Leonard E. B. Andrews (83) collector who rocked the art world in 1986 when he bought 240 previously unknown Andrew Wyeth works depicting a mysterious, sometimes nude woman known as Helga—then rocked it again when he sold them three years later at a big profit. Andrews died of prostate cancer in Malvern, Pennsylvania on January 2, 2009.

Manjit Bawa (67) leading Indian artist whose work highlighted peaceful coexistence. Often using animal imagery—tigers and lambs sharing the same space—Bawa sought to convey the message that people could coexist with animals in nature. He died after three years in a coma following a stroke, in New Delhi, India on December 29, 2008.

Inger Christensen (73) Danish writer who built experimental poems, essays, and novels around systematized and mathematical structures. Christensen was one of Denmark's most famous poets, best known for her poetry collections. Her works were translated into several languages, and she won several international awards. She died in Copenhagen, Denmark on January 3, 2009.

Sir Michael Levey (81) prolific and wide-ranging British art historian who presided over the expansion of the National Gallery in London as its director (1973-86) and acquired important paintings by Caravaggio, David, and Monet for its collection. Levey died of a stroke in Louth, Lincolnshire, England on December 28, 2008.

Oliver Lincoln Lundquist (92) industrial designer who led the team that created the United Nations logo. Lundquist’s team designed all the graphics for the 1945 San Francisco conference at which the UN charter was signed, including an official delegate’s badge, which became the prototype for the logo. The team did not set out to design the logo, but the badge became the prototype; it was initially designed by Donal McLaughlin (d. 2009), who worked for Lundquist as director of graphics for the conference. Lundquist died of prostate cancer in New York City on December 28, 2008.

Johannes Mario Simmel (84) Austrian-born author whose books were said to have sold more than 70 million copies worldwide. Simmel's works include the World War II spy novel It Can't Always Be Caviar and the Cold War thriller Dear Fatherland; many of his books were translated into other languages, and the play The Classmate was adapted for Broadway. He died in Zug, Switzerland, near Zürich, on January 1, 2009.

Donald E. Westlake (75) author considered one of the most successful and versatile mystery writers in the US. In a career that spanned 50 years, Westlake won three Edgar Awards, an Oscar nomination for his screenplay The Grifters (1990), and the title of Grand Master from the Mystery Writers of America in 1993. His first novel was The Mercenaries (1960). He wrote more than 90 books, mostly on a typewriter. He collapsed from an apparent heart attack while vacationing in Mexico on December 31, 2008.

Didier Aaron (85) Paris antiques dealer whose gallery on Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré became a center of fine French furniture, with branches in New York, Los Angeles, and London. Aaron was perhaps the first antiques dealer to ask a decorator to work under the same roof. He died of a brain tumor in Paris, France on January 3, 2009.

Herbert R. Bloch Jr. (92) former senior executive with Federated (now Macy's Inc.) department stores who for several years was president of Bullock's department stores in Los Angeles. Bloch died in Cincinnati, Ohio on January 2, 2009.

Peter H. Dominick Jr. (67) Denver architect whose designs included the Grand Californian Hotel in Anaheim and other Disney theme park hotels. Dominick was the son of a former US senator (R-Colo., 1963-75, d. 1981). The younger Dominick died of a heart attack during a cross-country ski outing in Aspen, Colorado on January 1, 2009.

Dr. Donald F. Gleason (88) physician who in the '60s devised the Gleason score, used to help determine the aggressiveness of prostate cancer in millions of men. Gleason died of a heart attack in Edina, Minnesota on December 28, 2008.

Glenn Goldman (58) bookseller whose independent bookstore, Book Soup, became a Sunset Boulevard landmark known for its teetering stacks and mazes of shelves crammed with titles that attracted entertainment and tourist industry clientele. Goldman died of pancreatic cancer just a day after announcing his decision to sell the legendary store, which opened in 1975 and offered an eccentric mix of works ranging from Star Maps to rare collectibles, in Los Angeles, California on January 3, 2009.

Dr. Leonard Kent (90) Los Angeles physician whose fascination with bromeliads led him to collect 40,000 of the tropical plants and establish a nursery that helped to popularize them. Kent died of pulmonary complications in the San Diego County community of Cardiff-by-the-Sea, California on December 28, 2008.

