East Cobb Obituaries

East Cobb Park founding member Sunny Walker dies at 71

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Sunny piano East Cobb Park
Sunny Walker at the unveiling of “Sunny” the piano at East Cobb Park in 2017. (ECN file photo)

The Friends for the East Cobb Park is sending out word that Sunny Walker, one of the key figures in the creation of East Cobb Park, has died.

Walker, 71, died on Aug. 27. She also was a past president of Friends volunteer organization, helping to raise money to buy the land on Roswell Road where the park continues today.

In 2017, a piano donated by the East Cobb-based Play Me Again pianos non-profit was named “Sunny” in her honor and located at the park’s upper-level gazebo.

Walker was named the 1993 East Cobb Citizen of the Year by the East Cobb Area Council of the Cobb Chamber of Commerce. Her other community activities included being a Chamber board member as well as its Leadership Cobb initiative. She also was a supporter of the Theatre in the Square in Marietta. From her obituary:

“Sunny is remembered for her unconditional love of people and her perpetual heart of service. Dedicated to the arts, she championed numerous projects that were important to her community and its cultural development. Sunny’s influence is ever-present and vast.”

Walker, who lived in Smyrna, grew up in Rome and moved to Atlanta after graduating from the University of Georgia. She and her sister started the family-owned Frameworks Gallery, located on Johnson Ferry Road.

She is survived by her sister Diane Spencer of Woodstock and four other siblings, two children and five grandchildren. Walker was preceded in death by her husband “Big Al” Walker.

 

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IN MEMORIAM: East Cobb civic leader Trish Steiner, 75

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Trish Steiner, who died on Saturday at the age of 75, was a longtime community activist, including many years with the East Cobb Civic Association, and was involved with the Walton High School community.

Here’s the remembrance her family is sharing with the community:Trish Steiner

She was born in Pittsburgh, PA to the late Dr. Thomas and Mrs. Faye Hayes. Trish met her husband Maurice “Mo” Steiner at Milligan College in 1962. After being married in 1966, Trish and Mo lived in Maine and Florida before moving to East Cobb in 1984. She was a dedicated mother to her daughters, Audra, Melissa and Brianne.

As a lifelong volunteer, Trish was an activist for her community. She was appointed by Cobb Commissioner Bob Ott the Neighborhood Safety Commission and was a longtime member and board member of East Cobb Civic Association. During her tenure of ECCA, she served various leadership roles involving zoning and variances and Johnson Ferry Corridor Study.

Trish received a proclamation from Cobb Commissioner JoAnn Birrell in 2012 in recognition of her volunteer service to Cobb County. Trish was a 2004 YMCA Woman of Achievement recipient. She was a member of The College of Charleston’s Parent Advisory Council from 2003 -2009, and was a member of The College’s 1770 Society.

Trish was the founder of the Mt. Bethel Elementary School Foundation and was a driving force in the formation of Walton High School’s Foundation and Charter Status. Trish and Mo were both enthusiastically involved in Walton Band and Orchestra Parents for many years.

Trish was dearly loved by Maurice “Mo,” her husband of 53 years, her children, Audra, Melissa and Brianne, and sons-in-law Steven Ritter and Yannick Bennett. Her death is mourned by family and friends, who will miss her enthusiasm, wit and resourcefulness.

The family will receive friends between the hours of 5 pm and 8 pm Monday and Tuesday, May 20th and May 21st at HM Patterson and Son Canton Hill, in Marietta. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to the charity of your choice in her memory.

The Steiner family also put together this tribute video.

 

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Obituary: Beth Farokhi, founding member of East Cobb Democrats group, school board candidate

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Beth Farokhi, a founding member of the East Cobb Democratic Association and a former Cobb school board candidate from East Cobb, has died of ovarian cancer.Beth Farokhi

Over the weekend the Cobb County Democratic Party made the announcement. Farokhi, 70, had been living in Kennesaw and was involved in party activities on several levels.

In 2006, Farokhi received 43 percent of the vote in the Post 6 Cobb school board election in her campaign against Republican incumbent John Crooks. That seat is now held by Scott Sweeney.

Farokhi was a school teacher in Cobb and also ran for state superintendent of schools in 2010. She was a retired administator at the College of Education at Georgia State University. Her son, Amir Farokhi, is a member of the Atlanta City Council.

Here’s the message the county party was sharing Sunday:

Beth was one of the founding members of East Cobb Democratic Association, among her many, many activities in our community. She ran for the Cobb County School Board in 2006, achieving a record for door knocking, even though she did not win. In 2010, she ran for State Superintendent of Schools, traveling the length and corners of our state to spread her message and making many friends. Beth was a constant champion for schools and education and children, as well as for women’s equality. Beth was wife and mother, a professor of education, and officer in numerous organizations, but most of all we will remember Beth Farokhi as our friend, who always had a warm smile and kind word for everyone she met.

Per the AJC’s full obituary, following a private graveside service in her hometown of Augusta, a public memorial service is scheduled for July 7 at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta.

 

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Fundraising drive continues for funeral expenses for Powers Ferry Road crash victim

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A reader who saw Sunday’s fatal Powers Ferry Road crash alerted us to this GoFundMe page that has been started to pay for the funeral expenses for Miraylla Sousa, a 23-year-old woman who died in that wreck. 

Her car was struck by a car driven by Ryan Michalski, 31, who also died. Thus far the fundraiser has exceeded the $10,000 goal set by organizers, just a day after the appeal went out. They noted that Sousa was on her way to visiting her mother when the crash took place.

Sousa, who is from Brazil, also leaves behind a brother and a two-year-old nephew. We’re working to get more information about that as Cobb Police continue investigating the wreck.

Police said witnesses told them the car driven by Michalski had been speeding in the northbound lane of Powers Ferry Road, and was passing other cars in the center turn lane, then veered into a southbound lane and crashed into Sousa’s car at Meadowbrook Lane, just north of Powers Ferry Elementary School.

Michalski’s car caught fire, according to police, who said he and Sousa were pronounced dead at WellStar Kennestone Hospital.

According to an obituary for Michalski, who lived in the East Cobb area, he was a guitarist and musician. Donations are being accepted in his memory to the Shepherd Center in Atlanta.

 

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