Marian L. Gore (95) antique bookseller who specialized in tomes about food and wine. Gore sold books at fairs and by mail order for decades. Her father, Fred Moore, was a defense attorney in the controversial 1921 trial of Italian anarchists Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti. Gore died of pneumonia in Pasadena, California on October 11, 2009.

Norma Fox Mazer (78) award-winning novelist for young people whose work helped to illuminate the dark side of adolescence, exploring subjects like poverty, betrayal, abandonment, and loss. The author of more than 30 books, Mazer was known in particular for her young-adult titles on uneasy themes. She died of brain cancer in Montpelier, Vermont on October 17, 2009.

Dietrich von Bothmer (90) world’s leading expert on ancient Greek vases and a curator at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art for more than 60 years. Von Bothmer died two weeks before his 91st birthday, in New York City on October 12, 2009.

Dane Boersma (55) cofounder of Oregon’s Dutch Bros. coffee stand chain. Dane Boersma and his brother Travis started Dutch Bros. in 1992; it has since grown to more than 150 coffee stands in seven states, with more than $50 million in sales in 2008. Dane Boersma died of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig’s disease, in Grant’s Pass, Oregon on October 15, 2009.

Mildred Cohn (96) chemist who overcame both religious and sexual prejudice to make major contributions in applying physics to problems of biology. Cohn was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame the day after she died of respiratory failure in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on October 12, 2009.

Earl M. Coleman (93) short-story writer and poet just out of the US Army when he got the idea for a custom translation business in 1946. Coleman started Consultants Bureau, a custom translation service, and over the years built it into the Plenum Publishing Corp., one of the world’s largest translators and publishers of scientific and technical material. He died of a pulmonary embolism in Somerset, New Jersey on October 12, 2009.

Rodger Doxsey (62) early leader of the Hubble Space Telescope’s science team. Doxsey was head of the Space Telescope Science Institute’s Hubble Mission Office and was involved in the day-to-day operations of the telescope for almost 20 years after its launch. He died of cancer in Baltimore, Maryland on October 13, 2009.

Atle Jebsen (73) Norwegian businessman and great-grandson of the late shipping magnate Peter Jebsen. Atle Jebsen was considered one of the most important persons in Norway’s shipping industry during the turbulent ‘60s. He later became a familiar figure in Australia and New Zealand shipping circles when he established the Jebsen Group in the ‘70s. He was one of two persons killed in a car accident near Bergen, Norway on October 13, 2009.

George P. Jenkins (94) chairman of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. who helped to develop the firm’s investment strategy, including buying New York City bonds during the fiscal crisis in the ‘70s. Jenkins died of heart failure in Glen Ridge, New Jersey on October 14, 2009.

Donald Kaufman (79) former vice president of KB Toys whose collection of antique toy cars and trucks was one of the largest and most valuable in the world before he began auctioning off parts of it last March. Kaufman’s trove included a highly prized German-made 1912 Märklin live-steam fire engine that sold in September for $149,500. Kaufman died of a heart attack four days after his 79th birthday, in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, his birthplace, on October 12, 2009.

Sheldon J. Segal (83) embryologist and biochemist who led the scientific team that developed Norplant, the first significant advance in birth control since the pill, and other long-acting contraceptives. Segal died of congestive heart failure in Woods Hole, Massachusetts on October 17, 2009.

Bruce Wasserstein (61) chief executive of Lazard Ltd., one of Wall Street’s top mergers and acquisitions advisory firms, and a prominent dealmaker. Wasserstein had been a Wall Street superstar since the ‘80s, working on such landmark deals as Kohlberg Kravis Roberts’ takeover of RJR Nabisco and the Morgan Stanley-Dean Witter and AOL-Time Warner mergers. He died after being hospitalized earlier in the week with an irregular heartbeat, in New York City on October 14, 2009.

Richard T. Whitcomb (89) aviation pioneer who worked at NASA’s Langley Research Center for nearly 40 years (1943-80) and came up with three important aeronautical innovations. Whitcomb discovered how to achieve practical, efficient transonic and supersonic flight by changing the shape of the fuselage. He also developed the supercritical wing that revolutionized the design of jetliners, and invented winglets that improve efficiency and fuel performance on private jets and major airlines. He died in Newport News, Virginia on October 13, 2009.