Ted Lapidus (79) French fashion designer who redefined chic with the '60s unisex look. Lapidus created his label in 1951 and in '63 became a member of the Paris fashion club that runs haute couture, La Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture. His sandy-colored safari suit became an emblem of the modernist Lapidus style, with lines that swept the international fashion scene in the '60s and '70s. Today, the Lapidus label survives mainly through accessories such as fragrances and watches. Lapidus suffered from leukemia but died of pulmonary problems in Cannes, France on December 29, 2008.

William ("Max") Rose (19) University of Denver student and son of former Holiday Inn chief executive Michael Rose. The younger Rose was also the stepson of cookbook author Debbi Fields, founder and spokeswoman of the Mrs. Fields Cookies bakery franchise. Max Rose died of injuries sustained in a car accident in Wichita, Kansas on January 3, 2009.

Christian Wölffer (70) founder of Wölffer Estate Vineyard, a highly regarded boutique winery on Long Island, New York. Among Wölffer's best-known wines are its cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, pinot gris, merlot, and cuvée sparkling brut. Christian Wölffer died in a swimming accident while vacationing in Brazil; he was believed to have been struck and killed by a boat, on December 31, 2008.

William C. Blizzard (92) journalist and historian, a living link to West Virginia's turbulent labor history. Blizzard's father, Bill Blizzard, was a leader of the famous "Red Neck Army" of striking miners that clashed with authorities at the Battle of Blair Mountain in 1921, a struggle ultimately involving federal troops and a squad of Army biplanes dispatched by President Warren G. Harding. A series of articles the younger Blizzard wrote in the '50s formed the basis for When Miners March (2004), a history of the origins and growth of the United Mine Workers and labor struggles. William C. Blizzard died in Ripley, West Virginia on December 29, 2008.

John DeFrancis (97) one of the most influential scholars and teachers of the Chinese language in the last century. DeFrancis died after falling ill in late December, in Hawaii on Jan. 2, 2009.

Marie Babare Edwards (89) psychologist who helped to pioneer a "singles pride" movement in the '70s through her book, The Challenge of Being Single, and workshops she taught at USC. Edwards died two days before her 90th birthday, in Hollywood, California on December 31, 2008.

Henry King Stanford (92) president of the University of Miami for 20 years (1962-81) who also led the University of Georgia during a time of turmoil. Stanford had a long career at universities in Georgia, Alabama, and Florida. In 1986, he stepped in as interim president at UG after then-leader Fred Davison resigned amid accusations of grade inflation for athletes. Stanford died in Americus, Georgia on January 1, 2009.

Rob Roy Buckingham (88) former editor-manager of the New York Times News Service. Buckingham had worked for United Press (now United Press International) as a foreign correspondent and editor for 18 years when he joined the Times in 1960. In 1962, he became head of the news service, which at that time sent roughly 20,000 words of synopses of Times articles to about 50 newspapers a day; by 1979, the news service was providing news to more than 500 newspapers. Buckingham died of complications from gallbladder surgery, in Sarasota, Florida on December 31, 2008.

Vincent Ford (68) songwriter credited with composing the Bob Marley (d. 1981) reggae classic "No Woman, No Cry." The song, which appeared on Marley's 1974 Natty Dread album, was inspired by the Kingston ghetto of Trench Town where Marley and Ford lived in the '60s. Ford was credited with the tune, but some critics contend that Marley wrote it himself but gave Ford the credit to help his friend support himself with the royalties. Ford, who ran a soup kitchen and lost both his legs to diabetes, was also credited with three songs on Marley's 1976 album Rastaman Vibration. He died of complications from diabetes in Jamaica on December 28, 2008.

Betty Freeman (87) one of the most influential individual patrons of contemporary composers over the last 40 years and long the hostess of a gracious musical salon in Los Angeles. Freeman made more than 400 grants and commissions to help composers develop new works, pay for daily living expenses, and subsidize performances and recordings. She supported a Who's Who of modern composers, including John Cage, Philip Glass, Pierre Boulez, and John Adams. She died of pancreatic cancer in Beverly Hills, California on January 3, 2009.

Alvin Ganzer (97) director of such TV series as Police Woman, Route 66, and Hawaiian Eye ('50s-'70s). Ganzer wrote and directed The Leather Saint, a 1956 film that starred John Derek. From the '50s onward, he worked mostly in TV, directing dozens of episodic series, including The Twilight Zone, Men into Space, The Man from UNCLE, and Ironside. He died in Poipu, Hawaii on January 3, 2009.

