Russell Baker (age 93) - A Pulitzer Prize winning columnist for the
New York Times (1962-1998), Baker also hosted the PBS television show "Masterpiece Theater" for more than a dozen years. He wrote two autobiographies and edited collections of poetry and humor. Baker passed away Jan
uary 20, 2019, after a fall.
 | Mary Oliver (age 89) - Oliver was an American Poet much in the mold of Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman. She published 14 volumes of poetry, including American Primitive, which won the 1984 Pulitzer for poetry, and New and Selected Poems, winner of the 1992 National Book Award. Oliver died of lymphoma on January 17, 2019. |
| Matthew Locricchio (age 71) - The Detroit native started his career as a stage and television actor, including a long stint as a character on the daytime soap, "Texas." He left acting behind in the 1990s, and began publishing a series of cookbooks specializing in international cuisine and cooking for children. Locricchio passed away on January 9, 2019. |
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John C. Bogle (age 89) - "Jack" Bogle was the founder of and the major investor in mutual fund company The Vanguard Group. The company, founded in 1974, holds more than $5 trillion in assets. Bogle led the group from its founding until stepping down from the CEO position for health reasons in 1996. Bogle died of cancer in January 16, 2019. |
Albert Dunlap (age 81) - Known to his many detractors as "Chainsaw Al," Dunlap was a pioneer of the art of buying a distressed company and "turning it around." Much of his turnaround strategy consisted of firing most of the employees, which won him few friends. When it was determined that many of his "successes" were in fact frauds, Dunlap was blacklisted from serving as a CEO. He died
January 25, 2019.
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Ron Joyce (age 88) - Joyce and NHL great Tim Horton partnered in 1967 to found the coffee and doughnut chain named for Horton; of which Joyce's Hamilton, Ontario, store was the first franchise. Joyce bought control of the company after Horton's death in 1974, and continued to serve after the brand's takeover by Wendy's. Joyce died on January 31, 2019. |
| Herb Kelleher, (age 87) - With two partners, Kelleher created the first low-cost airline in the United States. First incorporated as Air Southwest Co. in 1967, Southwest Airlines took off for its first flight in 1971. Originally flying only in the "triangle" that included Houston, San Antonio, Austin, and Dallas, Texas; the airline now extends across more than 100 destinations in the US and ten other countries. Kelleher succumbed to prostate cancer on January 3, 2109. |
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Peter Magowan (age 76) - Magowan joined the grocery company Safeway after graduating from college and, over the next 15 years, worked his way up to chairman and CEO of the company. It didn't hurt that his father was also CEO... I 1993, Magowan was one of a group that bought the San Francisco Giants, of whom he was the managing partner until 2008. Magowan died January 27, 2019, of cancer. |
Leslie Wunderman (age 98) - Wunderman, a member of the Advertising Hall of Fame, is credited with the invention of direct marketing. Other marketing ploys that are credited to Wunderman include loyalty programs and the toll-free number for customer service. Wunderman died in New York on
January 9, 2019.
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Stewart Adams (age 95) - A chemist for the British firm Boots, Adams was an integral part of the team that developed the formula for Ibuprofen and patented the drug (also known as Advil and Motrin in the USA, and Nuprin in Europe) in 1961. Since being made available over the counter, his discovery has become one of the most widely-used NSAIDs. Adams died January 30, 2019. |
| Boo (age 12) - A Pomeranian owned by a Facebook employee, Boo became an internet sensation in 2010 after pop singer Kesha stumbled on his Facebook page and claimed him as her "boyfriend." Such is the power of having more twitter followers than sense. Boo "wrote" two books, including Boo: The Life of the World's Cutest Dog. He died in his sleep January 18, 2019. |
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Darwin Bromley (age 68) - The Chicago native was both an attorney and the founder of the board game company Mayfair Games (Empire Builder). The company specialized in distributing German games such as "The Settlers of Catan" in the US. Bromley died January 2, 2019, after an extended illness. |
Lessie Brown (age 114) - At the time of her death, Brown was the oldest person in the United States at 114 years, 108 days. She died in Cleveland, Ohio, where she lived with her daughter, on January 8, 2019.
Rosemary (Bryant) Mariner (age 65) - Rosemary Conaster (née Merims) joined the U. S. Navy in 1973, one of eight women selected to be in the first class of women to fly for that service. She was one of six who completed their training in 1974, eventually becoming the first woman to fly an attack jet. She retired from the Navy in 1997 as a Captain, with more than 3500 hours of time in the pilot's seat. Mariner died
January 24, 2019, of ovarian cancer.
Masazo Nanako (age 113) - Before his death, Nanako (a native of Japan) was the oldest living man in the world. When he died on January 20, 2019, he was 113 years, 179 days old.
| Alfred K. Newman (age 94) - Newman served in the U. S. Marines during World War II as a "code talker." Along with other Navajo tribesmen, Newman transmitted spoken messages in his native language to confound the Japanese in the Pacific Theater. Newman died January 15, 2019, in New Mexico. |
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Tyler Trent (age 20) - Trent was considered a "superfan" by the Purdue University (Indiana) football team, serving as an honorary captain. Trent was diagnosed with osteosarcoma at the age of 15. He succumbed to that disease January 1, 2019.
