Sports
Randy Burden - A minor league pitcher in the Anaheim Angels farm system who pitched for the Provo Angels this past summer, died in his sleep on Dec. 5 of unknown causes at age 23.
John Chang - Director of broadcasting for the Dallas Cowboys who previously served as director of television, and who was engaged to be married in February 2003, died on Dec. 12 after a cerebral hemorrhage at age 38.
Les Costello - Hockey player who played for 3 seasons in the NHL including one with the champion 1948 Toronto Maple Leafs, who quit the game to go into the priesthood and form the Flying Fathers charity hockey team that raised millions for various charities, died on Dec. 10 from injuries sustained playing hockey at age 74.
Werner Elmer - Swiss junior downhill champion who placed fourth in the junior world championships last year, was killed on Dec. 11 after colliding with a course maintenance worker during a downhill race (the course employee survived). He was 19 years old.
Eddie Freed - Baseball player who briefly appeared with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1942, but made his mark by tying a major league record for most hits in a game by a player appearing in their first major league game with 4 hits (in a game started by the Reds Johnny VanDerMeer who was coming off his consecutive no-hitters), died Nov 15 at age 83.
Joseph Giannelli - Longtime golf coach at the University of Connecticut from 1980 until 2000, who won several coach of the year honors in New England and the Big East, died Dec. 10 of leukemia at age 76.
Bob Groseclose - Track coach at the University of Louisiana-Monroe (formerly Northeast Louisiana University) who led the school to 19 conference championships at the school from 1960 to 1989, where he coached record-holder sprinters Don and Dave Styron and pole vaulter John Pennel, died Dec. 8 of complications from a stroke at age 82.
Bill Hielscher - Drag racer known as "Mr. Bardahl", who competed 6 1/2 years, winning 37 American Hot Rod Association events, nine AHRA championships and six AHRA world championships, who set a land speed record at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, and who was elected to NHRA Hall of Fame, died Nov. 30 of lung disease in Dallas at age 67.
Bobby Joe Hill - Leading scorer and star player for the 1966 NCAA champion Texas Western team that changed the landscape of college basketball when coach Don Haskins started 5 black players against an all-white Kentucky team in the national championship game that opened the doors at colleges for black athletes across the country, died of a heart attack Dec. 8 at age 59.
Bob Kay (real name Robert Kornfeld) - TV and radio broadcaster in Louisville for 41 years at WAVE radio and TV, who did everything from news reporting to kiddie shows to writing and producing, died Nov. 9 of prostrate cancer at age 82.
Marty Schramm - Wife of former Dallas Cowboy president Tex Schramm died Dec. 8 at age 80.
Carl Smalls - Football player at the University of North Carolina who played in seven games this season as a defensive tackle, but had been suspended from the team for the last two games of the season and whose status with the team was in limbo, was shot to death at a fraternity party on Dec. 7 at age 22.
Homer Spragins - Baseball player who pitched briefly for the Philadelphia Phillies in 1947, died of a blood disorder on Dec. 10 at age 82.
Frank Warren - Defensive lineman for the New Orleans Saints from 1981 to 1994, who only missed 8 games during his career and was inducted into the New Orleans Saints Hall of Fame in 1995, died Dec. 14 of a heart attack in Birmingham, AL at age 43.

Art and Literature
Dee Brown - Expert on the U.S. American West who wrote 29 books including the novel "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee", a construction of the U.S. governments mistreatment of the American Indian, which sold more than 5 million copies worldwide, died Dec. 12 in Little Rock, Arkansas at age 94.
David E. Davis - Sculptor described as a "high modernist", who created many large-scale public works around Cleveland, and whose pieces are displayed in galleries in New York and Israel, died of cancer on Nov. 13 at age 82.
Aileen Fisher - Author of more than 100 books for children, including critically acclaimed books of poetry for children, died Dec. 2 at age 96.
Shelby Friedman - Often-quoted punster who was a pharmacist by trade but gained fame for publishing puns in many publications, most notably in the Reader's Digest where he is the undisputed most prolific contributor (Examples of his puns: "Income tax-time is when you test your powers of deduction", "Credit cards have three dimensions: height, width and debt"), died Dec. 9 at age 91.
Allan Frumkin - Art gallery owner and art dealer who had galleries in New York and Chicago and who had a reputation as a curmudgeon, but gave starts to artists like Matta and Cornell, died of Crohn's disease on Dec. 9 at age 75.
To Huu - Vietnamese Communist poet who wrote about the Vietnam War, urging the people to uphold socialism and defeat the U.S., but whose poetry such as his most famous poem "Since Then" was written with such vitality and force that it transcended propaganda, and who went on to high government posts in North Vietnam after the war, died Dec. 10 at age 82.
Jim Kilgo - Author best known for the 1998 novel "Daughter of My People" which won the Townsend Prize for fiction, who wrote other southern historical novels like "Inheritance of Horses" and "The Hand-Carved Creche", died of cancer on Dec. 8 at age 61.
Evamarie Mathaey - Publisher and Co-Editor-in-Chief of Nature Photographer magazine, which started 13 years ago with 300 subscribers and has grown to 20,000 subscribers worldwide, was killed in a car accident in Boca Raton, Florida on Dec. 9 at age 65.
