Eugenia P. Butler (61) conceptual artist who often used the written or spoken word in exhibits that challenged viewers to think about how they perceived reality. Butler's early art was often described as "invisible sculpture." Many of her pieces were descriptive wall labels designed to provoke thought, such as NEGATIVE SPACE HOLE (1967) or A CONGRUENT REALITY (1969). Electric Cord Piece (1967) was a long electric cord with each end plugged into a separate outlet on the same wall. Butler died of a brain hemorrhage in Santa Rosa, California on March 29, 2008.

Robert Fagles (74) professor emeritus at Princeton University whose translations of Homer and Virgil made him a best-selling classical scholar. Fagles' translations sold more than 4 million copies worldwide. He died of prostate cancer in Princeton, New Jersey on March 26, 2008.

Angus Fairhurst (41) British artist mostly working in installation, photography, and video. Fairhurst's internationally exhibited works were often characterized by visual distortion and practical jokes. He was one of the group of Young British Artists who stormed the international art scene in the '90s. He was found hanged from a tree in a remote park, an apparent suicide in Argyll, Scotland on March 29, 2008.

Josef Mikl (78) artist whose abstract works helped to rehabilitate Nazi-ravaged Austria's visual art scene. Mikl was considered among the most important Austrian representatives of the "informal" style, with a wide range of expression in works that spanned more than half a century. He died of cancer in Vienna, Austria on March 29, 2008.

Ralph Rapson (93) Minneapolis architect best known for his design of the former Guthrie Theater. Rapson led the University of Minnesota School of Architecture (1954-84). He died of a heart attack after going to bed, in Minneapolis, Minnesota on March 29, 2008.

Helen Yglesias (92) writer whose novels examined women's lives in different settings and under varied circumstances—small towns, radical urban politics, abusive relationships, illness, and old age. Although she worked as an editor at The Nation magazine in the late '60s, Yglesias did not write the first of her five published novels—How She Died (1972)—until she was 54. She died one day before her 93rd birthday, in New York City on March 28, 2008.

Al Copeland (64) founder in 1971 of the Popeyes Famous Fried Chicken chain in New Orleans who became rich selling the spicy fried chicken and notorious for his flamboyant life-style. The restauraunt began franchising in 1976, and the company grew to more than 800 stores in the US and several foreign countries by '89. Copeland later opened other types of restaurants but lost most of his empire by overextending into bankruptcy. He had been diagnosed shortly before Thanksgiving with a malignant salivary gland tumor and died at a clinic in Munich, Germany on March 23, 2008.

John Herlitz (65) automobile designer who created a signature American muscle car and left his stamp on many notable Chrysler Corp. models of the late 20th century. Herlitz made his reputation with the 1970 Plymouth Barracuda, which brought a touch of class to the "pony car" genre of sporty compact cars started with the Ford Mustang, with long hoods and short rear decks. He died of complications from a fall, in Naples, Florida on March 24, 2008.

Herb Peterson (89) inventor in 1972 of the Egg McMuffin as a way to introduce breakfast at McDonald's restaurants. A former advertising executive who wrote McDonald's first national slogan—"Where Quality Starts Fresh Every Day"—Peterson became a franchisee and at his death owned six McDonald's restaurants in Santa Barbara and Goleta. He died in Santa Barbara, California on March 25, 2008.

Hal Riney (75) San Francisco ad copywriter who helped to build the city by the bay into a creative center for advertising with low-key, upbeat campaigns for Saturn cars, Bartles & Jaymes wine coolers, and the reelection of President Ronald Reagan. Riney spent almost 50 years in advertising, all in San Francisco, in a career that began in a mailroom and ended with him as chairman and chief executive of his own agency. Hal Riney & Partners. Also a frequent voice-over artist in his own soft-sell commercials, he ranked No. 30 on a list compiled by Advertising Age of the top 100 ad figures of the 20th century. He died of cancer in San Francisco, California on March 24, 2008.

George Switzer (92) former Smithsonian Institution scientist who acquired the Hope Diamond (donated in 1958 by New York jeweler Harry Winston) and examined samples brought back from the moon by Apollo astronauts. Switzer once transported the diamond alone and unarmed to Paris for an exhibition in 1962. He died of pneumonia in the Solomon Islands on March 23, 2008.

Paul Arthur (60) film historian, scholar, and critic well known for writing about American avant-garde cinema and documentaries. A professor of English and film studies at Montclair State University in New Jersey, where he had been named a distinguished scholar for 2007-08, Arthur had a decades-long passionate involvement with the American avant-garde film scene. In 2005 he published a well-received study, A Line of Sight: American Avant-Garde Film Since 1965. He died of melanoma, for which he had just started treatment, in White Plains, New York on March 25, 2008.

Robert A. Dentler (79) one of two court-appointed education experts who helped to design and administer the ground-breaking desegregation plan that led to mob violence in Boston in the mid-'70s. Dentler was dean of the School of Education at Boston University in 1974 when he and associate dean Marvin B. Scott were chosen by Judge W. Arthur Garrity Jr. of the US District Court to assist in drafting the Boston desegregation plan, which included widespread busing of both black and white students. Dentler died of bone marrow cancer in Cambridge, Massachusetts on March 27, 2008.

