National Obituaries

ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — Myrle Vokey, an educator who created Newfoundland's famed Screech-in ceremony as a way to give people a sense of belonging, died on Saturday at the age of 85, after a road trip and a night out for his 58th wedding anniversary.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — For nearly two decades, Phil Donahue was virtually the only TV talk show host to roam his audience with microphone and make them an essential part of his show.

CHARLOTTETOWN — The hockey community and Prince Edward Island’s premier are paying tribute following the death of Allan Andrews, founder of a renowned hockey school on the island.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — Ruth Johnson Colvin, who founded Literacy Volunteers of America, was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame and received the nation’s highest civilian award, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, has died.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Betty Jean Hall, an Appalachian attorney and federal administrative judge who paved the way for women to enter the coal mining workforce, has died. She was 78. Hall died Friday in Cary, N.C.

Phil Donahue, whose pioneering daytime talk show launched an indelible television genre that brought success to Oprah Winfrey , Montel Williams, Ellen DeGeneres and many others, has died. He was 88.

PARIS (AP) — Alain Delon, the internationally acclaimed French actor who embodied both the bad guy and the policeman and made hearts throb around the world, died at age 88, French media reported.

BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — Silvio Santos, a Brazilian television executive and presenter known for his beaming smile and catchphrase “Who wants money?” has died after a decades-long career in the spotlight. He was 93.

NEW YORK (AP) — Maurice Williams, a rhythm and blues singer and composer who with his backing group the Zodiacs became one of music's great one-shot acts with the classic ballad "Stay," has died. He was 86. Williams died Aug.

Scott Bloomquist, a dirt track race car driver who was known for his bravado and for being one of the sport's best, died Friday in a plane crash on his family's farm in Mooresburg, Tennessee, friends and local officials said.