PASSAGES: REMEMBERING LIVES LOST IN 2022

By Miriam Raftery

December 26, 2022 (San Diego’s East County) – At year’s end, we reflect on local newsmakers who left their mark on our region, before losing their lives in 2022.

Those lost this year include former elected officials, leaders in education and law enforcement, entertainers, a journalist, an artist, long-time community volunteers, a historian,  a civil rights leader, an operator of shooting ranges,  a youth sports coach, a crime scene investigator, a pastor who founded a shelter to help the homeless, and more.

 Marc Anthony Halcon, a firearms expert who owned shooting centers and the former Covert Canyon paramilitary training camp in Alpine, died of COVID-19 complications on January 14 at age 68. He owned the American Shooting Center, Inc in San Diego and American Shooters El Cajon. A strong Second Amendment advocate, he also served as a consultant to law enforcement agencies and organizations. He ran Covert Canyon in Alpine from 2004 to 2019, a training facility within Cleveland National Forest in JapatulValley where those trained included soldiers deploying to Afghanistan, though the site generated controversy due to noise and zoning issues.

Pastor Harold Brown overcame homelessness and other hardships to become a community leader dedicated to helping others. As founder and CEO of the East County Transitional Living Center (ECTLC) in El Cajon, he championed programs that have helped thousands of people escape homelessness and find hope instead of despair. He was also senior pastor of Christian Fellowship  of El Cajon. He died Feb. 1 following along battle with lung cancer.

Savaii Seau, 56, the brother of former Chargers' linebacker Junior Seau, died of injuries sustained when the vehicle he was driving crossed the center line on Los CochesRoad in Lakeside on Feb. 1 and struck a Helix Water District dump truck head on. A resident of El Cajon, he was a youth sports coach, trainer, artist and educator who taught at Warner-Walker School in San Diego.

Morris Casuto, the Anti-Defamation League regional director who defended San Diego County’s Jewish community against antisemites while forging good relations with other ethnic and religious groups within the county, died from leukemia February 11. He previously worked for the ADL in Washington D.C.  Casuto exemplified bravery in the face of threats against him and his family, becoming a spokesman for the Jewish community whenever hate crimes against Jews or any other group occurred. He worked for the ADL for 37 years, 32 of those as the civil rights group’s voice in our region.

Dan Russell was a military veteran who worked as a firefighter for 27 years with the San Diego Fire Department. He was head of the Campo Minutemen and for the past 15 years, he’s been known for his tireless efforts to clean up trash along local freeway. He estimated he cleaned up nearly 10,000 pounds of trash a year to “put a little gold back into the golden state, especially Interstate 8, because I travel that every day.” He also once ran a boomerang shop andvolunteered at Mountain Health community center each summer to teach children about the didgeridoo, an Australian musical instrument. On February 26, Russell died in his sleep at age 79.

Russ Stollnack Jr., aka Russ T. Nailz, was a popular comedian, radio host, musician and celebrity auctioneer for charities who won multiple Emmy awards. On Facebook, he wrote that he enjoyed “making a living doing what I love” and had been doing so since he was born in June 1957.  In March 2022, the La Mesa native also died doing what he loved, suffering a heart attack while filming the “On The Air” show which he co-hosted on KUSI TV and radio.

John Bertis “Bert” Kendrick of Lakeside was a military veteran, carpenter, equestrian, athlete and musician. Formerly a resident of Pine Valley, he worked at his father’s store and later for San Diego County Parks and Recreation, helping to open up Pine Valley Park. His success as a musician included, performing at many Southern California venues as well as in Las Vegas.  He released an album in 1981  and was invited to the White House to sing a song he wrote for then President Ronald Reagan called “A Tribute to a President.”  At the time of his passing Feb. 17 at age 79, he was writing a western historical fiction novel.

Mary Vick Genser was a successful artist and the mother of ECM editor Miriam Raftery. Born in Texas, she met her future husband, aerospace engineer Philip Genser, while she was working as one of the first women mechanical draftsmen at General Dynamics.  A resident of La Mesa since 1956, she later took art lessons from Mona Mills. Her oil paintings and craft items were displayed in galleries, at art shows, and in gift shops, winning awards and selling to buyers worldwide including a former California Governor. Her Pretty Pots business included hand-painted pottery and antique metalware items. She died April 20, 2022 at age 91 after a long battle with dementia.  

