Sybille Bedford (94) British novelist who published her first book when she was 41 and later cultivated a select following over the next half-century. Bedford's first novel, A Legacy (1956), drew high praise from novelist Evelyn Waugh and was followed by A Visit to Don Otavio (1953). Bedford also covered trials around the world, including those of Nazi guards at Auschwitz and of Jack Ruby, the Texas nightclub owner who killed Presidential assassin Lee Harvey Oswald. She died in London, England on February 17, 2006.

Barbara Guest (85) prominent modernist poet and the only woman to be a member of the famed New York School of poets of the late '50s and early '60s. Guest wrote more than 20 volumes of poetry and was the author of Herself Defined (1984), a biography of poet and novelist Hilda Doolittle (d. 1961). Guest died after a recent series of strokes, in Berkeley, California on February 15, 2006.

Joash Woodrow (78) reclusive British artist with a history of mental illness, the subject of one of the most remarkable rediscoveries in recent years: in 2001, when Woodrow was institutionalized after setting his house on fire, some 750 paintings and 4,000 works on paper were found in his small house in Leeds, England. Produced between the mid-'40s and the early '90s, not one of those works had been seen in public before. Woodrow died in North Manchester, England on February 15, 2006.

Ahmad Adaya (78) founding partner of a prominent California commercial real estate company who also helped to found the New Horizon School for Muslim religious education in southern California. Adaya died of complications after a heart transplant, in Santa Monica, California on February 12, 2006.

Sir Peter Masefield (91) one of the leading figures in Britain's postwar aviation industry, playing an important role at British European Airways (BEA) and in the development of the Britannia aircraft. Masefield was chairman of the British Airports Authority (1965-71). He died in East Sussex, England on February 14, 2006.

Robert E. Rich Sr. (92) frozen food pioneer whose invention of the first nondairy whipped topping launched Rich Products Corporation. Rich was chairman of the Buffalo Bisons, Cleveland's Triple-A baseball farm team, and oversaw construction of a baseball stadium for the team. He died in Palm Beach, Florida on February 15, 2006.

Juan Sanchez Navarro (92) prominent Mexican businessman who spent his career in his nation's beer industry. Sanchez Navarro founded and led several business organizations, including Mexico's national chamber of commerce, and helped to found the conservative National Action Party in 1939, whose 2000 candidate, Vicente Fox, was the first opposition party candidate to win the country's presidency in 71 years. Sanchez Navarro died of heart failure in Mexico City, Mexico on February 12, 2006.

James Angell (81) professor emeritus of electrical engineering at Stanford University and the school's carillonneur for 31 years. Angell died of Parkinson's disease in San Francisco, California on February 13, 2006.

Paul Avrich (74) historian of the anarchist movement that played a role in the Russian Revolution and flourished in America in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Avrich was named distinguished professor of history at Queens College in 1982 and wrote 10 books. He died of Alzheimer's disease in New York City on February 16, 2006.

Arnold A. Rogow (81) author and political scientist who trained as a psychoanalyst to gain insight into historical figures like Alexander Hamilton. Rogow died of a stroke in New York City on February 14, 2006.

Ray Barretto (76) Grammy-winning Latin jazz percussionist known for integrating the conga drum into jazz. Barretto won a Grammy for best Tropical Latin performance in 1989 for the song "Ritmo en el Corazon" with Celia Cruz. He was named one of the National Endowment for the Arts| Jazz Masters of 2006, the nation's highest jazz honor. He died of heart failure in Hackensack, New Jersey on February 17, 2006.

Benno Besson (83) Swiss-born director who worked with influential playwright Bertolt Brecht and later enjoyed success at theaters across Europe. Besson joined the Berliner Ensemble, the East Berlin theater founded by Brecht, in 1947 as an actor and assistant director, and worked in later years at Geneva's La Comedie theater. He died in Berlin, German on February 16, 2006.

Richard Bright (68) character actor who appeared in all three Godfather movies, playing Corleone family enforcer Al Neri. Bright appeared more recently on The Sopranos. He died after being hit by a private school bus as he crossed a street in New York City, on February 18, 2006.

Dave Ciniero (68) beloved voice on Ventura County (Calif.) radio for 30 years. Ciniero died in his sleep of heart failure in his Camarillo, California hotel room, on February 17, 2006.

William Cowsill (58) lead singer of US family group The Cowsills, who inspired the TV series The Partridge Family and had several hits in the '60s and '70s, including the title song from the musical Hair. Having suffered in recent years from emphysema, Cushing's syndrome, and osteoporosis, Cowsill died in Calgary, Alberta, Canada on February 17, 2006.

