Obituaries in the news
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Richard Evelyn Byrd
BERRYVILLE, Va. (AP) -- Richard Evelyn Byrd, a prominent orchardist and son of former Virginia Gov. and U.S. Sen. Harry F. Byrd Sr., died Sunday. He was 86.
Byrd died at his home in Berryville. He had been in failing health in recent months, according to his son, Richard E. Byrd Jr.
Byrd spent part of his childhood in the governor's mansion, but didn't follow his father or his older brother, U.S. Sen. Harry F. Byrd Jr., into politics.
He ran H.F. Byrd Inc.'s canning division after returning from World War II, during which he was injured while serving in the 10th Armored Division under Gen. George S. Patton. He served as company president from 1966 to 1980, when it ceased operations.
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Mary Lou Forbes
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) -- Mary Lou Forbes, a longtime Washington Times commentary editor whose reporting on Virginia's civil rights struggles won a Pulitzer Prize in 1959, died Saturday. She was 83.
Forbes died at Inova Hospital in Alexandria, less than two weeks after collapsing and being diagnosed with cancer, the newspaper reported.
Forbes started out as a 17-year-old copy girl at The Washington Evening Star in 1944 and later worked as a reporter, news chief and opinion editor. Forbes took over editorship of the commentary page two years after the Times was founded in 1982 and worked at the paper until she was stricken.
Forbes won the Pulitzer Prize in 1959 for her coverage of the Virginia school-desegregation crisis, when state and local officials opposed public school integration after the Brown v. Board of Education ruling of 1954.
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Fred Travalena
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Fred Travalena, an impressionist who was a regular in Las Vegas showrooms and on late-night talk shows with his takes on presidents, crooners and screen stars, died Sunday. He was 66.
Travalena died at his home in the Encino area after a recurrence of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, which had first surfaced in 2002, said publicist Roger Neal.
Travalena was known for the sheer volume of celebrities he imitated, leading to the nicknames "The Man of a Thousand Voices" and "Mr. Everybody."
His act included presidents from Kennedy to Obama, musicians from Frank Sinatra to Bruce Springsteen and actors from Marlon Brando to Tom Cruise.
Travalena started his career in Las Vegas in 1971, and for years was an opening act, supporting such stars as Wayne Newton, Shirley Maclaine, Johnny Mathis, Don Rickles and Julie Andrews.
Finally, he gained headliner status in 2001 at the Stardust Resort and Casino, and joked that he was "an overnight sensation after 30 years in the business."
A 1987 TV special, "The Many Faces of Fred Travalena," was nominated for an 
