Eugene Wilce Jr. brought sad news to The News Tribune Wednesday. He was placing his father's obituary.

If you read our obituary pages, you surely have seen the memorials the senior Wilce placed for his late wife, Mitsuko, on her birthday, their anniversary, holidays and the date of her death. Each of them was a love note to the woman he nicknamed Kimiko, accompanied by one of the hundreds of photos he took of her after he met her in post-World War II Japan. Here is a column I wrote about it last year.

Today, the younger Mr. Wilce sent me an e-mail alerting me to the death of his father, whom I'd interviewed about the memorials. It was a lovely tribute, and he agreed to let us share it with you:

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A reader e-mailed after noticing the columns at the East I Street entrance to McKinley Park on Tacoma’s East Side were missing. The columns are believed to date back to the Works Progress Administration of the Great Depression. “They were (are) pieces of history from Tacoma’s past that should be preserved,” he wrote.

Kristi Evans, the project manager for the $1.665 million improvement to the park, said they were removed Tuesday. And here’s a further explanation:

“At the existing entry, there were two pillars made of rock,” she said. “We’re assuming they were from the WPA. They weren’t historical, they’re not registered, they’re not listed. They were already falling apart; we had already fixed them once. To fix the park – to do what was designed and what was approved – we needed to bring the walkway up. And those pillars needed to removed.

“In the plan, we said we would remove the pillars, pull them apart. And the rocks in those pillars are going to be re-used in a new sign in that same area. That’s what we’re doing.”

The pillars were about five feet tall and were essentially concrete with rocks stuck to them, Evans said. If you’re interested, two similar pillars still stand on the downhill side of the park.

One of Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium’s 10 meerkats has died.

Kingsley died last night or early this morning in the zoo’s health-care facility.

The meerkats arrived at Point Defiance from a facility in South Africa earlier this spring. Zookeepers don’t know Kingsley’s age, spokeswoman Sheelah Medved said.

“The loss of any animal here at the Zoo is always difficult,” deputy director John Houck said in a release.

Staff veterinarians will perform an autopsy, and results should be available in a few weeks.

Here’s a novel idea for students who have a community service requirement at school: Get it done now.

Emergency Food Network has the perfect opportunity coming up in two shifts on Saturday, Sept. 20.

It’s called the Repack, and trust me, it’s more fun than it sounds.

The idea came from the Gray’s Harbor Pacific County Food Distribution Center, which was getting big donations of frozen veggies. By big, I mean giant boxes filled with loose ears of corn, squash, carrots even french fries.

They designed a stainless steel table around which volunteers can stand and pack the corn into plastic bags that can be given out to food bank clients.

EFN had a table built, and one Saturday a month it calls in faithful volunteers to sort corn, or whatever else is going.

I’ve done it a couple of times and had a blast. Sorters get competitive, speed-wise. We get to wear silly gloves and hairnets. We learn the latest in plastic bag-sealing technology. We meet people we might not encounter outside the EFN warehouse at 3318 92nd St. S. in Lakewood.

But wait, there’s more. The food bank serves lunch in between shifts.

So, how to play?

You have to be at least 16 years old, and you have to call (253) 584-1040 in advance to sign up. You can come as an individual, a club, a church group, an office crew, whatever.

There are two shifts, from 9 a.m. to noon and noon to 3 p.m. one Saturday a month. After Sept. 20, epacks are scheduled for Oct. 18, Nov. 15 and Dec. 20.

You’ll have fun, and a jump on that service requirement. Oh, yeah, and you’ll make it possible for hungry people in Pierce County to have a steady source of nutritious frozen veggies year-round.

Colin Sterr nervously stood before hundreds of firefighters, police officers, elected officials and citizens assembled on Ruston Way. He recounted his reaction to the events of Sept. 11 seven years ago, when he was Tacoma firefighter. He told the crowd about how the terrorist attacks still resonate on a daily basis with the Fire Department of New York, which he joined in 2006.

And with the the governor, mayor and fire chief seated to his right, the 29-year-old with curly orange hair captured the crowd’s attention.

“I am here today merely as a voice for my coworkers back in New York,” said Sterr, who works at a firehouse in the Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn.

Sterr gave the final speech at an observance at the Tacoma Fallen Firefighters Memorial that included bagpipers playing “Amazing Grace” and “Danny Boy,” honor guards lowering the flags to half-staff and the ceremonial ringing of the bell. Firefighters from Pierce, King and Thurston counties filled the waterfront park to pay their respects.

“Sept. 11 is a day we Americans will forever associate with the courage and fearlessness of first responders,” Tacoma Fire Chief Ron Stephens said. “Today, as we honor the memories of those who lost their lives, we must also show appreciation to the firefighters, police officers and members of our armed forces. They put their lives in harm’s way when we are in need, not only when terrorists attack, but every day throughout our community, state and our great nation.”

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I'm going to be at the Firefighter's Memorial at 3301 Ruston Way this morning as Gov. Chris Gregoire and Mayor Bill Baarsma joins Tacoma Fire Department for a 9/11 ceremony.