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Determined to participate in a portion of the upcoming Smith Mountain Lake triathlon despite dealing with ALS, Dick Kelley joins a group of cyclists on a test ride. Photo by Sam Dean

The sign-off phrase on Dick Kelley's recent emails was:

"What We Do In This Life Echoes Through Eternity!"

Dick joined that eternity today, after a battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), often referred to as "Lou Gehrig's disease.

Dick was a husband and a father and a grandfather and a Vietnam vet, as well as a (retired) highly respected deputy superintendent of Roanoke City Public Schools. He was a cyclist, and a triathlete who didn't let his battle with the disease affect his amazing sense of humor.

One of his first actions after his diagnosis was to go out and buy a "Lou Gehrig" Yankees team jersey.

That's Dick on the left, joining a not-too-long ago Tuesday night ride.

Here's his Web site about his battle with the disease.

Previous stories by The Roanoke Times' Ralph Berrier are here and here.

Photojournalist Sam Dean's video about Dick is here.

Rest in peace, Dick.

Allen Sanford Levin / Photo by Josh Meltzer

Almost 10 years ago, the guy who had played Santa for a generation of Roanoke children gave up his chair at Towers Shopping Center.

Allen Levin, then 75, proved irreplaceable. When his back gave out and he couldn’t lift children into his lap any longer, there was no question about hiring a stand-in.

Nobody could do it better than the white-bearded, raspy-voiced cancer survivor. So they retired his chair and put up a sign explaining his absence.

Levin died Aug. 31 at age 85.

If it seems extraordinary that a Jew could embody the spirit of Christmas for so many, well, that was one of many extraordinary aspects to the Cleveland, Ohio native’s life.

The common thread that connected them is service - to his country, faith, fellow veterans and his adopted community of Roanoke.

Read the rest of the column here.

Read and sign a guest book for Allen Levin.

The video above is of famed CBS newsman Walter Cronkite (1916-2009) who died today and, in the tradition of Edward R. Murrow, cemented his place in this nation's new culture by telling the truth. Cronkite was the CBS news anchor from 1962 to 1981, which was network news' heyday. He was known across the land as "the most trusted man in America." He covered the assassinations of the President John F. Kennedy, of Sen. Robert F. Bobby Kennedy and of civil right leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Amid the Vietnam war in 1968, he  shamed President Lyndon B. Johnson into not running for re-election. And he was also on the tube when President Richard M. Nixon resigned.

Apart from his news career, Cronkite was a sailor who for many years kept his sailboat in Annapolis, where is favorite watering hole was McGarvey's Saloon. One of his best friends was the owner, Mike Ashford. I felt privileged to work as doorman there on nights when Mike and Cronkite held court. Walter Cronkite was friendly, decent, self-effacing and approachable, even to a 19-year-old college student who was interested, but not yet committed, to this business.

He will be missed.

Bruce Rosar

I never had an opportunity to meet Bruce Rosar, who was killed around noon Saturday when a car collided with his bicycle in Apex, N.C., which is about 10 miles southwest of the state capital, Raleigh. It is big news in that state, where Bruce was sometimes known as "Mr. Bicycle."

His younger brother, James Rosar, lives here in Roanoke where he operates ShareBike in the City Market Building, and James is a cycling pal of mine and a stalwart on the Famous Tuesday Night Ride. And for that reason, many of us Roanoke-area cyclists are sending kind thoughts and prayers toward James today.

Bruce, 52, lived in Cary, N.C. and was a national board member of the League of American Bicyclists. He was a diehard bicycle activist, and a tireless advocate for safe cycling and cyclists' rights on the road. He taught safe bicycle riding courses in three states. To call his cycling resume "impressive" would be a vast understatement. Check it out for yourself.

According to a news report of the accident, Bruce was riding his bike north on Salem Street when he turned left into the path of a southbound Honda car that struck him. Those who knew him and rode with him are at a loss to explain how it could have happened. Perhaps we will never know.

You can read more about Bruce here, and here, and here.

As Bruce might say: Let's be careful out there.

UPDATE:

There will be a memorial ride for Bruce at 9 a.m. Saturday July 18 beginning at ShareBike at the Roanoke City Market Building.