T/obits

Val Kilmer, Film Star Who Played Batman and Jim Morrison, Dies at 65
Obits, Today

A wide-ranging leading man who earned critical praise, he was known to be charismatic but unpredictable. At one point he dropped out of Hollywood for a decade.

Kathan Brown, Acclaimed Fine Art Printmaker, Dies at 89
Obits, Yesterday

She helped revive the centuries-old tradition of intaglio printing in the U.S., producing fine-art etchings with artists like Chuck Close and Sol LeWitt.

Betty Webb, Who Helped Bletchley Park Code Breakers, Dies at 101
Foreign, Yesterday

Sworn to secrecy about the goings-on at Britain’s storied World War II decryption operation, she only later recounted the efforts to crack German signals.

Hank Steinbrecher, Who Helped Elevate Soccer in the U.S., Dies at 77
Obits, March 31

He was also a key figure in raising American soccer’s profile on the world stage. Earlier, as a marketer, he saw opportunities in the football ritual of dousing coaches with Gatorade.

Reinaldo Herrera, Arbiter of Style for Vanity Fair, Dies at 91
Obits, March 30

Both old school and Old World and married to a celebrated fashion designer, he helped define Manhattan’s high life for many years.

Richard Carlson, Journalist Who Led Voice of America, Dies at 84
Obits, March 30

The father of the conservative commentator Tucker Carlson, he won a Peabody Award for television reporting that uncovered a car company’s fraud.

Joe Harris, 108, Dies; Thought to Be the Oldest World War II Paratrooper
Obits, March 30

He was a member of a segregated unit in the Pacific Northwest that fought forest fires set off by Japanese balloon bombs.

Linda Williams, 78, Dies; Took a Scholarly Approach to Pornography
Obits, March 30

One of the first to write seriously about a fraught subject, she also played a major role in developing the field of film studies and feminist film theory.

Gananath Obeyesekere, 95, Dies; Anthropologist Bridged East and West
Obits, March 30

His wide-ranging work drew on field research in his native Sri Lanka as well as his extensive study of English literature and Christian mysticism.

Richard Chamberlain, TV Heartthrob Turned Serious Actor, Dies at 90
Obits, March 30

An overnight star as Dr. Kildare in the 1960s, he achieved new acclaim two decades later as the omnipresent leading man of mini-series.

Gai Gherardi, Who Made Eyeglass Frames Fashion Statements, Dies at 78
Obits, March 29

Her L.A. Eyeworks boutique, which she opened with a friend and fellow optician, was a pioneer in turning ordinary frames into bold, artistic accessories.

Jean Rice, Advocate for the Homeless With Firsthand Experience, Dies at 85
Obits, March 28

Homeless on and off for years himself, he was a longtime pivotal member of Picture the Homeless, a group devoted to changing negative perceptions of the unhoused.

Victor Emanuel, Revered Birder and Pioneer of Ecotourism, Dies at 84
Obits, March 28

He had a reverential regard for birds from an early age, and he turned it into a thriving business. “I call him the Zen master of birds,” Peter Matthiessen said.

Clive Revill, Original Voice of Emperor Palpatine in ‘Star Wars,’ Dies at 94
Obits, March 27

His voice can be heard for only a minute in “The Empire Strikes Back,” but it provided the first draft of a character that would be a mainstay of the franchise for decades.

Armand LaMontagne, Meticulous Sculptor of Sports Greats, Dies at 87
Obits, March 27

Working in wood, he captured the zeal of New England sports with his exacting, lifelike renderings of Hall of Famers like Ted Williams and Larry Bird.

Pilar Viladas Dies at 70; Journalist Chronicled Trends in Design
Obits, March 27

Schooled in art history, she brought authority and a human perspective to her writing and editing for Architectural Digest, HG, The Times and other publications.

Leonard Polonsky, Philanthropist Who Supported the Arts, Dies at 97
Obits, March 27

After making a fortune in financial services, he funded the arts and made historical artifacts and documents widely available to the public.

David M. Childs, Skyline-Shaping Architect, Dies at 83
Obits, March 27

He was the chief architect of 1 World Trade Center, which soared in the wake of 9/11. As chairman of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, he left a mark on New York.

