Nelly Arcan (35) Canadian novelist whose first novel, Putain (2002), enjoyed immediate critical success and was a finalist for both the Prix Medicis and the Prix Femina awards in France. Arcan also wrote several short stories, opinion pieces, and columns for various Quebec newspapers and literary magazines. She was found dead in her apartment, an apparent suicide in Montreal, Canada on September 24, 2009.

Janice Lowry Gothold (63) artist who specialized in creating primitive-looking assemblages from found objects and whose journals received national recognition; in 2007, Gothold’s collage-filled collection of 126 volumes was accepted into the Smithsonian Institution’s permanent collection.

 She died of liver cancer in Santa Ana, California on September 20, 2009.

Emile Norman (91) self-taught California artist whose best-known work was the massive and intricate glass mosaic window he created more than 50 years ago for a Masonic temple in San Francisco, a detail of which is shown above. Later in life Norman primarily created wood-inlay sculptures of animals out of glass and composite materials. He died in Monterey, California on September 24, 2009.

Charlotte Turgeon (97) cookbook author whose books helped to popularize French cuisine in America, even before those of her college classmate Julia Child. Turgeon wrote books on healthful cooking, Scandinavian cooking, cooking for large numbers of people, and seasonal cooking, but her main interest was French food; she was an editor and translator of the first English version of the French cooking encyclopedia Larousse Gastronomique. She died of complications from Alzheimer’s disease in Amherst, Massachusetts on September 22, 2009.

Ben Feder (86) winemaker whose seyval blancs from Clinton Vineyards helped to establish New York state’s Hudson Valley as a serious winemaking region. Feder died of brain cancer in Clinton Corners, New York on September 24, 2009.

Dr. Eloise R. Giblett (88) hematologist whose lifelong research on blood helped to make transfusions safer and bone marrow transplants more likely to succeed and led to her discovery of the first recognized immunodeficiency disease, adenosine deaminase (ADA) deficiency. An inherited metabolic disorder, it is caused by a lack of the ADA enzyme, preventing the normal maturation of lymphocytes, a component of the human immune system, and making the body more vulnerable to disease. Giblett died in Seattle, Washington on September 23, 2009.

Joseph Gurwin (89) Lithuanian-born businessman and philanthropist who at 16 came to America in 1936 with $100 in his pocket, made a fortune, and gave much of it away—then fell victim to convicted swindler Bernard L. Madoff. Gurwin’s fortune came from manufacturing specialized textiles like bulletproof vests, parachute drop equipment, and hoods for gas masks for the military. He made philanthropy into a hobby and dispensed millions to charities in the US and Israel. He died in New York City on September 24, 2009.

Dr. Mahlon Hoagland (87) codiscoverer of the molecule called transfer RNA who helped to unlock the mystery of how DNA is translated into the proteins that carry out its genetic instructions. Hoagland had been battling kidney failure and heart problems and died nine days after choosing to forgo food and water, in Thetford, Vermont on September 25, 2009.

Kevork S. Hovnanian (86) Armenian entrepreneur who came to the US from Iraq in the late ‘50s and started a New Jersey construction company, Hovnanian Enterprises Inc., that became one of the nation’s largest home builders, operating in 18 states. Hovnanian died in New York City on September 24, 2009.

Dr. John Miller Hyson Jr. (81) retired dentist, former director of archives and history at the National Museum of Dentistry, and author who wrote widely on the history of dentistry. Hyson died of a stroke in Baltimore, Maryland on September 26, 2009.

Carol Marshall (56) attorney and corporate ethics consultant who relied on the comic strip “Dilbert” to teach ethics awareness to Lockheed Martin employees in the ‘90s. Marshall died of pancreatic cancer in Washington, DC on September 21, 2009.

Lee N. Robins (87) sociologist who pioneered the field of psychiatric epidemiology, which looks at the roots of abnormal behavior, and played a key role in determining the prevalence of mental problems worldwide. Among other findings, Robins demonstrated that abnormal behavior in childhood is the major predictor of psychiatric problems later in life. She died of cancer in St. Louis, Missouri on September 25, 2009.

Bob Stupak (67) gambler and developer in the ‘90s of the $550-million Stratosphere hotel-casino with its 1,149-foot tower on the Las Vegas Strip. The Stratosphere filed for bankruptcy in 1997 and was eventually taken over by billionaire investor Carl Icahn. Stupak died of leukemia in Las Vegas, Nevada on September 25, 2009.

