Though there was a general confusion as to the time of his death, Tom Petty was reported deceased on Monday October 2, 2017, after being taken off life support. Tom Petty leaves behind his wife, Dana York, and his two grown daughters from his previous marriage, Adria and Kimberly Violette.
The singer, songwriter, and music producer was born October 20, 1950 to parents Earl and Kitty Petty in Gainesville, Florida. In 1975 he and other band-mates moved to California and became Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. What came to follow was a series of great successes, having many of their songs on top of the charts. This would come to include crowd favorites such as “Refugee,” “American Girl,” and “Learning to Fly.”
In 1989 Petty took on a solo career and went on to write the “Full Moon Fever” album, which would include cult classic “Free Fallin,” still belted out almost every weekend on this campus.
While he was a beloved musician, Tom Petty was also an avid philanthropist who supported charities such as Special Olympics and Safety Harbor Kids. Another philanthropic venture of note is his active involvement with the Midnight Mission charity, which assists the homeless of Los Angeles. He was named MusiCares Person of the Year in 2017 and was awarded the Golden Heart Award in 2011.
His presence may be gone from this world, but his musical talent and inspiration will forever be immortalized in our hearts.
In the week previous, the man who every young man aspired to be, Hugh Hefner, died on September 27, 2017 in his iconic Playboy Mansion.
Born on April 9, 1926 in Chicago, Illinois to parents Grace and Glenn Hefner, he was an American businessman, magazine publisher of Playboy.
After he left his copy-writing position at “Esquire” magazine he set about creating his own magazine. With the assistance of 45 investors he was able to publish the first edition of Playboy on December 1953.
It wasn’t till the ‘60s, during the sexual revolution, that the name Hugh Hefner became synonymous with the Playboy image. Pictured in a silk smoking jacket with a pipe in hand, and always surrounded by young, attractive women, he was the man to be. As a philanthropist he founded the Hugh M. Hefner foundation and Starkey Hearing Foundation. Hefner leaves behind his wife and four children.