The Chestnut Hill Local

Obituaries

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Long-time Chestnut Hill resident Sarah Stevens Heckscher, who died of metastatic breast cancer July 17 in Greenbrae, Marin County, Calif. at 85, was truly a renaissance woman. more

by Clark Groome | 9/9/21

Chris, who passed away on Aug. 6 at age 59, and his wife Wendy loved to cook, collect art and design their exquisite gardens and habitats.

Mt. Airy polymath descended from Philadelphia giants

Christopher Rittenhouse Bentley, 59, passed away on Aug. 6 after a five-month battle with Acute Myeloid Leukemia. more

by Len Lear | 8/25/21

Ellen Van Pelt Wells, first editor of the Local

Ellen Van Pelt Wells, newspaper editor, political activist and naturalist, died peacefully on August 14th at age 93 in Philadelphia. more

8/19/21

Walter J. Fox Jr., writer and journalist

In retirement, he worked for several years as articles editor at the Chestnut Hill Local. more

8/19/21

Local author, tech expert and cat rescuer, dies at 58

Calla Knopman, 58, an animal behaviorist and volunteer with Brenda's Cat Rescue (BCR), whose photos of rescued cats have appeared in the Local for two decades, died Aug. 4. more

by Len Lear | 8/19/21

Lois H. Fischer. Philadelphia, PA (1951-2021)

Lois H. Fischer, 1951-2021

Lois H. Fischer, a Master Gardener, museum educator, property manager and loving wife and mother, passed away peacefully on July 31, 2021 at the age of 70, surrounded by her family. more

8/12/21

Marie Rankin, eccentric, generous Hiller, dies at 81

Marie Rankin, of Chestnut Hill, passed away unexpectedly at home on May 25 at the age of 81. Marie was born in Letterkenny, Donegal, Ireland. At age 16, Marie traveled by boat alone to the U.S. in … more

by Kelsea Schagrin | 6/3/21

Harry Kenneth Milner

Harry “Kenny” Milner, a resident of Wyndmoor, died March 6, 2021, two months before his 101st Birthday. Kenny was born May 6, 1920, in Philadelphia, to Caroline and Charles Milner. … more

4/22/21

Gene Beth Bishop of Mt. Airy was a beloved medical doctor and political activist who survived three bouts with cancer but not a fourth.

Mt. Airy doctor remembered for compassion, activism

In Gene Bishop's desk is a stack of index cards — the kind doctors would fill out, one for each patient, in the hand-scribed days before electronic medical records. The cards date to the 1970s, … more

by Anndee Hochman | 3/18/21

Arnold Lee Greenberg, Miquon Upper School (now Crefeld School) founder

Arnold Lee Greenberg, 82, died in Penobscot, Maine, on March 5, after a struggle with prostate cancer. Born April 25, 1938 in Chester, Pennsylvania and raised in Philadelphia, Greenberg had a rich, … more

3/18/21

Elda Davis lived with her husband, James, a history professor at the University of Pennsylvania, for 35 years in Mt. Airy and 18 years in Chestnut Hill before they retired to Cathedral Village in 2013.

Elda Davis: survived Nazi horrors, long-time Mt. Airy mom dies at 91

Elda Davis, who lived in Mt. Airy for 35 years and then Chestnut Hill for 18 years after her family survived the Nazi destruction of her home town in central Europe during World War II, died Feb. 3 … more

by Len Lear | 3/12/21

Elizabeth Marvin Cecil

Elizabeth Marvin Cecil (Betty),84, died peacefully on December 4th, 2020 at The Hill at Whitemarsh in Lafayette Hill, PA. The cause of death was multiple myeloma. She is survived by her two daughters … more

3/9/21

Julia Vieland, pianist and teacher

Julia Vieland, pianist and teacher, died peacefully at Cathedral Village in Roxborough on February 3, 2021. Julia devoted more than 75 of her 96 years to sharing the joy of making music through her … more

2/18/21

Barbara Ann Ruth, interior designer and architect

Barbara Ann Ruth, a former Chestnut Hill resident, died peacefully at her home in Philadelphia, Jan. 20 at the age of 81. Barbara blazed her own trail in life. While her family was well known for … more

2/11/21

Russell Harvey, who lived to be 105, was photographed when we worked as a bartender as a young man. (Photo courtesy of the family.)

Lifelong Northwest Philly resident and oldest man in city, Russell A. Harvey, dies at 105.

On May 29, 2019, Mayor Kenney and the city-sponsored a luncheon in the ballroom at Sugar House Casino to honor the city's centenarians. One of the honorees was Russell A. Harvey, a lifelong Northwest … more

By Len Lear | 2/3/21

Ruth Russell in the offices of the Chestnut Hill Local in 1993.

Ruth R. Russell, journalist, longtime Local editor

Ruth R. Russell, a longtime Local editor and Chestnut Hill resident, died on Jan 2. She was 87. Russell was a life-long Philadelphian. She was born in Olney to William and Doris Rummler. William … more

by Pete Mazzaccaro | 1/14/21

Carole Delmore Sivin, artist, educator

Carole Sivin, a long-time Hill resident, artist and professor died on Dec. 30 at the age of 84. more

1/14/21

Nancy Lang Boyer, artist and winner of Penn State Show

Nancy Lang Boyer, oil and pastel painter, passed peacefully at the age of 94 on December 17 at home in Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, where she lived during the past four years, across the street … more

1/4/21

George von Scheven, architect

George von Scheven, 83, a former Chestnut Hill resident, died December 4, in San Francisco, CA. His family was at his side. Mr. von Scheven was born in 1937, in Frankfurt am Mein, Hessen, … more

12/30/20

Bernice Krauss Bricklin, attorney, political activist

Bernice Bricklin, a political activist and attorney, died at Cathedral Village in Roxborough on Dec. 19 from complications of COVID-19. She was 93. Bricklin was born on August 4, 1927 in … more

12/30/20

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