Herb Greene, 82, Dies; His Photographs Captured the San Francisco Sound
Obits, March 26

One of the first to shoot the Grateful Dead, he also memorably chronicled many of the other bands that were on the scene in the late 1960s.

Oleg Gordievsky, K.G.B. Officer Turned Double Agent, Dies at 86
Obits, March 26

While climbing the ranks of the Soviet spy agency, he spent more than a decade working for British intelligence as one of its most highly placed moles.

L.J. Smith, Author of ‘Vampire Diaries’ Book Series, Dies at 66
Obits, March 26

She wrote seven books in a series that went on to be a hit TV show. After she was replaced by ghostwriters, she reclaimed her characters online in fan fiction.

Dennis McDougal, True-Crime Writer and Hollywood Muckraker, Dies at 77
Obits, March 26

The author of more than a dozen books and an award-winning documentary, he died in a car crash in Southern California.

J. Bennett Johnston, 92, Dies; Senator Helped Shape U.S. Energy Policy
Obits, March 26

A Democrat from Louisiana, he pushed for nuclear power and ending the nation’s reliance on foreign oil in his four terms on Capitol Hill.

Lou Nasti, Who Brought Christmas Displays to Extravagant Life, Dies at 79
Obits, March 25

A robotics specialist, he animated puppets and dolls for displays worldwide. His “Toyland,” with a two-story-high Santa, drew sightseers to a Brooklyn home for years.

Lou Nasti, Who Brought Christmas Displays to Life, Dies at 79
Obituaries, March 25

He animated puppets and dolls for holiday displays around the world, and his extravagant, illuminated display at a Brooklyn home was a sightseeing fixture.

Michael Boudin, Independent Judge From a Family on the Left, Dies at 85
Obits, March 25

His rulings on the U.S. bench might have rankled his father, a civil liberties lawyer; his uncle, a muckraking journalist; and his sister, an imprisoned radical.

Horace Hale Harvey III, a Pioneer in Providing Abortions, Dies at 93
Obits, March 25

A religious organization recruited him to help open New York City’s first independent abortion clinic, though it was unaware that Louisiana had taken away his license.

Dag Solstad, 83, Dies; His Novels of Alienation Delighted Norwegians
Obits, March 24

A winner of top awards in his country, he drew the attention of European and American critics. The prime minister said he “made us see Norway and the world in new ways.”

Fred Eversley, Sculptor of Otherworldly Discs, Is Dead at 83
Obits, March 24

With his engineering background, he thought about his work differently from how other artists did. His abiding interest was in energy, in the scientific sense.

Mia Love, First Black Republican Woman Elected to Congress, Dies at 49
Express, March 24

Ms. Love, from Utah, held a seat in the House for two terms until she aroused the enmity of President Trump. She was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2022.

Brian James, Pioneer of Punk Rock, Is Dead at 70
Obits, March 23

As the guitarist and main songwriter for the Damned, he helped spark an explosion on the British music scene in the 1970s.

Marty Callner, Director of Comedy Specials and Music Videos, Dies at 78
Obits, March 23

At HBO in the late 1970s, he established the template for presenting stand-up on the small screen. He then became a mainstay of MTV in its early days.

Max Frankel, Top Times Editor Who Led a Newspaper in Transition, Dies at 94
Obits, March 23

As executive editor from 1986 to 1994, he oversaw a period of financial, technological and journalistic change while lifting newsroom morale and diversifying the staff.

Thomas Hoobler, Half of a Prolific Writing Couple, Dies at 82
Obits, March 22

He and his wife, Dorothy Hoobler, wrote 103 books, most recently one about presidential love letters, “Are You Prepared for the Storm of Love Making?”

Kitty Dukakis, Activist Wife of 1988 Presidential Nominee, Dies at 88
Obits, March 22

Married to Gov. Michael Dukakis of Massachusetts, she became a proponent of electroshock therapy after unsuccessful treatments for alcoholism and depression.

George Foreman, Boxing Champion and Grilling Magnate, Dies at 76
Obits, March 22

He claimed a world title in his 20s and, improbably, again in his 40s. He then made millions selling the George Foreman Grill.

Hugues Oyarzabal, uno de los primeros surfistas en grabar sus hazañas, muere a los 39 años
En español, March 21

Con una cámara fijada a su tabla o en la boca, llevaba a los espectadores de sus videos de paseo, a menudo dentro del “barril” de una ola.