Stephen Barnett (73) First Amendment professor emeritus at UC Berkeley School of Law and prominent critic of the California state court system. Barnett died of cardiac arrest in Berkeley, California on October 13, 2009.

Captain Lou Albano (76) one of the most recognized professional wrestlers of the ‘80s after appearing in Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” music video. Albano also appeared in episodes of the TV series Miami Vice and played Mario on The Super Mario Bros. Super Show, a live-action animated show (1989–91). He died in Westchester County, New York on October 14, 2009.

Douglas Campbell (87) Scottish-born actor who won acclaim in Canada and elsewhere for his many roles at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Ontario (1953-2001). Campbell performed for more than 60 years at major theaters in Canada, England, and the US. He died of heart failure in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on October 13, 2009.

Kazuhiko Kato (62) Japanese musician, founder of the Sadistic Mika Band in the early ‘70s; it became the first Japanese rock band to tour in Britain. Kato, who had been suffering from depression, was found dead in a hotel room after an apparent suicide by hanging. Police officers also found two suicide notes, in Tokyo, Japan on October 17, 2009.

David C. Kohler (56) director of the entertainment and media law institute at Southwestern Law School. Kohler, who also was a law professor, came to the institute in 2003 after more than 25 years as a media attorney, including nearly 10 years with TBS and CNN. He died of cancer in Los Angeles, California on October 15, 2009.

Al Martino (82) singer who played the Frank Sinatra-type role of Johnny Fontane in The Godfather (1972) and recorded hits including “Spanish Eyes” and the Italian ballad “Volare” in a 50-year musical career. Martino died at his childhood home in the Philadelphia suburb of Springfield, Pennsylvania on October 13, 2009.

Daniel Melnick (77) producer and former head of production at MGM and Columbia studios known for making landmark films that included Network, All That Jazz, and the That’s Entertainment greatest musicals franchise, among others. For TV, Melnick produced the hit ‘60s series Get Smart. He had recently undergone surgery for lung cancer and died of multiple ailments in Los Angeles, California on October 13, 2009.

Vic Mizzy (93) songwriter who wrote the catchy theme songs to The Addams Family and Green Acres TV shows. Mizzy died in Bel Air, California on October 17, 2009.

Brendan Mullen (60) Scottish-born founder of the Masque punk rock club in Hollywood that helped to launch that anarchic music scene on the US West Coast in the late ‘70s. Mullen died after suffering a massive stroke, in Ventura, California on October 12, 2009.

Veronika Neugebauer (39) German voice actress and daughter of voice actor Hartmut Neurgebauer who dubbed the voices of actresses Neve Campbell, Marisa Tomey, Winona Ryder, Patricia Arquette, and others in several American feature films, including The Blair Witch Project, Ed Wood, Men in Black II, Big Fish, Three to Tango, and the Scream trilogy. Veronika Neugebauer also lent her voice to numerous commercials, documentaries, and TV programs, including the German version of the Pokemon TV animé series. She died in Munich, Germany on October 11, 2009.

Dickie Peterson (63) North Dakota-born rock singer whose screaming vocals and pounding bass lines helped to push the psychedelic blues-rock trio Blue Cheer into heavy metal fame. Peterson died of liver cancer in Erkelenz, Germany on October 12, 2009.

Nan Robertson (83) Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times reporter who wrote a book about female employees’ fight for equal treatment at the newspaper, The Girls in the Balcony (1992). Robertson won her Pulitzer for an unsparing 1983 account of her own sudden encounter with toxic shock syndrome, which led to the amputation of the end joints of all her fingers except for her thumbs. She died of heart disease in Rockville, Maryland on October 13, 2009.

Collin Wilcox (74) actress whose face was familiar to TV viewers in the ‘60s and later for her guest appearances on shows like The Untouchables, The Twilight Zone, The Defenders, and Gunsmoke. But Wilcox’s best-known film role was as Mayella Ewell, the young white woman who falsely accuses a black man (played by Brock Peters) of rape in To Kill a Mockingbird, the 1962 adaptation of Harper Lee’s novel. Wilcox died of brain cancer in Highlands, North Carolina on October 14, 2009.

