Geraldine T. (Snodgrass) Clausen, Ph.D., 71, died February 13, 2004 in Columbus, Ohio. Geraldine graduated with the class of 1950 from Balboa High School. She was a member of the Panama Canal Society.

Sarah M. Curles, 92, a retired accounting technician for the U.S. Army died March 7, 2004 in Dunnellon, Fla. She moved to Dunnellon from the Canal Zone in 1970.

William Worth Good, Sr., also known to his close friends as Bill or “El Duende”, 74, passed away on November 20, 2003. He worked for 33 years as an Electronics Technician with the Panama Canal Company until retirement. He and his wife moved to the United States in 1997.

Lorraine M. “L’aine” Little, 49, of St. Petersburg died March 24, 2004 at home under hospice care. She came to the U.S. in 1980 from the Canal Zone. She was a teachers assistant and a member of the Panama Canal Society.

Samuel “Sandy” Matlovsky, 82, died February 17, 2004 of natural causes at his home in Haverhill, Mass. Born in the Canal Zone, he moved to France at 15 as the youngest student accepted by the Paris Conservatory of Music.

Stephanie Amanda May (Beck), 63, of Evanston, Ill., passed away March 29, 2004 after a long battle with cancer. She graduated from Cristobal High School in 1958. Her father was Paul Beck who served as Principal of Cristobal High School for many years.

Glen C. Oglesby, 74, of St. Petersburg, died March 24, 2004 at St. Petersburg General Hospital. He came from the Panama Canal Zone in 1962. Locally, he was a retired supervisor for the Water Department where he worked for more than 26 years.

Franklin Mattes Orr (known to his friends as Matt), 83, passed away February 5, 2004. He was born in the Canal Zone in 1920 and he went through the school system up to junior college. He then went to the University of Texas and later worked for Exxon until retirement.

Donald “Pos” Clinton Parker, 83, of Inverness, Fla., died March 9, 2004. He was born in Colon, went to school on the Atlantic Side through high school and later attended Canal Zone Junior College. He retired as Chief Foreman of the Marine Bunkering Section at Mount Hope in 1976.

Thelma Torbert Sasso, 88, died on January 5, 2004 in San Antonio, Texas, after an illness of several months. She retired as Secretary to the Chief of the Operations Division in 1977 after more than 36 years of service.

Jeanne Hellums Schuetz, 74, of Horton, Kan., died February 20, 2004. She graduated from Cristobal High School in 1948 and later attended and graduated from the Missouri Methodist Hospital Nurses Training Program.

Georgette Marie Wiberg, 83, of Margate, Fla. died on March 27, 2004. She went to the Canal Zone in 1947 to join her husband Ewald who worked for the Electrical Division. She was active in the Margarita Union Church, Cub Scouts and the Redeemer Lutheran Church after moving to the Pacific side.