Richard Genelle (47) entrepreneur and actor best known for portraying Ernie, good-natured owner of the Angel Grove Youth Center, the most popular hangout spot for the teens of Angel Grove, on the popular children's TV series Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers (1993-97). After four seasons, Genelle left the series to take steps to quit smoking and slim down, successfully losing over 40 pounds. He also started Retail Logistics Solutions Inc. in Cerritos, Calif., providing transportation services. He died of a heart attack in Corona, California on December 30, 2008.

Steven Gilborn (72) stage, film, and TV actor best known for his role as Ellen DeGeneres's befuddled father on the TV sitcom Ellen in the '90s. Gilborn appeared on scores of other TV shows, including The Wonder Years, Law & Order, The West Wing, and NYPD Blue. His film credits include The Brady Bunch Movie (1995) and Nurse Betty (2000), and on stage he appeared in at least two Shakespearean roles. He died of cancer in North Chatham, New York on January 2, 2009.

Valentina Giovagnini (28) Italian pop singer whose debut hit single, "Il Passo Silenzioso Della Neve," was ranked 2nd in the Top of the Pops' newcomers section at the San Remo Music Festival in 2002. Giovagnini was killed in a car accident in Siena, Italy on January 2, 2009.

Bernie Hamilton (80) actor best known for playing the no-nonsense police Capt. Harold Dobey on the popular '70s TV series Starsky & Hutch (1975-79). Hamilton was the brother of jazz drummer Chico Hamilton. He appeared in more than two dozen films, including The Young One, The Devil at 4 O'Clock, Synanon, The Swimmer, Walk the Walk, The Organization, and Scream Blacula Scream. He died of cardiac arrest in Los Angeles, California on December 30, 2008.

Pat Hingle (84) veteran character actor whose 50-plus-year career in movies and on TV included a recurring role as Commissioner Gordon in several Batman movies in the ‘90s. Also a stage actor, Hingle was nominated for a Tony in 1958 for his title role in J. B., Archibald MacLeish's poetic play based on the Bible's Book of Job. That show was still running in 1959 when Hingle survived a 50-foot fall down an elevator shaft in his New York apartment building that cost him his left little finger and the title role in the film Elmer Gantry (1960), for which Burt Lancaster won an Oscar. Over the years, Hingle took on a dizzying variety of roles and played them all with ease and considerable skill. He was diagnosed with myelodysplasia, a blood cancer, in 2006 and died in Carolina Beach, North Carolina, where he had lived for 15 years, on January 3, 2009.

Jim Horne (91) ubiquitous male model of the '50s who appeared in hundreds of advertisements in magazines and newspapers, on billboards and catalogue covers, in TV commercials and industrial brochures. Horne died of cancer and congestive heart failure in New York City on December 29, 2008.

Freddie Hubbard (70) Grammy-winning jazz trumpeter who collaborated with such greats as Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane, and Sonny Rollins. Hubbard played on more than 300 recordings, including his own albums and those of scores of other artists, in a career dating back to 1958. He won his Grammy in 1972 for best jazz performance by a group for the album First Light. He had been hospitalized since suffering a heart attack in November and died in Sherman Oaks, California on December 29, 2008.

Fred Knittle (83) former World War II machine-gunner and one of the octogenarian chorus members who appeared in the recent documentary Young@Heart (2007), about a senior citizens' singing group that performs modern rock songs. Knittle's solo performances included a heartbreaking rendition of Coldplay's novelty hit "Fix You" as a tribute to his friend Bob Salvini, another chorus member who died shortly before the concert. Knittle suffered from congestive heart failure but died of cancer in Northampton, Massachusetts on January 1, 2009.

Sioux Lehner (50) longtime choreographer and owner of a local dance academy Fired-Up Performing Arts Studio who achieved fame as an outstanding professional dancer. Lehner performed at venues around the country, taught dance to aspiring young dancers, and even worked with stars like Paula Abdul and So You Think You Can Dance winner Nick Lazzarini during her professional career in Hollywood. She was also a onetime onstage assistant to acclaimed magician David Copperfield and worked as a choreographer on the TV series Adventures with Kanga Roddy (1998). She died in Tigard, Oregon on January 3, 2009.

Daniel Nagrin (91) choreographer, performer, teacher, and writer known for intensely dramatic solos that became modern-dance classics. Besides extensive performing in the US, Europe, and the Pacific through 1984, Nagrin taught around the world at colleges and festivals, including the American Dance Festival and Arizona State University in Tempe, where he was a professor of dance (1982-92). He died in Tempe, Arizona on December 29, 2008.

