Illustrious British physicist Stephen Hawking will visit San Diego Aug. 4 for the funeral of his close friend Dennis Avery, who recently died. Hawking, who is known for his theory that black holes in space should emit radiation, suffers from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, sometimes called Lou Gehrig's disease. He is now almost completely paralyzed and communicates through a speech generating device. Avery, who inherited a fortune, was a well known philanthropist — for example, placing artwork of prehistoric creatures around Borrego Springs, where he had a home.

Avery got his law degree at Cal Western, then got a Master's in law at Trinity Hall, which is part of Cambridge University in England. Hawking was also at Trinity, and the two became close friends. Hawking is research director at Cambridge's Centre for Theoretical Cosmology. Every year, Avery would go to England to see Hawking two or three times. In addition to his work as a theoretical physicist, Hawking has written popular scientific books. His A Brief History of Time was a long-time best seller.

The funeral is at 9 a.m. Aug. 4 at All Saints Episcopal Church.