Milestones, Nov. 1, 1976

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Died. Eleanor Clay Ford, 80, one of the world's richest women (estimated fortune: between $100 million and $200 million); widow of Edsel Ford and mother of Henry Ford II; in Detroit. After her husband's death in 1943, Mrs. Ford forced her father-in-law, Ford Motor Co. Founder Henry Ford, to appoint her eldest son (then only 28) as the firm's new president. At the time, she controlled 54% of the company's voting stock and threatened to sell her shares on the open market if young Henry did not get the job. Strong-willed in private but self-effacing in public, she quietly gave millions of dollars to the symphony, museums and hospitals of her native city.

Died. James A. (Jimmie) Noe, 82, protégé of Huey Long and the tipster behind the investigation that led to the 1939 scandal known as the Louisiana Hayride; of heart disease; in Houston. Appointed Lieutenant Governor of the Pelican State by Long in 1935, he succeeded to the Governor's office the next year, following the death of a Long crony, O.K. Allen. Noe served as Governor for only four months, choosing not to run in the 1936 election. He later turned against the winner, Richard Leche, another Long disciple. Congressman F. Edward Hebert, who was a New Orleans newspaper editor in 1939, finally confirmed last week, after Noe's death, that it was Noe who had leaked to him evidence of Leche's corruption. The scandal resulted in the resignations of Leche and other state officials.

Died. Giacomo Cardinal Lercaro, 84, former archbishop of Bologna, regarded by some Vatican watchers in 1963 as a possible successor to Pope John XXIII; in Bologna. As a parish priest in Genoa during World War II, Lercaro aided anti-Fascist partisans and refugees. As archbishop of Bologna (1952-68), he organized a group of young priests into the frati volanti (flying friars) to speak out at public rallies against the local Communist government. Lercaro also supported Vatican II reforms such as the vernacular Mass and argued that the church should end its "cultural colonialism" toward non-Europeans, especially in Africa.

Died. Pedro Sanjuán, 89, conductor, composer and founder of the Havana symphony; following a heart attack; in Washington, B.C. Born in Spain, Sanjuán moved to Cuba in the early 1920s. After establishing the Havana Philharmonic, he led it for nine years, then conducted music in the U.S. and Europe, becoming an American citizen in 1947. His compositions, including Castilla and Liturgia Negra, emphasized the African rhythms inherent in Cuban music.