· I haven’t publicly said anything about this because it was just too painful, but today marks the one year anniversary of losing my mom, Julie Naldrett. You have been missed tremendously by me, Rob & Katie, each of your grandchildren, your great grandchildren, and friends. You kept your wit and famous sense of humor until our very last conversation. I’m thankful we spent those last few months together at home.
You truly “bounced back like a bed of roses” (in her words) after each hurdle thrown at you in this life, until you just couldn’t anymore. But you sure did fight your final illness like a champion would during your last year on this Earth. Your spirit, humor, and love lives on in our hearts Mama.
I know you are skipping with no walker, laughing without oxygen machines, resting without pain, and watching over us all. You said if you can find a way, you’ll check in on us in the form of a butterfly. 🦋 Well, we sure see them when we need to. Love you always and forever Mama.
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I am writing to tell you that my brother Paul birthed into Spirit on October 7th at the ICU in Boulder, Colorado. He suffered from Stage 4 Metastatic Lung Cancer, COPD, COVID, bacterial pneumonia, and his diagnosis of Bi-Polar disorder. For those of you who knew Paul, of COURSE he had to go out with four diseases instead of one, being such a Drama King. I saw him the Saturday before he passed, and was able to tell him what a wonderful brother he was, and we had some beautiful, tender moments, reminiscing about our BEST times in Bangkok as teenagers, sailing through our life adventures with our crazy family. He was such a bright star, and I believe he has returned to the stars where we were all created from . . . love you forever buddy . . . so, so glad you are with the wonderful clan that has loved you forever . . . at peace.
Thank you for all of the beautiful comments from Paul’s friends and our family, celebrating his life! It has been a great comfort to me to feel your love and laugh with the memories we all created together! Blessings to all, and Blessings on your journey, dear Paul.
All caught up in the reverie……
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I don’t know how I missed this.., I kept wondering why I haven’t seen Maya’s posts on Facebook for awhile, and I sent the message through messenger as usual, and it didn’t go through.. So I checked her Facebook page and saw this post that her son had posted in November of last year… R.I. P. Maya. You’ve always been like a sister that I never had. Keep thinking of all the family trips we took back in high school or when yin and your son came to visit me in Tokyo… As of now, I don’t even know what to say… It might sound weird, that knowing that Maya was doing her thing somewhere on this earth, somehow always gave me the strength I needed
To all friends of Maya Masaki,
My mother, Maya Masaki, passed away peacefully on November 22, 2025.
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to everyone who shared their friendship and spent time with her during her life.
Following her wishes, we did not hold a funeral service and only conducted a private cremation with immediate family.
We would be deeply grateful if you would keep her memory alive in your hearts.
Sincerely, Jun Hiramoto
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My beautiful wife and soulmate of 46 years lost her battle with cancer and passed gently this morning, surrounded by her family and friends.
Lisa was diagnosed exactly a year ago with Grade IV GBM, uMGMT, IDH-WT — the most aggressive form of brain cancer, for which there is no cure. She was given months. She fought for a year, and for six of those months her tumor was in complete remission.
A classical ballet dancer for over 40 years who graced stages from New York, Chicago, London and Paris, and went on to teach, choreograph, and work with some of the world’s greatest dancers, from the Royal Ballet to the Mariinsky, Lisa gave generously of herself, her time and her art, and deeply touched the lives of everyone she worked with, taught, or who was fortunate enough to see her dance.
Over the course of her illness she never once asked “why me.” She made her nurses laugh. She always hammed it up for photos. She kept a paint set on the balcony and painted in the sun between treatments. Every time a scan came back she wanted to know what the next thing was. Two weeks ago, when she could still speak clearly, she asked me not to give up on her, because she still wanted to keep fighting — and she never stopped. Her courage and determination knew no bounds. I will forever be in awe.
And every day, no matter how challenging — the chemo and radiation, the paralysis of her left side, losing her hair — she was filled with gratitude for the life she got to experience and the family and friends she was blessed with.
Ten days ago I brought her home. She sat in the garden. She sat in the kitchen with her family while we made dinner. I told her how lucky we were and she said, “yes, we are very lucky.”
Forty-six years ago I saw a girl across a room and I have thought about her every single day since, without exception. I don’t know how to be in a world that doesn’t have her in it. I only know that I got to spend the best part of my life with her, and for that, I will be forever grateful.
I am the world’s most fortunate man.