Steven Yablonski (23) Canadian drag performer who had competed in several popular alternative-entertainment pageants across Canada under the stage name Kerri O’Kee. Yablonski was one of two persons killed in a fire at a bathhouse in Winnipeg, Canada on October 11, 2009.

Robert G. Beverly (84) Republican who served in the California state Legislature for nearly 30 years (1967-96) and may have been best known for consumer-protection legislation that led to California’s lemon laws. Beverly died of complications related to Parkinson’s disease in Manhattan Beach, California on October 14, 2009.

Charles Bookhammer (61) former Hawthorne, Calif. city councilman and longtime aide to retired Los Angeles County Supervisor Yvonne B. Burke. Bookhammer died of complications from surgery for an abdominal aortic aneurysm, in Orange, California on October 15, 2009.

Bob Davis (77) former US congressman (R-Mich, 1979-93) who represented northern lower Michigan and the Upper Peninsula for seven terms. Davis was the top Republican on the committee that oversaw federal Great Lakes policy and championed the process that eventually led to the establishment of the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary near Alpena. He died of kidney and heart failure in Arlington, Virginia on October 16, 2009.

Charles Hagan Jr. (96) retired Marine Corps reserve officer and father-in-law of US Sen. Kay Hagan (D-NC). The elder Hagan was a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and earned his law degree at the University of Virginia. He later became a district attorney and prosecuted several high-profile white-collar crimes. He died in Greensboro, North Carolina on October 16, 2009.

Margaret Taylor Harper (92) former two-time unsuccessful Democrat candidate for lieutenant governor as the women’s movement emerged in North Carolina who also made marks in journalism, business, and charitable work. Harper died of a stroke in Durham, North Carolina on October 11, 2009.

Jay Johnson (66) former US congressman (D-Wis., 1997-99) who spent 30 years as a TV journalist before jumping into politics. Johnson worked as an anchor and reporter at WLUK-TV and WFRV-TV, both in Green Bay, and later in markets in Florida and Michigan. He died of an apparent heart attack in suburban Washington, DC on October 17, 2009.

Milan C. (Mike) Miskovsky (83) onetime CIA lawyer who worked behind the scenes in high-profile prisoner negotiations and investigated the causes of racial turmoil in the ‘60s. Miskovsky negotiated a prisoner exchange that freed U-2 spy plane pilot Francis Gary Powers in 1962 and helped to arrange the release of Cuban-Americans captured during the ‘61 Bay of Pigs invasion. He died of lung cancer in Washington, DC on October 15, 2009.

Willard Varnell Oliver (88) member of the Navajo Code Talkers who confounded the Japanese during World War II by transmitting messages in their native language. The Code Talkers took part in every assault the Marines conducted in the Pacific (1942-45). Oliver, whose brother Lloyd was also a Code Talker, was at least the fifth group member to die since May. He died in Prescott, Arizona on October 14, 2009.

Lu Zhengcao (106) last of China’s first group of generals under the ruling Communist Party. Lu was one of 55 senior officers promoted in 1955, when the People’s Republic of China first adopted ranks after the Communists came to power in ’49. He died in Beijing, China on October 13, 2009.

Elizabeth (Budd) Bell (94) Canadian-born retired human services lobbyist who helped to draft the Baker Act, designed to protect the rights of people with mental illness. Bell was also known as “the conscience of Florida.” She founded what is now known as the Budd Bell Clearinghouse on Human Services, an advocacy coalition of about 200 organizations, in 1974 and helped to create the Florida Center for Children & Youth. She died in Tallahassee, Florida on October 16, 2009.

Fifi the Chimpanzee (49) one of the oldest female chimpanzees in the North American zoo population. Fifi came to the Toledo Zoo in 1963 at age 3 and was easily identified by a small white toy alligator she carried for nine years. Her keepers noticed on the morning of Oct. 15 that she seemed stiff and tired. After improving early the next day, she then appeared disoriented in the afternoon and deteriorated rapidly until she died. A necropsy revealed possible blood vessel abnormalities in her brain. Fifi died in Toledo, Ohio on October 16, 2009.

