The Philadelphia Inquirer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania • Page 20

JOES CARS NOMES STUFF CARS CARS THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER IN THE NATION AND THE WORLD Opalanga Pugh Storyteller, 57 Opalanga Pugh, 57, an internationally known storyteller drew her inspiration from traditional African storytelling, has died. The Denver native died of bone cancer Saturday at her home, with family and friends at her side. "She had the ability to bring you on a journey through parts of your soul you never wanted to go, and bring you back safe," said her younger brother, Lloyd Pugh. Ms. Pugh discovered the flavor of storytelling while traveling in Nigeria and studied traditional African storytelling in Gambia.

Beginning in 1986, she traveled the world, sharing stories and holding ceremonies. She graduated from high school in Denver and received numerous awards for her storytelling and outreach. She was featured in an NBC show as an African American "Living Legend" and in numerous articles by national publications such as the Wall Street Journal and Christian Science Monitor. Her work is housed in the Library of Congress. She was diagnosed with bone cancer five years ago, and pieces of her struggle seeped into her storytelling in recent years, said Cleo Parker Robinson, a lifelong friend and a well-known choreographer and dancer.

Denver Post Helen Krich Chinoy Theater historian, 87 Helen Krich Chinoy, 87, a theater historian who collected the views of actors and directors about their crafts and also documented the contributions of women to American theater, died May 24 in Turners Falls, Mass. The cause was pneumonia, said her daughter, Claire. Her mother had Alzheimer's disease, she said. Mrs. Chinoy taught at Smith College in Northampton, for nearly three decades and was the chairwoman of the theater department from 1968 to 1971.

But her influence in the world of theater education preceded her arrival at Smith in 1953. Her book Actors on Acting, written and edited with Toby Cole and published in 1949, was a scholarly collection of writings and interviews by actors from ancient Greece to mid-20th-century America. It became a popular classroom text and remains in print. Mrs. Chinoy and Cole followed up with another compilation, Directors on Directing, published in 1953, again using the words of the artists themselves.

In 1981, she and a collaborator, Linda Walsh Jenkins, published Women in American Theater, an extensive collection of essays, diaries, and interviews by various writers dealing with the contributions of women to the theater as actresses, directors, playwrights, designers, theater managers, and theater founders. Helen Krich was born in Newark, N.J., on Sept. 25, 1922, to Ukrainian immigrants. Her father, Benjamin, and his brothers ran an automobile showroom. She married Ely Chinoy, a sociologist, in 1948.

He died in 1975. Besides her daughter, who lives in Madrid, Spain, she is survived by a son, Mike, of Los Angeles, a former Asian correspondent for CNN, and three grandchildren. N.Y. Times News Service It's a simpler way to move UP in the world. Just go to philly.com/monster MARKETPLACE The Inquirer I Monday, June 7, 2010 OBITUARIES Phyllis Brown, 84; owned bookstore By Claudia Vargas INQUIRER STAFF WRITER Phyllis Brown, 84, formerly of Cherry Hill, co-owner of the popular Paperback Forum Cherry Hill Books when the Cherry Hill Mall opened and through the early 1980s, died of emphysema Tuesday, May 25, at her home in Oakland, Calif.

For the first 15 years of Ms. Brown's marriage to her exhusband Stanley Pogran, she focused on raising a family. But they both had envisioned owning a little bookstore one day, their daughter Lynn Kahn said. When the couple heard about Cherry Hill Mall's opening, they jumped at the chance to open a bookstore there. The store, opened in 1961 before the era of big boxes and chains, turned out to be far from a quiet country shop.

One of the area's few booksellers, it was an instant success, and Ms. Brown ended up being a natural at running the business, her daughter said. Ms. Brown was in charge of ordering children's books, which she loved to pick out, and hard covers. But her biggest contribution to the store was her artistic talent.

"She had a good eye for displays, how things should look," her daughter said. Shortly after Ms. Brown and Pogran divorced in the early 1980s, they sold the bookstore. Beyond running the store, Ms. Brown was active in the community, especially at election time.

A big advocate of voting rights, she often worked as a poll watcher, her daughter said. She also tried to be an emergency medical technician but could not do the required lifting because of her petite size, her daughter said. She was Still able to work with the Mount Laurel ambulance squad, which she enjoyed. she was in her 40s, she went to flight school and obtained a pilot's license. She loved to fly and continued her hobby until her health started to decline several years ago.

she retired from book selling, she worked for two years for the Peace Corps and was sent to Belize to help start small businesses there. When she returned in the late 1980s, Ms. Brown settled in Oakland, near one of her daughters. Brown was born and raised in Chicago's Highland Park area. After she graduated from high school, she became involved in social justice and civil-rights issues attending marches and protests, her daughter said.

Throughout her life, she was an advocate for social justice and women's rights and always encouraged her children and grandchildren to take a stand. She was a member of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. In 1945, she married Pogran, whom she had met while he was stationed at Fort Sheridan, Ill. The couple lived in Long Island, N.Y., for several years before moving to Livingston, N.J., in the late 1950s. In addition to her daughter Ms.

