Obituaries

Passing of Ian MacDonald “Mac” Hubbard

Posted on by Cliff Mills

Ian, Keith and Colin Hubbard after LiberationAccording to The Index-Journal of Greenwood, South Carolina, ex-internee Ian MacDonald (“Mac”) Hubbard, 89, died there on 1st October 2025. Following is a brief summary on his family and the their experiences. A link to Ian’s full obituary appears at the end of this article.

Ian’s father, Mark Egerton Hubbard, was born in Brentford, England, in 1905. Ian’s mother, Keith MacDonald (yes, that is her real name), was born in Natick, Massachusetts, in 1906. However, they met in California when they both attended Hollywood High School.

Mark became a U.S. naturalized citizen in 1925 and married Keith in 1928, in Berkeley, where he got a degree in engineering from the University of California in 1929.

A son, Colin Philip Hubbard, was born in 1931 in Cyprus, where Mark was working as a mining engineer. In 1935, after moving to the Philippines, Ian MacDonald Gleig Hubbard was born in Manila.

After the invasion of the Japanese, Mark joined up the guerrillas while Keith and the children were interned in Manila, probably spending time in the Holy Ghost Children’s Home. In 1943, Ian, together with his brother and mother, were repatriated on the S.S. Gripsholm, which arrived New York City, Dec. 1, 1943. They moved in with his grandmother in Laguna Beach, California. (see photo above)

Sometime after liberation, Keith learned that her husband had been captured and executed by the Japanese in 1944. In 1949 she died and the children were sent to live with a relative in San Francisco. Both sons later attended college, started families and had long careers. Colin died in California in 2014.

Link to the full obituary online.

Passing of Pamela Jane Brink

Posted on by Cliff Mills

Pamela J. Brink, undated photoI am saddened to report that ex-internee, Pamela Jane Brink, passed away in Prescott, Arizona, on 5 August 2025. Pamela was born in Cebu City on 24 September 1933 to parents Maude Elizabeth Rice and Myron Edgar Brink, who were married in the Philippines in 1928. Pamela was interned in the Cebu Internment Camp with her parents and her two brothers, John William Brink and Robert Arlington Brink, who were also born on Cebu. In December 1942 the 148 internees were shipped to the Santo Tomás Internment Camp. Later, due to overcrowding at STIC, the family was transferred to the Los Baños Internment Camp, where they were liberated on 23 February 1945.

The family traveled to the U.S. on the M.S. Torrens, leaving Manila on 10 April 1945, arriving in San Francisco, California, on 15 May 1945. Afterwards, however, Myron Brink died in Los Angeles, California, in October 1945.

According to her obituary, Pamela “attended junior high school, high school and college in Whitter, California, received her BS degree in nursing from Mount St. Mary’s College, Master’s degree from Catholic University of America, and her Ph.D in anthropology from Boston University. She spent most of her nursing career in academia at the University of Cincinnati, UCLA, University of Iowa and the University of Alberta.”

Bill, Robert and Pam Brink at the Grand Canyon, 1949

Bill, Robert and Pam Brink at the Grand Canyon, 1949

The three Brink siblings each recorded their memories of the War. In 2016, Pamela collected these remembrances in the book Only by the Grace of God, One Family’s Story of Survival during World War II as Prisoners of War in the Philippines. The book accounts of before the War, internment on Cebu, their transfer to Santo Tomás, their time in Los Baños, liberation, New Bilibid Prison and their repatriation on the M.S. Torrens. There is also short section on their lives in the U.S. after the War.




Link Pamela’s obituary hosted by RuffnerWakelin.com

Thanks to Robert A. Brink II and Maurice Francis for passing on the information of Pamela’s death.

Passing of ex-STIC Internee, Richard Bell

Posted on by Cliff Mills

Richard Bell, undated photoAccording to the Boulder Daily Camera, Richard Bell died in August 2024. He was born as Richard Orville Beliel in 1933 in Shanghai, China. His father, Clarence Alton Beliel Sr., was born in Grey, Oklahoma, in 1909. His mother, Lilia Fingerut Beliel, was born in Derbent, Russia, in 1910. His older brother, Clarence Alton Beliel Jr., was born in Shanghai in 1931.

After the Japanese invasion of the Philippines, Richard and his brother were sent to Holy Ghost Children’s Home, in Manila. After the closing of that facility, the boys joined their parents in Santo Tomás Internment Camp [STIC], where they stayed until liberation in February 1945.

