Calvin Ray Aldridge, 79, of Stratford, Okla., died December 7, 2009. He married Maria F. Sanjur on June 16, 1969, in Panama. He served during the Cold War patrolling the Panama Canal. He retired as a sergeant with the Canal Zone Police force in February 1980. He was a member of the Panama Canal Society.
Charles LaVerne Blystone, Sr., died December 14, 2009, in Augusta, Ga. He was born in the Canal Zone. He was a resident of Aiken, Ga., and was a Heavy Equipment Mechanic for Three Rivers Solid Waste Authority.
Adrien M. “Kibby” Bouché Jr., 86, died September 27, 2009 in Lehi, Utah. He went to the Canal Zone at the age of 3 months to live in Pedro Miguel. He graduated from Balboa High School in 1941, and earned a degree from Canal Zone Junior College. After marriage he lived for most of the next 31 years in the Canal Zone where he worked as a civilian for the Signal Corps, the Panama Railroad, the Fire Department, as a Canal Signalman, the Meteorological and Hydrographic Branch, and Marine Traffic Control.
Genevieve Ellen Brady, 86, of Columbia, S.C., died November 29, 2009. She arrived in the Canal Zone in August of 1956 and left September of 1974. She was active in scouting and church programs, and very active in the bridge world.
Alfreda “Freddie” Brandenburg, 79, of Sun City Center, Fla., formerly of Coco Solo, Canal Zone, died November 16, 2009. She was the widow of Dick “Brandy” Brandenburg.
Tula Brown, 64, of Hiram, Ga., died December 1, 2009. She was born and raised in the Canal Zone and graduated from Cristobal High School in 1963. She attended Canal Zone College and worked for the Customs Division. She was a member of the Panama Canal Society and was a frequent vendor at the Society’s annual reunions where she sold her photographic artwork.
Patricia Ann Catlin, 58, of Cibolo, Texas, died December 13, 2009. She was a registered nurse and worked in military hospitals and clinics in Okinawa, Germany, and Panama. In Panama, she met and married her husband Russell. They moved to San Antonio, Texas, in 1992 where she continued to work until 2005.
Captain WK Morgan, 84, of Grovehill, Ala., died December 17, 2009. He worked for the Panama Canal Company as a pilot.
Louise Gloria Grote Munn, wife of former Canal Zone Police Officer George F. Munn, died January 27, 2010. She was born in Panama, R.P., graduated from the Pan-American Insstitute in 1952 and attended Canal Zone College. She worked for the U.S.Air Force at the Caribbean Air Command and Albrook and Howard Air Force bases until 1982. She was a member of the Panama Canal Company.
Ruth Irene Brown O’Neal, 88, died October 25, 2009. She lived with her husband in the Panama Canal Zone as a military family, and then as a PanCanal family until he retired in 1974. Early in their marriage she worked for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Panama. She was a member of the Panama Canal Society.
Albert F. Pate, 85, died January 12, 2010, in San Diego, Calif. Al worked his way up the ranks with the Locks Division at Gatun to finally having the position as Operations Supervisor for the Atlantic Locks. He retired in 1975 with 42 years service. He was a member of the Panama Canal Society of which he was President in 1982-83.
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Charles Alton Cavanaugh Jr., 83, died November 16, 2009. He retired from the Panama Canal Company in 1980 after 26 years of service as a locomotive operator. He was a member of the Panama Canal Society.
Captain Edmund P. (Phil) Gabriel died in Pensacola, Fla., on January 22, 2010.. He had a long and distinguished career in the U.S. Merchant Marine. He retired in 1987 from the Panama Canal where he held several positions, including Panama Canal Pilot, Assistant Port Captain, and Chairman of the Board of Local Inspectors.
Margarita R. Gibbs, 70, of Brandon, Fla., died November 4, 2009. Since leaving the Republic of Panama in 1989, she retired from the U.S. Marshals Service in 2007 and spent time traveling. She made her last trip home to Panama in 2008. She was a member of the Panama Canal Society.
Jackie Gilbert, 81, of San Antonio, Texas, died December 27, 2009. She went to the Canal Zone in 1940 with her family, graduated from Cristobal High School, and was a Vital Statistics Clerk for the Canal Zone Government. After leaving the Zone she worked for the Audie L. Murphy VA Hospital until her retirement in January 1985.
William J. Gilbert, Sr., 79, of Virginia Beach, Va., died December 12, 2009. He was born in the Canal Zone, and retired after 34 years of service as Harbor Master for the Panama Canal Company.
Lt. Col. Michael C. Kilgore, USAR (Ret.), died February 2, 2009. He graduated from Balboa High School in 1972 and from Washington State University in 1978 and received his commission in the U.S. Army. He left active duty in 1986 and went to work for Honeywell.
Elaine Sullivan Larkin, 83, died November 30, 2009, in Irvine, Calif. She was born in the Canal Zone, and she moved to Arcadia in 1944 following her graduation from Cristobal High School. She was a member of the Panama Canal Society.
Captain Robert (Bob) Lee Mc Auslin, 87, died November 5, 2009. In 1966 he and his family moved to the Canal Zone. He was a tugboat captain from 1966-1969. In November 1969 he became a Panama Canal Ship Pilot and retired in April 1984.
Captain Gerard Petroni, 74, died December 31, 2009. In 1977 Gerard was accepted as a Pilot-in-training by the Panama Canal Company and would work on the Canal until 2001. During this time he was a senior pilot, served 2.5 years as Captain of the Port, and was sent on Top Secret missions with the Special Forces and the Navy Seals in El Salvador and Honduras. From 1977-2001, the family lived in Gatun. He was a member of the Panama Canal Society.
Ellen Lamar Thomas, 95, of Lenox, Mass., died May 22, 2008. She was a graduate of St. Petersburg, Fla., high school where her best friend was the late Marie Weir, who taught biology and was Girls’ Advisor at Balboa High School. She taught journalism and English in Florida and in the Canal Zone and was faculty sponsor for the Zonian for the Balboa High School Class of 1951, then became a reading specialist.
Captain Roley J. Wesley, 85, of Washington, N.C., died January 4, 2010. He was a Sea Captain prior to working in the Panama Canal Zone. He retired as a Panama Canal pilot with 29 years of service.
Michael “Mike” Edward Zimmerman, 73, of Salem, Ore., died December 16, 2009. He moved to the Canal Zone at the age of 10 with his family where he lived until 1964. During his post-collegiate time in Panama, he was employed by the U.S. Navy. He returned to Oregon in 1964 and remained employed there until his retirement in 1993.
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