Kaye Ballard (age 93) - The "big-mouthed" Ballard is best known as a television and movie actress, although her 1954 rendition of "Fly Me to the Moon" (aka "In Other Words") set the standard for the oft-covered tune. She acted in dozens of films and made many guest television appearances in a career that spanned the 1950s to the 2010s. Ballard succumbed to kidney cancer on
January 21, 2019.
Kevin Barnett (age 32) - A comic and writer, Barnett co-created the Fox/20th Century comedy "Rel" and the "Eric Andre Show" for Adult Swim. Barnett died suddenly, apparently of pancreatitis, while vacationing in Mexico on
January 22, 2019.
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Verna Bloom (age 80) - Bloom was an actor known for playing the wife of Dean Wormer in “Animal House,” Clint Eastwood's love interest in "High Plains Drifter," and the Virgin Mary in “The Last Temptation of Christ." She died of complications of dementia on January 9, 2019. |
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Carol Channing (age 97) - The gravel-voiced Channing will forever be identified with the title role in the Broadway musical "Hello Dolly," which she premiered in 1964 and revived at least twice. She received a Tony for that role and was nominated for an Oscar and won the Golden Globe for her performance in "Thoroughly Modern Millie,"; as well as a Grammy Hall of Fame award in 2002. Channing passed away on January 15, 2019. |
| Bob Einstein (age 76) - Einstein was an actor in television and movies, perhaps best known for his role as the hapless stuntman "Super Dave Osborne," and more recently as Marty Funkhouser in “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” Einstein died after a long battle with leukemia on January 2, 2019. |
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John Falsey (age 67) - A prolific screenwriter, director, and producer; Falsey created such television shows as “St. Elsewhere” and “Northern Exposure.” Falsey won three Emmy awards for his work. He died
January 3, 2019, as a result of injuries suffered in a fall.
| James Frawley (age 82) - Frawley began his career as a move and television actor, but soon segued into directing. His first television job was directing "The Monkees," for which he won an Emmy in 1966. He went on to direct episodes of dozens of television shows, from "That Girl" to "Private Practice"; as well as TV Movies and theatrical releases, including "The Muppet Movie" in 1979. Frawley died of a heart attack on January 20, 2019. |
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Dick Miller (age 90) in a career that spanned almost 60 years, Miller appeared in dozens of movies but almost never had a starring part. He played such characters as Murray Futterman in "Gremlins" and "the pawnshop clerk" in "The Terminator." By his own count, Miller played a character named "Walter Paisley" at least five times in different movies and TV shows. Miller died
January 30, 2019.
Louisa Moritz (age 72) - Cuban-born Luisa Castro Netto emigrated to New York with her family after the revolution. Her first television role came in 1966, and was followed by appearances in dozens of television shows, including "The Rockford Files" and "Happy Days"; as well as movies. After leaving the industry, she practiced law in California. In 2014, Moritz was one of the women who accused Bill Cosby of sexual assault. Moritz succumbed to heart disease in January, 2019; with death announced on
January 29, 2019.
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Andrew Vajna (age 74) - The Hungarian-born Vajna emigrated to the U.S. at the age of 12. After a stint as a wigmaker, Vajna formed a film distribution society. His first producing credit was "Rambo: First Blood," and over the years he was producer or executive producer of that series and the Terminator films, among many others. He died January 20, 2019. |
Harold Bradley (age 93) - A member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, Bradley was a frequent session musician and member of the Nashville A Team. The bass player appears on recordings by dozens of well-known musicians, including Elvis Preseley, Tammy Wynette, and Loretta Lynn. He was at one time president of the National Academy of recording Arts and Sciences, the organization that awards the Grammys. Bradley died
January 31, 2019.
 | Daryl Dragon (age 76) - The Captain of Captain & Tennille, Dragon and his then-wife Toni Tennille released four gold and platinum albums in the 1970s, winning a Grammy in 1975 for Record of the Year. Early in his career, Dragon also recorded with the Beach Boys. He died of renal failure on January 2, 2019. |
Alvin Fielder (age 83) - Jazz drummer and founding member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians, Black Arts Music Society, Improvisational Arts Trio/Quartet/Quintet, and a founding faculty member of the Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong Summer Jazz Camp. Heart failure,
January 5, 2019.
Eric Haydock (age 75) - Haydock was the original bass player in the British band The Hollies, and was considered one of the best bassists of his generation. Haydock passed on
January 5, 2019.
