IN MEMORIAM • Paying Tribute to Special Spirits We Lost in 2025

As we close out another year circling around the Zodiac, The REVIEW once again takes our annual inventory of the many significant souls who passed over to their higher unseen calling, affecting each of us each of us within  community in a manner that has singularly impacted our regional reputation with enduring achievements.

The poet T.S. Eliot once showed in his epic poem Four Quartets how the paths carved by our memories of the past and the dreams we have for our future both converge into our present, which is why their lives and accomplishments should never be forgotten.

Each of these individuals were special and irreplaceable in their own unique way and their legacies and contributions resonate strongly, even though their mortal coils have ceased to exist. Many of us were fortunate to consider them personal friends; others major influences, yet all of them illuminated our lives with their collective legacies, imparting upon us their collective wisdom, fearlessness, and courage to make a difference and brighten up this often dark and unruly world with their light, levity, and compassion.

Veronica Horn  

As President & CEO of the Saginaw County Chamber of Commerce, Veronica excelled in identifying priorities and strategies related to managing nearly 1000-members of this pivotal regional organization at a difficult time during Saginaw’s traumatic post-NAFTA decline.    While Veronica spent more than two decades with the Chamber, including six years as its top official, much of her valuable expertise into the political machinery behind government & commerce came from serving on the staff of two U.S. Congressmen and as State Government Affairs Manager for Dow Corning/Hemlock Semiconductor Corporations.

As President and CEO, Her ability to build relationships across all communities of interest served the region well, and helped grow Saginaw by bringing people together; and she achieved several landmark accomplishments in Saginaw County that include securing $14 million in funding for the Downtown Saginaw Exit Ramp project and managing the leading efforts to save the former Saginaw Civic Center/Dow Events Center.  Veronica was also a founding member of the Henry Marsh Institute for Public Policy at SVSU.

Robert ‘Bo’ White

Following the passing of Veronica, shock waves rippled close to home once again with the loss of Robert “Bo” Alan White at the age of 72 - an iconic supporter of the regional music scene, who’s love and vision for music extended far beyond the boundaries of the hometown that he loved and devoted his tireless energy and enthusiasm for promoting (as much as dissecting) up until his untimely passing.

After 25 dedicated years, Bo retired from Saginaw County Community Mental Health Authority, where he was highly respected in the child and family services/mental health field. Bo was honored with an Improving Practices Champion Award for his trauma-informed care. However, beyond Bo’s professional achievements, his passion for music was embedded in the grooves of his cherished vinyl records, and his voice as a writer, producer, and promoter of local music was always optimistic and filmed with vibrant melodies of optimism, even when it meant bringing in risky expensive national acts like Pete Best or The Bay City Rollers.

From 1984 to 2025, Bo single-handedly brought new music and opened wider  dimensions to the ways of presenting it by featuring Live Music 7-Days a week, opening the terrain for new bands and artists such as Johnny & the Boomers and Greta Van Fleet. He also was an important component to this publication writing numerous contributions ranging from interviews to concert reviews with local and national artists, which can be found on our online archive at www.review-mag. And of course, left us a fitting legacy in the form of his selt-published book on the Michigan music scene, titled When the Kids Stopped Dancing.”

Dr. Malcolm Field

A true humanitarian in every sense of the word, Dr. E. Malcolm Field,  passed away peacefully on Monday, November 3rd, 2025, at the age of 95. A world-renowned neurosurgeon who devoted his life to the people of Saginaw and the Mid-Michigan communities, Dr. Field  was dearly loved by his colleagues, patients, friends, and family. Growing up on his parents’ farm developed a strong sense of discipline, humility, and compassion, which instilled in him a lifelong work ethic. His motivation to become a physician arose from witnessing the disparity in medical care available to rural communities, where access to specialists was often limited.

Dr. Field was instrumental in introducing innovative neurosurgical procedures and advanced technology-including the CyberKnife-to improve patient care. In 1988, Dr. Field and his brothers-Frank, Irving, and John-used proceeds from the sale of their family farm to establish the Field Neurosciences Institute (FNI), dedicated to excellence in clinical care, education, research, and injury prevention. 

Wilmer Jones Ham

With a passion for education and children leading her to pursue a teaching career with Saginaw Public Schools, from which she retired in 2007 after 27 years of service. Wilmer Ham was appointed to the City of Saginaw Council in 1994 and served diligently until 2001, when she became the first woman to serve as Saginaw's mayor, a position she held until 2005, followed by her tenure as mayor pro-tem. Her term concluded on Monday, November 5, 2007, after fourteen years of service.

Stewart Francke

Another huge cultural, regional, and collective loss this year was the passing of Stewart Francke, a gifted musician, writer, and personal friend and contributor to this publication, who did much to enrich the world with his introspective and colorfully rendered music, wisdom, compassion, and courage to follow one’s dreams.

As an artist Stewart took the personal experiences, personalities, and places populating his hometown of Saginaw, summers at The Point, and the urban rawness of his later home in Motown,  committing the lessons and poetry gleaned from these experiences for posterity by creating music, books, essays, poetry, interviews, and articles immutable to the ravages of time. Honored by the Saginaw Arts & Enrichment Commission with an All Area Arts Award and numerous other accolades, Stew once said a big part of his job was to be an emotional alchemist, “So my obsession is really the minds and hearts of folks that live in this state.

Stewart became a music journalist after college, contributing to the Detroit Metro Times and national publication, and an ambassador for Detroit music long before Kid Rock, the White Stripes or Eminem.

As a singer-songwriter, Stewart recorded 12 critically acclaimed albums and earned multiple Detroit Music Awards, becoming a vital figure in the city’s musical renaissance. In 1998, Stewart was diagnosed with Leukemia and chronicled this experience in his memoir, What Don’t Kill Me, which stands as a testament to his determination and strength. Bruce Springsteen spoke of him as someone who creates beautiful poignant music. In 2010 Springsteen partnered with Stewart on his song “Summer Soldier.”

Robert Jarvik

A nationally recognized scientist and researcher known for his pivotal role in developing the Jarvik-7 artificial heart, Jarvik was born in Midland and joined the University of Utah's artificial organs program in 1971, then headed by Willem Johan Kolff, his mentor. At the time, the program used a pneumatic artificial heart design by Clifford Kwan-Gett that had sustained an animal in the laboratory for ten days. Kolff assigned Jarvik to design a new heart that would overcome the problems of the Kwan-Gett heart, eventually culminating with the Jarvik-7 device.  In 1982, the team carried out an artificial heart implant — the second ever, 13 years after Domingo Liotta and Denton Cooley's first in 1969

Tom Stoppard

The legendary playwright and screenwriter, died at 88, his agents announced on Nov. 29. His 1966 work Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, which chronicled the plight of two minor players in Hamlet, kicked his decades-long theater career into high gear, winning him the Tony for Best Play. He won the same award for his WWI drama Travesties; the oft-revived couples inquiry The Real Thing; his lush historical epic The Coast of Utopia; and his final play, Leopoldstad. As a screenwriter, Stoppard penned Empire of the Sun, Brazil, Anna Karenina, and provided uncredited rewrites on Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, and Sleepy Hollow. Along with John Madden, Stoppard won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for the 1998 Best Picture winner Shakespeare in Love

Jimmy Cliff

A Jamaican native born in St. James Parish in 1948, Cliff was at the forefront of reggae music, paving the way for the expanding genre alongside the likes of Bob Marley and Toots Hibbert. He found success with his debut single "Hurricane Hattie," followed by hits like "Vietnam," "Many Rivers to Cross," and an iconic cover of Johnny Nash's "I Can See Clearly Now." Cliff additionally earned acclaim as the lead star of 1972's The Harder They Come, a pivotal Jamaican thriller with a celebrated soundtrack. The singer went on to earn seven Grammy nominations and two wins: Best Reggae Recording in 1986 for Cliff Hanger and Best Reggae Album in 2013 for Rebirth. He was later honored for his contributions to Jamaican music and culture in October 2003, when he was awarded the nation's prestigious Order of Merit.