Bruce M. Selya, Federal Judge Known for Polysyllabic Prose, Dies at 90
Obits, March 21

Judge Selya enlivened his writing with original vocabulary and colorful figures of speech. “Selyaisms” included asseverate, crapulous and sockdolager.

Robert Denham, Lawyer Who Steered Companies Through Crises, Dies at 79
Obits, March 21

Among his rescues was teaming up with Warren Buffett to keep the investment bank Salomon Brothers afloat amid a bid-rigging scandal in the 1990s.

Kilmer McCully, 91, Dies; Pathologist Vindicated on Heart Disease Theory
Obits, March 21

His studies showed that a B vitamin deficiency could cause hardened arteries. It took the medical profession more than a decade to catch up.

Lenny Schultz, Comedian Who Made a Lot of Noise, Dies at 91
Obits, March 20

A highly physical performer, he said he couldn’t tell jokes. But he became well known for a wild act that fellow comedians didn’t want to follow.

Jeffrey Bruce Klein, a Founder and Editor of Mother Jones, Dies at 77
Obits, March 20

He was one of four journalists who started the muckraking progressive magazine in 1976. He returned as its editor in chief in the 1990s.

J.B. Moore, Producer of Seminal Hip-Hop Records, Dies at 81
Obits, March 20

He was a magazine ad salesman when he and a colleague, Robert Ford, teamed with Kurtis Blow and helped break rap music into the mainstream.

Hugues Oyarzabal, Surfing Star Who Rode With a Camera, Dies at 39
Obits, March 20

With a video recorder affixed to his board or clamped to his teeth, he took viewers along for the ride, often inside the curling “barrel” of a wave.

Robert E. Ginna Jr., Whose Article Bolstered U.F.O. Claims, Dies at 99
Obits, March 20

A founding editor of People, he also served as editor in chief of Little, Brown and produced films. But his public image was defined by a 1952 story for Life.

K.W. Lee, 96, Dies; Journalist Who Gave Voice to Immigrant Communities
Obits, March 19

His reporting sought to humanize and unite Asian Americans. It also led to the release of a Korean immigrant on death row.

Anthony Dolan, Speechwriter Who Gave Reagan ‘Evil Empire,’ Dies at 76
Obits, March 18

As a conservative presidential speechwriter, he also relegated communism to “the ash heap of history.” Earlier, he won a Pulitzer Prize as a young reporter.

D.G. Hessayon, Author of Blockbuster Garden Guides, Dies at 96
Obits, March 18

His “Be Your Own House Plant Expert” and other best-selling manuals were a fixture of British life for half a century. Among his many fans was Margaret Thatcher.

John A. Hemingway, Last Survivor of the Battle of Britain, Dies at 105
Obits, March 18

A fighter pilot in a vastly outnumbered Royal Air Force — one of the “few” hailed by Churchill — he took to the skies to help stave off a Nazi land invasion of Britain.

Ming Fay, 82, Who Made Magical Sculptures of the Natural World, Dies
Obits, March 17

His artwork paid tribute to its surroundings, in New York City and elsewhere, rendering nature at an oversized scale that made it unmissable.

Thomas Moser, Woodworker Whose Chairs Were Works of Art, Dies at 90
Obits, March 17

Self-taught, he practiced “the lost art of making furniture well,” producing pieces for collectors, presidents and even the pope.

Mark Grossich, Who Opened Landmark Luxe Bars, Dies at 74
Obits, March 17

His lounges in Manhattan settings like Grand Central Terminal and the Empire State Building conjured the elegance of a bygone era.

Jesse Colin Young, Singer Who Urged Us to ‘Get Together,’ Dies at 83
Obits, March 17

As the leader of the Youngbloods, he sang an enduring anthem of the peace-and-love era, with the chorus, “Come on people now, smile on your brother.”

Émilie Dequenne, Belgian Actress Who Starred in ‘Rosetta,’ Dies at 43
Express, March 17

She won the Cannes Film Festival’s best actress award for her debut performance in 1999. She was later diagnosed with a rare adrenal gland cancer.

