Enrico Donati (99) Italian-born painter and sculptor considered the last of the Surrealists by many in the art world. Donati later progressed through other art movements, including Constructivism and Abstract Expressionism, and became a successful owner of a perfume company, Houbigant Inc., perhaps best known for the fragrances Chantilly and Quelques Fleurs. Pictured above is one of his best-known paintings, Farther, Nearer (1947). He died of complications from injuries sustained in a taxi accident in July 2007, in New York City on April 25, 2008.

Jason Shinder (52) poet, anthologist, and teacher who founded the YMCA National Writer's Voice program, one of the country's largest networks of literary-arts centers. Shinder had been ill with lymphoma and leukemia for several years and died in New York City on April 25, 2008.

Uranus J. Appel (91) bacteriologist and entrepreneur who founded the first publicly owned hospital management company, American Medical International, and changed medical care in the US. Appel had been in failing health for several years after a stroke. He died in Playa del Rey, California on April 20, 2008.

Geoff Polites (60) Jaguar and Land Rover chief executive since 2005, credited with steering the British luxury brands through the ongoing sale process to India's Tata Motors Ltd. Dearborn, Mich.-based Ford credits Polites with leading the team that returned the overall Jaguar and Land Rover business back to profitability. Polites died of bowel cancer in Australia on April 20, 2008.

Roy Snelling (73) internationally renowned entomologist who turned his boyhood fascination with insects into a lifelong study of the secret world of ants, wasps, and bees. Snelling died in his sleep, apparently after suffering a heart attack while in Kenya conducting a field study of rare ants and bees, on April 21, 2008.

George Atiyeh (84) librarian and scholar who acquired and developed much of the Library of Congress's renowned collection of publications concerning the Middle East. Atiyeh was head of the Near East Section for more than 25 years, managing the library's publications from and about the Arab world, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, and central Asia. He died of pneumonia in Fairfax County, Virginia on April 21, 2008.

Thomas Cocke (59) architectural historian who made an invaluable contribution to the preservation of Britain's ecclesiastical hertiage. Cocke had written several books, including Churches of South East Wiltshire and Salisbury Cathedral: Perspectives on the Architectural History. He was found drowned in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England on April 23, 2008.

Harlan Hahn (68) longtime University of Southern California professor of political science and champion of disability rights who successfully sued the university to improve access for disabled people campuswide. Hahn died of a heart attack in Santa Monica, California on April 23, 2008.

Michael ("VL Mike") Allen (30) rapper featured on The Chopper City Boyz' debut album We Got This. Allen also recorded tracks with rappers like Webbie & the Game but left the group shortly after the release of their single "We Got This." He was shot and killed by an unknown gunman as he exited his vehicle in New Orleans, Louisiana on April 20, 2008.

Bebe Barron (82) composer who with her husband Louis (d. 1989) composed the first electronic score for a feature film—the weird sounds that accompanied invisible monsters and robotic creatures in the science fiction classic Forbidden Planet (1956). Bebe Barron died in Los Angeles, California on April 20, 2008.

Monna Bell (70) popular Chilean singer who achieved success in Mexico and Spain in the '70s, where Spanish director Pedro Almadovar included her song "Estaba Escrito" in his '80s classic Pepi, Luci, Bom Y Otras Chicas Del Monton. Bell died after a stroke in Tijuana, Mexico on April 22, 2008.

Henry Brant (94) American composer best known for his spatial music, in which the location of performers on the stage and at specific spots around a concert hall is vital. Brant's "Ice Field" (2001), which won the Pulitzer Prize for music in 2002, was inspired by his experience, as a 12-year-old in 1926, of crossing the North Atlantic by ship, which navigated through a field of icebergs. In the work, first performed by Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony in 2001, the strings, two pianos, two harps, and timpani were on the stage; oboes and bassoons were in an organ loft, the brass and a jazz drummer were in first-tier seats, and piccolos and clarinets were at one end of the second tier with pitched percussion at the other end and other percussion instruments to the side of the audience on the main floor. Brant died in Santa Barbara, California on April 26, 2008.

Bill E. Burk (75) author and former Memphis newsman who covered the last 20 years of Elvis Presley's life. Burk was a columnist for the now-defunct Memphis Press-Scimitar until it closed down in 1983, and wrote roughly 400 stories and columns about Presley (d. 1977). He also published 13 books about the singer and the quarterly Elvis World magazine. He died of a heart attack in Memphis, Tennessee on April 24, 2008.