Irving Sulmeyer (82) founder in 1951 of the Los Angeles law firm Sulmeyer, Kupetz, Baumann & Rothmann and an expert on bankruptcy law. Sulmeyer died of cancer in Rolling Hills, California on September 26, 2009.

Merrill D. Peterson (88) historian who increased the scope of Jeffersonian scholarship with a pair of books, one tracing the various and often contradictory perceptions of the third US President, Thomas Jefferson, over the 125 years after his death and the other an authoritative biography. A history professor at the University of Virginia, Peterson died of pneumonia in Charlottesville, Virginia on September 23, 2009.

Freddy Bienstock (86) Swiss-born music publishing executive who had a long association with Elvis Presley as his designated song screener. Bienstock’s family came to the US in 1939, and in the mid-‘50s he was working for his cousins Jean and Julian Aberbach, whose company Hill & Range was then the dominant publisher of country music. Their most promising client was Presley, and Bienstock was assigned to find him material. He died in New York City on September 20, 2009.

Sam Carr (83) drummer considered an anchor on the blues scene that continues to draw fans to the poverty-stricken Delta region where the music form was born. Carr had a reputation as one of the best blues drummers in the country. He died of congestive heart failure in Clarksdale, Mississippi on September 21, 2009.

Alicia de Larrocha (86) Spanish pianist who thrilled listeners for decades with her interpretations of great classical works. Acclaimed for her technique in performing Mozart, Beethoven, Schuman, and Rachmaninov, De Larrocha was also unrivaled in her interpretation of Spanish composers such as Manuel de Falla, Enrique Granados, and Isaac Albeniz. She retired from performing in 2003 after 75 years as a pianist. She died in her native Barcelona, Spain on September 25, 2009.

Gary DiSano (62) president of the Tournament of Roses Association who was to preside over the 2010 New Year’s celebration in Pasadena. DiSano chose the parade theme, “2010: A Cut Above the Rest." He died of a rare form of thyroid cancer in San Juan Capistrano, California on September 20, 2009.

Wilma Cozart Fine (82) record producer who, with her husband, recording engineer C. Robert Fine (d. 1982), ran the classical division of Mercury Records in the ‘50s and early ’60s, producing hundreds of recordings still prized by collectors for the depth and realism of their sound. Fine died in Harrison, New York on September 21, 2009.

Robert Ginty (60) versatile actor who starred in the 1980 film The Exterminator and built a varied career as a producer, director, and actor in film, on TV, and on the stage. Ginty had a recurring role as Lt. T. J. Wiley on the series Baa Baa Black Sheep, which aired on NBC (1976-78). He also appeared on The Paper Chase, Hawaiian Heat, and Falcon Crest. He died of cancer in Los Angeles, California on September 21, 2009.

John Hart (91) actor who played the title role in the TV series The Lone Ranger for 52 episodes beginning in 1952, when star Clayton Moore (d. 1999) temporarily left the series, reportedly over a pay dispute.

 Hart also starred in the ‘40s movie serial Jack Armstrong: The All-American Boy and the ‘50s TV series Hawkeye & the Last of the Mohicans. He died in Rosarito Beach, Mexico on September 20, 2009.

Donald Hogan (62) retired carpenter and estranged father of the late Playboy model Anna Nicole Smith who blamed Smith’s onetime lover, lawyer Howard K. Stern, for conspiring with two doctors to provide prescription medications in the wrongful drug-related death of his daughter in 2007. Hogan died of lung cancer in Oakhurst, Texas on September 22, 2009.

Frank Liberman (92) veteran Hollywood publicist who represented stars such as Bob Hope, Phyllis Diller, and Robert Goulet during his more than 50 years in the business. Liberman, who had Parkinson’s disease, died of pneumonia in Tarzana, California on September 20, 2009.

Francis Mason (88) editor, writer, cultural diplomat, radio dance critic, and dance devotee who began as a dance writer in the ‘50s; more than 50 years later Mason was still at work in the dance field, most notably in the last 30 years as editor of the New York dance magazine Ballet Review and until a few months ago as dance critic of radio station WQXR-FM. He died in Rye, New York on September 24, 2009.

Brian Redman (31) bassist and lead singer of the Tacoma, Wash.-based hard rock band Dirty Knockers. Redman was a longtime staple figure on Tacoma’s music scene, where he also performed with the Vancouver thrash metal outfit 3 Inches of Blood and later appeared on the band’s 2004 album Advance & Vanquish, among other projects during a two-year stint. He was killed in a motorbike accident near his home in Tacoma, Washington on September 26, 2009.

