Isaac ("Itche") Goldberg (102) champion of Yiddish who wrote, edited, and taught his beloved language in the face of all those who said keeping Yiddish alive was a lost cause. Goldberg promoted the language in every conceivable form: writing poetry, librettos, children's books, and essays and running Yiddish schools and summer camps. He died of cancer in New York City on December 27, 2006.

John Heath-Stubbs (88) British poet and translator who used classical myth as an inspiration for his verse. Heath-Stubbs was the 1973 winner of the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry. His works include poetry, plays, criticism, and translations. Over the years he slowly lost his eyesight and went completely blind in 1978. He died of lung cancer in London, England on December 26, 2006.

Don Edgren (83) engineer who had a major role in the building of Disney parks in Florida and Tokyo. Edgren led the team that built the first Space Mountain, which opened in Florida's Disney World in 1975. He died of a hemorrhagic stroke in Eugene, Oregon on December 28, 2006.

Martin David Kruskal (81) mathematician whose work on the properties of an unusual kind of wave helped to pave the way for fiber optic technology. Another of Kruskal's legacies, better known among magicians than mathematicians, is the Kruskal Count, a card trick that employs some deceptively simple math to make it seem as if the magician is reading the mind of a subject. Kruskal died after a series of strokes, in Princeton, New Jersey on December 26, 2006.

Rev. James N. Loughran (66) president of St. Peter's College since 1995. Loughran increased campus housing so that nearly half the school's 3,000 undergraduate and graduate students now live on campus. He was found dead at the base of a staircase after an accidental fall in his campus residence in Jersey City, New Jersey on December 24, 2006.

Thomas A. Lyson (58) influential sociologist at Cornell University who argued that rural towns and small farms could survive economically by selling locally produced goods to regional markets. Lyson made a case for rural communities to rethink their traditional crops and instead produce organic ones, plus cheeses, wines, and other niche goods. He died of cancer in Ithaca, New York on December 28, 2006.

Chandralekha (78) Indian dancer and choreographer known for her philosophical fusing of the classical Bharata Natyam dance form with martial arts and therapeutic varieties of dance. Chandralekha died of cervical cancer in Chennai, India on December 30, 2006.

James Andelin (89) voiceover artist and actor who had roles in Field of Dreams and Grumpier Old Men. Andelin landed one of his first radio roles at about age 12 for a show called Skippy; the part led to a long career in Chicago radio, including voiceover parts in Little Orphan Annie and Jack Armstrong. He died of congestive heart failure and emphysema in Chicago, Illinois on December 27, 2006.

James Brown (73) legendary singer known as the "Godfather of Soul," whose rasping vocals and revolutionary rhythms made him a founder of rap, funk, and disco as well. Brown's frenetic singing style and bold rhythms brought funk into the mainstream and influenced a new generation of black music. His rapid-footed dancing inspired Mick Jagger and Michael Jackson, among others. With his tight pants, shimmering feet, eye makeup, and outrageous hair, Brown set the stage for younger stars such as Jackson and Prince. He was hospitalized with pneumonia and died the next day in Atlanta, Georgia on December 25, 2006.

Michael Browning (58) journalist with the Palm Beach Post whose career spanned 30 years across several continents with several Florida newspapers. Browning began his career in 1975 with the Florida Times-Union in Jacksonville and later spent 20 years at the Miami Herald, nine of them in Asia as the newspaper's Beijing bureau chief. He joined the Post in 1999. Browning died of liver failure in Gainesville, Florida on December 27, 2006.

Frank Campanella (87) hulking 6-foot-5 character actor who played tough guys in 100-plus films and TV shows. Born in New York City to Sicilian immigrants, Campanella helped actor Robert De Niro with the Sicilian dialogue in The Godfather Part II. He was the elder brother of character actor Joseph Campanella. Frank Campanella died in the San Fernando Valley, California on December 30, 2006.

Uri Dan (71) veteran Israeli journalist and close confidant of former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. During a career spanning more than 30 years, Dan wrote for several Israeli publications. He also wrote several books and was Israel correspondent for the New York Post. He died of lung cancer outside Tel Aviv, Israel on December 24, 2006.

Pierre Delanoe (88) French lyricist who wrote the lyrics for more than 5,000 songs for French artists from Edith Piaf to Johnny Hallyday. Delanoe was known for writing some of France's best-loved tunes, many with singer-songwriter Gilbert Becaud. One was "Et maintenant," translated into English to become "What Now My Love." Delanoe died of heart failure in Paris, France on December 27, 2006.

