People who died in 2013
Please note: This article is published as an archive copy from Philadelphia City Paper. My City Paper is not affiliated with Philadelphia City Paper. Philadelphia City Paper was an alternative weekly newspaper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The last edition was published on October 8, 2015.
25 Philadelphians who will be missed.
"Our gal Sal," Sally Starr: Almost no footage survives of Sally Starr in her heyday hosting Popeye Theater on Channel 6 WFIL in the ’50s and ’60s, but any Delaware Valley boomer could probably quote a catchphrase or two from the show for you.
Elementary school student Laporshia Massey: The smiling school portrait of Laporshia Massey, an asthmatic who died after falling sick at an elementary school with no nurse on duty, sadly became the face of tragedy amid the Philadelphia public-school crisis.
Jazz pianist Jimmy Amadie: A North Philly scrapper whose early athletic endeavors were cut short by injury, Amadie threw himself into jazz piano with a boxer's obsessive rigor and fierce competitiveness, eventually harming his hands in the process.
Hero firefighter Michael Goodwin: Fire Capt. Michael Goodwin believed in leading his company from the front, so it was no surprise that he was up on the roof of a Queen Village fabric shop on April 6, trying to contain flames from the three-story building.
Trailblazer Happy Fernandez: Politics is a dirty game, but Happy Fernandez, a former councilwoman who was the first woman to run for mayor of Philadelphia on a major-party ticket, kept her nose clean.
MOVE survivor Michael Moses Ward: He was the only child to survive the 1985 firebombing of his home by the city, which killed his mother, five other adults and five children and reduced a swath of West Philadelphia to ashes.
Defense lawyer A. Charles Peruto Sr.: The man who arguably was the best criminal defense attorney of his time in Philadelphia has been alternately described by legal observers as "brilliant," "pugnacious," "shrewd," "generous" and, most accurately, "mercurial."
Other notables:
