Havertown

Roger J. Dearstyne, 50, an insurance agent, died July 8 at Lankenau Hospital. He was born in Philadelphia and had lived in Havertown about 25 years. Mr. Dearstyne was an insurance agent for about 20 years. Most recently, he sold life, health and fire insurance for The Philanthropic Mutual Life Insurance Co. in Rosemont. "Roger always had his clients' best interest at heart," said Fred DeLuca, the assistant agency director, who also noted that Mr. Dearstyne was a hard worker who would be missed.

Margaret Mary J. Herron, 77, of Havertown, a shareholder relations representative for Philadelphia Suburban Corp., died Friday of pneumonia at Mercy Haverford Hospital. For the last seven years, Mrs. Herron sold company stock directly to the public from corporate headquarters in Bryn Mawr, and also served as a service representative to stockholders. She previously was secretary to corporate secretary Ray Mysek. "Peggy was a tireless, dedicated worker who always went the extra mile," Mysek said.

Samuel James Passo, 77, who lived in Havertown for more than half a century, died June 29 at his home after a long illness. Born in Reggio, Calabria, Italy, in 1911, Mr. Passo immigrated to the United States in 1920 and settled in Philadelphia. At age 12, he began to support his widowed mother, two brothers and sister. In 1936, he married Angelina Lucia of South Philadelphia and moved to Havertown. Mr. Passo began his own company, Drexel Bindery, a bookbinding firm. The company, moved from Clifton Heights to 1306 W. Girard Ave. in Philadelphia, where it grew from 15 to 45 employees.

George G. Sekula, 74, a retired quality-control inspector who graduated from college at the age of 53, died Oct. 22 at Bryn Mawr Hospital. He lived in Havertown. Mr. Sekula fulfilled his dream of attending college when he began attending evening classes at St. Joseph's University in the late 1960s. He graduated in 1973. He had graduated from Central High School in Philadelphia during the Depression. "He had a thirst for education, and he fulfilled his life-long dream while working full time and taking care of his family.

Robert M. Speers, 47, of Havertown, a lawyer, died Thursday at Lankenau Hospital in Wynnewood. Mr. Speers was struck by lightning Aug. 30 on the beach in Avalon, N.J., on the last day of his family's vacation at the Shore. He never regained consciousness. Mr. Speers was a lifelong member of St. Denis Church in Havertown and had attended the parish school. "He kept up friendships with guys he had gone to kindergarten with," his wife, Elizabeth Bradley Speers, said. In recent years he was among the volunteers who helped renovate the school, which his sons, Daniel and Matthew, now attend.

Irma Cool Barbour, 85, died Dec. 11 at Haverford Community Hospital in Havertown. Mrs. Barbour was a resident of Havertown for more than 30 years. Born in Romney, W. Va., in 1901, Mrs. Barbour spent her formative years in Chambersburg, Pa. After graduating from Chambersburg High School in 1919, she studied at Shippensburg Normal School - now known as Shippensburg University - where she graduated in 1921. While a student at Chambersburg High, Mrs. Barbour met and dated her future husband, Charles Edgar Barbour.

David A. Watson, 77, a lifetime resident of Haverford Township and a graduate of Westminster Theological Seminary, died Jan. 29 at his home in Havertown. Although he never pursued a career as a minister, Mr. Watson read works of theology and was an active member of his church, Trinity Christian Reformed in Broomall, where he had taught Sunday school. Most of his life, Mr. Watson worked as an insurance agent with Prudential Life Insurance in Narberth and Havertown. He retired in 1975.

Mae Kidd Fleming, 80, a resident of Havertown for more than 40 years, died Monday at Lankenau Hospital. Mrs. Fleming had been a resident of the Mary Drexel Home in Bala Cynwyd for four years. She enjoyed making afghans for family members and friends, according to her son, William Cooper. "She was very understanding," Cooper said of his mother. Mrs. Fleming, who was born in Philadelphia, had worked at the former Berger's Millinery store on Woodland Avenue in Southwest Philadelphia for 40 years before her retirement in 1983.

Katherine Thayer Wood Buchanan, 77, a resident of Havertown for the past 42 years, died Sept. 18 at her home. Mrs. Buchanan was church secretary for the St. Faith Parish in Havertown and for the Church of the Holy Comforter in Drexel Hill. Born in Virginia Beach, Va., in 1909, she spent most of her childhood in Norfolk, Va., before moving to Philadelphia in the 1930s to attend the Philadelphia College of Art. She graduated with a degree in costume design and worked for the Rose Greeting Card Co. in Philadelphia for several years.

Haverford Township police are looking for a robber who made his way into a home today saying he was member of Occupy Philly. Officials said in a statement the robbery on the unit block of Joann Circle in Havertown unfolded around 10 a.m. when a female resident answered a knock on her door. Outside stood a man who claimed to be a member of the Occupy Philadelphia and entered the house, police said. Inside, he announced a robbery and took the woman to a second floor bathroom, where he told her to stay and to be quiet, police said.

Michael J. Dougherty, 83, who retired in 1983 as senior vice president of the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corp. after a 23-year career there, died of respiratory complications Wednesday, May 9, in Naples, (Fla.) Community Hospital. He had moved to Naples from Havertown in 1993. Born in West Philadelphia, Mr. Dougherty graduated from West Catholic High School in 1948 and attended Temple University before serving as an Army engineer in 1951-52. "We always talked about how he made it to VP without a full four-year degree," son Charles said, though Mr. Dougherty did earn an associate degree in business at Temple.

THE DAPPER, quiet-spoken man with a slight build and gray hair doesn't look like a typical superhero. But to some area Catholics, Peter Borre, a canon-law consultant based in Boston, has all the makings of one. The Harvard-educated Borre has been on a mission from Cleveland to Boston, fighting for fellow Catholics who seek to save their parishes and parochial schools from closure by their dioceses. He's already made an imprint here in Philadelphia, helping two groups of parochial-school parents appeal directly to the Vatican to overturn the Archdiocese's rulings that the schools close.

Dr. Joseph L. Hayes, 84, of Springfield, Delaware County, an emergency-room physician, died of complications of pneumonia Friday, April 6, at home. After graduating from Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine in 1961, Dr. Hayes completed an internship at Cherry Hill Hospital. He then had a general medicine practice in Havertown. In 1969, he became an emergency-room physician at Tri-County Hospital, now Springfield Hospital. Dr. Hayes helped train many students, interns, and residents, his children said.

The preliminary hearing for a former Delaware County assistant district attorney charged in a hit-and-run accident has been continued until another hearing determines if out-of-county judges should be assigned. Michael J. Donohue, 31, is accused of striking and seriously injuring a 14-year-old Havertown boy, and then driving off. Donohue allegedly had been out drinking with coworkers for four hours and was on his way home when the Nov. 4 accident occurred. Donohue has been charged with aggravated assault, accidents involving injury, failing to render aid, reckless driving, and other related crimes.

Haverford Township police are looking for a robber who made his way into a home today saying he was member of Occupy Philly. Officials said in a statement the robbery on the unit block of Joann Circle in Havertown unfolded around 10 a.m. when a female resident answered a knock on her door. Outside stood a man who claimed to be a member of the Occupy Philadelphia and entered the house, police said. Inside, he announced a robbery and took the woman to a second floor bathroom, where he told her to stay and to be quiet, police said.

A Delaware County man arrested this week is accused of stalking CBS3 anchor Erika von Tiehl, police sources said Thursday. John Hart, 35, of Havertown, was charged Wednesday with identity theft, harassment, and related offenses. Police did not identify the victim, but sources confirmed it was von Tiehl. "This is a personal matter that is now being handled by the appropriate law enforcement agencies," CBS3 said in a statement. "We have no further comment, but, of course, Erika has our support through this process.

It all started with drinks after a long week at work and ended with a 14-year-old Havertown boy lying unconscious on a busy Delaware County street. On Monday, former Delaware County Assistant District Attorney Michael Donohue, 31, of Havertown, was charged with being the driver of the car involved in a Nov. 4 hit-and-run that left the boy hospitalized with serious injuries. Donohue has been charged with aggravated assault, accident involving death or personal injury, recklessly endangering another person, and related crimes.

Leron S. Magilner told his 191 Facebook friends that he was dying of pancreatic cancer, which he said was spreading "like wildfire. " Friends and coworkers quickly organized benefits to help with his expenses. On Thursday, police said it was a fraud and charged the Havertown man with theft. He was being held at the Delaware County jail on $20,000 bail. In March, Magilner, 34, who worked at the Wooden Indian Tobacco Shop in Havertown, allegedly told coworkers he had months to live.

Damon Feldman is a Philadelphia-area "celebrity boxing" promoter with a stable of D-list luminaries such as "Octomom" Nadya Suleman, and an admitted fixer of fights who is banned from staging matches in Pennsylvania for two years. Michael Lohan is the Celebrity Dad From Hell whose latest gig is a stint on VH1's Celebrity Rehab with Drew Pinsky while his former superstar daughter Lindsay ping-pongs between jail and substance-abuse clinics. Who better than those two to advise you on how to become a Hollywood star?

Michael Lohan, father of actress/ex-con Lindsay, will be in Havertown on July 22 looking for show-biz talent for a proposed reality show. Sounds like the Celebrity Rehab star wants to share lessons from his real-life dramas with actors, models and other entertainers seeking to make it big in Hollywood. The former commodities trader has his own series of arrests, including for contempt of court, violating probation, attempted assault and DUI. He has also made headlines talking or tweeting about his estranged daughter, including allegations of substance abuse and a medical condition.