L ATIMES.COM FRIDAY, AUGUST 2, 2019B
Dorothy Yu Hwang
August 6, 1933-July 26, 2019
DorothyYuHwang,pianist,music educator,wife, mother,and grandmother,
passedaway on July 26, 2019 in Altadena,CA.
She wasbornonAugust 6,1933 on the island of Gulangyu, offthe coast
of Xiamen, in the province ofFujian, China. Her parents,ChenJung “C.J.”
and ChiautiYu Huang, lived in Manila, Philippines,where Dorothy’sgreat-
grandfather,Yutivo,had foundedaprosperous hardwarebusiness.Chiauti had
returnedto Fujian to visit relativeswhen shegavebirth to Dorothy.The second
of four children, herfamilyinclu desolder brotherRobert, andyounger siblings
Bessie and Marshall.
Dorothy’schildhoodwasde inedby artistry, faith, andwar.She began studying
piano at an early age,and herteachersincludedthe legendaryHerbe rt Zipp er.
The Japanese Army invaded the Philippines in1941, when Dorothywas 8years
old. Occupation troops commandeered theirYutivofamil ycompound, and her
familywas forced to move intoahousereputedto be haunted. Dorothycame
fromalonglineofChinese Christians.Family loreholds that hergrandmother’s
prayerscounteracted the curse which had plagued that haunted house.
Dorothyarrived inAmerica inJanuary1953 to attend the UniversityofSouthern
California.Afew weeks later,she met HenryYuanHwang,agraduatestudent in
internationalrelations,who supportedhimselfby startingalaundromat. Dorothy
and Henryweremarried onJune 11,1955. Sheearnedher Bachelor ’s and
Master’s degrees in Music at USC,graduating with honors, whileworking at the
laundry, sewingand doing alterations.Their irstchild, David Henry, wasbornin
1957.In1958, afterhaving beenrefusedby abroke rwho would not sell property
in Monterey Park to Chinese, Henryand Dorothypurchasedahome in El Monte.
Dorothycontinued hergrowth as an artist, winning the prestigious UCLA
Young ArtistsAward. In1961, shegavebirth to theirirstdaughter,Margery
Anne “Mimi,”followedbydaughter Grace Elizabeth. Afterbeing barred from
purchasing property in SanMarino dueto thei rrace,theymoved in1962 to San
Gabriel. Dorothybeganteaching piano privately, joined thefacultyofthe USC
PreparatoryDivision, andcontinued her studies withrenowned pianistJakob
Gimpel. Critics praised her “ine insight andfeelingforpoetry, good bravura, and
imposingtechnique.”
In 1965, she becameaFoundingMember ofFirstEvangelical Church, and
sawitgrowtoinclude ivesister churches throughout SouthernCaliforniatoday.
In 1974,Henry foundedFarEast NationalBank, the irstfederally-chartered
Asian American bank in the continental United States.Theymoved to Pasadena
in 1983. She becameaMaster Teache ratthe Colbur nSchool of thePerforming
Arts ,and joined thefacultyofAzusaPaciicUniversity, where she servedas
Professor of Piano until herretirement.
In 1998, Henryand Dorothymoved to SanMarino .Theycelebrated 50years
of marriage in 2005. Henrypassedaway later thatyear.
Dorothyremained devotedtoher familyand herfaith. Shewasbelovedbyher
grandchildren,forwhom“Ama” servedasaconstant source of supportand lo ve:
Emma Hwang Garth (born1995),Noah David Hwang (born1996),Celia Hwang
Garth (born1998)and EvaVeanneHwang (born2000).In 2019,she movedto
MonteCedro, in Altadena.
DorothyYuHuang passed peacefullyand comfortably without pain, after
having been surroundedby her children,grandchildren, and daughter-in-law
Kathryn Layng Hwang.She is survived by her siblings,children,grandchildren,
as well as innumerableextendedfamilymembers.
Visitation will be held on Sunday, August 4, 2019,atForestLawnGlendale,
1712 S. GlendaleAve.,withaclosed casket from 5:00-6:00 pm, and an open
casket from 6-8 pm.Services will be performed on Monday, August5at2:
pm at the Church of theRecessional,Forest Lawn Glendale,followed by aburial
forfamilyonly.
In lieu of lowers, donations maybemadeto FirstEvangelical Church
Glendale (https://www.fecg.org/) or thePasadenaConservatory of Music (https://
pasadenaconservatory.org/).Robertwas born in Albion,Nebraska
on May10, 1925.He wasthe son
of George Browning andLorena B.