Tristram Cary (82) British electronic music pioneer. Cary was a codesigner of the VCS3 (Putney) portable synthesizer embraced by London's musical avant-garde in the psychedelic '60s and '70s, including experimental greats Pink Floyd, Roxy Music, and Brian Eno. A son of prominent Irish-born novelist Joyce Cary (d. 1957), Tristram Cary died from complications of surgery, in Adelaide, Australia on April 23, 2008.

Farid Chopel (55) French actor, comedian, and singer who appeared in several acclaimed comedic films throughout the '80s and '90s. Chopel's career nearly ended for 10 years while he struggled with alcoholism and drug-related problems. He died of cancer in Paris, France on April 20, 2008.

Paul Davis (60) singer and songwriter whose soft rock hit "I Go Crazy" stayed at the top of the charts for weeks after its release in 1977. Davis died of a heart attack in Meridian, Mississippi, the city where he grew up, on April 22, 2008.

James Day (89) former president of Channel 13 in New York, an early executive of public TV station KQED in San Francisco, and an on-air interviewer for many years. Day was best known as the host of a weekly interview program in the late '50s and early '60s called Kaleidoscope, then, in the '70s, of a nightly show, Day at Night; both were broadcast by many public TV stations around the country. He died of respiratory failure in New York City on April 24, 2008.

Jimmy Giuffre (86) clarinetist, composer, and arranger whose 50-year career in cool jazz progressed from writing the Woody Herman anthem "Four Brothers" through minimalist, drummerless trios to striking experimental orchestral works. Giuffre died of pneumonia, brought on by complications from Parkinson's disease, two days before his 87th birthday, in Pittsfield, Massachusetts on April 24, 2008.

Orish Grinstead (27) founding member of the rhythm-and-blues girl group 702 along with her twin sister, Irish, and their elder sister, LeMisha, whose biggest hit "Where My Girls At" reached the top 5 on the pop charts in 1999. Orish Grinstead left the group and was replaced by childhood friend Kameelah Williams before their solo album No Doubt was recorded and released in 1996. She died of kidney failure in Las Vegas, Nevada on April 20, 2008.

Kenneth Keith Kallenbach (39) comedian who appeared several times on the Howard Stern TV show in the early '90s and was famous for his unsuccessful attempts to blow smoke out of his eyes, which once resulted in his vomiting on camera. Kallenbach died of pneumonia while in police custody for a probation violation related to an alleged attempted abduction of an underage girl, in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania on April 24, 2008.

Update: In July 2008, a medical examiner ruled that Kallenbach died of complications from cystic fibrosis.

Monica Lovinescu (85) Romanian journalist, outspoken opponent of that country's former Communist regime. Lovinescu had moved to France in 1947 shortly after communism took power in Romania and was granted asylum there, where she worked for about 30 years for US-funded Radio Free Europe. She died in Val d'Oise, France, 9 miles from Paris, on April 21, 2008.

Humphrey Lyttelton (86) British jazz-age trumpeter fondly known as "Humph" who later made a smooth transition to radio presenter and quizmaster. For 40 years (1967-2007), Lyttelton was a frequent presenter on BBC radio's The Best of Jazz, and in 1972 added the radio quiz program I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue—a show that regularly attracted audiences of 2 million—which he led until a week before his death. He had been hospitalized earlier in the week for heart surgery and died in London, England on April 25, 2008.

Stephan Miller (39) animal trainer mauled to death by Rocky, a 5-year-old, 700-pound, 7-1/2-foot-tall Alaskan grizzly bear that recently appeared in the Will Ferrell sports comedy Semi-Pro (2008). Miller was bitten in the neck by the bear during the making of a promotional video for the Predators in Action center, owned by his cousin Randy Miller, a top-class trainer dedicated to safety and the care of animals. No one else was injured and the bear's fate has not yet been decided. The center houses many trained wild animals that have appeared in numerous other movies, documentaries, and TV shows, including Gladiator and The Last Samurai. Stephan Miller died at the scene in Big Bear, California on April 22, 2008.

Gaetano Thomas Oteri (69) music promoter for Nashville songwriter Richard William Fagan and father of former Saturday Night Live actress and comedian Cheri Oteri. Gaetano Oteri was allegedly slashed to death by his roommate during an alcohol-infused brawl in Nashville, Tennessee on April 26, 2008. Fagan was arrested for the murder.

