Beachcombing

Published by admin on Oct 21, 2021
Jay Beeler

Online at lbreport.com, the following two news items by Bill Pearl appear:

 
Former Long Beach Vice Mayor/CD9 Councilman Val Lerch, battling cancer since March 2020, recently announced on his Facebook page that his doctors have told him he has 90 days or less to live. His granddaughter, Tori Ann, launched a GoFundMe page for his in-home hospice care. In six days (as of 6 p.m. Wednesday Oct. 20), it had raised more than $8,000 toward a $16,000 goal. The GoFundMe page can be reached at: https://www.gofundme.com/f/inhome-care-for-val-lerch.

Lerch’s work on the LB Veterans Day parade from its earliest days reflected his service in the U.S. Coast Guard (June 1969 through March 1993, 12 years active duty plus 12 years in the reserves. For 15 years, he provided rock solid support for his wife Janet as she battled the debilitating effects of multiple sclerosis. They married in 1971, had two children, and Janet passed away in March 2019.

 

City Attorney Charles Parkin won’t seek reelection and has endorsed Assistant City Attorney Dawn McIntosh who has hired political consultant Michael Shimpock and announced the endorsements of Mayor Robert Garcia, former Mayor Bob Foster, City Council incumbents Suzie Price and [Price CD2 endorsee] Cindy Allen. Other endorsers include Garcia Harbor Commission appointees Bonnie Lowenthal. Sharon Weissman and Frank Colonna, former Councilman Gary DeLong, LB Bar Association president Robin Perry, and LB LGBTQ Attorney and Allies President Roy Jimenez.

McIntosh’s political consultant Shimpock, now heading his own firm “Haymarket Strategies,” was previously director of communications for the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 770 (January 2018-January 2020) and worked with SG&A campaigns from January 1998 to January 2018.

 
It is with great sadness that I report the passing of sister-in-law Nola Janine Beeler of Anacortes, Wash., on Oct. 5. I served as the best man at her marriage to my brother, Tom, in 1978. They were perfect for each other with their mutual interests in hiking, camping, skiing, traveling and folk dancing. Together they raised daughters Annalisa and Karina.

Nola had a master’s degree in nursing that served her well in later years to keep Parkinson’s disease at bay for more than 21 years. “Amazing” was one word that I frequently used to describe her as she had electrodes implanted to stimulate the brain and took medications that allowed living to age 75, thus enjoying a long life as well as tending to her four grandchildren.

The California Beelers look forward to attending an upcoming memorial service for Nola in Anacortes, along with some of our East Coast relatives.

 

And, on a humorous note:
 

  • If you can’t be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.
  • If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.
  • It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others.
  • Never buy a car you can’t push.
  • Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because then you won’t have a leg to stand on.

 

publisher@beachcomber.news

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Comments

Michael Ruehle (not verified)

Mr. Beeler,

My deepest sympathies for you and your family.

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