Frank Callaway
D. Frank Callaway III, known simply as Frank Callaway, died unexpectedly while watching television in his downtown Guadalajara apartment the weekend of July 14, apparently without suffering.
He was 76. His official first name was D., often causing consternation; yet he was the third in his family to bear that name.
Frank was well known as a french horn player and, as cited by the current director of the Orquesta Filarmonica de Jalisco, José Luis Castillo, was part of the OFJ horn section from 1988 to 2015.
Frank was born in Nashville, Tennessee, and grew up near Atlanta. He also lived in Louisville, Kentucky, whose orchestra is known for its adventurous programming of contemporary music, priming Frank for his lifelong passion; Frank is noted in the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians for his many premieres of contemporary music.
Local musical colleagues said that when Frank cared about a composer he would present a recital to showcase his music, such as recitals done with pianist Timothy G. Ruff Welch, horn player Colleen Blake, mezzo soprano Kimball Wheeler and others. A colleague said Frank turned him on to the music of Bernard Hermann, the composer for many Hitchcock films, and added that Frank “was always interested in strange composers like Havergal Brian.” He would get into long-term projects like listening to all the music of Bartok or Shostakovich and had a huge collection of CDs and movies, which he often took to the homes of friends to share.
Frank was stationed in the Philippines during the Vietnam war, played in the Air Force band and went to graduate school using the GI Bill. Friends say the war had a seminal effect on him, causing him to hate former U.S. President Johnson and never trust politicians or political systems; Frank never “thought you could do anything to improve things.”
He first came to Mexico in 1987 to play in the orchestra of Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM), and the next year was hired as co-principal hornist with the OFJ. In his early days here, he occasionally wrote science fiction book reviews for the Guadalajara Reporter.
Frank had no siblings or other known relatives, and his parents preceded him in death. A get-together is planned by local musicians and friends honoring and remembering Frank. His will specified that no religious service be held.
Carol Theresa Caruna Powell
Carol Theresa Caruna Powell died Monday, June, 12, while she was being driven from Ajijic to Mission, Texas to receive critical health care.
Carol was born in Rochester, New York, on December 15, 1940, to Samuel and Josephine A, Caruna. In her early years, she was affiliated with the Franciscan Sisters of Alleghany, New York, although she did not take her final vows as a nun.
Carol taught school in Ajijic for several years and was a long-time member of the Lake Chapala Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Riberas del Pilar.
She had been seriously injured in a nursing van accident five months ago, a law case that is still in court.
Carol’s friends are grateful to the kindness shown her at the Serenity Care Home, the Happiness Residence for Seniors and Casa Zoe, while she was in Ajijic this past year. They also thank her friend and driver Dago, who was driving her to Texas when she passed away, and also to her friend and executor, Maria Michelle Coppersmith-Buschman.
Carol asked that no formal ceremony be held, but her friends have gathered in small groups to pay tribute.
As of press time, Carol’s body was still in a funeral home in Saltillo, Coahuila while her friends work through the bureaucracy of how to handle her death. Because of the legal situation, they do not know when or where Carol will be cremated.
Carol is survived by a sister, Gail Knight; son Jordan Petkovski and his wife Samantha; and two grandchildren of Plano, Texas.