Brown is survived by sons Jed and David Pogran; daughters Judy Pogran and Amy Roman; and three grandchildren. A celebration of Ms. Brown's life will be held July 1. Contact staff writer Claudia Vargas at 856-779-3917 or Simple. The most cars, homes, jobs and stuff all in one place not a million, MARKETPLACE OWN THE MEMORY TOr 414 Eugenia Strauss was Guy Williams' love interest in TV's "Zorro." Eugenia Strauss, screen actress and arts patron By Sally A.

Downey INQUIRER STAFF WRITER Eugenia Strauss, 75, of Manalapan, a Hollywood television and movie actress who became a Main Line homemaker and patron of the arts, died of complications from edema Monday, May 24, at Good Samaritan Medical Center in West Palm Beach, Fla. Mrs. Strauss grew up in Detroit as Eugenia Popoff. An accomplished ballerina at age 14, she was recruited by the American Ballet Theatre. With her mother as chaperone, she went on tour with the company.

At 16, while touring Eugenia in California, she suc- Strauss cessfully auditioned for a dancing part in an operetta at the Hollywood Bowl. She was discovered by a Warner Bros. talent scout on opening night, changed her last name to Paul, and signed with the studio. Mrs. Strauss later told TV Guide she danced at all the movie studios until she put on weight.

She trimmed down by running a mile every morning, she said, and took acting lessons. She appeared in several movies, including The Ten Commandments and Bigger Than Life, and appeared on television in Death Valley Days and Alfred Hitchcock Presents. In 1957, she was cast as the romantic interest of the masked rider in the Disney Studios television series Zorro. A dark-haired, dark-eyed beauty of Russian descent, Mrs. Strauss often portrayed Mexican and American Indian maidens.

In 1958, she married Robert Strauss, whom she had met at a party at the Hollywood Bowl. She continued acting for a time before starting a family. Her last film was Gunfighters of Abilene in 1960. In their early marriage, she and her husband lived in California and in Texas, where he was an executive for his family's firm, Pep Boys Manny, Moe Jack. The automotive parts and service chain had been cofounded in Philadelphia i in 1921 by his father, Maurice "Moe" Strauss.

Mrs. Strauss and her husband moved Bryn Mawr in 1970. While raising their children, she was an active parent at the Baldwin School and Episcopal Academy. "She was all about family," her daughter Kimberly said, "and never missed a tennis match or a swim meet." After moving to Florida with her husband in the late 1980s, she supported several cultural and charitable institutions and was especially active as a patron of the Miami City Ballet. Edward Villella, the ballet's founding artistic director, told the Palm Beach Daily News last week, "Her passion and enthusiasm was infectious." In addition to her husband and daughter, Mrs.

Strauss is survived by a daughter, Wendy; and a son, Baron; and three grandchildren. A funeral was held Friday, May 28, at Rubin Memorial Chapel in Boynton Beach, Fla. Entombment was in the Gardens in Boca Raton, Fla. Contact staff writer Sally A. Downey at 215-854-2913 or Clyde Mauger III, owner of oil firm By Walter F.

Naedele INQUIRER STAFF WRITER Clyde A. Mauger III, 67, of Westtown, owner of a fuel oil firm in Chester County, died Monday, May 24, at Wilmington Hospital after suffering a heart attack. Born in Philadelphia, Mr. Mauger graduated from Lansdowne-Aldan High School in 1961 and earned a bachelor's degree in business administration at Bethany College in West Virginia in 1965. Mr.

Mauger joined the family business, Clyde Mauger found- Mauger ed in 1964 as a fuel oil supplier. The company added a heating and cooling division known as Mauger Mechanical and then another division, Cedar Brook Lawn Care. He was named president of the firm in 1980. In the 1980s, said his wife, Lynnette, Mr. Mauger was president of the Pennsylvania Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association.

also was a volunteer ex- Purchase photographs from the Inquirer available matted framed or in a variety of gift items. philly com www.philly.com/store ecutive with several agencies. In the 1970s, he was president of the Boys Club in Media, now the Media Youth Center, and president of the Jaycees chapter there. At the West Chester office of the American Red Cross, his wife said, Mr. Mauger was chairman from 1998 to 2000.

At Planned Parenthood of Chester County, she said, Mr. Mauger was chairman of the development council from 2000 to 2006. And he was a board A. member of the MalvIll ern Public Library. In addition to his wife, Mr.

Mauger is survived by his father, Clyde A. stepmother Patti; sons Clyde A. IV and Zachary; daughter Kristin Hyland; stepdaughter Alanna Ettinger; a sister; seven grandchildren; and his former wife, Pamela Hebel. He was predeceased by his mother, Evelyn Mauger. The funeral was held Thursday, June 3.

Contact staff writer Walter F. Naedele at 215-854-5607 or Simple. AN The most cars, homes, jobs and stuff all in one place not a million. MARKETPLACE HOMES JOBS STUFF.