Thank you to everyone who came, who wrote, who sat with her. She felt all of it.
I miss you, my love 💔
Lisa Gillespie bio.
Lisa Gillespie is an adjunct professor of dance at Loyola Marymount University and a frequent instructor at the Santa Clarita Ballet Academy. She has taught at the American Musical Dramatic Academy, Everybody dance!, Marat Daukayev School of Ballet and Lois Ellyn Ballet School.
Lisa began her training with Thomas and Ilona Russell (National Ballet of Washington DC, Frederic Franklin), Genevieve Damon (Marquis de Cuevas Ballet, Massine), San Francisco Ballet, and on scholarship at North Carolina School of the Arts, as well as with Stefan Wenta.
She recently worked with Polunin Ink to create Satori, an evening of dance at the Coliseum Theatre in London’s West End and in Prague. She has performed as Eliza in the Théâtre du Châtelet’s production of The King and I, directed by Lee Blakeley and reprised the role at Lyric Opera of Chicago. She has performed in many operas including King Roger, directed by Stephen Wadsworth and Maometto II, directed by David Alden at Santa Fe Opera. Other operas include Seattle Opera’s Carmen and Pearl Fishers and Die Fledermaus for The Dallas Opera, San Diego Opera and Washington National Opera (PBS Grand Performances) and Aida for Pacific Symphony. She has performed in The Merry Widow for LA Opera, Houston Grand Opera, and The Dallas Opera. Other LA Opera credits include Macbeth, directed by Tony Award winner Darko Tresnjak, Aida, Queen of Spades, La Traviata, Vanessa and Placido Domingo & Friends Gala. Musical theater roles include Louise in Carousel, Dream Laurey in Oklahoma! and Eliza in The King and I for Musical Theater of Wichita. Lisa was with Ballet Arizona where she performed in ballets such as Balanchine’s Serenade, Four Temperaments, Rubies, Pilobus’ Land’s Edge and The Nutcracker. She has danced original works by Francisco Martinez and worked with Raiford Rogers Modern Ballet for many years touring to London and New York.
Lisa has a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from George Mason University. She has completed 200 hours of yoga teacher training from Loyola Marymount University and ABT’s National Training Curriculum Level Pre Primary – Level 3. Lisa is excited to start her first season at the Los Alamitos Ballet School and Premier Dance Arts Faculty.
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It is with sadness that I inform you that former ISB high school English teacher Mr. Robert Boca passed away unexpectedly from a chronic condition. Bob was 79 years old and worked at International School Bangkok from 1980 until 1986. Bob dedicated his life to shaping young minds with endless patience, warmth, and a bright spirit that lit up the room. His love of literature was the essential gift he gave to his students. A wonderful speaker, he was chosen to deliver what was a memorable graduation speech for the commencement ceremony for ISB’s Class of 1984.
Upon returning to the States from Thailand, Bob and his wife Darunee lived in Florida. He taught English full time at a community college for nearly two decades. His keen interest in studying Buddhism brought him to attend multiple sessions of study and meditation at the Barre Centre for Buddhist Studies in Barre, MA.
Over the years since our tenure at ISB, I have received dozens of handwritten letters, original stories he wrote or stories or scriptures written by Buddhist scholars. This was Bob – he had no Internet, no computer, no email, no FB, no texts, no cell phone, smart or not – his written and spoken communications came simply and directly from the heart. He was a man of books, letters, contemplation and music.
Robert Boca is survived by his devoted wife, Darunee. He was cremated and Buddhist rites were given on August 23, 2026 at Wat Navaram in Sanford, Florida.
Rest in peace my dear friend.
John Boerger ISB 1977 – 85
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“Probably the greatest frustration with putting out a yearbook is working continuously for seven months without seeing results until the final copies are released at the end of the year. But when they’re finished it’s really great feeling of accomplishment!!! And all the hours we’ve spent after school, on weekends, and during vacations makes it worth even more!,” exclaimed Debbie Niwa, editor. “I suppose that’s the main reason why members will return the following year even though many times you can hear them threaten-ing: I’ll never do it again!” Not only do staffers gain an understanding of journalism but also the real meaning of cooperation. “One thing I’ve learned is that unless everyone gets along many unnecessary problems arise. Usually arguments begin but they end up in jokes or people chasing around. It just serves to break the monotony and we have a good time,” explained one staffer.