Don Bell, 1945 photoBefore the War, Richard’s father was a radio announcer performing under the name Don Bell for the Mutual Broadcasting Company for station KZRH. There is a YouTube video of Don interviewing some newly liberated STIC internees. After liberation, Don continued his work in broadcasting. More information on Don Bell’s exploits can be found on Tom Moore’s website.

Richard, together with his Mother and brother, traveled on the U.S.A.T. General Charles Gould Morton, 1945 leaving Manila on 11 June 1945, arriving in San Francisco, California on 5 July 1945.

You can read about Richard’s education in the U.S. and his long history of working in education and theater in his obituary.

Passing of Georgia Lee (Barnes) Payne

Posted on by Cliff Mills

Georgia Lee BarnesI am very sorry to report that, according to the Bolivar Herald-Free Press, ex-Santo Tomás Internment Camp (STIC) internee, Georgia Lee Barnes-Payne died on 28 June 2024 in Bolivar, Missouri. Georgia was born in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1929, and was interned in STIC along with her parents, G. Sheldon and Dorothy Lee Barnes, and with her sister, Carole Barnes (born 1931). A brother, Peter Sheldon Barnes, was later born in 1942. A second brother, Thomas Freeman Barnes, was born in 1945, shortly after STIC was liberated on 3 January 1945. Georgia was the last-living member of the interned Barnes Family.

They all traveled to U.S. on S.S. Cape Meares, leaving Manila on 10 April 1945, arriving in San Francisco, California, on 12 May 1945. They were en route to Kansas City, Missouri.

In 1997, Georgia authored Caught in the Crossfire: A Memoir. According to the publisher’s description, it is:

Georgia Lee Barnes, prewar photoThe true story of a young girl trapped between warring nations in the Philippines during WWII. To escape the terrifying bombings of Manila, she and her family flee to the hoped-for safety of a gold mine in the jungle. The family’s efforts, however, prove to be fruitless as they are finally imprisoned by the Japanese. Follow our young heroine during her three years of internment as she develops from an innocent twelve-year-old to a young woman, mature beyond her years.


Link to the full obituary at Legacy.com.

Passing of Isabel Cogan Krebs

Posted on by Cliff Mills

Isabel Cogan Krebs, undated photoI am very sad to report the death of Isabel Cogan Krebs on March 13, 2024, in East Greenbush, New York. The announcement of her death appeared on Legacy.com, provided by the Albany Times Union. The obituary covers mainly Isabel’s life post-internment.

Isabel Joan Cogan was born in Davao, on Mindanao, in 1934. Her British father, Edwin Osgood Cogan, was born in Manila in 1903 and worked for the International Harvester Company. Her mother, Helen Olga Cogan, was born in Calcutta, India, in 1909. Isabel and her parents were interned in Santo Tomás Internment Camp (STIC) in early 1942.

After STIC was liberated in 1945 the family was repatriated on the U.S.S. Admiral E.W. Eberle leaving Manila on 10 April 1945, arriving in San Pedro, California, on 2 May 1945.

Isabel was interviewed for No One Asked: Testimonies of American Women Interned by the Japanese in World War II, a PhD dissertation by Audrey Maurer, 1999, City University of New York.


Read the entire obituary at Legacy.com.

Photo courtesy of the Albany Times Union.

Passing of Mary June Wilkinson Pettyfer

Posted on by Cliff Mills

Mary June Wilkinson Pettyfer (photo courtesy of the Victoria Times Colonist)I recently came across an obituary for Mary June Wilkinson Pettyfer from the Victoria Times Colonist. Mary June Wilkinson was born in Exeter, England, in 1933 and died on 5 July 2023 in Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada. Mary June, along with her parents, Gerald Hugh Wilkinson and Lorna Mary Davies Wilkinson, and together with her brother, Rupert Hugh Wilkinson, were interned in Santo Tomás Internment Camp (STIC) during the course of the Japanese occupation of the Philippines.

Mary June is copiously mentioned in her brother’s book, Surviving a Japanese Internment Camp: Life and Liberation at Santo Tomás, Manila, in World War II, 2013.

Rupert and Mary June Wilkinson, circa 1940

Rupert and Mary June Wilkinson, circa 1940

After liberation, Mary June traveled with her mother and brother on the S.S. Admiral E.W. Eberle leaving Manila on 10 April 1945, arriving in San Pedro, California, on 2 May 1945. They later sailed from New York City on the S.S. Queen Mary, arriving in Southampton, England, on 25 October 1945.

Read the entire obituary online at the Victoria Times Colonist website.