Morgan.He graduatedfromBurbank
HighSchool,class of 1943, inBurbank,
California wherehemet Marilyn Ruth
Freed.Hemarried her onSeptember
7, 1946. Robertenjoyed60years of
marriageto Marilyn.They traveled
to manyexotic places likeHawaii,
Australia,NewZealand,the British
Isles andSwitzerland.Robertpassed
awayonJune 26, 2019. Histwo
children;Beth Kremer,and Robert
David Browning; six grandchildren;
and one greatgrandchild survive
him.When he died hewasliving in
Port Angeles,Washington with his
daughter.
Robertenlisted in the US Navy on
June 12, 1943.He wasanAviation
Cadet andwasdischarged in 1946.
He worked as an educatorfor 38
years; first asateacher ofDrama
and Speechat JohnBurroughs High
School,Burbank,California and later
as aConsu ltantfor theOfficeofthe
LosAngelesCounty Superi ntendentof
Schools,DepartmentofAudioVisual.
He wasamember of theEmmanuel
EvangelicalFree Church in Burbank
and in lateryears atte nded theCalvary
Church ofSantaAna.
Robertwas awonderful husband,
father and grandfather.Hewas a
snappydresserand hadagreat sense
of haberdashery. He wasanelegant
example ofaman. Amemorial service
will be held onSunday, August 18,
2019 at 12:00pm.Theaddress is 795
N. VictoriaDrive, Orange,California
92867-7143. RSVPto (818) 903-8215.
In lieu of flowers,donations can
be madeto Volunteer Hospiceof
ClallamCounty,540 E.8thStreet,
Port Angeles,Washington, 98362,
or WoundedWarriors at http://www.
woundedwarriorproject.org.May10, 1925-June 26, 2019BROWNING, Robert (Bob)
EugeneOBITUARYNOTICESPlace a paid notice latimes.com/placeobituary
Search obituary notice archives: legacy.com/obituaries/latimesTo place
an obituary ad
please go
online to:
latimes.com/placeobituaryor call
1-800-234-Loved daughter of Richard and Murl
Lewis and sister to Kent Lewis. Jan was
born in San Fernando and attended
Castle Heights ES, Palms MS, and
Hamilton HS.
She loved writing and took courses
at SMCC and at UCLA. Jan worked in
public relations helping musical groups
achieve success.
She was an excellent event planner
and in building successful campaigns
for companies. She loved Los Angeles
and ran a book store for the Panorama
Library and volunteered as a member
of the Neighborhood Council. Jan
loved plays and jazz musicals. Her
enthusiasm, intelligence and love will
be missed.February 8, 1942 - July 27, 2019BROWN, Jan LewisSharea
memory
Tosignaguest book
pleasegoto
latimes.com/guestbooksRuth Grahm, belovedwidowofAlan
Grahm, mother ofRandall,Bobby and
Isabelle,passedawayon July 30,2019,
at the ageof95. Shewaseduca tedat
UCLA andNewYork University. Ruth,
who preferredto be called Ruthie,
wasanaccomplished songwriter and
actress.She wasasecretarytothe
sports journalist,Red Barber and an
assistantatt he NewIdeasDepartment
for CBS inNewYork. Ruthiewasborn
in Philadelphia and,with her family,
movedtoLos Angeles,whereshe
worked in numerous films asachild
and young adult.(She maintained her
membership in theScreen Act ors Guild
her entirelife.) Among her screen
creditswasthe film, “Up in Arms”
with DannyKaye. Joining ASCAP in
1952, her chief musicalcollaborator
washer father,Lou Herscher.Among
her popular songcompositionswere
“Orange Blossoms,” and “Fifty Games
of Solitaire.”After devoting much of
her adult lifeto the raisin gofafamily
in Beverly Hills,she enjoyedasecond
(ormaybe third) career asawine
salesperson,representing her family’s
winery. She wasavalued member
of LesDames d’Escoffier.Ruthie’s
ebullientand indomitable spiritwas
trulyextraordinary; she madealasting
impression on everyone she met.
