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In Memoriam

Yvonne Wetherell, a member of the Jongleur Jugglers from 1983 to 1990, died in Gainesville, Fla., on June 30 at age 44.

Born in Tampa, Yvonne move to Gainesville in 1970. She graduated from St. Petersburg Junior College with an associate's degree in dental hygiene, and later from the University of Florida with a bachelor's degree in philosophy.

Yvonne first came on the juggling scene with the Jongleur Jugglers at the 1983 Atlanta Groundhog Day Jugglers Festival. Later that year she played an instrumental part in the Jongleurs as they placed second in the team championships at the IJA festival at Purchase, N.Y. Yvonne also competed at IJA festivals in Las Vegas in 1984, Atlanta in 1985 and Baltimore in 1989. In 1986 in San Jose, the Jongleurs won the bronze medal.

Yvonne and the Jongleurs also won several "Phils" in regional competition at the Atlanta Groundhog Day Festivals. In 1988 at the 10th annual Groundhog Festival, the Jongleurs won the special "Grand Prix du Phil" for a late-night risque routine, "Safe Juggling," which was largely Yvonne's creation. In it, the normally squeaky-clean group parodied themselves with a routine in which they smoked, drank and stretched condoms over club handles because "You're not just juggling with one person, you're juggling with everyone they've ever juggled with!"

Yvonne's solo juggling included a children's routine based on the Dr. Seuss book, "Scrambled Eggs Super", and performing a juggling routine as part of the play, "The Servant of Two Masters" at the Hippodrome State Theatre in Gainesville, Fla.

After retiring from the Jongleur Jugglers in 1990, Yvonne turned her artistic talents to fiber arts, creating beauty in quilts and woven fabric. She also dedicated much of her time to helping lost and abandoned pets at the local animal shelter. Yvonne kept in touch with her many friends in the juggling community throughout the country and had planned a visit to this year's festival in Burlington with her husband and fellow juggler, Jack Schudel.

Other survivors include her parents, O. Daniel and Sally Perry Wetherell, both of Tampa; a brother, Daniel C. Wetherell of Tampa; and two sisters, Patricia Cantrell and Sandra Faust, both of Tampa.

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Floyd "David" Harris, founder and director of The Circus Kingdom troupe, died March 25 at age 53 following a long illness.

Born in Wichita, Harris began to love the circus while playing circus band music in high school, and he played in local and touring circus bands throughout his college and graduate school years. He earned a doctorate of ministries degree at Notre Dame, and conducted a career filled with work in church, journalism, music and college-level teaching. He settled in Pittsburgh and founded The Circus Kingdom in 1973 as a college youth ministries project with his wife, Trudy. Performers represented colleges and universities around the nation, and were selected for their character as well as their talent.

He said he wanted The Circus Kingdom to become a community of persons committed to doing good and thinking of others. He said the show would be a success "if we can make our people more human, more compassionate, more loving. If we can live faith within the context of a circus, then we've succeeded."

Almost all Circus Kingdom performers learned to juggle, and one year the entire Circus Kingdom band juggled in its act. Juggling was important in the show because it could easily go into nursing homes and children's hospitals that were not accessible for the trampoline, the aerial acts and others that required cumbersome props. Among those performers who juggled with The Circus Kingdom were David and Scott Cain, Peter Cunneen, Tina Fraser, Jessica Hentoff, Charlie and Mark Peachock, Brian Schlosser and Lenny Wright.

Harris is survived by his wife, Trudy Harris of Gainesville; his mother, Mable Gurwell Harris of Starke, Fla.; and a half-brother, Joseph Grisamore of Des Moines, Iowa. Memorial contributions may be made to the West Side Church Scholarship Fund; Wichita KS.