Shoshana Damari (83) Israeli singer known as the queen of Hebrew music whose voice came to embody the emerging nation of Israel and comforted its people in trying times. Damari entertained Israeli civilians and soldiers for nearly 70 years with her booming alto voice, continuing to perform until shortly before her death. She won Israel's top civilian honor, the Israel Prize, for her contribution to Israeli vocal music. She died of pneumonia in Jerusalem, Israel on February 14, 2006.

Sidney H. Feller (89) arranger and producer of "Georgia on My Mind" and other hits for entertainer Ray Charles. Feller worked with Charles for over 30 years and regularly was his conductor on tours. He died in Cleveland, Ohio on February 16, 2006.

Patricia Fisher (59) first woman and first black to write editorials for the Seattle Times, Washington state's largest newspaper. Fisher was honored as journalist of the year by the Alliance of Children, Youth & Families. She cofounded the Black Journalists Association of Seattle, a chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists. She died of multiple sclerosis in Seattle, Washington on February 12, 2006.

Michael G. Fitzgerald (55) author of a book on Universal Studios and coauthor of two books on Western film actresses. Fitzgerald was known in the Hollywood community for the last 30 years as cohost of the annual Jivin’ Jacks & Jills Hollywood Reunion at the Sportsmen's Lodge in Studio City, California. He died in El Dorado, Arkansas on February 14, 2006.

Andreas Katsulas (59) St. Louis-born character actor who played the one-armed man in The Fugitive (1993) and Ambassador G'Kar on TV's Babylon 5, among many other roles. Katsulas died of lung cancer in Los Angeles, California on February 13, 2006.

Alan M. Levin (79) documentary filmmaker whose work exploring political and social issues won major awards during a long career in TV journalism. Levin began in the '70s with PBS-TV and produced the Emmy-winning six-part series The New Immigrants (1979). He also made an HBO documentary, Thug Life (1999), about incarcerated young black men in Washington, DC that won the National Emmy for outstanding nonfiction special. He died in his sleep in Maplewood, New Jersey on February 13, 2006.

Benjamin Matthews (72) operatic bass-baritone and a founder of the Opera Ebony company, who performed black American music in recitals and master classes around the world, emphasizing the performance style of spirituals, work songs, Creole music, and neglected black American composers. Matthews died from the effects of a stroke suffered in early January, in New York City on February 14, 2006.

Hugh Pickett (92) Canadian impresario known widely as Mr. Showbiz, whose witty and often wicked tongue made him a favorite of such Hollywood icons as Marlene Dietrich, Ginger Rogers, Katharine Hepburn, and Phyllis Diller. Pickett brought artists ranging from Stravinsky and Liberace to Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, the Rolling Stones, and Lillian Gish to Vancouver stages (’40s-’70s). He died in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on February 13, 2006.

Charles Frederick Leonard Jr. (92) retired US Army officer who set an Olympic Games pistol shooting record that stood for more than 40 years. Leonard was former chief of the Army Intelligence Command at Fort Holabird, Maryland and head of security at the University of Washington after retiring from the Army. He was one year out of West Point when he won the silver medal in the pentathlon in 1936 in Berlin with the first perfect score in the modern history of the Olympics in the pistol section of the competition. He died a few weeks after a massive heart attack, in Washington, DC on February 18, 2006.

Don Paarlberg (94) farmer, writer, and professor of agricultural economics who, as a White House assistant, helped President Dwight D. Eisenhower to prepare and run his Food for Peace initiative. Paarlberg died in West Lafayette, Indiana on February 14, 2006.

John Brooke-Little (78) British former Clarenceux King of Arms who did much to popularize heraldic studies as founder of the Heraldry Society in 1947. Brooke-Little died in England on February 13, 2006.

Rabbi Yehuda Chitrik (106) Lubavitcher (a religious lifestyle and ideology focused on prayer and the study of Jewish holy books) scholar known for his storytelling and longevity, whose stories were translated into a book entitled From My Father's Shabbos Table (1991). Chitrik died of a heart attack in New York City on February 14, 2006.

Joel Dorius (87) one of three gay professors of literature caught in a pornography scandal and forced out by Smith College in 1960, only to be exonerated in a celebrated case of sexual McCarthyism. Dorius died of bone marrow cancer in San Fransico, California on February 14, 2006.

Robert E. Fischer (88) New York judge who prosecuted organized crime during the Rockefeller administration and opened the criminal inquiry into the 1971 rebellion at Attica prison. Fischer retired in 1993 as a State Supreme Court justice and was currently a partner with his son in the Binghamton law firm Fischer & Fischer. He died of congestive heart failure in Binghamton, New York on February 16, 2006.