Lee Shau-Kee, Hong Kong Real Estate Tycoon, Dies at 97
Obits, March 17

Sometimes called the Warren Buffett of Hong Kong, he made his billions by initially building apartments for middle-class descendants of mainland refugees.

Slick Watts, N.B.A. Fan Favorite and Headband Pioneer, Dies at 73
Obits, March 16

An undrafted, 6-foot-1 point guard with patchy hair, he made an enduring fashion statement and became seen as the ultimate Seattle SuperSonic.

Gene Winfield, Whose Cars Starred in Film and on TV, Dies at 97
Obits, March 16

He was know for modifying cars with innovative metal work and paint jobs, and for building vehicles like the Galileo shuttle for the original “Star Trek” series.

Nita M. Lowey, Tenacious New York Representative, Dies at 87
Obits, March 16

A Democrat, she represented Westchester County for three decades and became the first woman to lead the powerful House Appropriations Committee.

Roy L. Prosterman, 89, Dies; Worked to Secure Land for the Rural Poor
Obits, March 15

Seeing land rights as the key to lifting up the impoverished, he pushed authoritarian governments as well as emerging democratic ones to distribute farmland.

Junior Bridgeman, N.B.A. Player Turned Mogul, Dies at 71
Obits, March 15

He became an entrepreneur during a solid career with the Milwaukee Bucks. He later bought hundreds of fast-food outlets, a Coca-Cola bottling business and Ebony and Jet magazines.

Raul M. Grijalva, a Democratic Progressive in the House, Dies at 77
Obits, March 14

The son of an immigrant, he represented a majority Hispanic district in Arizona for 12 terms but had lately been absent from Capitol Hill while being treated for cancer.

Kevin Drum, Influential Early Political Blogger, Dies at 66
Obits, March 14

Writing on his own and for Washington Monthly and Mother Jones, he earned a reputation as a serious policy thinker. He also invented Friday cat blogging.

Dr. Sheldon Greenfield, Who Exposed Gaps in Health Care, Dies at 86
Obits, March 14

The author of numerous studies, he urged patients to question their physicians and expressed concern about cancer treatment for older adults.

Herman Graf, Who Helped Sell ‘Tropic of Cancer,’ Dies at 91
Obits, March 14

A major figure in independent publishing, he promoted Henry Miller’s once-banned book and helped make “A Confederacy of Dunces” a best seller after the author’s death.

Alan K. Simpson, a Folksy Republican Force in the Senate, Dies at 93
Obits, March 14

A plain-spoken lawmaker from Wyoming, he balanced his conservative views with moderate stands on abortion rights, gay marriage and immigration reform.

Anne Kaufman Schneider, 99, Ardent Keeper of Her Father’s Plays, Dies
Obits, March 14

She shepherded the works of George S. Kaufman from the 20th century into the next, encouraging regional theater productions and helping to steer two of them to Broadway.

Felice Picano, Champion of Gay Literature, Is Dead at 81
Obits, March 13

At a time when, in his words, “nobody was writing about gay life,” he produced groundbreaking novels and memoirs and published books by Harvey Fierstein and others.

Larry Buendorf, U.S. Agent Who Saved President Ford, Dies at 87
Obits, March 13

By grabbing a loaded handgun from Squeaky Fromme in 1975, Mr. Buendorf, as part of a Secret Service detail, thwarted a would-be assassin in California’s capital.

Ron Nessen, Ford’s White House Press Secretary, Dies at 90
Obits, March 13

He pledged a new era of openness in the wake of the Watergate scandal, but his relationship with the press corps proved rocky.

John Feinstein, Who Wrote ‘A Season on the Brink,’ Dies at 69
Obits, March 13

A longtime columnist for The Washington Post, he also wrote dozens of books about basketball, baseball, tennis, football and the Olympics.

Sofia Gubaidulina, Composer Who Provoked Soviet Censors, Dies at 93
Obits, March 13

Blacklisted at home but finding acclaim abroad, she sought to bridge East and West, the sacred and the secular, in vivid, colorful compositions.

David Raven, British Drag Performer Known as Maisie Trollette, Dies at 91
Express, March 13

A mainstay of England’s drag circuit, he performed for over five decades and encouraged other drag queens to flourish.