Donald Morris - Author of the classic "The Washing of the Spears", a definitive history of the rise and fall of the South African Zulu tribe, died on Dec. 4 after a heart attack at age 78.
Stan Rice - Award-winning poet and painter whose collections of poetry including "Some Lamb", "Whiteboy" and "Body of Work" have won numerous awards, and who was the husband of best-selling author Anne Rice, died of brain cancer on Nov. 9 at age 60.
Bella Stumbo - Author and Los Angeles Times profile writer known for her interviews with high profile individuals like Marion Barry, Daryl Gates and Rev. Robert Schuller in which she was able to draw out innermost thoughts, often to their later embarrassment (?you were Stumboed"), and who wrote the Betty Broderick biography "Until the Twelfth of Never", died Dec. 5 of throat cancer at age 59.
David Weiss - Author of 11 novels including the best-seller "Naked Came I" in 1963 which was about the life of sculptor Aguste Rodin, and who was married for 53 years to playwright and poet Stymean Karlen, died Nov. 29 of thrombophlebitis at age 93.
Flemming Tyler Wilson - Alabama-based art photographer known for his black-and-white pictures utilizing the human figure naked or in startling juxtapositions, with mythological themes, was found dead on Dec. 5 of natural causes after having not been seen since Nov. 27. He was 53.

Politics and Military
John Dellenback - Republican congressman from Oregon from 1966 to 1974 best known for writing the legislation that allow the construction of the Alaskan pipeline, and who was appointed director of the Peace Corps by President Ford in 1975, died Dec. 7 of viral pneumonia at age 84.
William Gleysteen - U.S. ambassador to South Korea from 1978 to 1981, during the tumultuous time when President Park Chung Hee was assassinated, who wrote about his experiences and the U.S. response to the crisis in the book "Massive Entanglement, Marginal Influence", died of leukemia on Dec. 6 at age 76.
Mireille Jospin-Dandieu - Mother of former French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin, who was the patron of France's euthanasia campaign Association for the Right to Die with Dignity, chose to end her life on Dec. 6 at age 92.
Anton Malloth - Former Nazi SS guard who was tried in May 2001 for war crimes against Jewish prisoners in WW2, and imprisoned at age 89, died on Oct. 31 of cancer at age 90.
Nani Palkhivala - Highly-regarded Indian legal and tax expert and orator who served as ambassador to the United States from 1977 to 1979, who enrapt thousands gathered in stadiums with his analysis of the nation's latest budget, died of a heart attack Dec. 11 at age 82.
Marco Pignalberi - Alaska state representative from 1984 to 1986 who had served in Alaska politics in some capacity since the early 1970's, died of a heart attack Dec. 10 at age 58.
Theodore Shackley - Notorious CIA deputy director for clandestine operations known as "the godfather of secret warriors" and "the blond ghost" during the CIA's main era of secrecy and deception in the 1950's and 60's, who led espionage behind the Iron Curtain, oversaw efforts to overthrown Fidel Castro, and ran agents into Communist China, who wrote three books and had several written about him, died Dec. 9 in Bethesda, Maryland of cancer at age 75.

Social and Religion
Marion Anderson - Peace activist who made the news in 1970 when she was able to walk past several guards at the Pentagon and crash a meeting of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to whom she handed each an anti-war leaflet, and who founded a company that analyzed the effects of military spending on the U.S. economy, died Dec. 7 of cancer at age 70.
Linroy Bottoson - Former child street preacher who was convicted in the 1979 robbery, abduction and murder of 74-year-old Catherine Alexander, who finally ran out of appeals, was executed by lethal injection on Dec. 9 at age 63.
Desmond Carter - North Carolina man who was convicted of the 1992 murder of his 71-year-old neighbor Helen Purdy in order to steal $15 from her to buy crack cocaine, was executed by lethal injection on Dec. 10 at age 35.
James Collier - Texas man who in 1995 went looking for his daughter's former stepfather whom he suspected had sexually abused her, but instead killed Gwendolyn Reed and her adult son Timmy Reed who were staying at the house, and who defended himself in court on the charges, was executed by lethal injection at age 56.
Harley Collins - Omaha eighth-grader who was a starter on the middle school basketball team, collapsed and died on Dec. 9 after running wind sprints at age 14.
Henry Goldberg - Boy who suffered from Fanconi anemia, a blood disorder, whose parents attempts to save him using embryo research caused outcries from anti-abortionists and ethicists, and whose story was featured on ABC's "Nightline", succumbed to the disease on Dec. 12 in Minneapolis at age 7.
Rev. William Gulas - Popular Cleveland-area Roman Catholic priest at St. Stanislaus Church, died on Dec. 7 when his body was discovered burned beyond recognition after a fire at the church, but was later determined he died of a gunshot wound (sounds like Angela Lansbury needs to investigate!). He was 69 years old.
Bill Hendricks - Baptist theologian and author who drew attention to the connection between faith and art and wrote eight books, including "A Theology for Children" and "The Doctrine of Man", died Dec. 8 in Ft. Worth, TX at age 73.