Gene Parrish (82) longtime host of classical music radio programs on Los Angeles's KUSC-FM (91.5) who also wrote and produced syndicated programs on worldwide jazz and American choral music. Parrish died of lung cancer in Harbor City, California on January 2, 2009.

Edmund Purdom (84) British actor who starred in the Hollywood costume pageants The Egyptian and The Prodigal in the mid-'50s. Purdom landed the lead in the MGM musical The Student Prince (1954), replacing an overweight Mario Lanza, and later that year replaced Marlon Brando, who opted out of The Egyptian. Purdom died in Rome, Italy, where he had lived and worked since the '60s, on January 1, 2009.

Olga San Juan (81) actress dubbed the "Puerto Rican Pepperpot" for her singing and dancing roles alongside the likes of Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire in Blue Skies (1946) and on Broadway in Lerner & Loewe's Paint Your Wagon (1951). San Juan was the ex-wife of actor Edmond O'Brien (d. 1985). She retired in the '50s to raise their three children. She died of kidney failure in Burbank, California on January 3, 2009.

Jett Travolta (16) only son of actor John Travolta and his wife, actress Kelly Preston. Jett Travolta had a history of seizures. He died after apparently suffering a seizure and hitting his head on a bathtub. A house caretaker found him unconscious in a bathroom at his family’s Bahamas vacation home. He was pronounced dead at a hospital in Freeport, the Bahamas on January 2, 2009.

Quentin C. Aanenson (87) US former World War II fighter pilot who produced a documentary on his combat experiences and was featured in Ken Burns's seven-part documentary, The War (2007; PBS-TV). Aanenson enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1942 and flew combat missions over Germany, mostly with the 391st Fighter Squadron of the 366th Fighter Group. His documentary, A Fighter Pilot's Story, was first shown on public TV in 1994. He died of cancer in Bethesda, Maryland on December 28, 2008.

Abu Zakaria al-Jamal (49) senior leader of the armed-wing political organization Hamas, believed to be commander of Gaza City's rocket-launching squads, where at least more than 34 rocket missiles were fired at Israel during a nearly two-week military conflict against Islamic Palestinian extremists. Al-Jamal became the second Hamas leader killed by an Israeli air strike in Gaza, Israel on January 3, 2009.

Fahid Mohammed Ally Msalam (32) top senior member of the Islamic terror organization al-Qaeda, listed on the FBI's Most Wanted Terrorists list for his alleged involvement in the 1998 US embassy bombings in East Africa. Msalam was also believed to be behind the deadly suicide bombing at a Marriott hotel in the Pakistan capital last September. He was reportedly killed in a US military air strike along with Sheikh Ahmed Salim Swedan outside Karachi, Pakistan on January 1, 2009.

Lt. Cmdr. Roy Boehm (84) retired US Navy lieutenant commander who in the '60s helped to start the US Navy's first SEAL team. The Navy's elite unit—whose name stands for Sea, Air and Land forces—is deployed for operations such as reconnaissance missions and unconventional warfare. Boehm died in Punta Gorda, Florida on December 30, 2008.

Ralph D. ("Hoot") Gibson (84) Korean War ace and former lead pilot for the US Air Force Thunderbirds flight demonstration team. Assigned to the 4th Flying Group during the Korean War, Gibson flew 94 missions in the F-86 Sabre and downed five MiG-15 fighters to become the nation's third jet fighter ace. In the '60s, he led the Thunderbirds for two years and flew 104 missions in F-4 Phantoms over Vietnam as a squadron commander. His awards include two Silver Stars, two Legions of Merit, four Distinguished Flying Crosses, a Bronze Star for valor, a Meritorious Service Medal, 14 Air Medals, and an Air Force Commendation Medal. The founder of a Tucson real estate firm after he retired in 1974, Gibson died after striking his head while showing a buyer a piece of property, in Tucson, Arizona on January 2, 2009.

Paul Hofmann (96) Viennese who resisted the rise of Nazism in his homeland, acted as an informer for the Allies while serving on the staff of the German commandants of occupied Rome during World War II, and later became a foreign correspondent for the New York Times and a prolific author of travel books. Hofmann suffered a stroke in 2005 and died in Rome, Italy on December 29, 2008.

Lt. Gen. Victor H. Krulak (95) retired US Marine officer celebrated for his leadership in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam and for his authoritative book on the Marines, First to Fight (1984). In a career that spanned 30 years, Krulak displayed bravery during combat and brilliance as a tactician and organizer of troops. He died in La Jolla, California on December 29, 2008.