Paul W. Sierer (81) longtime journalist, editor (1980-89) of the Daily Independent in Ashland, Ky. Sierer spent most of his career at the Independent, rising through the ranks from news reporter in 1953 to editor. He died in Ashland, Kentucky on April 26, 2008.

Christopher Townsend (51) set designer for the BBC hospital drama series Casualty, reportedly involved in a bitter divorce with his estranged wife, and recently lost a custody battle for their children. Townsend committed suicide by hanging in his garage after killing his son, Charlie-Bob (6), and setting the family's home on fire in an apparent murder-suicide in Long Ashton, North Somerset, England on April 24, 2008.

Ben Williams (25) accomplished Welsh head chef with a string of accolades, among which were being the youngest-ever sous chef at the Village in Bromborough and having cooked for World No. 1 professional golfer Tiger Woods while working at the Belfry in Warwickshire, England. Williams recently took part in marathon events to raise money for cancer charities, after the death of his mother from the disease in 2006. He was killed in a car accident near Ruthin, Denbighshire, North Wales on April 25, 2008.

Al Wilson (68) soul singer who topped the US pop singles chart in 1974 with "Show & Tell." Wilson issued his first single, "The Snake," in 1968. "Show & Tell" spent one week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hit 100 singles chart in January 1974. The romantic ballad was written and produced by prolific songwriter Jerry Fuller and first recorded by Johnny Mathis. Wilson died of kidney failure in Fontana, California, about 50 miles east of Los Angeles, on April 21, 2008.

Demiah S. Bottorff (4) daughter of southern Indiana Republican congressional candidate John Bottorf, one of three challengers to incumbent Democrat Rep. Baron Hill in the May 6 primary for the state's District 9 seat. Demiah Bottorff died after being struck by a car while walking with her family through a store parking lot in Jasper, Indiana on April 22, 2008.

Hale Champion (85) senior member of former Gov. Pat Brown's administration who helped to craft major public programs in California during a period of tremendous growth in the '60s. Champion died of prostate cancer in Cambridge, Massachusetts on April 23, 2008.

Yossi Harel (90) ship captain whose attempt to take Holocaust survivors to Palestine aboard the Exodus 1947 built support for Israel's founding. The story inspired a fictionalized account by American writer Leon Uris and a classic 1960 film directed by Otto Preminger and starring Paul Newman. Harel made four trips that took thousands of refugees to the shores of Palestine, but the best known was that of the Exodus 1947, a ship that left France in July 1947 carrying more than 4,500 people—mostly Holocaust survivors and other displaced Jews—in a secret effort to reach Palestine. At the time, Britain controlled Palestine and was attempting to limit the immigration of Jews. Harel died of cardiac arrest in Tel Aviv, Israel on April 26, 2008.

Phyllis Holden Macey (83) artist and first wife of former Republican senator and presidential candidate presidential nominee Bob Dole whom she met while working as a physical therapy consultant at an Army officers club party at the hospital where Dole was being treated for his wounds from World War II in 1948. They married three months later before ending in divorce in 1972. She died of renal failure in Warner, New Hampshire on April 22, 2008.

William R. Snodgrass (85) former Tennessee comptroller who held the office for 44 years before going into semiretirement. Lawmakers first elected Snodgrass as comptroller in 1955. He later served 22 consecutive two-year terms as comptroller of the treasury. His time in office spanned the administrations of seven governors and 23 General Assemblies. He was working as an accountant when he was hired as a budget director for Gov. Frank Clement in 1953. Snodgrass died in Nashville, Tennessee on April 20, 2008.

Dr. William H. Stewart (86) surgeon general in the Johnson administration who put the first health warnings on cigarette packs and integrated the US Public Health Service and many Southern hospitals. Stewart died of kidney failure in New Orleans, Louisiana on April 23, 2008.

Ken Arthur (46) owner of San Francisco's first Habitat for Humanity home whose family recently recounted their success story in a five-minute video on the charitable program's web site, marking the 10th anniversary of the Arthur house in 2006. The family had been living in a suburban San Francisco apartment near housing projects, where the sound of gunfire was a regular occurrence, but were chosen to move into the city's first Habitat home in 1996. Arthur was found stabbed to death in the street near his home in Bayview, California on April 21, 2008.

