AP Obits--8/15
ObitsMan
Obituaries in the News
The Associated Press
Sunday, August 15, 2004; 8:19 PM
Semiha Berksoy
ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP) - Semiha Berksoy, a prima donna of the Turkish opera,
died Sunday. She was 94.
Berksoy, whose career spanned more than half a century, died at Istanbul's
Memorial hospital, her daughter, Zeliha Berksoy, said.
Berksoy was known as an eccentric character for often wearing heavy makeup. She
started her career in 1934, performing in Turkey, Germany and Portugal. Known
as a Wagnerian alto soprano, she also sang in the opera "The Days Before" at
Lincoln Center in New York in 1999.
In an interview in 2000, Berksoy complained that she was long denied senior
positions in the Turkish opera because of what she called "groundless"
accusations of being a communist after she visited communist Nazim Hikmet,
Turkey's best-known poet, in prison in the late 1930s.
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Bill Martin Jr.
COMMERCE, Texas (AP) - Bill Martin Jr., educator and best-selling author of
hundreds of children's picture books such as "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do
You See?" and "Chicka, Chicka, Boom, Boom," died Wednesday. He was 88.
Martin, who suffered from Parkinson's disease for years, died at his home, said
longtime friend and collaborator Michael Sampson.
Martin, a member of the International Reading Association's Hall of Fame,
published his first book, "The Little Squeegy Bug," in 1945 while serving in
the Army Air Force during World War II.
In 1962, he moved to New York to head the school division of book publisher
Holt, Rinehart and Winston. A decade later, he quit to become a full-time
writer.
He moved to Texas in 1994 to be closer to Sampson, his writing partner. The two
have co-authored 16 books.
The books had simple, rhythmic verses and often featured colorful, bold artwork
by longtime contributing artist Eric Carle.
"Bill's many books for the very young have been an introduction to literature
to millions of children, here and abroad," Carle said.
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Stephen Reasoner
LITTLE ROCK (AP) - U.S. District Judge Stephen Reasoner, who had a heart
transplant in May, died Saturday at Baptist Medical Center. He was 60.
The judge received a new heart May 17 after suffering for years from congestive
heart failure. His wife, Susan, said he never fully recovered.
Reasoner was appointed by President Reagan and began serving as a federal judge
in April 1988.
Among his most recent cases, Reasoner ruled that more than $20 million was owed
to state and federal government for cleanup and maintenance of two Superfund
sites in eastern Arkansas. The court battle surrounding the Gurley Pit Site in
Edmunson and the 8th Street Landfill Site in West Memphis dated back 17 years.
Last year, he signed an order reducing former Gov. Jim Guy Tucker's tax
liability in a Whitewater-related case. Tucker's liability in the criminal case
stood at $1 million before Reasoner's ruling. At the time of the order, it was
less than $63,000.