Francine Phillips, an award-winning journalist, editor, writing instructor and communications specialist based in La Mesa, passed away in June. She wrote for many local publications, including East County Magazine, running her Write Now! Business from 1993 to 2022. She worked as managing editor at the Daily Californian, executive director of California Garden Magazine, and as a freelance copywriter at U-T San Diego, in addition to numerous other communications positions. She held degrees in English literature, theology and counseling. She served asdirector of communications for the Alzheimer’s Association of San Diego/Imperial Counties and for the La Jolla Country Day school, where she taught journalism and speech. She also served as a communications officer at SDCERA and held positions with the San Diego City Attorney, San Diego District 2 Supervisor, and the President’s Initiative for Family Justice Center.

Betty Jean McMillen served five terms as President of the Lakeside Historical Society) and was long a key voice for the organization, still co-chairing publicity and social media for the LHS at the time of her death at 82, when she passed away in her sleep at her Lakeside home on May 29. She worked for Pacific Bell in San Diego, where she met her husband, Rod McMillen. After they moved to Lakeside, she joined the historical society and chaired the preservation committee, wrote newspaper articles and championed historic preservation as the group’s leader for decades.  She was also a founding board member of the Lakeside River Park Conservancy and served on Lakeside’s Design Review Board for many years, as well as the Lakeside REvitalization Committee, the Lindo Lake Subcommittee, the Woman's Club of Lakeside, and the Garden Club. In 1992, she co-founded the Main Avenue Revitalization Association which she chaired until 2021. She received the Lakeside chamber of Commerce’s Harry Spence Award and an award from the Save Our Heritage Organization, also drawing accolades from public officials at the local, state and federal levels. 

James Peasley, past president and vice president of Padre Dam Municipal Water District, died Aug. 2 at age 71, after serving on the board for 12 years.  He also served on the San Diego Metro Commission/ Metro Wastewater Joint Powers Authority, the San Diego Area Wastewater Management Committee and the Santee Chamber of Commerce.  During his tenure, he was a strong advocate for ensuring water reliability while trying to keep costs down. To this end, he supported the formation of the East County Advanced Water Purification program. A civil engineer, he also spent most of his 40-year career with the Otay Water District, serving as an engineering manager.

Thomas “Bogi” Moreno was found dead in the pond at Willow Road and Moreno Road, Lakeside on August 1. He was 50 years old. His cause of death remains unknown; anyone with information on his death is asked to contact the San Diego Sherif’s department. According to his sister, he had been living in Los Angeles with his mother but came to San Diego to be near his son and daughter in the area, which he was found drowned near a homeless camp where he may have been living along the San Diego River in Lakeside.

Sally Roush, president emerita of San Diego State University, helped to fashion a sweeping expansion of SDSU in Mission Valley during her year as interim president. She died of cancer on June 10 at age 75.  The university’s first female chief executive, she introduced a more culturally sensitive representation of the university’s historic Aztec identity. She previously served in senior administrative positions at SDSU for over 30 years and co-chaired an influential strategic planning committee. In honor of Roush, The Sally Roush Endowed Scholarship for Guardian Scholars has been established. Roush was also a longtime volunteer for Project Wildlife and, after leaving SDSU, she joined the board of the Monarch School Project, a K-12 school for homeless youth.

Vivian "Viv" Yubeta-Jackson was a professor of forensic sciences at National University and as a Naval Criminal Investigative Services (NCIS) crime scene investigator.  Born in El Cajon in 1956, she married her El Cajon Valley High School sweetheart, Kerry Jackson and attended college while raising two sons, earning a BA in Criminal Justice Administration. She became an Evidence Tech at El Cajon Police Dept., then joined NCIS as a fingerprint expert and later, crime scene investigator  after earning a master’s degree in Forensic Science.  At the 32nd Street Naval Base, she oversaw military bases across the western U.S. for NCIS,  training a team and testifying at over 100 trials. In 2010, she became a Professor of Forensics Sciences and taught more than 70 courses at National University before passing away on Sept. 24. 

Charles William “Chuck” Muse, long-serving member and past president of the Helix Water District, died November 10 at age 89. He served on the Helix Board from 2004-2016 and represented the communities of Lemon Grove and La Mesa. A native of San Diego, Muse was a long-time resident of La Mesa. He attended Grossmont College and San Diego State University, as well as the University of the Americas in Mexico City, where he obtained a bachelor of arts degree. in foreign trade and business administration.  In addition to serving on the Helix Water District Board, he was also an advisor on the Grossmont College Foundation from 2009 until 2022.