Neil Aspinall (66) Welsh-born former accountant who left his job to become the Beatles' road manager when the group was still a local Liverpool dance band. Aspinall later managed the band's production and management company, Apple, from which he retired in 2007. He had been undergoing treatment for lung cancer in New York City, where he died on March 23, 2008.

Rafael Azcona (81) Spanish novelist and scriptwriter known for films such as the Oscar-winning comedy Belle Epoque (1992) and Luis Garcia Berlanga's The Executioner (1978). Azcona died of lung cancer in Madrid, Spain on March 23, 2008.

Kenny Lou (??) rapper known as KL, a member of the veteran hip-hop group Screwball, which spawned a hit single, "H-O-S-T-Y-L-E" (2000). Lou had also worked with some of hip-hop's top producers as part of the group, including Pete Rock and Marley Marl, but most recently appeared on Molemen's 2006 album Killing Fields on the song "Street Conflict" alongside rapper Cormega. Lou died of an asthma attack in New York City on March 28, 2008.

Abby Mann (80) writer of socially conscious scripts for movies and TV and winner of the 1961 Oscar for adapted screenplay for Judgment at Nuremberg. Mann also won multiple Emmys, including one in 1973 for The Marcus-Nelson Murders, which created a maverick New York police detective named Theo Kojak. The film, starring Telly Savalas, was spun off into the long-running TV series Kojak. Mann died of heart failure in Beverly Hills, California on March 25, 2008.

Wally Phillips (82) most listened-to Chicago radio host for 20 years. Phillips' skillful blend of information and humor made him a pioneer of talk radio. He dominated Chicago's radio airwaves after taking over WGN's morning show in 1965. Mixing audience participation, public service, and breaking news, his broadcast was the No. 1 morning show in Chicago (1966-86). He died of Alzheimer's disease in Naples, Florida on March 27, 2008.

D. Prakash (30) Indian stage actor, cast member of British director Tim Supple's acclaimed multilngual production of the Shakespearean comedy A Midsummer Night's Dream, staged at the Sydney Theatre March 11-22. Prakash was found dead in his hotel room, having allegedly choked on his own vomit after a heavy drinking session, in Sydney, Australia on March 25, 2008.

Gene Puerling (78) leader of the innovative vocal quartet the Hi-Lo's ('50s-'60s) and a noted vocal arranger whose sophisticated harmonies influenced the sound of other groups, including the Beach Boys. Puerling died six days before his 79th birthday of complications from diabetes at a San Francisco Bay Area hospital on March 25, 2008.

Gerhard Samuel (83) German-born composer and conductor, a champion of contemporary music, who became prominent in classical music circles in San Francisco and Los Angeles in the '60s and '70s. Samuel was a former music director of the Oakland Symphony (1959-70) and of the San Francisco Ballet for 10 years. He was named associate conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 1970, when Zubin Mehta was music director. Samuel died of cardiac arrest in Seattle, Washington on March 25, 2008.

Robert Sidney (98) choreographer for the Broadway stage, Las Vegas nightclubs, movies, and TV. Best known for his work in This Is the Army, a 1942 Broadway show with music by Irving Berlin that later toured the world and was made into a movie in '43 starring Ronald Reagan, Sidney later created dance numbers for many of Hollywood's major talents. He died of pneumonia in Los Angeles, California on March 26, 2008.

Chase Tatum (34) former wrestler for the now-defunct World Championship Wrestling organization. More recently, Tatum appeared in the comedy Who's Your Caddy? alongside rapper Big Boi of Outkast, for whom he also worked as a road manager and personal assistant. Tatum's brief wrestling career (less than three years) left him with severe back problems and without health insurance to pay for surgery. Painkillers kept him going. He was found dead at his home in Atlanta, Georgia's Buckhead neighborhood after an apparent accidental drug overdose, on March 23, 2008.

Richard Widmark (93) actor who made his film debut as the giggling psychopathic killer Tommy Udo, who delighted in pushing an old lady in a wheelchair (Mildred Dunnock) down a flight of stairs to her death, in Kiss of Death (1947), for which he earned his only Oscar nomination. A former radio and stage actor, Widmark later became a leading man in Broken Lance, Two Rode Together, and 40 other films. Madigan (1968), a film starring Widmark as a loner detective, was adapted for a TV series that lasted one season (1972-73). He played a murder victim in Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express (1974). He died in Roxbury, Connecticut on March 24, 2008.

Sherri Wood (28) Canadian journalist for the Toronto Sun who wrote a review of a concert by the Brooklyn indie-rock troupe Clap Your Hands Say Yeah in 2007. Wood died of brain cancer in Toronto, Canada on March 24, 2008.

Kaja Ballo (20) daughter of Norwegian politican Olav Ballo who had taken a personality test administered by the Church of Scientology center and received negative results pointing to an eating disorder and other pyschological issues experienced in her early teens. Kaja Ballo committed suicide just hours after taking the test in Nice, France on March 28, 2008.