Funeral services areat12:3 0pm
on Friday, August 2,at MountSinai
MemorialPark Hollywood Hills.April 4, 1924-July30, 2019GRAHM, RuthSharea
memory
Tosignaguestbook pleasegoto
latimes.com/guestbooks
Evelyn Hoffman (née Kaplan) passed
away peacefully at home, surrounded
by loved ones on July 31, 2019 at the
age of 97. She will be greatly missed
by her daughter Marlene Hoffman, son
Jeffrey Hoffman, sister Dorothy Katz
and her many loving nieces, nephews
and dear friends.She was born in Chicago and married
Charles Hoffman in 1948. The family
moved to Los Angeles in 1958. For
40 years Evie and Charlie owned and
ran Modern Draperies, a successful
business, manufacturing and installing
elegant custom draperies for their
many loyal customers.Evelyn was extremely active in
fundraising organizations. She served
as regional president for B’nai B’rith
Women. She also served as president
for Founders for Diabetic Research
and was active in fundraising for City
of Hope.Evie will also be remembered
by those who loved her for her
incomparable skills as a cook and
baker. No one ever left her house
hungry.Services will be held on Sunday,
August 4, 2019 at 1 p.m. at Hillside
Memorial Park, 6001 W. Centinela,
Los Angeles 90045.September 7, 1921 - July 31, 2019HOFFMAN, Evelyn K.DonAlan Hernandezpassed
awayon May2,2019 aftersuffering
life-threatening injuries from a
tragic bicycle accident. Amemorial
servicewas held on May6,2019 at
the LaCañadaPresbyterian Church.
He will be laidto rest on Saturday,
August 3, 2019at the MountainView
Mausoleum in Altadena,CA.Donwas born onOctober 9, 1961 in
Wichita, Kansasto Bonifaceand Biatriz
Hernandezand graduatedfromPark
Hill HighSchoolin KansasCity,MO, in
1979.He graduatedcum laude in 1983
from Harvard University and received
his lawdegreefromStanford Law
School in 1986.Donpracticed lawfor
over 30years asacommercial litigator
beforefounding and managing his
ownlaw firm,TheHernandezLaw
Group.Atthe time of his passing,he
wasamanaging partner andHead of
Litigationat Zuber Lawler&Del Duca,
LLP.Donwas adedicatedand talented
atto rney who felt passionate about
law, wasadmiredby his peers and
colleagues,and mentoredyoung
atto rneys.Heservedaspresident
of the Harvard ClubofSouthern
California,wasaprevious board
member with theLosAngelesCenter
for Lawand Justice, heldroles within
the AmericanBarAssociation, and
servedasalawyers’representativefor
the U.S. DistrictCourt, Centra lDistrict
of California. Donwas activewith
the LaCañadaPresbyterian Church,
enjoyedhiking ,biking ,runnin g, and
being outdoors.Inhis passing,Don
donatedhis organsto resear ch and
savedthree lives.Donwas formerlymarried to
Kath yChristie and is survivedby
his daughter, Kristen Hernandez,
son, Stephen Hernandez, father,
BonifaceHernandez, twosisters,
DonnaHernandezJeide andDiane
Hernandez, and fiancée,LindaWatson.October 9, 1961-May 2, 2019HERNANDEZ, Don AlanSally A. Helfer was born November
29, 1936, and died July 31, 2019.
Loving sister to Glenda and sister-in-
law to Jerry. Loving stepmother to
Mitchell (Carrie) and Jeffrey (Laura);
adoring grandmother to Alexis, Brett,
and Marc, and great-grandmother to
Sofie; beloved aunt to Scott (Julie),
Stacey, Bradley (Rachel), and Joshua
(Holly), and beloved great-aunt to
Brandon, Carlyn, Isabella, Max, Grace,
Oliver, Amelia, Lila, Henry, and Ruthie.Services 12:00 pm, Sunday, August 4
at Hillside Memorial Park.November 29, 1936 - July 31, 2019HELFER, Sally A.To place
an obituary ad
please go
online to:
latimes.com/placeobituaryor call
1-800-234-Judith Bontempo Marconi, loving
wife of Carl Marconi, mother of Joseph
Marconi and Deana Marie Marconi, and
sister of the late Benjamin Bontempo,
passed away at age 77 on Monday, July
29, 2019, surrounded by her family.
Judy was born on May 16, 1942 in
Cleveland, OH to Charles and the late
Annie (Principato) Bontempo. She
graduated from Mark Keppel High
School in Alhambra, CA.
On June 24, 1961, she married Carl
Marconi and they lived in Alhambra
and then in Temple City. Their first
child, Joe, was born in 1965. After
daughter Deana Marie was born in
1966, the family moved to Arcadia.
Judy worked in retail for J.J.
Newberry’s, was a pbx operator
for brokerage Bateman Eichler in
downtown Los Angeles, and later
worked as a rep for design firm Perry
Ellis, representing their perfume line.
During this time, she was active in the
Temple City Junior Women’s Club and
was engaged in community service.
She was also a volunteer for the Ronald
McDonald House in Pasadena.
In later years, she became involved
with the El Monte school district,
and worked as a dietician and menu
planner for Arroyo High School.
