Here are a few pictures of Mary and I on vacation. The first is last year at Big Sur. The next 3 are from last Monday and Tuesday of this week. We have our first view of the Grand Canyon and two pictures of Mary and I playing golf in Sedona, AZ.
Jack R. Cortner (1929-2009)
Lisman’s father, Jack, passed away last Sunday, March 8th, 2009. He had been hospitalized in Sewanee, his home, over a month ago and died there, just days before he would have moved to a nursing home. Lisman is quite at ease over his passing. Jack had put up a long, and at times, difficult battle with aging and illness. Lisman was with him just weeks ago as he entered the hospital for the last time.
Below is the first draft of Jack’s NY Times obituary:
Jack R. Cortner, formerly of New York, died Sunday Mar. 8th, in Sewanee,
Tennessee after a long illness. Father of Lisman Cortner Fall and grandfather
of Charlotte and Lex Fall of Montclair, NJ, Mr. Cortner was born in 1929 in
Memphis, TN.  A New York City resident from 1962-1996, he worked on Wall Street
as an investment officer for The Bank of New York, in assets management for
Dean-Witter, and the Trust Dept., Manufacturers-Hanover Bank. Services will
be held on April 4th in the Chapel of St. Andrew’s School, Sewanee, where
Jack had long been a trustee. Memorials may be sent to The Scholarship
Fund, St. Andrew’s School, Sewanee, TN 37375.
Jack with his grandchildren, 2006:
Jack’s home in Tennessee:
THON on NBC’s Today Show
The Today Show did a nice story on THON.
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
C. Tod Jeffers (1941-2009)
My long time friend Tod Jeffers passed away after suffering a sudden heart attack in his sleep Saturday night. Â Tod had a previous attack about ten years ago but had hoped that was all in his past.
The radio station in Wheeling WV that Tod has been working for the last few years ran several tributes to him yesterday. Â Here’s the local TV news announcement of Tod’s passing.
Here’s his obituary as it appears this morning in several papers in Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
Charles Tod Jeffers
April 22, 1941 – March 1, 2009 Charles Tod Jeffers, 67, of Wheeling, W.V., died suddenly at home, on Sunday, March 1, 2009. He was born on April 22, 1941, in Glen Dale, W.V., the son of the late Charles W. and Hazel Baker Jeffers.
Tod was a 1959 graduate of Moundsville High School and attended WLSC and Penn State University. He was U.S. Army Veteran serving in Greece, where he learned to speak the language fluently. Tod lived for the radio, broadcasting for over 45 years. He began his radio career while serving in Athens, Greece. After returning to the states, he continued that career at WMOD in Moundsville, WHLL-1600 in Wheeling (currently WKKX-1600), WWVA in Wheeling, WMAJ in State College, Pa., KLNK in Oklahoma City, Okla., WBNS in Columbus, Ohio, KOOL-94FM, then Z107FM in Harrisburg, Pa. He then made his final journey back to his roots in the Ohio Valley at AM1600-WKKX, where he hosted “Jeffers and Company”.
Throughout his career, he has interviewed many celebrities. Tod loved the people in the Ohio Valley. He was a pilot, an avid golfer, and quite a storyteller. He was a big West Virginia Mountaineer Fan; but Penn State held a large part of his heart. He was a season ticket holder at Beaver Stadium since 1965. He was “the voice” of the Penn State Men’s Basketball and Wrestling Programs.
Tod is survived by his daughter, Vicki Hoak (Russ Allen), of Chippewa Township, Pa.; a son, Andy Jeffers, of State College, Pa.; his grandchildren, Matt Hoak, of Vienna, Va., Danielle Hoak, of Chippewa Township, and Jasa Jeffers, of State College; his brothers, Toby (Kathy) Jeffers, of Beaver, Pa., and Jay (Kathy) Jeffers, of Moundsville; a sister, Marla (Ed) Rogerson, of Lake Arrowhead, Calif.; and his beloved pet and companion, Mikey, who will be lost without his faithful friend.
Tod will be deeply missed by all his family, friends, co-workers, and his many devoted listeners. Family will receive friends on Wednesday from 2-4 and 6-8 p.m. at Grisell Funeral Home & Crematory, 400 Jefferson Avenue, Moundsville, where Memorial Services will be held on Thursday at 4 p.m., with Mike Eskridge officiating. Private interment will be held at the convenience of the family. Sympathy expressions at grisellfuneralhomes.com.