Claiborne Pell (90) former US senator (D-RI, 1961-97), a blueblood who represented blue-collar Rhode Island in the US Senate for 36 years and was the force behind a grant program that helped tens of millions of low- and middle-income Americans to attend college. Pell sponsored legislation creating the Basic Educational Opportunity Grant program, which passed in 1972 and provided direct aid to college students. He died of complications from Parkinson's disease in Newport, Rhode Island on January 1, 2009.

Robert Prince (89) former Army Ranger who led 120 Rangers, Army Alamo Scouts, and Filipino guerrillas in a raid during World War II that freed 571 inmates from a Japanese prison camp near Cabanatuan in the Philippines. Prisoners at the camp, many of them survivors of the infamous Bataan Death March in 1942, had endured years of abuse. For his valor, Prince received the Army's highest award, the Distinguished Service Cross. He died in Port Townsend, Washington on January 1, 2009.

Nizar Rayan (46) top military commander and senior religious leader of the Palestinian governing group Hamas, known for personally participating in clashes with Israeli forces and for sending one of his sons on a 2001 suicide mission that killed two Israelis. A former professor of Islamic law at Gaza's Islamic University, Rayan was both director and financier of the 2004 terrorist attack at Ashdod's port that killed 10 Israelis and later reportedly replaced Sheikh Ahmed Yassin as the organization's top clerical authority after Yassin's assassination in 2004. Rayan was killed in an Israeli air strike along with his four wives and six children in Gaza, Israel on January 1, 2009.

Sheikh Ahmed Salim Swedan (39 or 48?) senior operative leader of the Islamic terror network al-Qaeda, indicted in the US District Court of New York State as a participant in the 1998 US embassy bombings that killed approximately 212 people and injured more than 4,000 others in Kenya and Tanzania. Swedan was alleged to have purchased the Toyota and Nissan trucks used in the deadly attacks and had been ranked among the 23 fugitives on the FBI Most Wanted Terrorist list since its inception in October 2001. He was reportedly killed in a US military air strike along with Fahid Mohammed Ally Msalam outside Karachi, Pakistan on January 1, 2009.

Lt. Gen. Willard W. Scott Jr. (82) former artillery man and officer who lifted academic and social standards as leader (1981-86) of the US Military Academy at West Point, New York after it was roiled by a cheating scandal and the introduction of women as cadets. Scott died of complications from Parkinson's disease in Alexandria, Virginia on January 1, 2009.

Helen Suzman (91) South African antiapartheid activist. Suzman, who was white, was one of the few lawmakers who protested against white racist rule. She visited Nelson Mandela, head of the then-banned African National Congress, in prison in 1967 and became well known for her campaigns against the injustices of apartheid. She died in Johannesburg, South Africa on January 1, 2009.

Sir Alan Walters (82) top economic adviser to former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Walters' advice to raise taxes during a recession in 1981 was credited with helping to lay the foundation for Britain's sustained growth in the '90s. He died of complications from Parkinson's disease in London, England on January 3, 2009.

Col. Edward ("Tug") Wilson (87) British military officer who helped to create the Abu Dhabi armed forces in the '60s. Wilson died in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on January 2, 2009.

Aarne Arvonen (111) Finnish supercentenarian, ranked among the 20 oldest-documented men ever in Europe and the seventh-oldest verified man in the world after the December 27 death of 112-year-old George Francis in California. Arvonen was also the last surviving veteran of the Finnish Civil War of 1918, serving with the Red Guard. He died in Jarvenpaa, Finland on January 1, 2009.

John Barksdale (62) veteran federal prosecutor in Wyoming. Barksdale had been chief lawyer on criminal cases in the US Attorney's Office in Wyoming since 1992 and had worked there for 20 years. His car was hit head-on by a pickup truck as he was driving from Craig, Colo. to Baggs, Wyo. on Dec. 26. He died of his injuries three days later in Grand Junction, Colorado on December 28, 2008.

Maria de Jesus (115) Portuguese supercentenarian who topped the list of people aged 110 or older collated by the Gerontology Research Group and held the title as the world's oldest verified person for only five weeks after the death of 115-year-old Edna Parker on Nov. 26, becoming the last remaining person born in 1893. De Jesus died unexpectedly in Lisbon, Portugal on January 2, 2009.

Liz Evett (18) teen diagnosed with cancer nearly three years ago who relapsed last April. When she stopped responding to treatment in June, Evett created a "bucket list" of things she wanted to do before dying and spent the last six months crossing them off. Her list included feeding giraffes, meeting Seattle Mariner Ichiro Suzuki, and graduating from high school. She died of leukemia in West Richland, Washington on December 29, 2008.

