OBITUARIES - Aug. 28, 1999
* Gustave Simons; Finance Writer
Gustave Simons, 90, tax attorney and author of books about business and finance aimed at the growing women’s movement in the 1960s. Born in New York City, Simons graduated from Columbia Law School and practiced tax law for more than 40 years, before moving to Connecticut and then to Palm Desert. “What Every Woman Doesn’t Know,” his financial guide for women published in 1964, was a bestseller. Simons maintained that women in the 1960s had become virtual slaves to men who made nearly all the key decisions in the financial world. “A woman’s entire life may be influenced by the kind of work her husband does, the job he takes, the employer he selects and his employee benefits,” Simons told a Times reporter in 1965. “Yet few men consult their wives in making these decisions that affect their families so critically.” Simons maintained that “if women have the opportunity for education, they usually have better judgment than men--not necessarily because they are smarter--but because women don’t let their egos get the better of their judgment. Simons also wrote “Coping With Crisis” in 1962, which offered tips on how to cope with sudden death, tax audits and other catastrophes of everyday life. Services will be held Sunday at noon at University Synagogue, 11960 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles. On Aug. 14 in Los Angeles.
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* Lucretia Reyes Urtula; Choreographer
Lucretia Reyes Urtula, 70, choreographer and director of Bayanihan Philippine Dance Company. Urtula, who once choreographed the Ice Capades for New York’s Madison Square Garden, led the Filipino group to the top award at the Brussels World Exposition in 1958. Afterward, the Bayanihan Philippine Dance Company toured Europe, the United States, the Middle East and Asia. The daughter of a military officer, Urtula grew up studying tribal dance, classic Russian ballet and national Philippine dance routines. She earned a bachelor’s degree in physical education at Philippine Women’s University and later a doctorate in theater management at Polytechnic University of the Philippines. She also studied dance at the Martha Graham School in New York, the Hanayagi School in Japan and San Francisco State College. As a student and teacher at Philippine Women’s University, Urtula began working with the Filipiniana Folk Arts Group, which evolved into Bayanihan. Named Philippine national artist in 1988, she represented the country at various international festivals and served as artistic director of the Philippine Folk Arts Theater, national cultural affairs advisor and special projects officer for the Cultural Center of the Philippines. On Aug. 3 in Manila after a series of strokes.
