PASSINGS

Carl Diedrich

The man whose name gives off the smell of coffee died at 86 in July at

his Costa Mesa home from complications of Parkinson’s disease. A native

of Magdeburg, Germany, Diedrich founded Diedrich Coffee in a single-car

garage on South Bristol Street. An engineer by trade, Diedrich worked as

a lecturer and marine biologist before deciding to pursue the coffee

business. The Diedrich family moved to Guatemala, where he and several

partners bought a 45-acre coffee plantation. It was there that Diedrich

raised and taught his five sons about the art of fine coffee roasting. In

1972, Diedrich wanted to import his premium beans to the United States,

so he and his wife drove to Southern California and ended up in Costa

Mesa. The rest is history.

David Wagner Jameson

The former Newport Beach resident who helped send Del Taco on its

successful path died at 74 in November of heart and kidney failure. In

1965, he partnered with Del Taco founder Ed Hackbarth. In 1966, the duo

incorporated the company -- then called Red-E Foods Systems -- to help

franchise the restaurants. They sold the company in 1975. Jameson is also

credited with Del Taco’s building design of the mid-1970s.

Ceceline Godsoe

The 16-year-old Costa Mesa resident was found dead in Fairview Park on

Sept. 21, some time after she was reportedly bludgeoned on the head by a

blunt instrument. The 17-year-old boy suspected of the slaying has not

been found. Authorities believe he’s hiding in Mexico. Her father,

meanwhile, said he often puts fresh flowers on the dust and brush-covered

trail where his daughter was found dead by a friend. At her funeral,

friends recalled that Ceceline always wore a radiant smile.

David Martyn

The orthopedic surgeon was as famous in Newport Beach for his sense of

community and camaraderie as he was respected for his medical expertise.

The Newport Beach resident died in his sleep at 64 in November. He had

his own Newport Beach practice since 1971 and had also been an orthopedic

surgeon on Hoag Hospital’s staff for 30 years. He was also a member of

the Commodores Club and was chosen member of the year in 1987.

Brian Sweet

The 19-year-old Orange Coast College crew team member collapsed on the

bleachers during an informal practice run Aug. 16. Sweet was running

“stadium stairs,” or up and down in the bleachers, a common exercise

performed by athletes. Later, it was discovered he died of a sudden heart

condition. Such heart failure is typical among young people. His father

described the Costa Mesa resident as “wonderfully social, always up and

enthusiastic.”

Jeanette Segerstrom

The Newport Beach resident, who once owned and was managing partner of

South Coast Plaza and C.J. Segerstrom and Sons, died at 72 of cancer in

October. Wife of the late Harold T. Segerstrom, a founder of South Coast

Plaza, she caught every Opera Pacific show, almost every major concert

performed by the Pacific Symphony Orchestra and many performances at the

Orange County Performing Arts Center. The couple were original founders

of Opera Pacific and recent donors of $1.3 million to underwrite the

Pacific Symphony’s Classics Series, which was renamed for the

Segerstroms.

Brianna Olympius

The 10-year-old Costa Mesan was just a young girl who loved roses,

butterflies, bright reds and rainbows. She was Ms. Sunshine. Brianna was

chatting with her friends and laying with her mother right before she

died peacefully Sept. 18 from complications from a tumor that had woven

itself into her brain stem. She also touched many people at Newport

Heights Elementary School, where she attended fourth-grade last year.

Frances Robinson

The longtime Newport Beach environmentalist ardently defended the Back

Bay from development with husband Frank in the early 1970s. In June, she

died of heart failure at 82. The Robinsons, known in town as “Fran and

Frank,” made their biggest mark in 1969, when they sued to stop Orange

County from handing over the Back Bay to the Irvine Co. for homes. In

1973, a judge validated the couple’s claim that the land should be kept

open for public use. The court ruling paved the way for the state to buy

the 750 acres and designate it a protected ecological preserve. The state

also bought 140 acres from the Irvine Co. for $3.5 million.

David ‘Bucko’ Shaw

David “Bucko” Shaw was a star on the 1974 Newport Harbor High Sunset

League championship football team, which set a school record for

victories in a season as the Sailors finished 10-2. He died of liver

cancer in May. During the great season, Shaw, a first-team all-league

strong safety, returned an interception 100 yards for a touchdown against

Loara High. Shaw later coached at Newport Harbor as a defensive

coordinator, helping the Tars win three consecutive Sea View League

championships from 1983 through ’85.

James Person ‘Jim’ Felton

The journalist known as the preeminent chronicler of Newport Beach’s

history died at 86 in April. Felton worked for many newspapers, including

the Seattle Times, Los Angeles Daily News and Newporter-Mesa News, and

wrote more than 1,000 columns for the Newport Ensign, Daily Pilot and

Newport News. He also edited the Bay Window, the Balboa Bay Club’s

monthly newsletter. As vice president of Foote, Cone & Belding and Avco

Financial Services, he also established himself in the field of

advertising and public relations. After he retired, he wrote and edited

several books on the city’s history, including essay collections for

Newport Beach’s 75th and 100th anniversary and “Host of the Coast,” a

history of the Balboa Bay Club.

Robert S. ‘Bob’ Knox

The longtime community activist in Newport Beach and member of the

Newport Beach Public Library Board of Trustees died at 70 in February. He

became a library trustee in 1998 and had served as a director of Speak Up

Newport since 1994. An avid golfer, tennis player and skier, Knox’s final

illness -- he suffered from skin cancer -- prevented him from joining a

group of friends on a skiing trip.

Harold Swanson

Corona del Mar’s first mail carrier died at 85 of lung and liver

cancer in February. Swanson was a mail clerk for the United States Post

Office in Indiana until 1949, when he requested a transfer to California.

Corona del Mar was in need of a mail carrier, and Swanson took the job,

which he retired from in 1970.

Brad Evans

Friends and family, as well as current and former classmates and

teammates, shared warm and lasting memories of Brad Evans, a former

Corona del Mar High basketball player who died at 23 in an Oakland house

fire in January. He started as a senior guard for the 1995-96 Sea Kings,

helping them advance to the CIF Southern Section Division III-A

quarterfinals. He was called up from the junior varsity squad for the the

1995 CIF varsity playoff run, which resulted in a Division IV-AA

championship.

Leslie Steffensen

Leslie Steffensen, a longtime Corona del Mar resident who helped write

the Newport Beach city charter that made the city a progressive and

modern town, died at 95 on natural causes in January. In 1954, he became

chairman of the board of Freeholders, the group that created the city

charter. He also served as a trustee of the Newport Harbor High School

District and was chairman of the Orange County Grand Jury. In 1957, he

was named Newport Beach’s Citizen of the Year. A man of many talents, he

was also active in theater during the 1930s and ‘40s, playing leading

roles in such musicals as “Oklahoma.”