Susie Gibson (115) oldest person in the US and the third-oldest person in the world. Gibson died of heart failure in Corinth, Mississippi on February 16, 2006.

Laurel Hester (49) cancer-stricken New Jersey law enforcement officer who fought to ensure that her pension benefits would be extended to her longtime domestic partner. Hester died of lung cancer in Point Pleasant, New Jersey on February 18, 2006.

George ("Geordie") Hormel (77) heir to the Hormel Foods Corporation. Hormel was also a musician and recording studio proprietor, who composed music for numerous TV shows including The Fugitive, Lassie, Naked City, and The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin. He founded the Village Recording Studio in Los Angeles and most recently had been recording a new jazz CD. He died of an infection in Paradise Valley, Arizona on February 12, 2006.

Edna Lewis (89) granddaughter of a slave who became a chef and author of acclaimed cookbooks on traditional Southern cuisine. Lewis cowrote the book The Gift of Southern Cooking (2003) and was known for her work as chef and consultant at the landmark, century-old Brooklyn restaurant Gage & Tollner. She died in her sleep in Decatur, Georgia on February 13, 2006.

Raymond J. Mauer (80) author of the script for the landmark civil defense film, Duck & Cover, which encouraged people to duck beneath a table or desk and cover their heads in the event of an atomic attack and was seen by millions of schoolchildren in the '50s. Mauer died in Bridgeport, Connecticut on February 15, 2006.

Bill Moran (80) artisan credited with reviving the craft of hand-forging hunting knives. Moran cofounded the American Bladesmith Society in 1976, now an international group with more than 1,300 members, and was the group’s chairman for 15 years. He was inducted into the Knifemakers Hall of Fame in 1986 and the American Bladesmith Society Hall of Fame in ’96. He died in Frederick, Maryland on February 12, 2006.

Anthony ("Tony Ripe") Civella (75) mobster whom federal investigators said headed organized crime in Kansas City in the late '80s and '90s, after the imprisonment of his uncle, Nick Civella, reputed leader of the Kansas City mob when it allegedly worked with other organized crime families in Chicago, Milwaukee, and Cleveland in schemes to skim money from Las Vegas casinos. Anthony Civella died one day short of his 76th birthday, in Kansas City, Missouri on February 16, 2006.

Clyde Smith (32) Texas killer convicted of fatally shooting a Houston cabdriver during a robbery in 1992. Smith was executed by lethal injection in Huntsville, Texas on February 15, 2006.

Bettie Wilson (115) daughter of freed slaves and the oldest resident of Mississippi ever recorded. Wilson held the distinction of being the oldest person in the US beginning in 2004, before the age of Elizabeth Bolden was verified in April '05, and was the third-oldest living person in the world when she celebrated her 115th birthday in September '05. She died in New Albany, Mississippi on February 13, 2006.

Roy Chapman (79) owner of Kentucky Derby winner Smarty Jones, who owned auto dealerships around the Philadelphia area and got into thoroughbreds in the ’80s, owning Someday Farm in Chester County, Pennsylvania. Chapman died of emphysema in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on February 17, 2006.

Harold Hunter (31) popular skateboarder whose skills and outsize personality led him to modeling and movie roles, celebrity friendships, and prominence on the downtown Manhattan scene. Hunter was already well known in skateboarding circles when he was a teenager and began gaining mainstream fame after landing film roles, including one in Kids, the 1995 movie portraying a decadent teenage subculture. Hunter toured with the prominent New York skateboarding team Zoo York and appeared widely in skateboard magazines and videos. He died of a heart attack in the East Village, New York housing project where he grew up, on February 17, 2006.

Robert Lewis (81) one of thoroughbred racing's most popular owners, who came close to winning Triple Crowns with Silver Charm and Charismatic. Lewis died of heart failure in Newport Beach, California on February 17, 2006.

Lewis ("Bud") McFadin (77) five-time Pro Bowl lineman who spent 11 years in the NFL and was an All-American guard for Texas in 1950. McFadin spent five seasons with the Los Angeles Rams and played six seasons in the American Football League with the Denver Broncos and Houston Oilers. He died in Victoria, Texas on February 13, 2006.

Sam Rubin (91) horse race enthusiast who with his wife, Dorothy, owned two-time Horse of the Year, John Henry. Rubin was a New York City bicycle importer who made it big when cycling became the recreational rage in the '60s. He died in Palm Beach, Florida on February 13, 2006.

Ernie Stautner (80) Hall of Fame defensive lineman for the Pittsburgh Steelers and a longtime Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator, who went to nine Pro Bowls with the Steelers and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1969. Stautner died of Alzheimer's disease in Carbondale, Colorado on February 16, 2006.