William G. Hyland (79) former top-level bureaucrat who helped to shape US foreign policy, especially toward the Soviet Union, then became editor of the influential journal Foreign Affairs. Hyland held high posts in the CIA, the State Department, and the White House. He was also the unlikely author of three books on popular music, including The Song Is Ended: Songwriters & American Music, 1900-1950 (1995), focusing on Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, and Cole Porter. Hyland died of an aortic aneurysm in Fairfax, Virginia on March 25, 2008.

Manuel Marulanda (about 76) Colombian guerrilla tactician whose rise from peasant origins to top commander of Latin America's largest rebel group was a mythical feature of his country's long internal war. Marulanda's death from a heart attack was kept secret for two months. He died in a mountainous hideout in the Meta department in central Colombia on March 26, 2008.

Sen. George Pruteanu (60) Romanian senator who introduced a controversial law aimed at protecting the Romanian language from overuse of foreign words. A linguist, Pruteanu styled himself as a defender of his native language. He died of a heart attack in Bucharest, Romania on March 27, 2008.

José ("Joe") Rubio (24) Army Specialist believed to be the 4,000th US soldier killed in the Iraq War since 2003, according to an Associated Press count. Rubio was assigned to the 4th Battalion, 64th Armored Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division at Fort Stewart, Georgia. He was one of four soldiers killed in a roadside bombing near their vehicle in Baghdad, Iraq on March 23, 2008.

Dr. Ivan Toms (55) South African physician who played a key role in a campaign to end the drafting of young white men into the racist apartheid security forces. Toms was a founding member of the End Conscription Campaign and one of several white men jailed for refusing to serve in the defense force and subjected to intimidation and harassment, including a "dirty tricks" campaign that targeted his homosexuality. With the end of apartheid in 1994, Toms helped to create a national AIDS program and pioneered the use of antiretroviral drugs in the fight against the HIV virus. He was found dead at his home in Johannesburg, South Africa on March 25, 2008. Foul play was not suspected.

Edward Rafeedie (79) federal judge who presided over several high-profile cases during his 20 years on the bench. Rafeedie was appointed by then-Gov. Ronald Reagan in 1971 as a judge on the Los Angeles Superior Court, where he heard cases involving celebrities such as Groucho Marx, Rod Stewart, and Evel Knievel. Reagan later appointed Rafeedie to the federal bench, where he heard the torture-murder case of a Drug Enforcement Agency agent. Rafeedie died after an 18-month battle with cancer, in Malibu, California on March 25, 2008.

Steven Sueppel (42) former executive at Hills Bank & Trust Co. suspected in the murders of his wife Sheryl (42) and their four adopted children, ages 3-10, found bludgeoned to death at their Iowa City home on March 23. Sueppel had previously been charged with stealing $559,040 from the bank over a period of several years, but pleaded not guilty to embezzlement and money laundering on February 20. He reportedly committed suicide by driving the family's minivan at a high rate of speed into a concrete pillar on a highway east of Iowa City, Iowa on March 24, 2008.

Jayci Yaeger (10) terminal cancer patient who lived long enough for a visit from her incarcerated father, Jason Yaeger, serving a 4-year sentence in a South Dakota federal prison on drug charges, earlier in the week. Jayci's family had pleaded with federal prison officials to allow her father to see her once more before she died. The prison warden had allowed him three earlier visits but denied requests for a longer furlough or an early transfer to a halfway house. Only after being deluged with letters and phone calls from across the nation did authorities finally allow a short last visit before Jayci died, in Lincoln, Nebraska on March 27, 2008.

Art Aragon (80) "Golden Boy" lightweight boxer who regularly drew standing-room-only crowds at Los Angeles and Hollywood venues in the '40s and '50s. Aragon never won a world title, but he racked up a 90-20-6 record that included several major bouts and was inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990. He suffered a stroke Mar. 15 and died 10 days later after his family removed him from life support, in Northridge, California on March 25, 2008.

Heath Benedict (24) two-time Little All-American offensive lineman from Newberry College in South Carolina. At 6 feet 6 inches and 326 pounds, Benedict finished up his senior season in the fall of 2007 and left school to train for April’s NFL draft. He was found dead on a couch at his home in Jacksonville, Florida on March 26, 2008. No foul play was suspected.

Ben Carnevale (92) longtime Navy basketball coach who later headed the US Olympic Basketball Committee (1964-68) and was a committee member for 20 years. Carnevale took over at Navy in 1946 and over the next 20 seasons became the school's winningest basketball coach. He died in Williamsburg, Virginia on March 25, 2008.

Billy Consolo (73) former major league infielder, a standout baseball player at Dorsey High School in Los Angeles in the early '50s who went straight to the Boston Red Sox and later was a longtime Detroit Tigers coach. Consolo died of an apparent heart attack in Westlake Village, California on March 27, 2008.

Herb Rich (79) three-sport star at Vanderbilt and defensive captain of the New York Giants when they won the NFL title in 1956. Rich was an all-Southeastern Conference player at Vanderbilt who also lettered in basketball and baseball. After his seven-year NFL career, he practiced law. He died in Nashville, Tennessee on March 28, 2008.