Thfire.com – iNews

Mavanell “Mavy” Stoddard was surprised to find love again late in life. After her husband died, she moved back to her hometown of Tucson and rekindled a romance with her high school sweetheart. But now she finds herself a widow twice over.

Her new husband, Dorwan Stoddard, was one of the six people killed more than a week ago when a gunman opened fire at a meet-and-greet event for Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. Witnesses say the 76-year-old threw himself over his wife’s body to protect her from the bullets, but was shot in the head himself. Mavy Stoddard, 75, was shot three times in the legs, and was in a wheelchair when she spoke at her husband’s funeral on Sunday.

“He made me a better person. He made me kinder. He made me know there are good men,” she said, fighting back tears. Her husband’s four sons stood beside her.

Then suddenly the elderly widow smiled. “He spoiled me rotten,” she said, according to The Los Angeles Times. “And oh gosh, it was fun.”

“He died for me,” she continued, her voice stronger, “and I have to live for him.”

As the crowd of mourners began to applaud, Stoddard left them with some final words. “I will survive,” she said. “We will not let that gunman take our hopes.”

The 22-year-old suspect, Jared Loughner, has been charged with murder. Mavy Stoddard is one of 13 people, including the Democratic congresswoman, Giffords, who survived with gunshot wounds. Giffords’ condition was upgraded Sunday from critical to serious.

“Hang in there. Hang onto your loved ones. Keep kissing them and hugging them, because tomorrow they may not be there,” Stoddard said.

Another funeral for Giffords’ aide, Gabriel Zimmerman, also took place in Tucson on Sunday, attended by Giffords’ husband Mark Kelly, who spoke publicly for the first time.

The congresswoman loved Zimmerman “like a younger brother,” Kelly said, according to The New York Times. She was inspired by the 30-year-old’s “idealism, his strength and his warmth,” he said.

Sunday’s funerals capped a week of tearful memorials for victims of the Tucson shooting. Just one more service remains to take place — that of Dorothy Morris, 76, whose husband George is also said to have tried to shield his wife from the bullets. But unlike the Stoddards, he didn’t succeed. George Morris survived but remains hospitalized with gunshot wounds, and has been unable to plan his wife’s funeral.

Stoddard was remembered Sunday as a loving father, grandfather, retired construction worker and “Mr. Fix-It,” his son Dale said at the service. “He was always helping someone, someone who was hurting, someone who needed some care or just a gallon of gasoline,” Reuters quoted the son as saying. “Guys like my father are rare.”

A Tucson native, Stoddard worked construction in Nevada and was married to his wife Arlene for 43 years. The couple had four children. After Arlene died in 1994, Stoddard moved back to his hometown and ran into his old sixth grade sweetheart, Mavy Terry, who had recently made the same move after her own husband died. They fell in love again and married.

“They loved each other,” Katie Andrews, who has known Mavy since the seventh grade, told the local Tucson TV station KGUN-9. “Sometimes you have to go through a sorrow to really appreciate your second marriage. Second marriages are really special.”

Andrews said Dorwan Stoddard was dedicated to Mavy and to his church, Mountain View Church of Christ, where he worked as a maintenance man for the past 15 years. The pastor, a good friend of his, wore a red shirt and cowboy boots — Stoddard’s uniform of choice — in honor of his fallen friend during a eulogy there on Sunday. Pastor Mike Nowak called his friend by his nickname, “Dory.”

“Dory had the spirit of an 18-year-old,” Nowak said, according to the Arizona Daily Star. He joked about how he never expected Stoddard to die in a freak shooting, but thought he might fall off a ladder trying diligently to repair the church’s roof.

“Before CNN ever heard the name Dorwan Stoddard, he was a hero,” Nowak said, describing the media attention Stoddard’s death has gotten, because of his valiant effort to save his wife’s life. “I hope that his legacy is not only that he gave his life, but that you’ve heard about the other heroic acts he’s done over the years.”

Source : AOL NEWS

The newest Miss World is from the United States.

Alexandria Mills, a soft-spoken 18-year-old, was named the winner in Saturday night’s contest in southern China. The tall blonde was a relative surprise winner after speculation focused on other contestants.

Second place went to Emma Wareus of Botswana, and Adriana Vasini of Venezuela came third.

The host country’s own contestant, Tang Xiao, also was among the final five.

According to a brief biography on the Miss World website, Mills calls Louisville, Kentucky, her hometown, and she recently graduated from high school. She would like to become a teacher.

“I’ve never met a stranger and enjoy meeting new people,” she says in the bio.