Passing of Ian C. M. Hall

Posted on by Cliff Mills

I am sad to report the passing of Ian Hall. Ian and his family were largely not interned in the Philippines, during the War, but suffered very greatly at it’s end. Ian died in Palm Desert, California, on 1 May 2023, according to an obituary published by the San Francisco Chronicle.

The Hall children were all born in Manila and were not interned, as were others of the family except the father, Alaistair Cameron “Shorty” Hall, who was interned at STIC. The children were:

  • Roderick Cameron McMicking Hall, 1932
  • Ian Cameron McMicking Hall, 1934
  • Alaistair Cameron McMicking Hall, 1936
  • Consuelo Angela “Connie” Hall, 1937

Alaistair Hall and his four children,

Alaistair Hall and his four children: Ian, Consuelo, Alaistair and Roderick

On 20 January 1945, the Japanese arrested the mother, grandmother, an aunt and an uncle and took them for interrogation at the Masonic Temple in Manila. They became part of the almost 100 people killed there. Father and children were reunited after the Battle of Manila.

Ian, and his brother Rod, traveled on the U.S.S. General Harry Taylor leaving Manila on 2 June 1945, arriving in San Francisco, California, on 26 June 1945. They were repatriated aboard the the S.S. Eros, leaving New York City on 20 July 1945 and arriving in Liverpool, England, on 30 July 1945.

Roderick contributed to the 2008 book, Manila Memories: Four Boys Remember Their Lives Before, During and After the Japanese Occupation. It is one of the hundreds of items he donated to the Filipinas Heritage Libray, Manila.


Link to Ian’s obituary at the San Francisco Chronicle.

Passing of Joan Casad Ellison, ex-STIC internee

Posted on by Cliff Mills

Joan Casad Ellison, undated photoThe Albuquerque Journal recently published the obituary of former Santo Tomás internee Joan Casad Ellison. Joan was born in Manila on 22 November 1929. She and her mother, Haidee Louise Casad, were interned in STIC for the duration of the War and were repatriated on the S.S. John Lykes, leaving Manila on 28 March 1945 and arriving San Pedro, California, on 2 May 1945. She married William Woods Ellison in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in September 1950.

Joan’s step-father, Thomas Harold Casad, was a civilian employee of the U.S. Adjutant General’s Corps before the War. He died in the sinking of the “hell ship” Arisan Maru on 24 October 1944.

Link to the full obituary at the Albuquerque Journal.

Passing of Rose Marie Wolff Reilly, former STIC internee

Posted on by Cliff Mills

Rose Marie Wolff Reilly undated photoThe Oregonian, of Portland, Oregon, recently published an obituary for Rose Marie Helen Wolff Reilly, a former Santo Tomás internee. Rose Marie was born in Watford, Hertfordshire, England in 1936. Her father was James Philips Wolff, a Nestlé Milk Products employee who was born in Hendon, England, in 1909. Her mother was Marie Frances Dumas Wolff, who was born in Los Baños in 1912. Rose Marie’s siblings were Victoria Margaret Wolff (born 1938) and John Frederick Wolff (born 1941), both born in Rizal. The entire family was interned in Santo Tomás for the duration of the War.

After liberation, the family was repatriated on the S.S. John Lykes leaving Manila on 28 March 1945 and arriving San Pedro, California, on 2 May 1945. After the War, the family traveled to many countries, following father James’ work.

Rose Marie married Lt. William H. Reilly in Toronto, Canada, in 1957. Together they had eight children.

Photo courtesy of The Oregonian.

Link to The Oregonian article.

Ex-Los Baños internee Robert Fraser Clingen passes

Posted on by Cliff Mills

Robert Fraser Clingen photoCourtesy of The Daily Advocate (Greenville, Ohio): “Bob Clingen (of the Brethren Retirement Community in Greenville) went to be with the Lord on Tuesday morning, May 17, 2022. He was a good husband to his wife, Sheryl of 56 years and father to daughters, Liz & Catherine.

He was born on October 20, 1941 to Rev. Herbert & Ida Ruth Clementine (Fraser) Clingen in the Philippines where his parents were missionaries. He was captured with his family and became a Prisoner of War by the Japanese for 25 months in the Los Baños Internment Camp during WWII. They were rescued by General Douglas MacArthur and his troops when Bob (3-years-old) saw the paratroopers coming from the sky, he told his Dad he thought those were Angels!”


Link to the full obituary

Bob’s sister, Elizabeth Ruth Clingen, was born about a week after liberation. All four Clingens were repatriated on the S.S. Mormacsea, leaving Manila on April 10, 1945, arriving in San Francisco on May 6, 1945.