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James Ingram (age 66) - Ingram had a 45-year career as a performer, songwriter, and producer that included 14 Grammy nominations with wins in 1982 and 1985. He was also twice nominated for the Academy Award for best original song. Over the years, he recorded with or wrote songs for artists as diverse as Michael Jackson, Michael McDonald, and Linda Ronstadt. Ingram died of brain cancer January 29, 2019. |
Michel Legrand (age 86) - The French-born Legrand was long a sought-after composer for film, counting among his more than 200 film scores those for Yentl, The Summer of '42, and Atlantic City. In his sixty-year career, Legrand collected three Oscars and five Grammys. Legrand was still an active performer when he died in Paris on January 26, 2019.
Sanger Shafer (age 84) - Best known for his grammatically-challenged title "All Me Ex's Live in Texas," Sanger "Whitey" Shafer wrote dozens of country songs for artists such as Lee Ann Womack, George Strait, and Lefty Frizzell. Two of his songs, both recorded by Strait, were nominated for CMA awards and "Ex's" was nominated for a Grammy. Shafer died after a long illness on January 12, 2019. |
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Harold Brown (age 91) - Brown was the US Secretary of Defense in the administration of Jimmy Carter (1977 to 1081). He also served as Secretary of the Air Force in the Kenny and Johnson administrations. In later life, Brown served as chairman of the Johns Hopkins University Foreign Policy Institute and as a member of the U. S. Energy Security Council. Brown died of pancreatic cancer January 4, 2019. |
Douglas Costle (age 79) - A Harvard-trained lawyer, Costle headed the government study that recommended the creation of the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency . He also served as the agency's director under the Carter administration (1977-1981). After leaving the agency, Costle served as dean of the Vermont Law School and founded the Institute for Sustainable Communities. He passed away
January 20, 2019, as the result of a stroke.
Tony Mendez (age 78) - A 25-year veteran of the Central Intelligence Agency, Mendez received the CIA's Intelligence Star in 1980 for the so-called "Canadian Caper," in which six American diplomats were smuggled out of Tehran under the guise of a Canadian film crew. The story was retold in the 2012 movie "Argo," in which Mendez was played by Ben Affleck. Mendez succumbed to Parkinson's Disease on January 19, 2019. |
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Bernice Resnick Sandler (age 90) - Sometimes called The Godmother of Title IX, "Bunny" Sandler was instrumental in drafting that portion of the 1972 Education Amendment with members of the U. S. Congress and Senate. Sandler continued her efforts as an advocate for women's rights and was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in 2013. She died
January 5, 2019.
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Harris Wofford (age 92) - Harris served as U. S. Senator from Pennsylvania from 1991-94 after being appointed to fill the seat of John Heinz. He was instrumental in establishing MLK Day as a "Day of Service" as well as the Peace Corps. Wofford perished January 20, 2019, as a result of injuries received in a fall. |
John Coughlin (age 33) - A two-time U. S. National Pairs figure skating champion, coach, and TV commentator; Coughlin committed suicide one day after being suspended from skating by the U. S. Center for SafeSport and U. S. Figure Skating. He died on
January 18, 2019.
| Bob Kuechenberg (age 71) - Kuechenberg was a six-time Pro Bowl guard during a Miami Dolphins career that spanned fourteen seasons (1970-1983). He played on two Super Bowl teams, including the 1972 Dolphins team that racked up a perfect 17-0 record. Kuechenberg died January 12, 2019 |  |
Jim McKean (age 73) - McKean broke into pro sports as a CFL quarterback but retired in 1967 after three seasons. He refereed college hockey on the off-season before shifting to baseball in 1970. In a 29-year career, he officiated in Championship series, All-Star games, and the World Series. He was on the field for 10 no-hitters including a perfect game in 1981. McKean died
January 23, 2019, after suffering a heart attack.
| Jimmy Rayl (age 77) - The "Splendid Splinter" was 1959 Indiana Mr. Basketball. He went on to star at Indiana University, where he was twice an All-American. Upon graduation he was drafted by Cincinnati of the NBA, but never played in the league. He played for the Indiana Pacers 1968 and 1969. Rayl died in his hometown, Kokomo, on January 20, 2019. |
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 | Mel Stottlemyre (age 77) - Stottlemyre pitched in the majors for eleven seasons (1964-1974), and was a five-time All-Star with the New York Yankees. After retiring, Stottlemyre coached from 1994-2008, including ten seasons for the Yankees. He finished with a lifetime record of 164-139 and a 2.97 ERA. He passed on January 12, 2019, of multiple myeloma. |
Larry Weinberg (age 92) - with two partners, Weinberg won an NBA expansion to Portland, Ore., in 1970. He was president of the Portland Trailblazers from 1975 to 1988. Weinberg passed on
January 1, 2019.
Glen Wood (age 93) - Glen and bother Leonard founded the Wood Brothers Racing team, a mainstay in NASCAR circles, in 1953. He won four races during his driving career and, in 1986, was named one of NASCAR's greatest drivers of all time. In 2012, he as inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Wood passed away on
January 18, 2019.
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