October 2003

Josefa (Chefa) Maria Barrows of Portland, Ore., died on April 26, 2003. She was born in Chiriqui, Panama and was the widow of Lester H. Barrows who worked for the Locks Division in Gatun until 1967.

Angela M. Damiani, 87, of Alpharetta, Ga., passed away on September 11, 2003. She traveled to the Canal Zone in 1943 to join her husband Louis. She was a long-time resident of Margarita and Gatun until retirement in 1973.

Robert Millard Fretland of Compass Lake, Fla., died September 8, 2003. He was a professional tolfer and was the pro at Brazos Brooks Country Club. He married Ada Lee Sullivan in Gatun.

Capt. Daniel M.R. Haff, 83, passed away September 4, 2003 at his home in Hartford, N.Y. He was with the Marine Division as a Panama Canal Pilot from 1959-1975.

Helen Leach Meisinger, 86, who was a long-time resident of the Canal Zone, passed away August 6, 2003. She was a graduate of Cristobal High school, and was employed by the Panama Canal Government Accounting Office. She retired in 1969 and moved to Miami, Fla.

Dorothy Houser Neville, 93, of Palm Harbor, Fla., died July 30, 2003. She came to Florida from the Panama Canal Zone in 1972.

Robert Rogers, 63, of Tequesta, Fla., passed away September 27, 2003 at Sloan Kettering Hospital in New York City from cancer. He was the husband of Dalys “Didi” Bremer Rogers (BHS’61).

Thomas J. Street, Sr. “Jack”, 80, of St. Petersburg died September 4, 2003. He was chief of construction for the Panama Canal Co., and was an avid golfer, fisherman, and reader.

William Ashton Sullivan, 74, of Dothan, Ala., died September 16, 2003. He was born in the Panama Canal Zone and lived there until moving to Dothan in 1981. At the time of his retirement he was serving as president of the Panama Canal Zone Insurance Board.

Ruth E. Thompson, 85, of Bradenton, Fla., died August 18, 2003. She went to the Panama Canal Zone after service in the Army Nurses Corps and worked as an RN at Gorgas Hospital until retiring in 1980.

Bobbye Lou Herrington Wellington, 58, (BHS’63), died from pancreatic cancer on September 3, 2003. She was the wife of Donald F. Wellington (BHS’63), the daughter of Robert and Dorothy Herrington of Clearwater, Fla., and the sister of Russell Herrington (BHS’67).

James A. Yates of Largo, Fla., passed away on August 30, 2003. He was a member of the Panama Canal Society of Florida. No further information is available.