November 7, 2014 (El Cajon)--The Sheriff's Homicide Detail wants your help solving two murders that happened in El Cajon more than a decade ago.

November 1, 2014 (La Mesa) – Aubrey “Bud” Dunne, 82, passed away on October 28, 2014 at his home in La Mesa.  Past president of the La Mesa/Spring Valley Teachers Association, he taught math at La Mesa and Parkway Middle Schools. 

He also played a major role in the Associated Community Theatres (ACT) of San Diego County, which named the Aubrey Awards in his honor.  During the 1960s on Lincoln’s birthday, you could find him dressed up as Lincoln delivering the Gettysburg address at Grossmont Center. A lifelong stamp collector, he also founded the International Society of Worldwide Stamp Collectors.

Update: A celebration of life will be held on Oct 16th at Foothills Christian Church at 2 p.m.  Light refreshments will be served after the service. The church is located at 365 W Bradley Ave, El Cajon.

East County News Service

September 23, 2014 (El Cajon) – Duane Swainston, a former El Cajon City Council candidate and manager at Aerospace Ketema and GKN Aerospace Chem-Tronics, passed away today of esophageal cancer. 

Swainston ran for El Cajon Council in 2012 and had set up a website to run again this year, but did not file candidacy papers as he waged his battle with cancer. In a 2012 interview with East County Magazine, he stated his philosophy that guided him in business and in life: “Communication, cooperation and respect are keys to being a successful leader.”

By Miriam Raftery

Photos: Mendez, left, from his Facebook page; Ingram, right, courtesy ECM news partner 10 News

August 3, 2014 (Lakeside) –A second body has been recovered from El Capitan Reservoir in Lakeside, following a boating collision Thursday.    Russell Mendez, 20, and Jeffry Ingram, 21 were killed after a Nitro vessel struck the boat while they were fishing, ejecting both men into the water.  Two men aboard the Nitro were treated for injuries and released.

By Miriam Raftery

April 25, 2014 (San Diego’s East County)—Timothy Evan Nodal, 19, of Julian has died after suffering medical problems while hiking on the Pacific Crest Trail near Lake Morena.

By Miriam Raftery

April 19, 2014 (La Mesa)—Louis Bernath, 92, of La Mesa died April 10^th of injuries sustained when he was struck by a vehicle while out walking on April 1^st on Parkway Drive in La Mesa.

Celebration of life planned April 13

Linda Marie Shipman, 62, of Lakeside, California, passed away on March 29, 2014. A devoted wife, mother and massage therapist, she was also known as a tireless community volunteer active in local charities, nonprofits and business organizations.

Memorial service set for March 29

March 18, 2014 (Santee) - “It is with great sorrow that we inform you of the death of one of our founding members, Elaine Murphy,” Rita Lee, Secretary of the Santee Historical Society wrote in an e-mail to members. “Ms. Murphy's great passion was the Santee Historical Society, and she was a leading force in reviving the Santee Historical Society after the death of Harriet Wade.  Ms. Murphy was President of the Santee Historical Society several times and was always there to give some helpful tips or a helping hand to any of our members.  Ms Murphy was not only part of the life’s blood of the Society, she was a dear friend. She will be sorely missed.”

March 12, 2014 (Spring Valley) – A Spring Valley teen who was hit and killed by a vehicle while crossing an intersection at La Presa Avenue and Jamacha Boulevard has been identified as Samual Garcia-Acedo, 15.

March 11, 2014 (El Cajon )- - Bernardo Teran, 49, owner of a tree trimming company, was killed February 26 while he and his sons, along with two employees, were removing a date palm tree from the yard of a home  at 1586 Falda Del Cerro in El Cajon.

February 14, 2014 (El Cajon)-Rosemary June Owens, who co-owned Howard’s Bakery in El Cajon, was a popular figure in El Cajon for many years, serving sweets and specialties for occasions from weddings to graduations.  She passed away peacefully in her home with her loving husband of 53 years, Howard, by her side.

Rosemary fought a six-year battle with Alzheimer’s Disease, after beating breast cancer twice over a 30-year span.

 "Believer, wife, mother, grandmother, pastor, and musician"  

Services set for May 3                                                                                                                   

April 24, 2013 (La Mesa) -- Carol Garlow, 62, Pastor of prayer and intercession at Skyline Church and wife of Senior Pastor Dr. Jim Garlow, passed away at her home in El Cajon on Sunday, April 21, 2013 after a nearly six-year courageous battle with ovarian cancer. She was comforted and surrounded by her family and close friends.

“She never stopped praying and caring for others throughout her entire journey, right up to the very end of her life,” said Jim Garlow.

By Miriam Raftery

December 12, 2012 (El Cajon ) – Cindy Waddell graduated from Grossmont High School in 1976 and later lived in Scripps Ranch, earning her nursing degree from San Diego State Universtiy before moving to Oregon. Also known as Cindy Passalacqua and later Cindy Yuille, she lost her life in a shooting rampage yesterday at the Clackamas Town Center shopping mall near Portland, Oregon.

Former neighbor Linda Hughes recalled the slain woman as a “devoted mother, a sweet person,” ECM news partner 10 News reports. She was working as a hospice nurse in Oregon at the time of her death.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo by Spark Photography / Provided by KPBS

October 6, 2012 (San Diego) – Broadcast journalist Gloria Penner, a pioneer in local broadcasting and a leading voice at KPBS radio/TV station on the San Diego State University campus for more than half a century, died today of pancreatic cancer. She was 81. 

Her death comes just days before the Women’s History Museum was slated to hold a special tribute to Penner at an October 13 “Broads in Broadcasting” celebration of women who broke through the barriers in the broadcast world.

By Miriam Raftery