Jennifer Johnston, 95, Novelist Who Probed Ireland’s Fault Lines, Dies
Obits, March 13

She explored tensions among the social classes and within families in fiction that prompted Roddy Doyle to call her “Ireland’s greatest writer.”

James Reason, Who Used Swiss Cheese to Explain Human Error, Dies at 86
Obits, March 13

Mistakes happen, he theorized, because multiple vulnerabilities in a system align — like the holes in cheese — to create a recipe for disaster.

Selma Miriam, Founder of the Feminist Restaurant Bloodroot, Dies at 89
Obits, March 12

She and Noel Furie had just come out as lesbians when they opened an unusual gathering place for women in Connecticut. Nearly half a century later, it is still thriving.

Chris Moore, Illustrator for Classic Sci-Fi Books, Dies at 77
Obits, March 12

He conjured fantastical worlds with covers for novels by Philip K. Dick and Arthur C. Clarke. He also left his mark on albums by Fleetwood Mac and Rod Stewart.

Stanley R. Jaffe, 84, Oscar-Winning Producer and Hollywood Power, Dies
Obits, March 11

His “Kramer vs. Kramer” won for best picture in 1980, one of many high points in a career that saw him in top jobs, twice, at Paramount.

Larry Appelbaum, Who Found Jazz Treasure in the Archives, Dies at 67
Obits, March 11

He helped turn the Library of Congress into a leading center for research on the history of jazz, and made some surprising discoveries of his own.

Simon Fisher-Becker, Actor in ‘Harry Potter’ and ‘Doctor Who,’ Dies at 63
Express, March 10

A versatile character actor whose career spanned film, theater and television, Mr. Fisher-Becker was known for small, memorable roles.

Jessie Mahaffey, Survivor of Pearl Harbor Attack, Dies at 102
Express, March 10

He was cleaning the deck of the U.S.S. Oklahoma when it capsized under Japanese torpedo fire. Less than a year later, he survived the sinking of another Navy ship in the Pacific.

Geoff Nicholson, Author of Darkly Comic Novels, Dies at 71
Obits, March 9

In more than a dozen books, he created characters who were obsessed with maps, urban walking, sexual fetishes and Volkswagen Beetles.

Art Schallock, Oldest Surviving Major Leaguer, Dies at 100
Obits, March 9

A pitcher, he played for the Yankees and the Orioles. When Mickey Mantle was sent to the minors in 1951, Schallock was called up.

Fred Stolle, 86, Golden-Age Australian Tennis Star, Dies
Obits, March 9

In addition to winning 19 Grand Slam titles, including two singles championships, he was a coach, a club pro and a television commentator.

Athol Fugard, 92, Playwright Who Exposed Torments of Apartheid, Dies
Obits, March 9

In works like “Blood Knot,” “Master Harold” and “The Island,” he laid bare the realities of racial separatism in his homeland, South Africa.

David Sellers, Architect Who Built What He Designed, Dies at 86
Obits, March 9

He believed that architects could design better buildings if they did the construction themselves. His do-it-yourself approach caught on.

Flo Fox, 79, Dies; Street Photographer Overcame Blindness and Paralysis
Obits, March 9

She was legally blind and used a motorized wheelchair, but she managed to capture what she called the “ironic reality” of New York City on film.

Joey Molland, of the Power-Pop Band Badfinger, Is Dead at 77
Obits, March 9

He was the last remaining core member of a group that was both propelled and pigeonholed in the 1970s by its close association with the Beatles.

Joan Dye Gussow, Pioneer of Eating Locally, Is Dead at 96
Obits, March 8

An indefatigable gardener, she was one of the first nutritionists to emphasize the connections between farming practices and consumers’ health.

Robert G. Clark, 96, Dies; Broke Race Barrier in Mississippi Statehouse
Obits, March 8

In 1968, he became the first Black person to serve in the Legislature since Reconstruction. Shunned by colleagues at first, he became a political force in the state.

Frank Saucier, Slugger Sidelined by a Publicity Stunt, Dies at 98
Obits, March 8

He had just recently joined the St. Louis Browns when he was replaced in the lineup by Eddie Gaedel, a 3-foot-7 circus performer, in a game in 1951.