David Lynch

One of the most brilliant and visionary filmmakers of his generation, Lynch was an acclaimed surrealist director best known for often unsettling and seemingly incoherent and challenging films such as "Eraserhead," "Mulholland Drive," and "Blue Velvet," as well as the cult hit television show Twin Peaks, that stripped away the veneer coating our notions of reality with truths we are often afraid to examine and consequently fail to comprehend.

Lynch did not make films like other directors. Opaque and uncompromising, often dealing with the notion of parallel universes, his was a vision that existed at the very fringes of Hollywood, yet which still managed to engage audiences enough to allow him to make films for nearly 60 years. Works like “The Elephant Man” were nominated for Academy Awards, and his television show, “Twin Peaks,” was an intricate and daringly  bizarre hit, regardless of his refusal to  alter his singular, surrealistic vision to suit mainstream audiences.

Brian Wilson

One of the few definitive pop music geniuses, the troubled yet immensely creative Brian Wilson - the Beach Boys songwriter who penned hits like "Good Vibrations" and "God Only Knows," died at age 82, leaving a musical tapestry of joy and heartbreak forever emblazoned upon our collective memory. Wilson served as the band's primary songwriter and bassist, and wrote increasingly complex songs and experimented with studio production techniques throughout the 1960s. His experimentation culminated with 1966's Pet Sounds, which is widely considered one of the greatest pop albums ever recorded. He continued recording and performing live through the 2020s, ultimately recording 12 solo albums and contributing (in various capacities) to 28 of the Beach Boys' 29 studio albums.

Ozzy Osbourne

The Black Sabbath front man and reality star, died on July 22. He was 76. Just weeks before his death, Osbourne and his legendary rock band performed a farewell show to a hometown crowd of 40,000. Also known as the Prince of Darkness, Osbourne pioneered heavy metal with his screeching vocal performances and unpredictable on-stage antics as a member of Sabbath in the late 1960s and 1970s. He also launched a successful solo career after splitting from the band, and achieved further notoriety when he shared the spotlight with family on his 2000s MTV reality series The Osbournes. In addition to being a two-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Osbourne won three Grammys as a solo artist and two as a member of Black Sabbath.

Sly Stone

The  legendary singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who led his band the Family Stone to make an indelible mark on music history, died June 9 at 82 after battling COPD and other health issues. He embraced music from a young age, learning to play the keyboard, guitar, bass, and drums by 11. He also performed gospel music with his siblings (and future bandmates), Freddie and Rose. They would form Sly and the Family Stone in 1966 - a groundbreaking group that produced music on the cusp of funk, soul, R&B, and psychedelic rock, forming a huge influence on later artists such as Prince.  They fused genres and pioneered a sound that would lay track for funk and soul music throughout the '70s and '80s.

Diane Keaton

A consummate comedic and dramatic actress possessing an honest and unpretentious demeanor  who rose to fame for her iconic and defining roles in beloved films such as Annie Hall, The First Wives Club, The Godfather, and many more, passed away in October at the age of 79.  The actress made her film debut in 1970's Lovers and Other Strangers, but her big break came when Francis Ford Coppola cast her as Kay Adams, the girlfriend of Al Pacino's Michael Corleone, in 1972's cultural phenomenon and Best Picture Oscar winner, The Godfather. She was perhaps best known for her many memorable collaborations with Woody Allen, including Play It Again, Sam; Sleeper; Love and Death; Interiors; Manhattan; Radio Days; Manhattan Murder Mystery; and Annie Hall, with the latter earning Keaton the Oscar for Best Actress and cementing her status.

