Police, medical examiner rule 'D.C. Madam's' death a suicide

The scene last week outside the mobile home where Deborah Palfrey, known as the "D.C. Madam," hanged herself in a storage shed under the carport of her mother's Tarpon Springs home. The mobile home was tucked in the back of the Sun Valley Estates mobile home park. [JIM DAMASKE | Times]

TARPON SPRINGS -- Last week's death of 52-year-old Deborah Jean Palfrey -- the woman known as the 'D.C. Madam' -- has been ruled a suicide by the Pinellas-Pasco Medical Examiners Office, police said today.

Police said they had no reason to believe that Palfrey's death on Thursday was anything but a suicide. Palfrey's body was discovered hanging in a shed beside the home of her mother, Blanche Palfrey, in the Sun Valley Estates mobile home park on U.S. 19.

In suicide notes released by police this morning, Palfrey told her family she regretted leaving them to deal with her death, but was unable to face prison and saw no other way out. She also left a short note saying she was not to be revived or, if found alive, fed under any circumstances.

Former Times obituary writer Craig Basse dead at 77

Craig Basse, editor and obituary writer at the St. Petersburg Times for more than  three decades, died Tuesday at St. Anthony’s Hospital after a battle with several cancers. He was 77.

Mr. Basse was born in Tennessee and was editor of his college newspaper at the University of Arkansas. He spent 17 years as an editor with the Associated Press before joining the Times in 1972.

He was known for his quiet demeanor, his dedication and old-fashioned journalism values. Colleagues said Mr. Basse was able to pull details from several reporters and weave them into a clear story on deadline.

As obituary editor, he edited the Times' daily funeral announcements and wrote story obituaries numbering in the thousands on subjects notable and obscure.

"He was the consummate professional, steady and unflappable" said Paul Tash, chairman, CEO and editor of the St. Petersburg Times. "He honored the humanity of countless people with dedication to the record of their lives. But I suspect he would find his own passing unremarkable."

Services will be private.

Stephanie Hayes, Times staff writer

Barnes scholar Emily Lester dies at 18

Emily Lester, recipient of a 2008 St. Petersburg Times Barnes Scholarship, died early Saturday morning. She was 18.

A two-time cancer survivor, Emily was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in 2001. Then a sixth grader and captain of her school soccer team, Emily noticed herself becoming tired.

“I had lost that spark, the love of the game, a drive that had usually led our team to victory,” she wrote in her application for the Barnes Scholarship.

The diagnosis, she wrote, “was like a giant boulder plunging into the calm waters of my existence. Suddenly, I was soaked by a splash of fear and uncertainty.”

She went into remission after chemotherapy and entered St. Petersburg High as a freshman in the International Baccalaureate program. But the next year, she relapsed. Her younger sister, Catherine, donated bone marrow to her sister in 2006, and Emily enrolled in classes at Seminole High.

In January, she relapsed again. She was being treated at St. Jude’s Hospital in Memphis, searching for a new marrow donor.

Emily, of Largo, loved Harry Potter books and wanted to visit Africa and Europe. She planned to major in journalism and pre medicine at Duke University, where she had been accepted. She dreamed of becoming a pediatric oncologist — journalism training, she said, would give her the tools to accurately and succinctly deliver information.

She was ranked fifth in her high school class and had a 3.89 unweighted grade point average. She belonged to the National Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta math club, Key Club, and Interact Club.

She spent her time volunteering for the American Cancer Society, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and St. Jude’s Hospital. As a team leader for Relay for Life, Emily and her “Chemo Crew” raised more than $40,000 in six years. She also helped organize the Bay to Bay Bone Marrow Drive, bringing more than 200 people to the bone marrow registry.

In February, while at St. Jude’s, she learned the St. Petersburg Times had awarded her a Barnes Scholarship. Established in 1999 and named in honor of former Times chairman and CEO Andrew Barnes, the scholarships are given to high achieving high school seniors who have overcome obstacles. They are worth up to $60,000 over four years at an accredited U.S. college or university.

Emily told the Times that she was more determined than ever to overcome her disease. And despite it all, in her application, she wrote, “I believe my life has played out the way God intended.”

- Stephanie Hayes, Times staff writer

WWI veteran Harry Landis dies

Harry Landis, one of the last surviving U.S. World War I veterans, died Monday in Sun City Center. He was 108.

Although both of his parents died in their 70s, Mr. Landis stayed healthy his whole life -- eye drops were his only medication. About four weeks ago, he developed a fever and didn't recover, said his caretaker, Donna Riley.

He was born on Dec. 12, 1899. He enlisted in October 1918 because the government was drafting. A month later, the war was over.

"He didn’t think it was a big deal, him being a World War I survivor," Riley said. "But when I would tell him, 'You're in the paper again,' you could tell he liked it."

About 4.7-million Americans served during World War I. In April, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs listed three known veterans: Landis; Frank Buckles, 107, of Charles Town, W.Va.; and J. Russell Coffey of North Baltimore, Ohio. Mr. Coffey died in December at 109, according to an obituary in the Washington Post.

Sign guestbook

Previous coverage: And then there were three (April 12, 2007)

- Stephanie Hayes, Times staff writer

James H. "Jim" Shimberg Sr. dies at 84

TAMPA -- Pioneer developer James H. "Jim" Shimberg Sr., best known for building Town 'N Country and University Community Hospital, died of lung cancer Friday (June 15, 2007). He was 84.

Mr. Shimberg was born in Syracuse, N.Y., and served in the Army Air Corps during World War II, rising to the rank of lieutenant. After the war he attended the University of Chicago Law School where he received his law degree in 1949 and practiced law in New York until 1958.

It was in 1958 when Mr. Shimberg moved to Tampa with his wife Amy, and became one of the area's major developers. With his brother, Hinks Shimberg, he developed much of the Town 'N Country area, as well as numerous homes throughout the Bay area.

A celebration of James H. Shimberg Sr.’s life will be held at 11 a.m. Monday, June 18, at Congregation Schaarai Zedek, 3303 Swann Ave. in Tampa, with Rabbi Richard Birnholz officiating.