Timothy J. Russert Sr. (85) father of the late Meet the Press moderator Tim Russert (d. 2008), who paid tribute to his father’s blue-collar values in the best-selling book, Big Russ & Me (2004). A World War II veteran, the elder Russert died in Buffalo, New York on September 24, 2009.

Bill Shepard (79) longtime casting director for Walt Disney Studios and director Mel Brooks whose credits include Splash, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, Spaceballs, and Robin Hood: Men in Tights. Shepard died of a heart attack in Sherman Oaks, California on September 20, 2009.

Lucy Vodden (46) woman who inspired the Beatles’ classic song “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.” Lucy O’Donnell was a schoolmate of John Lennon’s son Julian, then 4, who made a drawing of her and called it “Lucy in the sky with diamonds.” The elder Lennon developed it into what is widely regarded as a psychedelic masterpiece, with images of “newspaper taxis” and a “girl with kaleidoscope eyes.” Rock critics thought the song’s title was a veiled reference to LSD, but John Lennon always claimed the phrase came from his son. Lucy Vodden died of lupus in London, England on September 22, 2009.

Mimi Weddell (94) New York model and actress whose full-time career began at age 65 after her husband died in 1981. Weddell then landed bit parts and small roles in films including The Purple Rose of Cairo and Hitch, and on Sex & the City, Law & Order, and other TV series. She also appeared in numerous commercials and in print ads for Louis Vuitton, Burberry, Juicy Couture, Nike, and other companies. She died in New York City on September 24, 2009.

Gaylord L. Campbell (81) US marshal appointed in 1969 by President Richard M. Nixon who, five years later, served two subpoenas on the former President dealing with the Watergate scandal. Campbell’s jurisdiction included Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Ventura counties. After being forced to resign the Presidency in 1974, Nixon lived in San Clemente, Orange County. Campbell died of colon cancer in Tarzana, California on September 24, 2009.

Paul B. (Red) Fay Jr. (91) trusted friend of John F. Kennedy when both men commanded torpedo boats in World War II who was later a part of President Kennedy’s administration as undersecretary of the Navy. Fay died of complications from Alzheimer’s disease in Woodside, California on September 23, 2009.

Ryan Job (28) decorated US Navy veteran left blind and severely wounded when a sniper’s bullet struck the rifle he was holding while on patrol in Iraq in 2006. Job underwent a series of reconstructive facial surgeries and later became a spokesman for the Sentinels of Freedom Scholarship Foundation, a California-based organization that assists wounded veterans in the transition to civilian life. He died of complications from reconstructive surgery in Phoenix, Arizona on September 24, 2009.

Maria Gulovich Liu (87) Slovakian-born woman who during World War II joined the underground resistance as a courier and later helped a small group of American and British intelligence agents to evade the German Army. Liu, who became a US citizen in 1952, died of colon cancer in Port Hueneme, California on September 25, 2009.

Osman Ertugrul Osmanoglu (97) eldest member of the former Ottoman dynasty. Osmanoglu was the last surviving grandson of an Ottoman sultan and regarded as head of the living members of the dynasty. He would eventually have become sultan but for the establishment of the Turkish Republic in 1923 after the collapse of the dynasty and the exile of its members to Europe. Osmanoglu moved to New York in 1933 but returned to Turkey in ‘92, where he died of kidney failure in an Istanbul hospital on September 23, 2009.

George Sullivan (87) former mayor of Anchorage (1967-81) and father of the city’s current mayor, Dan Sullivan. George Sullivan died of lung cancer in Anchorage, Alaska on September 23, 2009.

Larry Don Wheeler (74) retired social worker and a cousin of current Texas Gov. Rick Perry listed as a member of Perry’s 2006 reelection campaign steering committee. Wheeler was shot and killed in an apparent gunfire exchange with sheriff’s deputies while sitting on his backyard deck at his home outside Dallas, Texas on September 26, 2009. The Texas Rangers were investigating the incident.

Don Yarborough (83) liberal Texas Democrat whose challenge to John B. Connally Jr. in the primary race for governor in 1962 exposed political tensions that President John F. Kennedy hoped to smooth over when he visited Texas in November ‘63. Yarborough died of complications from Parkinson’s disease in Houston, Texas on September 23, 2009.