Robert Redford

A groundbreaking actor, director, environmentalist, movie start, and founder of the Sundance Film Festival, died Sept. 16 at his home in Utah. He was 89. Redford starred in more than two dozen films over a career spanning over half a century, including Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), Three Days of the Condor (1975), and All the President's Men (1976). In 1973, he starred in two big hits, The Way We Were and Best Picture Oscar winner The Sting, He became the first actor to win a Best Director Oscar for his debut film, 1980's Ordinary People.

Jane Goodall

The  legendary zoologist who dedicated her life's work to the study of chimpanzees, died from natural causes on Oct. 1. She was 91. Born in London in 1934, Goodall began researching chimps in what is now Tanzania's Gombe Stream National Park in 1960, kicking off a lifelong career that revolutionized primatology. Goodall's research revealed that chimps are capable of using tools to fish for ants, that they hunt and eat smaller primates, and that they would sometimes cannibalize their own in acts of aggression. Goodall also advocated against animal testing in medical research, warned of climate change's dangerous effects on wildlife, and promoted a meatless diet, penning the vegan cookbook Eat Meat Less in 2021. Goodall published over two dozen books in her lifetime, and also participated in a number of documentaries.

Rick Derringer

An influential guitarist, McCoys front man, and Grammy-winning producer for Weird Al Yankovic, died May 26 at 77. The son of an Ohio railroad foreman, Derringer grew to become one of the most pioneering guitarists and successful musicians of his generation, spawning the chart-topping hit "Hang On Sloopy" with his band the McCoys before he'd even turned 18. "Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo," the lead single from his 1973 debut, All American Boy, has endured generation after generation. He later collaborated with musicians and musical acts like Cyndi Lauper, Steely Dan, Barbra Streisand, and Weird Al Yankovic, the latter earning him two Grammys across their six-album collaboration.

Marianne Faithful

This British pop star, muse, libertine, actress, and model who helped define ‘Swinging London’ in the 1960s passed away at the age of 78.  She inspired and helped write some of the Rolling Stones' greatest songs and endured as a torch singer and survivor of the lifestyle she once embodied. Her notoriety and career began with her close yet tormented relationship with Mick Jagger back in 1965 with her first hit, As Tears Go By; and she went on to create a huge comeback with her highly acclaimed album Broken English in 1980, and over the decades he collaborate with such artists as PJ Harvey and Nick Cave.

Charlie Kirk

This bright, promising, and engagingly thoughtful  right-wing commentator and founder of Turning Point USA, was fatally shot during an event at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10. He was 31. Known for his viral "Prove Me Wrong" series, Kirk emerged in recent years as an influential media and internet personality after founding Turning Point at 18. He became a frequent guest and a staple on college campuses, where he would man a booth and invite students to challenge his stances. Similarly, at events he would bring audience members on stage to debate him in his quest to find common ground for significant topical issues.

Dick Cheney

A highly controversial, powerful, and polarizing figure and  former vice president, after beginning his major political career as Gerald Ford's deputy chief of staff in 1974, Cheney held several positions as a rising star in the Republican party, from Wyoming congressman to becoming George H.W. Bush's secretary of defense who helped lead American forces during the Persian Gulf War. He later returned to the Bush political dynasty under the elder Bush's son, George W. Bush, serving as VP under the president from 2001 until 2009. He was an early proponent of the decision to invade Iraq, falsely alleging that the Saddam Hussein regime possessed weapons of mass destruction.

Other significant individual we lost this year include Turtles co-founder Mark Volman, musicians Chris Dreja of The Yardbirds, Bobby Whitlock of Derek & the Dominoes, author Graham Greene, actors Gene Hackman & Val Kilmer,  wrestler Hulk Hogan, and musicians Connie Francis, Mick Ralphs, Clem Burk, Chuck Mangione, David Johanson, and Ace Frehley.