What a Life!

Robert L. Waltrip, 92, was founder of Service Corp. International, a nationwide chain of funeral homes and cemeteries. He died February 27, 2023.

Quotable Quotes:

"It was strange at school when the teacher would ask you, 'What do you want to be?'"

"People that don't buy our stock just don't like money," he told the New York Times in 1993. "It's the greatest buy I've ever seen. People are always going to die."

"The relationship a funeral director has with the people he serves is very rewarding," Waltrip said. "If you don't have empathy and a desire to serve, you won't be very good. You'll come across as cold."

"From the time I made my first sale, a 1500-word short story in 1950, writing an entertaining narrative was my chief goal."

"I think Dickens influenced my writing in the sense that he was such a marvelous delineator of character, creating unforgettable people, and he combined this with a strong sense of social justice. Stylistically he was a genius, but very much of his own period; I couldn't write a novel in a similar way even if I had the talent, which I don't. One respect in which my work mirrors Dickens is that I have very strong beliefs about issues I've written about, notably slavery and its consequences."

"The appeal of our Civil War is obvious: the inherent drama of American fighting American, in the years of the greatest social change, in the shortest time, in all of our history. My long-held interest in Civil War spying was sparked by reading I did years ago." "Watch a movie; have a good night's sleep. The unconscious often comes up with the right answer for going forward."

Richard Douglas Fosbury, 76, was an Olympic high jumper who won a gold medal in the 1968 Mexico City games. He died Sunday March 12, 2023.

Quotable Quotes: "On the podium I felt proud to be an American," he said. "But most of all I thought about the people in my home town who had supported me even when I was struggling. I will never forget that." "When you reach that elite level, 90 percent is mental and 10 percent is physical. You are competing against yourself. Not against the other athlete."

"I was standing there crying after I came up short. And that's when I decided I would win a gold medal in the next Olympics. Then I thought, 'Why not go to two Olympics and win four gold medals?'"

"I feel so privileged to get to do this." "Consider that some athletes have never had a conversation in their lives that didn't have to do with swimming or diving or running or jumping. They're interested only in their muscles, their times, their scores. Lots of people can tell you how high to jump, how fast to run, how deep to dive. But nobody tells you that you have to fit into that larger world, a world you pretty much ignored or took to be unimportant." "To become the best in the world at what you do requires the kind of tunnel vision of a stalking beast."

Jean Faust, 98, was a pioneering baseball player who starred on the South Bend Blue Sox for eight seasons. She died February 28, 2023.

Quotable Quotes:

"I was a mathematical whiz in school, and I got to where I could remember the rotation that I pitched to the best hitters. I always changed it the next time they came up to bat, so there were little crazy things like that I used to do that gave me a little edge."

"People who don't like their jobs, I feel sorry for them, It's your life! If you don't like your job, and you're depressed – to do something you really love to do is a great way to live."

General Theodore Kanamine, 93, was the first Japanese-American General in the United States Army. He died Thursday March 2, 2023.

Quotable Quotes

"My awards and citations were for various tasks associated with my numerous assignments. I simply did what was necessary in the very best manner I could."

"My conditions in Korea and Vietnam were somewhat primitive – but other soldiers were much more uncomfortable."

"War is no fun! We must do all we can to avoid war - but if war is the only choice - we must win!"

"Life is not always 'peaches and cream'. Tough times and big problems arise but a close family and good friends can solve almost anything. Home and country must be protected. Have the personal discipline to know what is right and develop the skills necessary to do whatever the task is in the best way you know how. This reflects my development in the military and the way I live my life today. I believe in the philosophy of 'Duty - Honor - Country'. I think my family and friends know this."

Barbara Bryant, Ph.D., was the first woman to ever be appointed Director of the United States Census. She died Friday March 2, 2023. She was 96.

Quotable Quotes:

"I was always the editor. The editor of the church newspaper, the editor of the Michigan League of Women Voters' newsletter."

"I came from a company that did a quarter of a million telephone interviews a year. One thing we learned is that 20 minutes is about as long as you can stretch the telephone interview. There are instances where you could go further if the person is terribly interested in the subject matter or completely convinced of the value of the survey, or has been inter- 16 viewed in person at some prior time."

Greta Anderson, 95, was an Olympic and Marathon Swim Champion. She died February 6, 2023.

Quotable Quotes:

"You just don't think about it. You forget about it and you just swim."

"So life goes on. Find something else and get happy," she said. "Whoever has a perfect life from the beginning to the end?"

"What woman doesn't get extra satisfaction out of beating the stronger sex at anything?" she said. "I always want to beat everybody else in any race against me, but I always feel better when I finish ahead of some men."

"One of the great lessons I've learned in athletics is that you've got to discipline your life. No matter how good you may be, you've got to be willing to cut out of your life those things that keep you from going to the top."

"It may sound strange, but many champions are made champions by setback. They are champions because they've been hurt. Their experience moved them, and they pulled out this fighting spirit, making them what they are. Sometimes in life, God gives us a difficulty in order to bring out the fighting spirit. Everything that happens to you can happen for good if you have this spirit. The essential thing in life is not in the conquering, but in the fight."

"Goals give purpose," Bob once wrote. "Purpose gives faith. Faith gives courage. Courage gives enthusiasm. Enthusiasm gives energy. Energy gives life. Life lifts you over the bar."

Albert Okura, 71, the founder of the Juan Pollo chicken franchise in California. He died January 27, 2023.

Quotable Quotes:

"I learned to pace myself, not to panic, and stay calm in the face of hundreds of customers."

"I didn't want to be 50 years old and tell people that I worked for Burger King."

"I didn't know what I was doing. I didn't know how to cook chicken. I didn't even like chicken. But I told myself I was going to do this, and I was going to stick with it no matter what. I made a commitment."