Larry Dupraz (87) journalism mentor who for decades oversaw production at Princeton University's student newspaper. Starting out as a typesetter at the Daily Princetonian in 1946, Dupraz took the words of student reporters and forged them in molten lead with an aging linotype machine. After the "Prince" switched from hot-lead type to photo offset printing in 1973, Dupraz remained at the paper as production supervisor. He died of heart disease in Beverly, Massachusetts on December 24, 2006.

Carlos Alberto Ferreira Braga (99) Brazilian composer and singer (aka "Braguinha") who wrote more than 500 tunes, including some of the country's most famous traditional Carnival songs. Braguinha participated in the Brazilian Carnival's golden era in the '30s and '40s. He died of multiple organ failure in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on December 24, 2006.

Daniel Feterick (19) eclectic country/rock singer and guitarist signed to Platinmun Plus Universal Records in Nashville, Tennessee. Feterick's albums were produced by veteran hit-maker Robert Metzgar. Feterick performed his last concert with the band for the Relay for Life Cancer walk in Frankfort, Indiana. He died after a long battle with cancer in Indianapolis, Indiana on December 27, 2006.

Ron Fineman (54) longtime California broadcast journalist and author of the Los Angeles TV-insider "On the Record" web site. Fineman chronicled the progress of his disease on his web site—ronfineman.com—along with regular updates on local TV news, seasoned with unforgiving assessments of what he considered less-than-professional performances. He died of colon cancer in Santa Clarita, California on December 30, 2006.

Mary Frampton (76) one of the first female staff photographers at the Los Angeles Times who became an environmental activist in Malibu. A photographer who shot mostly for the features sections of the newspaper (1956-87), Frampton threw herself into environmental causes in Malibu and organized the nonprofit group Save Our Coast. She was found dead at her home in Malibu, California on December 29, 2006.

Lord Marmaduke Hussey (83) British peer who spent 10 years (1986-96) as chairman of the BBC, positioning it for the digital era. Before that, Hussey was chief executive of Times Newspapers (1971-82) and waged a bitter dispute with print unions about modernizing technology that kept the company's flagship Times and Sunday Times papers off the streets for nearly a year. He died in London, England on December 27, 2006.

Sven Lindberg (88) Swedish actor and singer, one of Sweden's most respected actors both in film and on the stage. Lindberg worked for many years in the Swedish theater. He died of a brain hemorrhage on his way to a Christmas party in Stockholm, Sweden on December 25, 2006.

Donald Murray (82) journalist and academic who won a Pulitzer Prize at age 29 and later wrote the Boston Globe’s "Over 60" column for 20 years. Murray won a Pulitzer in 1954 for editorials he wrote for the Boston Herald. Besides his column, retitled "Now & Then" in 2001, he published numerous memoirs and books on writing and taught at the University of New Hampshire for 19 years. He died of heart failure in Beverly, Massachusetts on December 30, 2006.

Azumi Muto (20) Japanese college student whose dismembered body parts were found in four plastic bags in her Tokyo home on January 4, 2007. Muto's 21-year-old brother Yuki confessed to brutally murdering his sister because she implied that he had no ambition. Azumi Muto was killed in Tokyo, Japan on December 30, 2006.

Jared Nathan (21) former child actor who had appeared on the children's TV show Zoom and on stage in festivals in Portsmouth and Milford, New Hampshire. Nathan was a passenger in a car driven by Gabriel King (19) when King lost control, hit a tree, and rolled over. King was charged with drunk driving. Nathan was killed in the crash in Hollis, New Hampshire on December 28, 2006.

Fernand Nault (85) one of Canada's foremost dance figures, who followed a 21-year career at the American Ballet Theatre with the artistic leadership of Les Grands Ballets Canadiens and with prolific choreography that ranged from The Nutcracker to Tommy, his 1970 hit rock ballet based on The Who's rock opera. Nault died of Parkinson's disease one day before his 86th birthday, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on December 26, 2006.

Frank Stanton (98) broadcasting pioneer and CBS president for 26 years who helped to turn its TV operation into the "Tiffany network" and built CBS News into a respected information source. Stanton helped to build the company from a modest chain of radio affiliates into a communications empire whose centerpiece became the nation's preeminent TV network. He died in his sleep in Boston, Massachusetts on December 24, 2006.

Sahib al-Amiri (??) adviser to Iraqi Shiite cleric leader Muqtada al-Sadr who had provided explosives for use against Iraqi and US forces and was a former aide and lawyer. al-Amiri ran an educational organization that helped orphans and improverished children. He was shot to death during a raid by US and Iraqi troops in Najaf, Iraq on December 27, 2006.

Dustin Donica (22) US Army Specialist believed to be the 3,000th soldier killed during the Iraq War since 2003, according to an Associated Press count. Donica was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Airborne Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, at Fort Richardson, Alaska. He died of wounds received from small arms fire in Baghdad, Iraq on December 28, 2006.