Dov Holtzberg (4) son of slain Orthodox Jewish outreach emissaries Rabbi Gavriel and Rivka Holtzberg, both found slaughtered along with four other Jews at their Chabad house during a three-day series of multiple Islamic terrorist attacks that killed nearly 200 other people across Mumbai, India in late November. Dov Holtzberg was born with Tay-Sachs disease, a severe genetic disorder that also claimed the life of his elder brother, Menachem Mendel (3), in 2006. Dov was institutionalized for several months in a pediatric long-term care facility in Israel under the care of his grandparents. He died in Jerusalem, Israel on December 29, 2008.

Ida Kinney (104) believed to be the oldest black person in the San Fernando Valley and a driving force for civil rights in the region. Kinney died in Lake View Terrace, California on January 1, 2009.

William W. Vaughn (78) lawsuit specialist for 40 years whose courtroom victories included defending former CBS anchor Dan Rather against slander charges stemming from a 60 Minutes report. Vaughn died of cancer in Pacific Palisades, California on January 3, 2009.

Harlington Wood Jr. (88) federal judge and former Justice Department official, the government's chief negotiator during the 1973 standoff with American Indian militants in South Dakota that became known as the siege of Wounded Knee. Wood died of complications from a stroke he had in 2002, in Petersburg, Illinois, near Springfield, on December 29, 2008.

William Devereux Zantzinger (69) man whose six-month sentence in the fatal caning of a black barmaid named Hattie Carroll at a Baltimore charity ball in 1963 moved folksinger Bob Dylan to write a dramatic, almost journalistic song that became a classic of modern American folk music. Zantzinger died in Charlotte Hall, Maryland on January 3, 2009.

Joe Henry (78) former Negro Leagues player who earned the nickname "Prince" for his skill at entertaining crowds. Henry played in the Negro Leagues (1950-59) as an infielder for Memphis, Detroit Stars, Indianapolis, and the Detroit Clowns. He later worked for American Motors and became one of the first blacks in United Auto Workers history to be a chief steward. He died of pneumonia in East St. Louis, Illinois on January 2, 2009.

Sam McQuagg (73) 1965 NASCAR Rookie of the Year. McQuagg began racing in the '50s and entered his first NASCAR race in 1962. In 1966, he claimed his only NASCAR victory, winning the Firecracker 400 at Daytona International Speedway. In the 1965 Southern 500, McQuagg was involved in a spectacular wreck that sent Cale Yarborough tumbling over a guard rail; footage of the crash was later used to illustrate the agony of defeat on ABC's Wide World of Sports. McQuagg died of cancer in Columbus, Georgia on January 3, 2009.

Marin Morrison (18) competitive swimmer who struggled to compete in three US Paralympic team events as a disabled athlete in Beijing, China despite a near fatal stroke after undergoing her fourth brain surgery last spring. Morrison was diagnosed with a brain tumor when she was 14 but kept swimming competitively through her battle with cancer, even after the surgery left her with partial paralysis on her right side. She died in her sleep in Sammamish, Washington on January 2, 2009.

Roy Saari (63) former world record-holding swimmer and gold medalist at the 1964 Olympics. Saari set four world records, including a time of 16 minutes, 58.7 seconds in the 1500-meter freestyle, the first mark below 17 minutes in the event. He swam on the US's Olympic champion 800-meter freestyle relay team at the 1964 Games in Tokyo and won a silver medal in the 400 individual medley. He became an attorney and later a real estate agent and planning commissioner in the resort community of Mammoth Lakes, California, where he died on December 30, 2008.

Don Sanderson (21) Canadian ice hockey player, a rookie defenseman with the Ontario Hockey Association's top senior amateur league AAA Whitby Dunlops. Sanderson fell into a three-week coma and underwent brain surgery from massive head injuries after hitting his unprotected head on the ice during a fight with a Brantford Blast forward in the third period of a Dec. 12 game at the Brantford Civic Centre. He died in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada on January 2, 2009.

Nick Scandone (42) yachtsman who with fellow crewman, paraplegic sailor Maureen McKinnon-Tucker, won a gold medal as skipper of a two-person keelboat in the SKUD-18 sailing class at the 2008 Paralympic Games in Qingdao, China, six years after having been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease). Scandone died in Fountain Valley, California on January 2, 2009.