Becky Barnett lovingly wrote:
It is with a very heavy heart that I share that my good and longtime friend, Debbie Niwa, Class of 1975 passed away on July 13, 2026, after having a stroke this past March. I meet Debbie in 1973 on an ISB new student retreat. We both ended up going to the University of Arizona and after graduation, she was my maid of honor when I got married. We would visit with her and her son, Jesse whenever we were back in Tucson. We continued to have long conversations over the phone all these years. She was a great researcher and writer, and we would have some very interesting discussions. We truly miss her.
Please keep her son and mom and extended family in your prayers.
Debra Kay Niwa 68, of Tucson, Arizona, passed away on July 13, 2026
She was born on November 12, 1957 in Salt Lake City, Utah, to Kyoichiro “Kayo” and Madge Niwa (née Hakata). Her family lived several places, including Thailand and Hawaii, eventually settling in Tucson where Debbie earned a bachelor’s degree in graphic design with a minor in Japanese from the University of Arizona.
Debra was a constant creator and a talented artist, always with a project in the works. She built a 45-year career as a graphic designer, starting with publications like City Magazine before starting her own freelance design business.
Beyond her design work, she was an independent researcher with the instincts of a detective. Starting in 2001 with investigations into TUSD’s policies and programs – her son’s school district – she spent nearly two decades producing deeply documented research on education policy, trade agreements, health care reform, and international governance.
She approached every subject with patience and precision, tracing documents through their origins and building case files that spanned years. Her compilation on North American integration was praised as a definitive contribution, and fellow researchers called her work “masterful.”
Debbie always said raising Jesse was her greatest accomplishment, raising him in east Tucson in her beloved childhood home, spending her days caring for it and maintaining the yard. She carried her artist’s eye into everything she did – the design of a brochure, the tending of her garden, the care she gave her beloved home in east Tucson. She could see beauty where others looked past it.
Generous and fiercely independent, she was the kind of person whose laugh could fill a room — and her parrot Gabby loved to join in. She loved to hike and camp, usually on her own schedule. As an oldest child and natural leader, she took pride in her brothers, Gregg and Scott. She found deep joy caring for her granddogs Tanuki and Butter. As the family historian, she spent countless hours compiling a pictorial history of the Niwa and Hakata generations, preserving stories that would otherwise have been lost.
She is survived by her mother, Madge Niwa; her son, Jesse; and her brother, Scott Niwa. She was preceded in death by her father, Kyoichiro “Kayo” Niwa, and her brother, Gregg Niwa.
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When Kai was little, he combined “Auntie” and “Emily,” and ET was born. She treasured that name because it came from him, and he absolutely adored his ET.
One of my favorite memories will always be ET flying to Atlanta when Kai was just seven months old for his very first flight. As a retired flight attendant, of course she arrived with treats for the crew. That was Emily. She showed up for the people she loved.
And oh, how she loved Kai. She would get right down on the floor with him, roll around, be silly and make him belly laugh. Both their faces lit up whenever they saw one another.
Even as bvFTD changed Emily’s world, one thing it never changed was how deeply she loved.
One of the most remarkable parts of her journey was the life her mind created. In ET’s new reality, she was married and had children of her own. Instead of constantly correcting her, we learned to step into her world.
And there was something beautiful about it.
Emily spent her life fiercely loving her brothers, nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews. As dementia changed her world, her mind somehow created even more people for her to love. There was sadness in what the disease took, but there was also sweetness, humor and even a little magic in the world she created.
We will forever be grateful to Park Senior Villas at Goodyear and Hospice of the Valley for surrounding ET with incredible love, compassion and dignity through the final years of her life.
But dementia was only one chapter of Emily’s story.
She was a flight attendant who spent years in the skies and carried that adventurous spirit with her long after her flying days were over. She was a sister who adored her brothers, an aunt and great-aunt who loved fiercely, and a friend to so many. She was funny, adventurous, independent and deeply loved.
She was the woman who flew across the country for a baby’s first flight.
The woman rolling around on the floor making a little boy belly laugh.
She was ET.
And that is her legacy. Not what dementia took from her, but everything Emily gave to the people lucky enough to love her: the laughter, the stories, the adventures and, most of all, the love. Kai will always know just how much his ET adored him.
We love you, ET. ❤️
You will always be our ET
It is with very heavy hearts that we share that our beloved Emily passed away peacefully this morning.