Gerald R. Ford (93) former US President who declared, "Our long national nightmare is over" as he replaced Richard Nixon but may have doomed his own chances for election by pardoning his disgraced predecessor, who resigned in the wake of the Watergate scandal. The nation's 38th President was the only one not elected to the office or as vice president and was the longest-living former President. He occupied the White House only 895 days, from August 1974 to January '77. He died after a year of medical problems, including pneumonia and two operations—angioplasty and pacemaker implant—in Rancho Mirage, California on December 26, 2006.

Boris Gudz (104) veteran of the Soviet secret police who helped to track down British spy Sydney Reilly in the early '20s. In the '30s, Gudz became involved in coordinating espionage operations in the Pacific region and worked as a Soviet resident in Japan (1934-36). Beginning in the late '60s, he consulted for Soviet film directors and writers on movies about the Soviet spy service. Gudz died in Moscow, Russia on December 27, 2006.

Saddam Hussein (69) dictator whose despotic rule of Iraq ended with the 2003 invasion of American-led forces. Saddam seized power on July 16, 1979. He built Iraq into one of the Arab world's most modern societies, but then plunged the country into an eight-year war with neighboring Iran that killed hundreds of thousands of people on both sides and wrecked Iraq's economy. Only two years after making peace with Iran, Saddam invaded Kuwait. The United Nations imposed economic sanctions on Iraq, and a US-led coalition attacked and drove the Iraqis out of Kuwait in 1991. The Sept. 11, 2001 terror attack on the US focused attention on Hussein as a sponsor of terrorism. He was executed by hanging for his role in the killings of 148 Shiite Muslims from Dujail, in Baghdad, Iraq on December 30, 2006.

Lord Anthony Lambton (84) former British junior defense minister who resigned after he was photographed smoking cannabis in bed with two prostitutes. Lambton's sex and drugs exposé in 1973 shocked the government. He resigned and moved to Tuscany, where he bought Villa Cetinale, a 400-year-old estate. He died in Tuscany, Italy on December 30, 2006.

John Lust (94) apparently the last surviving crew member from the US Navy's disaster-prone rigid airship program of the '20s and '30s. Lust enlisted in the Navy at 17, a few years after the 1925 crash of the rigid, blimplike USS Shenandoah over Ohio. Unlike the flexible blimps that fly over sporting events today, the rigid airships had internal frames. Lust was on leave when the USS Akron crashed into the sea off Long Beach Island on April 3, 1933, killing 73 of the 76 men aboard. He died in Butler, New Jersey on December 29, 2006.

Nelva Mendez de Falcone (76) pioneering member of an Argentine group that protested the disappearances of loved ones during Argentina's Dirty War. Mendez de Falcone was one of the first members of the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo, the famous white-scarved activists who for decades have pressed to learn the fate of their children who vanished during the 1976-83 dictatorship. She died of an unspecified lung problem for which she had been hospitalized for the last 10 days, in La Plata, Argentina on December 25, 2006.

Bo Mya (79) longtime leader of Myanmar's largest guerrilla group, the Karen National Union. The group has fought for autonomy since Myanmar gained independence from Britain in 1948. Bo Mya had largely faded from the scene because of his poor health. He appeared at a Karen event in January 2006 in a wheelchair, his speech slurred by a stroke, his right hand trembling. He died in Thailand near the border with Myanmar on December 24, 2006.

Gerald ("Wash") Washington (57) first black mayor-elect in a largely white Louisiana town. Washington was elected last fall to lead the 4,500-population town of Westlake, Louisiana, which is 80 percent white. The 3-term city councilman was scheduled to take office January 2 as the town's first new mayor in 24 years. He was found shot to death in a high school parking lot. The weapon was found at the scene, and the death has been ruled a suicide, in Westlake, Louisiana on December 30, 2006.

Glendon Bennett (27) Florida man celebrating the birth of his son 12 hours earlier. Bennett was killed in a drive-by shooting after showing pictures of the newborn at a friend’s house. A teenage boy who may have been the target was wounded in the shooting. Bennett died of gunshot wounds in Lauderdale Lakes, Florida on December 29, 2006.

Rev. Harald Bredesen (88) Lutheran minister who helped to shape the ministry of evangelist Pat Robertson and spread a form of evangelical praise known as "speaking in tongues." Bredesen was a founding board member of Robertson's Christian broadcasting Network and hosted its long-running program, Charisma. He died after a fall at his home in Escondido, California on December 29, 2006.

