Obituaries

Phoenix lost a punk rock legend this week — and Robrt Pela lost a dear friend.

Charles “Monty” Roessel, a former director of the federal Bureau of Indian Education and president of the first tribal college to be established in the United States, has died. He was 63.

A self-help guru convicted of negligent homicide in the sweat lodge deaths of three people 15 years ago has died.

Terrol Dew Johnson was probably best known as a basket weaver and sculptor, but the member of the Tohono O’odham Nation was also a health advocate committed to Indigenous food sovereignty.

Mike Sversvold, widely known as "Bam-Bam," was a legendary drummer in the 1980s Phoenix punk scene. Sversvold was involved in many bands, and was a founding member of the skate punk band JFA.

Brent Rutemiller had a storied career as the publisher of Swimming World magazine and CEO of the International Swimming Hall of Fame. But, there was more to Rutemiller.

The wolf, tagged F2979 but known as Hope, was under observation by preservationists, including volunteers from the Grand Canyon Wolf Recovery Project.

Sarahfina Fore died earlier this year, but there’s still a shrine with fresh flowers and a poster board documenting memories of them outside Wasted Ink Zine Distro in Phoenix — a sign that the teacher and member of the creative community will not soon be forgotten.

As 2024 comes to a close, we're remembering members of the community who made a mark on Arizona. As co-owner of The Paper Place in Old Town Scottsdale, Nancy Silver helped customers order wedding invitations, graduation announcements and a card to express just about any sentiment.

Navajo Code Talker John Kinsel Sr. died Saturday at the age of 107. Kinsel was part of a group of Navajo people who joined the Marine Corps during World War II, and used the Navajo language to create an unbreakable code.