Gwen McCrae, 81, Dies; Singer Helped Open the Dance Floor to Disco
Obits, March 8

Originally a gospel singer, she went on to meld soulful melodies with dance-floor-friendly grooves on songs like the 1975 Top 10 hit “Rockin’ Chair.”

D’Wayne Wiggins, 64, Dies; One Third of R&B Group Tony! Toni! Toné!
Obits, March 8

As a paragon of the New Jack Swing sound, the band recorded three platinum albums and a slew of hits, including “Feels Good.”

Melody Beattie, Author of a Self-Help Best Seller, Dies at 76
Obits, March 7

Her “Codependent No More: How to Stop Controlling Others and Start Caring for Yourself,” a guide to shedding toxic relationships, has sold more than seven million copies.

Uri Shulevitz, 89, Acclaimed Children’s Book Author and Illustrator, Dies
Obits, March 7

A Caldecott Medal winner, he turned childhood memories of fleeing the Nazis in Poland into magical stories.

Helen Schreider, Intrepid World Traveler, Is Dead at 98
Obits, March 7

She and her husband were the first people to travel the length of the Americas in an amphibious vehicle. But he was recognized for their accomplishments long before she was.

George Lowe, 67, Dies; Five Clips Capture His Kvetchy Space Ghost Alter Ego
Express, March 7

He was the secret weapon behind the cult-classic Cartoon Network series that reimagined the 1960s intergalactic superhero as temperamental talk show host.

Betty Bonney, 100, Dies; Her Paean to Joe DiMaggio Was a Big-Band Hit
Obits, March 6

Singing with the Les Brown band, she celebrated the Yankee star’s 56-game hitting streak in 1941. She also performed on Sid Caesar’s “Your Show of Shows.”

Ricardo Scofidio, Boldly Imaginative Architect, Is Dead at 89
Obits, March 6

With Diller Scofidio + Renfro, he brought a conceptual-art sensibility to cultural landmarks like Lincoln Center and to innovative public spaces like Manhattan’s High Line.

L. Clifford Davis, Who Fought to Desegregate Texas Schools, Dies at 100
Obits, March 6

As a civil rights lawyer who faced resistance and threats, he challenged school districts that tried to defy the Supreme Court’s 1954 ban on school segregation.

Roy Ayers, Vibraphonist Who Injected Soul Into Jazz, Dies at 84
Obits, March 6

He helped introduce a funkier strain of the music in the 1970s. He also had an impact on hip-hop: His “Everybody Loves the Sunshine” has been sampled nearly 200 times.

Juan Hamilton, Georgia O’Keeffe’s Companion and Contested Heir, Dies at 79
Obits, March 5

As a young potter, he turned up on the doorstep of an octogenarian master of modern painting. They grew so close it became a scandal.

Pierre Joris, Translator of the ‘Impossible’ Paul Celan, Dies at 78
Obits, March 5

A notable poet in his own right, he was best known for rendering into English the words of a poet who reacted to the Holocaust by inventing a new version of German.

Sylvester Turner, Sworn In as U.S. Representative in January, Dies at 70
Obits, March 5

A former mayor of Houston, he was in attendance at the president’s speech on Tuesday night and was later taken to a hospital.

Lincoln Díaz-Balart, a ‘Free Cuba’ Republican in Congress, Dies at 70
Obits, March 4

The Florida scion of an anti-communist political family, he served in the House for 18 years at a time when Cuban Americans exerted peak influence on U.S. policies.

Chris Jasper, Who Helped Revitalize the Isley Brothers, Dies at 73
Obits, March 4

A classically trained pianist turned songwriter, he was a cornerstone of the soul group’s sound during its fertile second act in the 1970s.

Selwyn Raab, Tenacious Reporter Who Covered the Mob, Dies at 90
Obits, March 4

At The Times and elsewhere, he wrote about wrongful convictions, fake methadone clinics and the five powerful Mafia families in New York.

Peter Sichel, Wine Merchant With a Cloak-and-Dagger Past, Dies at 102
Obits, March 4

He played a crucial role in the early days of the C.I.A., as a station chief in Cold War Berlin and Hong Kong, before shifting gears to popularize Blue Nun wine.

Carl Dean, esposo de Dolly Parton, muere a los 82 años
En español, March 4

Dean, quien inspiró canciones como “Jolene” y “From Here to the Moon and Back”, era conocido por alejarse de los reflectores mientras su esposa alcanzaba la fama.

