PASSINGS

-- Compiled by S.J. Cahn

Rosalind Williams

The crowd that gathered to celebrate her life was a testament to her

effect on Newport Beach. More than 700 friends and family members

gathered July 1 to remember the beloved, exuberant and tenacious

president and chief executive of the Newport Beach Conference and

Visitors Bureau, who died in June after a five-year battle with breast

cancer at the age of 55. No one was a bigger promoter of the city, no one

was more active and strong. “Rosalind was the source of my strength and

the strength of many others,” said her husband, Rick John. “She had charm

and dignity and respect and boundless energy. She had a way of lighting

up the whole room with her smile.” She will not be easily forgotten.

Andre Stewart

His death shocked fellow students at Newport Harbor High School.

Stewart, who in 1999 was named CIF Southern Section Offensive Player of

the Year in Division VI, was killed in May in an early morning car crash

in Riverside County. Students and community members gathered at the

school’s football field in an impromptu, crowded memorial to the fallen

star, who had rushed for 2,404 yards, a school single-season record, and

scored 26 touchdowns. After starting at Newport Harbor as a shy freshman,

Stewart had blossomed into a well-loved, star athlete. One student

pointed out that Stewart “proved that we can all look past color and

race. I have a hole in my heart wishing he could be here.”

Renee Mary Segerstrom

A philanthropist, cultural leader and the wife of developer Henry T.

Segerstrom, she was one of Orange County’s biggest supporters of the

arts. Segerstrom took a front-row seat to the development of the Orange

County Performing Arts Center, South Coast Repertory and Santa Ana’s

Bowers Museum. When she passed away in June after an extended illness at

the age of 72, it shocked and saddened the many artists and performers

she had aided over the years. “She generously provided outstanding

leadership and counsel on numerous occasions, and will be greatly

missed,” said SCR’s producing artistic director, David Emmes.

Dennis Danell

A former guitarist for Orange County’s famous punk band Social

Distortion, the 38-year-old collapsed on the driveway of his Newport

Beach home at the end of February. Despite his punk rock-star status --

the band recorded throughout the ‘80s and ‘90s and had hits such as

“Mommy’s Little Monster” and “Ball and Chain” -- he was remembered as a

family man whose first priority was his wife and children.

John Zubieta

Anybody in Newport Beach and Costa Mesa who’s ever been hungry felt a

pang in the belly when news came that the restaurateur died at the age of

62. His locally famous Zubie’s Chicken Coop -- where peanut shells and

sawdust lined the floors -- was the crown of his empire, began in the

early ‘60s with a Corona del Mar pizza joint. His death, just five months

after he’d sold the restaurant to travel with his wife, came as a

surprise to family.

John Richard ‘Dickey’ Jones

His send off was a wet one. Fellow surfers gathered after his June

death, caused by heart failure, to remember Jones where he would’ve

wanted it: on the beach. After huddling on the sand, the group of surfers

paddled into the lineup south of the Newport Pier and formed a circle for

a final farewell. Some of those who gathered were friends who had not

seen each other in 30 years.

Gordon ‘Tex’ Beneke

His saxophone was famous and his voice was strong and unforgettable on

such songs as “Chattanooga Choo-choo,” the first million-selling record.

He took over for the famous Glen Miller in 1944, playing big band music

consistently through to the 1980s, when his health deteriorated and

forced him to cut back his schedule. The 86-year-old died in late May of

respiratory arrest in a Costa Mesa nursing home.

Claire Trevor Bren

The Academy Award-winning actress and patron of the performing arts

continued her involvement with theater and film long after her own acting

career ended. Bren appeared in such films as “Murder My Sweet,” “Johnny

Angel” and “Key Largo,” winning an Oscar for her role in the latter film,

in 1948. She also was the stepmother of developer Donald Bren, chairman

of the Irvine Co. Earlier in the year, she donated $500,000 to UC

Irvine’s drama department to renovate the Village Theatre, which has been

named in her honor.

Clement Lang Hirsch

Whether it was chili or horses, he had the business savvy to be

successful. Hirsch, who died in March at the age of 85, created Kal Kan

dog food and started Stagg Foods Inc. But he was perhaps best known for

being the driving force behind the Oak Tree Racing Assn. at the Santa

Anita race track in Arcadia. He was a successful breeder and owners of

horses, and also was friends with Jimmy Durante and John Wayne.

Rex Brandt

The artist who designed Newport Beach’s city seal in 1957, Brandt was well-known for his watercolor depictions of Orange County. He and his

wife, Joan, founded the Newport Harbor Art Museum. He will be best

remembered for his style, which he called “iconography,” which showed his

love for the coastline and the sea. Brandt died in March at the age of

85, after suffering a heart attack in his Corona del Mar home.

Ronnie Brown

The longtime Balboa Bay Club entertainer, who died at the age 68 in

September, knew the big shots: Frank Sinatra, Duke Ellington, Ella

Fitzgerald, Sammy David Jr. and Dean Martin. An “unknown Rat Pack” guy,

according to his son, Brown worked at the Bay Club, by various

estimations, from the 1960s through the ‘70s. A top jazz pianist, he was

named to Playboy Magazine’s all-star jazz poll three years running.