Former Boston Mayor Kevin White, whose decentralized city government gave more power to Jamaica Plain, died at age 82 on Jan. 27. “He was a great man,” said Larry DiCara, a JP resident who served as a city councilor for 10 years during White’s administration. White spent part of his childhood in Pondside and...
Obituaries
Obituary: Bruce Wallin, NU professor
Bruce A. Wallin, of Jamaica Plain, aged 63, passed away on Dec. 29, 2011 after a short battle with cancer. He is survived by his wife Vickie and two daughters, Anne, 15, and Eva, 11, and a sister, Barbara Lynch. He was born in Amsterdam, N.Y. In 1990, he moved to Boston to join...
Obituary: Oscar Raul Vega Ponce, human rights activist
Oscar Raul Vega Ponce of Jamaica Plain died on Jan. 9, 2012 after a long health battle. He was 61. Known to many as Raul, he spent his last days surrounded and cared for by his family and close friends. Raul will forever be remembered for his remarkable strength, generosity and good humor. Raul...
WRCNA head dies
Bruce A. Wallin, 63, of Jamaica Plain died Dec. 29, 2011. Wallin co-founded the West Roxbury Courthouse Neighborhood Association (WRCNA) and was an associate professor of political science at Northeastern University. He was the author of the books “Taxation: Myths and Realities” and “From Revenue Sharing to Deficit Sharing: General Revenue Sharing and Cities.”...
Obituary: Polly Curren Fedosiuk; wrote children’s books
Polly Curren Fedosiuk, a lifelong Jamaica Plain resident and author of nearly 30 children’s books, including “The Little Red Caboose That Ran Away,” died Nov. 7 at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. She was 94. She was born on Oct. 2, 1917. Her father, Frank Curren, an engineer and musician, was born in Delaware, but...
Margarita Muñiz dies; headed Hernandez School
Margarita Muñiz, the principal of Egleston Square’s Rafael Hernandez School, died today after a long battle with cancer, according to Boston Public Schools (BPS). Muñiz fought discrimination and opposition to keep alive the bilingual elementary school in the 1970s. She became a community icon in the process. Next year, BPS will open a new...
In Memoriam: Yolanda Peña, baker known for cakes
By Alicia Perez, Special to the Gazette Yolanda Peña, a baker known for generously offering her Dominican cakes to children and businesses in Egleston Square, died on Aug. 6 at age 65. Born May 5, 1946 in the Dominican Republic, Yolanda moved to the United States in 1976 and started a pioneering Dominican cake...
Yolanda Peña, panadera conocido por su bizcochos
By Alicia Perez Yolanda Peña, un panadera conocido por su generoso ofrecimiento de bizcochos Dominicana a niños y su negocio de bizcochos en Egleston Square, murió el 6 de agosto a los 65 años. Nacido 5 de mayo 1946 en la República Dominicana, Yolanda se mudó a los Estados Unidos en 1976 y...
Kenneth G.M. MacKay; worked for New England Telephone
Kenneth G.M. MacKay, a 40-year resident of Melrose, passed away with his loving family at his side on Wed., June 8 at Massachusetts General Hospital. He was born on Nov. 1, 1920 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, one of six children of the late John and Marion (McLeod) MacKay. He was raised in Jamaica Plain,...