Mildred ("Chrissie") Martenstein (110) supercentenarian believed to be the oldest survivor of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and the 57th-oldest validated person in the world. Martenstein was only 9 years old during the great quake but attended the 2006 centennial anniversary. She died in San Francisco, California on April 22, 2008.

Daniel Siebert (53) death row inmate, awaiting execution for 21 years for strangling four people. Siebert was challenging Alabama's method of lethal injection on the grounds that his cancer medication would counteract with the lethal injection drugs and inflict unnecessary pain. His death from pancreatic cancer came less than a week after the US Supreme Court approved the most widely used method of lethal injection, prompting states to move forward with executions after a nearly seven-month halt. Siebert died at Holman Prison near Atmore, Alabama on April 22, 2008.

Cameron Argetsinger (87) local lawyer who started the road-racing tradition at Watkins Glen, New York in 1948 and helped to lure Formula 1 to race there for 20 years. Argetsinger brought full international races to Watkins Glen in 1958, and in '61 the inaugural US Grand Prix was run. The course is now a regular stop on NASCAR's top circuit. He died in Burdett, New York on April 22, 2008.

Robert Chavez (46) lawyer who played on the University of Southern California's 1980 NCAA championship volleyball team and was a founding member of the Association of Volleyball Professionals. Chavez played in 139 beach volleyball tournaments (1982-95), winning $97,908.25. A civil litigation attorney in Rancho Palos Verdes, he died suddenly and unexpectedly from a heart condition in Playa del Rey, California on April 24, 2008.

Ed Chynoweth (66) former president of the Western Hockey League (1972-95) and the Canadian Hockey League (1975-95). The WHL recently renamed its championship trophy the Ed Chynoweth Cup. Chynoweth was diagnosed with kidney cancer in 2006 and died in Calgary, Canada on April 22, 2008.

Darell Garretson (76) referee who helped to shape the National Basketball Association's officiating during a 31-year career. Garretson was a referee for more than 2,000 NBA games (1967-94). He spent 17 years as the league's chief of officiating staff, formulating practices and methods widely used today. After retiring as a referee, he continued as an officiating supervisor until 1998. His health had been in decline after recent surgery, and he died in his sleep in Mesa, Arizona on April 21, 2008.

Don Gillis (85) broadcaster who helped to pioneer the evening TV sportscast in Boston and was the longtime TV host of Candlepin Bowling. Gillis died three weeks after suffering a series of small strokes, in Falmouth, Massachusetts on April 23, 2008.

Everett ("Sonny") Grandelius (79) Michigan State's first 1,000-yard rusher in 1950 who won All-America recognition. Grandelius earned three letters for the Spartans (1948-50) while playing for coach Clarence ("Biggie") Munn. He became just the 17th 1,000-yard rusher in college football history when he gained 1,023 yards on 163 carries in 1950, his senior season. He died in Beverly Hills, Michigan on April 25, 2008.

Dr. Dave Martin (66) retired veterinarian fatally attacked by what authorities believe was a great white shark while swimming with a group of nine triathletes offshore at San Diego County's Tide Beach. Martin sustained a single bite across both thighs; no one else was injured. The last fatal unprovoked shark attack in California took place in 2004. Martin died in Solana Beach, California on April 25, 2008.

John H. McConnell (84) steel magnate, founder of Worthington Industries, and majority owner of the Columbus Blue Jackets hockey team. McConnell brought major professional sports to Columbus when he led a group of investors that acquired an NHL expansion team that began play as the Blue Jackets in 2000. He had been diagnosed with cancer in 2007 and died in Columbus, Ohio on April 25, 2008.

Deshean Porchea (19) college basketball reserve guard who averaged 2.1 points and was fourth on the team in assists last season for Alabama State, which won the Southwestern Athletic Conference regular season title. Porchea collapsed while walking off the court after a game and never regained consciousness. He was pronounced dead at a hospital in Montgomery, Alabama on April 23, 2008.

Harry Ulinski (83) former Washington Redskins football player. Ulinski also played college ball for the University of Kentucky as a center and linebacker (1946-49) under coach Bear Bryant. He appeared in the school's first bowl game, the 1947 Great Lakes Bowl, and spent six years in the '50s with the Redskins, including making the Pro Bowl one year. He died in Louisville, Kentucky on April 20, 2008.