Laleh Mehree Bakhtiar (born Mary Nell Bakhtiar; July 29, 1938 – October 18, 2020) was an Iranian-American Islamic and Sufi scholar, author, translator, and psychologist. She produced a gender-neutral translation, The Sublime Quran, and challenged the status quo on the Arabic word daraba, traditionally translated as "beat" — a word that she said has been used as justification for abuse of Muslim women.
Jerry Don Thompson (born November 21, 1942) is Regents Piper Professor of History at Texas A&M International University in Laredo, Texas. He is a prolific author of books on a variety of related topics, specializing in the American Civil War, the history of the Southwestern United States, and Texas history. According to WorldCat, two of his books are available from more than six hundred major libraries worldwide – Confederate General of the West: Henry Hopkins Sibley, and Civil War in the Southwest: Recollections of the Sibley Brigade.
Virginia B. MacDonald (née Blue) (October 24, 1920 – July 12, 2008) was an American politician.
Born in El Paso, Texas, MacDonald went to the University of New Mexico. MacDonald lived in Arlington Heights, Illinois, and was involved with the Republican Party. She served in the Illinois Constitutional Convention of 1970. MacDonald served in the Illinois House of Representatives from 1973 to 1983. MacDonald then served in the Illinois State Senate from 1983 to 1993. She died at her home in Arlington Heights, Illinois.
Claire Yvonne King (born January 3, 1946) professionally Cissy King, is an American-born singer and dancer best known as a featured performer on The Lawrence Welk Show television program.
King was born in Trinidad, Colorado. Her father was a geologist employed by an oil company. The family relocated to Albuquerque, New Mexico when Cissy was three.
An accomplished dancer since she was a toddler, Cissy, along with her brother John, won first place at the National Ballroom Dancing Championships in San Francisco, California when she was 14. They captured first place two more times and were also named U.S Ballroom Couple of the Year. Later, when attending the University of New Mexico, she majored in recreation and physical education and was a cheerleader, gymnast, and was on the synchronised swimming team. She continued to dance, in various ballroom competitions and on stage such as the Six Flags Over Texas campus revue.
In 1967, Cissy became Bobby Burgess's dance partner on The Lawrence Welk Show when his first partner, Barbara Boylan, left to get married. For the next dozen years, she became one of the most popular performers on the show with her vivacious personality, singing talents and her natural dance moves. In 1974, she was honored with the Dance Masters of America award for outstanding contributions to the field of dance.
After leaving the show in late 1978, she continued to perform, dancing for several years with her own solo act "Two Fellows"; and acting in the Broadway touring production of Always Patsy.
Today, King lives in Albuquerque, where she continues to dance, and is active in creating new shows in major venues across her home state.