Tod will be sorely missed. He had an incredible ability to be at home in just about any environment. Wherever he went, he would quickly become the center of attention as he would hold court with his tales. As tall as they seemed to many, having been an integral part of more than just a few, I must admit that he stuck pretty much to the truth yet still managed to make them seem wildly entertaining.
Listeners to his radio show, in response to a poll asking how Tod would be remembered, overwhelming described answered as a “storyteller”. Nothing could be more accurate.
My condolences go out to his brothers and sister, his children, and his grandchildren. His oldest grandson, Matt, graduated from Penn State two years ago. Tod and I used to joke about how he was apt to soon become a great grandfather. Sadly he won’t see that day.
Charlotte 10th: Party #1 & #2
Had a little ice cream cake with Nana last night. Tonight the big party, a sleep-over of 10 girls. Whee!!
Tonight, in lieu of cake, Charlotte decided to have the chocolate fountain.
My 60th Celebrations!
Decided to keep the 60th a small celebration (unlike the 40th & 50th). Had dinner with some close friends last weekend. Note the beautiful orchid arrangement Dawn made (and small bouquets for each lady). Kenny, I do look much better when pictures are taken out of the sunshine, don’t I?
Dinner on my birthday was at Dawn’s. Reid was sick, so he went to bed early. Blake helped Mommy decorate…he especially loved the balloons and the Mickey Mouse cake.
Shannon put together a little book of “60 Things I’ve Learned from My Mom”. Some were pretty standard things a mother should teach a child i.e., “Patience”, “Work Ethic”, “Pride” etc. Some were things our mother taught us i.e., “Kill them with Kindness”, giving people the “Benefit of the Doubt” etc. Some things were applicable to just us i.e., “The Fall Family Lazy Gene – it does exist and I’ve taught her how to combat it”, “How much she loves Mickey Mouse cakes”, “How to pronounce things correctly – The ‘Mary’ test is a perfect example”, and of course “Family – Nothing matters more”.
It was a great birthday and would only have been better with all of you here. We got close on Christmas…we need to keep trying!
Updated software
The next time you go to enter a post, things might look a little different. That’s because I’ve updated the WordPress software which runs the blog. Everything should still be pretty straightforward but use the help function in the right sidebar if you have any problems.
Happy Birthday Sweet Sixty
MARILYN, THE UTAH FALLS HOPE YOU HAVE A FANTASTIC SIXTIETH.
IT’S NOT ALWAYS EASY BEING THE SECOND SIBLING.
THE SECOND CHILD FOLLOWING SOMEONE AS CONFIDENT AS LARRY.
THE SECOND PRETTIEST CHILD (FOLLOWING GARY).
THE SECOND SMARTEST (FOLLOWING KENNY).
AND THE SECOND CLASSIEST (STEVE & RONNIE TIED FOR FIRST).
BUT MARILYN, YOU ARE SECOND TO NONE WHEN IT COMES TO LOVE AND DEVOTION TO THE FAMILY.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY,
KENNY, LISA, ELLIOT AND NATALIE
$7,490,133.87
Props to the kids for setting a new record for dollars raised topping last years number by $800,000.
The total is unveiled to the dancers at the end of the marathon when the cards in the above photo are slowly raised from right to left – thus the million dollar digit is the last to be shown. Usually, everyone has a pretty good idea what the last figure is so it’s not really a shock.
This year was different.
There was a real concern that THON wouldn’t be able to top last year’s $6.6 million number. In fact, a lot of people didn’t even think they’d be able to make it to $6M. When the 490,000 number was displayed, I’m sure that most people thought that they had probably come up short. I’m sure that some even thought that the last number would be a five. When the seven was lifted up the place went absolutely bonkers. No one expected a dollar figure that high.
I’ll post video of that moment when I can find some.
Here’s the video:
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Shot of the dance floor with an hour remaining:
THON 2009
This is my annual post where I talk about the Dance Marathon that the kids at PSU put on every year. It’s the largest student run philanthropy in the world. Last year they raised over $6 million dollars. Given the tough times at the moment, getting that much this year will be a real challenge. All the monies go to fight childhood cancers, hence THON’s rallying cry FTK – “For The Kids”.
Here’s a live link to what’s going on at the Bryce Jordan Center Arena on campus. I’ll probably head up Sunday afternoon to hear JR and Natalie perform – they are traditionally the last band to play for the kids.
THON 2009 Webcam
Rather than rehash what I’ve written before, here are some links to the old posts that I’ve made.
– THON 2007
– $5,240,385.17
– Capping my THON Coverage
And here’s a good clip that summarizes what it’s all about.