Phyllis Brown (52) widow of former DeKalb County, Georgia sheriff-elect Derwin Brown who launched a lengthy legal battle against his assassins. Derwin Brown was gunned down in his driveway on December 15, 2000—three days before he was to have taken office. Suspicion immediately fell on unseated Sheriff Sidney Dorsey, later convicted of plotting the murder and now serving a life sentence. Phyllis Brown was hospitalized with flulike symptoms and died of complications from a previous stroke in Decatur, Georgia on December 24, 2006.

Berno Charlemond (23) Florida man shot and killed in a fight at a crowded mall that sent hundreds of Christmas shoppers running for cover as the suspect fired at police chasing him. Charlemond had been arrested a month earlier at the same mall for carrying a concealed weapon. He died in Boynton Beach, Florida on December 24, 2006.

James Emerick Dean (28) Army Reservist soldier shot and killed by police during a 14-hour standoff on Christmas night. Dean had barricaded himself inside his father's house with several weapons and told police he would shoot anyone who entered the house. He had already served 18 months in Afghanistan and was despondent after learning recently that he would be deployed to Iraq. He was killed in Leonardtown, Maryland on December 26, 2006.

Oscar Gallegos (33) California man suspected of shooting and critically wounding two police officers during a traffic stop on December 22, 2006. Gallegos was an illegal immigrant, deported three times, who had a criminal record in the '90s, including arrests for drug offenses and assault with a deadly weapon. He was shot and killed during a shootout in Santa Ana, California on December 29, 2006.

Kathryn Gemme (112) oldest person in Massachusetts and the 23rd oldest person in the world. A longtime Red Sox fan, Gemme died in Middleboro, Massachusetts on December 29, 2006.

Kamarudin Mohamad (74) Malaysian man who set a record in his country by marrying 53 times. Most of Mohamad's marriages ended in divorce. His wives included an English woman and two Thais. His 53rd wife was also his first wife, whom he remarried in 2004. He died of lung problems in Kota Baru, Malaysia on December 30, 2006.

Charupha Wongwistiri (9) Thai girl struck by a stray bullet in the kitchen of her Los Angeles home during an apparent gang-related shootout on the street outside on December 20. Wongwistiri had been in critical condition for nearly a week. She died in Los Angeles, California on December 30, 2006.

Chris Brown (45) All-Star third baseman who played six seasons in the majors in the '80s. Brown played with the San Francisco Giants, San Diego Padres, and Detroit Tigers. He appeared in only 17 games with the Tigers in 1989 and batted .193 before he was released. He died nearly a month after he was burned on November 30 in a fire at his home outside Houston, Texas, on December 26, 2006.

Grover Greer ("Bud") Delp (74) thoroughbred trainer whose best horse, Spectacular Bid, was the 1979 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner. Considered one of the greatest horses in history, Spectacular Bid was on the verge of becoming the sport's third consecutive Triple Crown winner, after Seattle Slew and Affirmed, but finished third in the Belmont Stakes, which Delp blamed on an impatient jockey. Delp died of cancer in Ellicott City, Maryland on December 29, 2006.

Ivar Formo (55) cross-country gold medalist at the 1976 Winter Olympics. Formo won the 50K at the 1976 Winter Games in Innsbruck, Austria, where he also won a silver medal with Norway in the 4x10K relay. He was believed to have fallen through the ice while skating on Lake Sandungen and drowned near Oslo, Norway on December 26, 2006.

Mirko Sandic (64) Serbian athlete who won a gold medal with the Yugoslav water polo team at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. Sandic played 235 times for Yugoslavia's national team, which also won silver at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and bronze at the European Championships in '66 and '70. He died in Belgrade, Serbia on December 24, 2006.

Tommy Sandlin (62) Swedish hockey coach who led Sweden to victory at the 1987 ice hockey World Championship. Sweden's win was the country's first victory in the tournament in 25 years. Sandlin was nicknamed the "Hockey Professor" for his tactical skills. He had recently been treated for heart disease and died in Gavle, Sweden on December 28, 2006.

Sam Suplizio (74) onetime New York Yankees prospect who as a businessman and civic leader helped to bring a major league baseball team, the Colorado Rockies, to Denver and coached several teams. Suplizio was a minor-league outfielder for the Yankees in 1956 when he suffered a compound fracture to his right wrist while trying to break up a double play. It never completely healed, and his pro career was over. He died of heart failure in DeBordieu, South Carolina on December 29, 2006.

Charlie Tyra (71) University of Louisville's first basketball All-American. Tyra was the Cards' all-time leading rebounder and fifth all-time leading scorer. He was an All-American in the 1955-56 and ’56-57 seasons and was a member of the '56 National Invitational Tournament championship team. He played professionally with 3 NBA teams. He died in Louisville, Kentucky on December 29, 2006.