A dedicated canasta player, she
enjoyed social activities. But mostly,
she was very dedicated to her friends
and her family, and was always
welcoming to friends who would drop
by her house.
Judy is survived by her father,
Charles Bontempo, her husband Carl
Marconi, her children Joseph Marconi
and Deana Marie Marconi, and her
grandchildren Juliana Marconi, Charles
Joseph Marconi, and Joseph Marconi,
Jr.
A funeral service will be held on
Monday, August 5th, 2019, 9:45 AM
at Holy Angels Catholic Church, 370
Campus Dr, Arcadia, CA 91007
In lieu of flowers, please consider
donating to the San Gabriel Humane
Society or the Pasadena Ronald
McDonald House.
Cabot and Sons, Pasadena DirectorsMARCONI, Judith
BontempoMyrtle F. Kurisu, 92-year-old, Hawaii
born resident of Rosemead, who
passed away peacefully on July 13,
2019 at her home.
She is survived by her loving
husband, Kenneth Kurisu; son, Maurice
Kurisu; she is also survived by many
nieces, nephews and other relatives
here and in Hawaii.
The family would appreciate your
prayers.
http://www.fukuimortuary.com
213-626-KURISU, Myrtle F.Mount Sinai Memorial Parks -
Hollywood Hills 800-600-
http://www.mountsinaiparks.orgKRAKOWSKY, DoloresCadiz opponents cheered
the new law.
“We’re thrilled that Gov.
Newsom and the state are
committed to protecting the
fragile Mojave Desert from
unfettered corporate greed,”
Ileene Anderson, senior
scientist at the Center for
Biological Diversity, said in
a written statement. “Addi-
tional review is crucial be-
cause the Cadiz water-priva-
tization scheme is not sus-
tainable.”
Sen. Richard Roth (D-
Riverside), the author of the
legislation, Senate Bill 307,
said serious concerns have
been raised about the
amount of groundwater that
Cadiz proposed pumping
from the desert, which may
be more than nature can re-
plenish. “We can’t afford to
get this wrong,” Roth said in
a statement. “It is critical to
allow independent scien-
tists to review the scientific
evidence in order to resolve
the conflict.”
The State Lands Com-
mission is required to review
any proposed water transfer
in consultation with the
state departments of Fish
and Wildlife and Water Re-
sources.
Cadiz has proposed
pumping enough ground-
water from beneath its pri-
vate Mojave Desert lands to
supply 100,000 homes a year.
Environmental and pub-
lic land advocates have
warned that the project
would dry up springs that
are vital to desert wildlife.
Federal environmental offi-
cials said Cadiz had over-
stated the recharge rate of
the desert aquifer.
Cadiz had rejected both
criticisms, noting that an
earlier version of the water
project received approval
from the U.S. Department of
the Interior in 2002 and that
it underwent a decade of re-
views by state agencies, San
Bernardino County and the
courts.
Cadiz was founded by
Keith Brackpool, an investor
with extensive political con-
nections in Sacramento and
Los Angeles.
The company is now
headed by Slater, a Califor-
nia water law expert who is
part of the influential Col-
orado law firm of Brown-
stein Hyatt Farber Schreck,
which previously employed
David Bernhardt, now U.S.
secretary of the Interior. The
law firm’s ties to the Trump
administration have come
under scrutiny, as has its fi-
nancial stake in the project.
In a 2016 filing with the
Securities and Exchange
Commission, Brownstein
was slated to receive lucra-
tive stock shares if Cadiz
started selling water. The
company’s stock price fell af-
ter California lawmakers, on
July 11, approved the bill
Newsom signed Wednesday.
Cadiz and Brackpool, a
longtime friend of former
L.A. Mayor Antonio Villarai-
gosa, together contributed
nearly $85,000 to Villarai-
gosa’s unsuccessful 2018 gu-
bernatorial campaign. The
company also donated to
former Govs. Gray Davis
and Jerry Brown, Sen. Ka-
mala Harris (D-Calif.) and a
long list of California law-
makers and politicians.
Newsom also received
political donations from Ca-
diz while he served as Cali-
fornia’s lieutenant governor.
However, both Newsom
and Brown had supported
previous legislation that
would have imposed similar
state environmental restric-
tions on the Cadiz project.
In June, a federal judge
struck down Trump admin-
istration decisions that
cleared the way for Cadiz to
build a water pipeline across
public land in the California
desert. Cadiz has said the
administration could easily
remedy the court’s con-
cerns.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein
(D-Calif.) has been one of
the project’s staunchest op-
ponents. The senator has
long championed protec-
tions for the Mojave and
other desert lands in South-
ern California, and she ap-
plauded the new law
Wednesday.