Anthony Johnson - Alabama man who was convicted of his involvement in the robbery of a jewelry store in 1984 in which the proprietor Kenneth Cantrell was shot to death, but who it was shown did not fire the shot that killed him, was executed by lethal injection anyway (Alabama's first by injection) on Dec. 12 at age 46.
Deborah Kahn - Aspiring actress who had recently moved to Ho Ho Kus, NJ from Manhattan with her husband because they wanted to raise their new baby in the suburbs, committed suicide by sitting on the tracks of a commuter train with her 8-month daughter in her lap (the baby miraculously survived) in front of horrified spectators. She was 33 years old.
Allison LaLand - Prominent Washington DC hostess and party planner who threw parties for an endless rotation of ambassadors, Supreme Court justices, Cabinet members, Capitol Hill denizens of all political stripes, movers in the arts, corporate titans and philanthropists, died of cancer Nov. 30 at age 78.
Jerry McCracken - Oklahoma killer who admitted to shooting and killing four people, 2 bartenders and 2 customers, during the robbery of a bar in Tulsa in 1990, all for a $350 take, was executed by lethal injection on Dec. 10 at age 35.
Jay Neill - Oklahoma man who in 1994 along with his gay lover robbed a bank in Geronimo, Oklahoma, and slashed to death three female bank employees (one was six months pregnant), nearly decapitating them and shooting to death a male customer while wounding several others in the bank, was executed by lethal injection on Dec. 12 at age 37.
John Powers - Legendary tough Los Angeles policeman nicknamed "Two-Gun Johnny", who headed up the investigation into the Manson family murders of actress Sharon Tate and Rosemary and Leo LaBianca, and who helped in the investigation into the "Onion Field" murder, died Nov. 15 of cancer at age 90.
E.N. "Jack" Thompson - Chairman of the Cooper Foundation, a Nebraska based charity which endows major private grants for merit scholarships and other charitable causes, died of pneumonia on Dec. 7 at age 89.
Orlando Villas-Boas - Brazilian explorer who with his 3 brothers helped establish Western civilization's first contact with several Indian tribes in remote parts of Brazil, and who became a leading champion of the indigenous rights of those tribes, died on Nov. 14 of an intestinal infection at age 88.
Jessie Williams - Mississippi man who in 1983 became so enraged with 18-year old Karon Ann Pierce who refused to have sex with him a second time after noticing he was wearing a colostomy bag, slit her throat and mutilated her body, was executed by lethal injection on Dec. 11 at age 51.

Business and Science
Dr. Nikolai Amosov - Groundbreaking Russian heart surgeon, best-selling author and exercise enthusiast known for his inventions of several innovative surgical procedures for treating heart defects and was considered the father of biomedical and psychological cybernetics, and whose 1965 book "Thoughts on Health" sold millions of copies, died Dec. 12 of heart failure at age 89.
Dr. Gilbert Baum - Pioneer in the medical use of ultrasound who was an early proponent of using sound waves in medicine and wrote more than 50 articles and a widely used textbook on the uses of ultrasound in diagnosis, died Dec. 9 of congestive heart failure at age 80. .
Dr. Hamza Brimah - Nigerian doctor who is credited with starting a local HIV program in the Mississippi Delta, one of the poorest areas in the U.S. with one of the highest rates of HIV infection, that dramatically improved health care for these patients, died on Dec. 10 of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at age 40.
George R. Bunn - Founder and chairman of the Bunn-O-Matic Corp., founded in 1957, which created the first commercial coffee filter in 1957, developed the first office coffee brewer in 1968 and created the first commercial brewer with water level control in 1975, died Dec. 7 at age 87.
CD-Now - One of the first and probably the best Internet music retailer, became the latest "victim" of Amazon's bid to "Blockbuster" all of their competition (they previously absorbed Borders.com and VirginMega.com), by selling out on Dec. 4.
William G. McMillan - Chemist who while in graduate school at Columbia University worked with Enrico Fermi and Edward Teller on the Manhattan Project to develop the atomic bomb, died of a heart attack Nov. 25 at age 83.
Leonardo Mondadori - Chairman of Italy's largest publishing house, Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, who also was chairman of a TV network, died of pancreatic cancer on Dec. 13 at age 56.
Murray Pergament - Co-founder of the now-defunct New York-based Pergament Home Center chain of home supply stores, died Dec. 10 in New York of cancer at age 76.
Dr. Robert Schlant - Leading medical educator and cardiologist who wrote or edited 19 medical books including "Hurst's The Heart", a well-known cardiology reference, died Dec. 12 in Atlanta of cancer at age 73.
Dr. Roland B. Scott - Noted pediatrician and researcher who founded Howard University's Center for Sickle Cell Disease, and was considered the U.S.'s preeminent authority on sickle cell anemia, a disease that predominantly affects blacks, died in Washington DC on Dec. 10 of congestive heart failure at age 93.
Harsen Smith - Chairman who helped build the family firm of Chris-Craft into one of the largest boat manufacturers in the world, died Dec. 7 at age 94.