MilestonesEulogy

DIED. KIN NARITA, 107, beloved Japanese celebrity who, together with her sister Gin Kanie, was acknowledged as the world's oldest twin; in Nagoya. The pair were declared national treasures, a symbol of Japan's respect for the aged. To celebrate reaching 100, the sisters released a chart-topping rap song; Kin said she would put aside the earnings for her old age. Kin failed to attain one goal, however: to become Japan's oldest person. That record is held by Kamato Hongo, 113. DIED. DON BUDGE, 84, the first tennis player to win the sport's Grand Slam--its four biggest tournaments--in one year; in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Born in Oakland, California, Budge took up tennis at age 13 and developed a complete game built around a whiplash backhand that some experts still consider the best ever. His Grand Slam year, 1938, was part of an unequaled 92-match, 14-tournament winning streak that began in 1937. DIED. AMYAS AMES, 93, twice governor of the New York Stock Exchange and longtime champion of the arts; in Lexington, Massachusetts. A graduate of Harvard Business School, Ames worked his way up at Kidder, Peabody & Co., one of Wall Street's largest investment houses, eventually becoming its managing partner. He was elected to the board of the New York Philharmonic in 1955, and became president eight years later. He also served for 10 years as chairman of the Lincoln Center for Performing Arts, succeeding John D. Rockefeller III. DIED. WILLIE HAMILTON, 82, razor-tongued former British parliamentarian who earned notoriety for tossing rude jibes at the country's royal family; in Lincoln, England. A Labour M.P. from 1951-87, he once referred to Princess Margaret as an expensive kept woman who was not worth the money and called Princess Anne plain and pricey. Hamilton, who held a fierce hatred of privilege in any form, described the House of Commons as a morass of nepotism. ASSUMED. GUSTAVO NOBOA, 62, the presidency of Ecuador, with the backing of the three-man military junta that ousted former incumbent Jamil Mahuad; in the capital, Quito. The former Vice President becomes Ecuador's sixth President in four years. Noboa said he would continue to press for the adoption of the U.S. dollar as the country's currency, a scheme opposed by the country's indigenous Indians, who led the uprising that helped remove Mahuad from office. ARRESTED. MO HAENG RYONG, 66, leader of the South Korean doomsday cult known as Chun Jon Hoe (Heaven's Gathering), along with his wife, after allegations they swindled followers out of $90 million by promising eternal life; in Seoul. The pair convinced more than 100,000 members that they could avoid the end of the world by donating funds to construct a shrine that would strengthen their mystical energy and keep them alive. RELEASED. SONG YONGYI, 50, U.S.-based Chinese scholar arrested and accused of illegally taking secret documents out of China last year while researching the Cultural Revolution; in Beijing. China claims that Song, a librarian at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, confessed everything, but his release may have been the result of strong international pressure on Beijing. EulogyWith his new role as a mediator and enforcer in efforts to end Burundi's brutal civil war, NELSON MANDELA continues to be a leader, just as inspirational now as he was after his release from prison 10 years ago. Hero. Unifier. Healer. Savior. Could any one man--let alone one who has been cut off from the flow of daily life for more than 27 years--live up to such billing? Nelson Mandela did not disappoint last week as he walked out of 10,000 days in prison right into the thick of South African politics. . . With commanding dignity and self-confidence, Mandela returned to South African life. . . For Mandela, shoved in front of international cameras before his eyes could even adjust to the glare of a world he has not seen since 1962, the challenge will be to unite the fractious and sometimes violent elements of the black community beneath a common banner. --TIME, Feb. 26, 1990