“If Cadiz were allowed to
drain a vital desert aquifer,
everything that makes our
desert special — from big-
horn sheep and desert tor-
toises to Joshua trees and
breathtaking wildflower
blooms — would have been
endangered,” Feinstein said
in a statement.Desert water
project facing
a new hurdle
[Water,from B1]
E
dith Perez, the
daughter of mi-
grant farmworkers
who became the
first Latina part-
ner at one of the nation’s
most prestigious law firms
and was president of the Los
Angeles Police Commission
during tumultuous times,
has died after a years-long
battle with cancer.
Perez died July 20 in Los
Angeles at the age of 64. She
had suffered from cancer for
18 years, her husband, Curt
Holguin, said.
She was appointed to the
Police Commission in 1995 —
several years after the Rod-
ney King beating — by May-
or Richard Riordan, who at
the time said “she impressed
us with her leadership in
building consensus to re-
solve controversial issues”
when she served as vice
president of the Recreation
and Parks Commission.
During her four-year ten-
ure as president, Perez
pushed for numerous police
reforms and worked to im-
prove community policing,
and she championed a lan-
guage policy that would im-
prove interactions between
officers and people who
spoke little or no English.
“She threaded the needle
between police reform and
caring for line officers,” Hol-
guin said. “She visited sta-
tions, talked one-on-one to
officers about their needs,
went to shooting ranges ...
and went to the scenes
where officers were
wounded or killed in action.”
But some of her years as
president were fraught with
controversy.
She had allegedly urged
the union in 1998 to go after
then-Inspector General
Katherine Mader during a
closed-door meeting at a
time when tension between
several commission mem-
bers and Mader was high.
Perez later ruled that the in-
spector general could exam-
ine misconduct complaints
only after the department
investigated and resolved
them. The restriction was
met with outrage and was
considered an abrupt de-
parture from suggestions by
the 1991 Christopher Com-
mission, which outlined po-
lice reforms after the King
beating.
That same year, The
Times reported that “a
growing number of critics”
believed that the five-mem-
ber panel was struggling to
keep then-Police Chief
Bernard C. Parks in check.
Perez denied accusations
that the boardhad become
the chief ’s rubber stamp.
In another controversy,
Perez admitted to sending
anonymous lettersto promi-
nent police reform experts
to boost the police commis-
sion’s image.
Still, she was respected
by many for her strong work
ethic, extraordinary driveand keen focus.
While serving as presi-
dent, Perez was with
Latham & Watkins, where
she worked for more than 25
years. She was the first Lat-
ina to become a partner at
the law firm and was respon-
sible for hundreds of finance,
commercial real estate, cor-
porate and international
transactions for the firm’s
numerous Fortune 500 cli-
ents before retiring in 2011 as
an equity partner.
“She was always mindful
of of the fact that in addition
to the hard work that a law
firm requires of its attor-
neys, that she had a role that
was prominent in the com-
munity, in particular the
Latino community,” said
John Sherrell, a retiredLatham & Watkins partner
who worked with Perez for
more than 20 years.
Described as frank and
intense, Perez was known as
a tough and dynamic prob-
lem solver.
Initially she wanted to
become a poverty lawyer.
Her law professors advised
her to instead apply to the
best firms she could find.
“I guess I have a perenni-
ally optimistic view of ac-
complishing what I set out to
do,” she told the Los Angeles
Business Journal in 1998. “If
you look at the strikes
against me — an immigrant,
a girl, a minority — I didn’t
think about them as obsta-
cles. I had no doubt they
could be overcome.”
Perez was born Aug. 30,1954, in Acambay, Mexico, a
mountain town northwest of
Mexico City. In 1956, her fam-
ily moved to the United
States under the Bracero
program,which allowed mi-
grant farmworkers into the
country and promised them
decent living conditions, fair
wages and more.
She was raised in the ru-
ral Northern California rural
town of Marysville. Her fam-
ily was poor, but she said her
childhood was “perfect.” Her
experience growing up as a
“have-not,” as she once put
it, fueled her drive to pursue
law so she could improve the
lives of other have-nots.
Perez is survived by her
husband, daughters Kate
and Ryan, and brothers Er-
ick and Willfred.E DITH PEREZ, 1954 - 2019
Trailblazing Latina attorney led L.A. police board
By Dorany Pineda
Luis SincoLos Angeles Times
TUMULTUOUS TIMES
Edith Perez, shown in 1997, led the L.A. Police
Commission at a time when the LAPD faced calls
for reform in the wake of the Rodney King beating.