James Harrison, Whose Antibodies Helped Millions, Dies at 88
Foreign, March 4

James Harrison earned the nickname “The Man With the Golden Arm” because his blood had a rare antibody that may have helped more than two million babies in Australia.

Carl Dean, Dolly Parton’s Husband of Nearly 60 Years, Dies at 82
Express, March 4

Mr. Dean, who inspired songs including “Jolene” and “From Here to the Moon and Back,” was known to shy away from the spotlight as his wife rose to fame.

Jack Vettriano, ‘Singing Butler’ Painter, Dies at 73
Express, March 3

Critics largely rejected his work, but when it was last sold in 2004, “The Singing Butler” was the most valuable piece of art to ever emerge from Scotland.

Hal Hirshorn, Artist of Otherworldly Photos and Paintings, Dies at 60
Obits, March 3

A ubiquitous presence in New York’s art world, he also existed outside it, using 19th-century techniques to create ethereal, haunting images.

Laura Sessions Stepp, Who Reported on Teenage Sex, Dies at 73
Obits, March 3

A Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, she went on to write about “hookup culture” and young women’s sexual experiences for The Washington Post and in a best-selling book.

M. Paul Friedberg, Landscape Architect Who Celebrated the City, Dies at 93
Obits, March 3

He made his mark as a designer of experimental playgrounds in New York City and then used the same ideas to reinvent urban parks across the country.

John Casey, Novelist of Salty, Rough-Hewn Characters, Dies at 86
Obits, March 3

He won a National Book Award for “Spartina,” beating out novels by Amy Tan and E.L. Doctorow. A longtime professor, he lived for a time without electricity on an island.

In China’s Covid Fog, Deaths of Scholars Offer a Clue
Interactive, February 5

The toll of China’s epidemic is unclear. But dozens of obituaries of the country’s top academics show an enormous loss in just a few weeks.

Sister André, World’s Oldest Known Person, Is Dead at 118
Foreign, January 18

A French nun, she lived through two world wars and the 1918 flu pandemic and, more than a century later, survived Covid-19. She enjoyed a bit of wine and chocolate daily.

Laura Anglin, a Leading New York State and City Official, Dies at 57
Obits, October 18

She was budget director in Albany and “was one of the unsung heroes” in helping to shape the pandemic response as a deputy mayor under Bill de Blasio.

Marc Lewitinn, Covid Patient, Dies at 76 After 850 Days on a Ventilator
Obits, September 9

While no definitive statistics exist, doctors say Mr. Lewitinn, a retired Manhattan store owner, likely remained on the device longer than any other Covid patient.

Joseph Hazelwood, Captain of the Exxon Valdez, Is Dead at 75
Obits, September 9

The tanker spilled millions of gallons of oil when it ran aground, causing one of the nation’s worst environmental disasters. He accepted responsibility but was demonized.

Dmitri Vrubel, Who Planted a Kiss on the Berlin Wall, Dies at 62
Obits, August 19

A Russian-born painter, he created a mural of the Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev smooching the East German leader Erich Honecker — and with it a tourist attraction.

Albert Woodfox, Survivor of 42 Years in Solitary Confinement, Dies at 75
Obits, August 5

His term in solitary was perhaps the longest in American history. He described how he kept his sanity, and dignity, in an acclaimed memoir.

Eli N. Evans, Who Wrote About Jews in American South, Dies at 85
Obits, August 2

His book “The Provincials” mixed memoir, travelogue and history to tell the story of a culture that many people never knew existed.

Vladimir Zelenko, 48, Dies; Promoted an Unfounded Covid Treatment
Obits, July 1

A self-described “simple country doctor,” he won national attention in 2020 when the White House embraced his hydroxychloroquine regimen.

Robert Goolrick Dies at 73; Became a Successful Novelist Late in Life
Obits, May 20

Being fired as an advertising executive freed him to write a blistering memoir about his Southern family and an erotic novel that became a best seller.

Stanislav Shushkevich, First Leader of Post-Soviet Belarus, Dies at 87
Obits, May 5

He helped formalize the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, led his country until 1994, then became a vocal critic of his successor, Aleksandr G. Lukashenko.