Ami Ankilewitz (41) Israeli man, subject of the award-winning documentary 39 Pounds of Love during his battle with spinal muscular atrophy, an extremely rare and often fatal condition that limits physical growth and movement. Despite a doctor’s prediction that he would live for only six years, Ankilewitz continued to survive the debilitating illness. He weighed only 39 pounds as an adult and had use of only one finger during his lifetime. The film was screened at the Palm Beach International Film Festival in south Florida and won the Best Documentary category at the Ophir Awards given by the Israeli Academy of Film. He died in Tel Aviv, Israel on September 20, 2009.

Susan Atkins (61) follower of cult leader Charles Manson whose remorseless witness stand confession to killing pregnant actress Sharon Tate in 1969 shocked the world. Tate was one of seven people murdered in two Los Angeles homes during the Manson cult’s bloody rampage in August 1969. Atkins was the first of the convicted killers to die, less than a month after a parole board turned down the terminally ill woman’s last chance at freedom on Sept. 2. Atkins, who had brain cancer, had been in prison longer than any woman currently incarcerated in California. She died in a prison hospital in Chowchilla, California on September 24, 2009.

Rev. Forrest Church (61) longtime pastor at the Unitarian Church of All Souls on the Upper East Side of New York and son of the late Sen. Frank Church (D-Idaho; d. 1984) who spent the last three years of his life, after being told he had terminal cancer, communicating his philosophy on death and dying and his liberal theology in two books. Church died of esophageal cancer one day after his 61st birthday, in New York City on September 24, 2009.

Christopher Coleman (37) convicted Texas hit man condemned to death for his part in a 1995 scheme contrived by a Colombian man who hoped to eliminate an $80,000 cocaine dept by staging a robbery during the payoff that later resulted in the fatal shootings of two men and a 3-year-old boy inside a car on a Houston dead-end street. Coleman’s clemency request was rejected by the Texas state parole board in a failed attempt to keep him from becoming the 18th condemned prisoner executed this year in the US’s most active death penalty state. He was executed by lethal injection in Huntsville, Texas on September 22, 2009.

Breigh Gallagher (11) bone marrow transplant patient who helped to organize several fund-raising events, including an upcoming bike-a-thon, to benefit her battle with panscleroptic morphea, a rare autoimmune skin disease. Friends also organized a bake sale and raised $4,000 this past summer. Gallagher received a personal phone call from the popular boy band The Jonas Brothers while she was hospitalized at the onset of her debilitating illness. She died in Durham, North Carolina on September 22, 2009.

Andrzej Kunowksi (52) convicted killer dubbed "the Beast" who was serving a life sentence for the 1997 rape and murder of 12-year-old Macedonian schoolgirl Katerina Koneva during an apparent burglary at her west London home. Kunowski had previously served 10 years in prison in his native Poland for 27 serious sex attacks on girls and women from age 17. He had also been linked to numerous investigations, including the disappearances of two young women. He died of heart failure at Frankland Prison in Durham, England on September 23, 2009.

Anne Morell Petrillo (38) daughter of murdered newspaper heiress Anne Scripps Douglas, found severely beaten to death with a hammer by her husband in the bedroom of their upscale home on New Year’s Eve 1993. The case focused nationwide attention on domestic violence among the affluent and was dramatized in a 1997 TV movie Our Mother’s Murder. Petrillo committed suicide by jumping off the Tappan Zee Bridge in New York City on September 24, 2009.

Rev. John (Bootsie) Wilson (69) former lead singer and last surviving member of the soul group The Silhouettes, perhaps best known for their 1958 No. 1 hit, “Get a Job.” Wilson left the group in the ‘70s and became an African Methodist Episcopal minister, serving at eight churches in 30 years. He died of cancer and a kidney ailment in Spartanburg, South Carolina on September 21, 2009.

Marial Yak (25) college student, one of 100 or so men known as The Lost Boys of Sudan who resettled in Atlanta as refugees in 2001. Many Sudanese refugees were separated from their families as children during the turmoil of a war in East Africa and survived months of wandering and living in refugee camps. Yak was killed in a car accident outside Atlanta, Georgia on September 20, 2009.

Tony Chua (58) Filipino sports executive and a former chairman of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA; 2001–02). Chua had been team manager of the Barako Bull Energy Boosters professional basketball league since 2007. He drowned in the floodwaters during Southeast Asia’s Ketsana typhoon in Cainta, Rizal, Philippines on September 26, 2009.

W.I.B. Crealock (89) yacht designer, sailor, and sailing author. Crealock was part of the “golden age” of fiberglass design in the ‘60s, when boats were quicker and less expensive to build and easier to handle. He worked for several boat makers, and some of his designs became best-sellers.

 He died after breaking his hip in a fall, in Carlsbad, California on September 26, 2009.