Emily was so deeply loved, and we know she touched many lives throughout the years. We are incredibly grateful for everyone who loved her, cared for her, and remained part of her life and story.
Carol Higgs will be creating a special memory book in Emily’s honor. If you have a favorite memory, story, or photo of Emily, please share it in the comments on this post so Carol can include them as she creates this beautiful keepsake celebrating Emily’s life.
Thank you for helping us surround Emily’s memory with the same love she gave so freely throughout her life.
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Nancy Grace Linnan, age 77, took a permanent recess from the courtroom of life on May 26, 2025.
She exited with impeccable timing on Memorial Day. Sadly, there were no closing arguments due to Alzheimer’s.
Born in Port of Spain, Trinidad, British West Indies, Nancy was a Marine Corps brat who grew up everywhere but with roots nowhere until she found her true home in Tallahassee, Florida. There she spent the last fifty years of her amazing life. She was a graduate of Dickinson College (BA, with honors, 1970), FSU College of Law (JD, with honors, 1974) and a public defender in Margaritaville (Key West, 1975-77) before coming to Tallahassee as the Assistant General Counsel, Florida Department of Administration, (1977), thereafter Assistant General Counsel to Governor Askew (1978), then Assistant Deputy Attorney General and Chief, Division of Cabinet Affairs for the Florida Attorney General (1979-83), followed by Assistant Secretary, Florida Department of Community Affairs (1983-85) before entering private practice with Carlton Fields in 1985 where, after serving on its Board of Directors as a member first and later as Chair, she retired 37 years later in 2022 as the Tallahassee office’s managing partner.
A fiercely intelligent attorney, Nancy spent decades using her quick wit and sharper tongue to argue cases, close deals, mediate disputes and occasionally win debates that had absolutely nothing to do with the law. She was the kind of lawyer you wanted on your side — and definitely not on the opposing one. Judges respected her. Colleagues admired her. And clients? Well, they either loved her or learned never to make that mistake again.
Married to her long-suffering and deeply devoted husband, Jim York, for thirty-seven years, the two shared a bond built on love, rescuing dogs, cats, birds and occasionally people, and the understanding that she was always going to win any argument. Although she had no children of her own, Nancy had more dependents than most—each with fur, wagging tails, and the unshakeable belief that the couch belonged to them. Their home was a haven for rescue dogs, at least four at a time, often more. It was said because of her conviction that they listened and behaved better than most of her clients.
Nancy was as prolific in accumulating friends as rescue dogs. She had a sprawling network of friends, many of whom were professional colleagues who valued her friendship as much as her professional mentoring. She cherished every single one. Nancy was a wonderful aunt and functional grandmother to both her nephews, Johannes and Christopher Linnan. She was predeceased by her husband, Jim York, in 2022 and leaves behind two younger brothers, Michael and David Linnan, a sister-in-law, Huan Linnan, a rolodex of friends so thick it could stop a bullet, and two dogs, Charlie and Walker. They are now romping on a beach after being adopted by her favorite vet tech, who moved to California and took Nancy’s surviving four-footed children with her.
Rest well, Nancy. You were truly one of a kind — a brilliant mind, a warm heart, a loyal friend, and the best sister we could have asked for.
A celebration of Nancy’s life will be held on October 3rd 2:00-4:00 p.m. in the Jubilee Cottage at the Goodwood Plantation, 1600 Miccosukee Road. For those unable to attend, please consider donating to your local animal shelter or simply being kind to someone going through a difficult moment in their life — Nancy would’ve appreciated that.
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Blythe, GA – Entered into rest unexpectedly Monday, March 18, 2019, at home, Robin “Rob” Harold Elliott, 71.
Mr. Elliott was born April 4, 1947, in Mt. Clemens, MI. He was the second of four sons in the family of Army Col. Harold “Ace” Elliott and Virginia “Ginnie” Elliott, all of whom preceded him in death. He is survived by his three children, Christopher Robin Binns (Kerry) of Columbus, GA, Rainer Winston Elliott of Orrstown, PA and Rossi Elliott Airy (Matt) of Walla Walla, WA as well as his precious cat, Patsy.
A memorial service will be held at 11 AM Saturday, April 27, 2019 in the Fellowship Hall of The First Baptist Church of Evans. The family invites you to share your fond memories of Robin at the service.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Graced Kennels, 1918 Colony Park Dr.; Augusta, GA 30909.
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