For the final, she was wearing a shimmering ivory-colored dress slit up the leg.

Mills takes over the title from Kaiane Aldorino of Gibraltar, who was named Miss World 2009 at a ceremony in South Africa last December.

Women from more than 100 countries participated in the contest, organizers said.

This is the 60th year of the Miss World Competition, and organizers brought back contestants from past decades to give the night a retrospective theme.

Mayor Richard M. Daley of Chicago said Tuesday that he would not run for re-election when his term expires next year, an announcement that could have implications from the Windy City to the White House.

“I’ve done my all. I’ve done my best,” Mr. Daley told reporters during a news conference at City Hall in Chicago. “Now, I’m ready with my family to begin the new phase of our lives.”

The news created an immediate stir inside the West Wing.

“No mayor in America has loved a city more or served a community with greater passion than Rich Daley,” President Obama said in a statement. “He helped build Chicago’s image as a world class city, and leaves a legacy of progress that will be appreciated for generations to come.”

Rahm Emanuel, the chief of staff to President Obama, has talked openly about his desire to run for mayor of his hometown. He has said that he would only consider running if Mr. Daley decided to step aside.

“One day I would like to run for mayor of the city of Chicago,” Mr. Emanuel said during an April interview on “The Charlie Rose Show.”

“First of all, let me say it this way: I hope Mayor Daley seeks re-election. I will work and support him if he seeks re-election,” Mr. Emanuel said at the time. “But if Mayor Daley doesn’t, one day I would like to run for mayor of the city of Chicago.”

In a statement on Tuesday afternoon, Mr. Emanuel said that he was surprised by the announcement. He did not say whether he intended to run, but he does not have much time to make a decision, with the election set for Feb. 22, 2011.

“While Mayor Daley surprised me today with his decision to not run for reelection, I have never been surprised by his leadership, dedication and tireless work on behalf of the city and the people of Chicago,” Mr. Emanuel said in a statement.

Mr. Emanuel, a former congressman from Chicago’s North Side, has told friends that he planned to stay in the White House until at least next summer. But the news from Mr. Daley, which caught many Democrats by surprise, could change the calculation.

“The truth is, I have been thinking about this for the past several months,” Mr. Daley told reporters in Chicago. “In the end, this is a personal decision, no more, no less.”

Mr. Daley, who in 1989 followed in his father’s footsteps to become mayor of Chicago, has been one of the more colorful and powerful mayors in the country. As he made his announcement on Tuesday, his wife, Maggie, stood by his side with the help of a crutch, the Chicago Tribune reported. She has been battling breast cancer for years.

“Simply put, it’s time,” Mr. Daley told reporters. “Time for me, it’s time for Chicago to move on.”

Mr. Daley, 68, will become the longest-serving mayor of Chicago on Dec. 26, 2010, surpassing the tenure of 21 years and eight months that his father, Richard J. Daley, recorded.

Mr. Emanuel, should he decide to run for mayor, would hardly have a clear path to the office. Several Chicago aldermen have been eying the office, in case Mr. Daley decided to step aside, and so have several other Democratic officials in Chicago, including the Cook County Assessor, Jim Houlihan, and the Cook County Sheriff, Tom Dart.

The primary is scheduled to take place next February, a timeline that does not allow Mr. Emanuel or other potential candidates much time to settle their plans. A new wave of senior advisers is expected to join the Obama administration after the November election, when the Democratic majority in Congress could shrink – or vanish.

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I previously decided not to post anything about Michael Jackson after news about Michael Jackson’s Ghost came out. The reason I took this decision was because its about time we let him rest in peace. Its been more than 15 days since his death and still the media is cashing out from the news of his death. This is the reason I didn’t post anything about MJ’s Memorial service. I wanted to give it all a rest. But yes, something kept buzzing me in my head regarding why Michael Jackson’s body was not shown in his memorial service and I am sure almost all of you have the same question. Now our questions are partailly answered regarding how MJ’s body looked.

But it looks like the family members of Michael Jackson viewed the open casket the night before the MJ’s Memorial Service. The close family members viewed MJ’s body when they were gathered at Forest Lawn in the Hollywood Hills.

David Fossett, one of Michael Jackson’s cousin who is currently 50(same age as MJ), grew up with Michael and still lives in Jackson’s hometown of Gary, said,”He looked like himself. He looked like he just was laying there sleeping, he looked peaceful.”

Fossett also said,”Relatives gathered around the casket, talked to each other and cried.” But Michael Jackson’s parents Katherine Jackson and Joe Jackson were both not present there.