HUMAN OBITUARIES
From ANIMAL PEOPLE, April 2000:
Ruth Frankel, 87, died on March 3 of leukemia at her apartment in Newport Beach, California, comforted to the last by Phanni, a formerly feral cat she had rescued, along with five kittens, from the Balboa Theater. Frankel had reportedly battled leukemia for 40 years. Teaching English and history at Huntington Beach High School for 31 years, Frankel founded the Animal Assistance League of Orange County upon retiring in 1973. The organization “now has kennel capacity for 20 animals, a roster of hundreds of volunteers, a low-cost spay/neuter program, and an $1,800-a-month budget from private donations,” wrote Elaine Gale of the Los Angeles Times. The current president is Jackie Keener.
Bonnie Findlay, 79, founder of the Bambi Bird and Wildlife Sanctuary in Little Ranches, Florida, died on March 4. A former veterinary surgical nurse, Findlay “for three decades ran the 30-acre wildlife hospital and rehabilitation center, aided by her halfbrother Wally,” recalled Neil Santaniello of the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel. “For many years it was the only wildlife rehab center in Palm Beach County.” Aiding as many as 700 animals a year, the center faltered after Wally Findlay “died on February 4, 1997, at age 72, in a deliberately set fire on the grounds,” Santaniello continued, adding that “Ms. Findlay and helpers brought it back to life.”