Willis Cressman (97) one of the last survivors of the 1927 Batch, Mich. school disaster when former school board member Andrew Kehoe planted loads of explosives on the campus and detonated a bomb inside his shrapnel-filled vehicle, killing himself and many of the people inside the building (mostly sixth-grade pupils and faculty members). The incident was one of the deadliest acts of mass murder in US school history. Cressman died in Lansing, Michigan on October 11, 2009.

William Wayne Justice (89) US District judge whose rulings on ground-breaking class-action suits shattered old Texas by changing the way the state educated children, treated prisoners, and housed its poorest and most vulnerable citizens. Justice died in Austin, Texas on October 13, 2009.

Liz Neuman (49) leader of the Minneapolis-area spiritual group Journey Expansion Team and among more than 65 people who suffered health problems after being overcome Oct. 8 during a two-hour sweat lodge ceremony at an Arizona resort. Three people died and more than 20 others were hospitalized with illnesses ranging from dehydration to kidney failure after the incident at the makeshift sweat lodge led by self-help guru and author James Arthur Ray. Neuman died of multiple organ failure in Flagstaff, Arizona on October 17, 2009.

Lester Pritchard (60) nationally known advocate for people with disabilities. Pritchard was chairman of the Illinois Council on Developmental Disabilities and was known across the country for pushing governments to fund community-based services for people with disabilities that would allow them to live independently rather than in large institutions. Pritchard, who had cerebral palsy, died of respiratory complications in Urbana, Illinois on October 12, 2009.

Elizabeth Clare Prophet (70) spiritual leader of the Church Universal & Triumphant, founded in 1958 by her late husband, Mark Prophet (d. 1973), which earned notoriety in the late ‘80s for its followers’ elaborate preparations for nuclear Armageddon. Church members amassed assault rifles and armored vehicles in preparation for a nuclear missile strike that Elizabeth Prophet predicted was on the way. She had suffered from advanced Alzheimer’s disease, or dementia, for years and died in Bozeman, Montana on October 15, 2009.

Rev. Canon Ernest D. Sillers (99) founder of several Episcopal schools and St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church in San Juan Capistrano, Calif. Sillers founded schools at St. Mark’s in Downey in 1960, St. Margaret’s in ‘79, St. John’s in Rancho Santa Margarita in ‘88, and St. Mary & All Angels in Aliso Viejo in ‘94. He 

died in Laguna Hills, California on October 15, 2009.

Trevor Varinecz (16) student at eastern South Carolina’s Carolina Forest High School, shot and killed by a school resource officer during an apparent altercation. Initial reports said Varinecz pulled out a knife and stabbed the officer several times, who then responded by shooting the teen five times in self-defense. The boy died of gunshot wounds in Conway, South Carolina on October 16, 2009.

Cullen Bryant (58) mainstay of the Los Angeles Rams for 11 seasons (1973-82, ’87) and a running back on their 1980 Super Bowl team. A second-round pick of the Rams in 1973, Bryant spent the 1983-84 seasons with the Seattle Seahawks.
 He died in Colorado Springs, Colorado on October 13, 2009.

Alberto Castagnetti (66) coach of Italy’s swim team since 1987. Castagnetti was also personal coach of Federica Pellegrini, who won two gold medals at the world championships in Rome earlier this year and an Olympic title in 2008. He was an outspoken critic of the bodysuits that have altered swimming’s record book in the past few years. He died in Verona, Italy, where he was recovering from heart surgery, on October 12, 2009.

Ashley J. Roberta (22) graduate of the University of Tennessee, involved in a fatal car wreck that left US national soccer player Charlie Davies seriously injured after returning from a World Cup Qualifier game between Costa Rica and the US. Authorities said the unidentified driver of the SUV in which Davies and Roberta were passengers apparently lost control on the George Washington Parkway near Phoenix, Maryland and struck a metal guardrail, tearing the vehicle in half. Roberta died at the scene on October 13, 2009.

Oraine Simpson (26) Jamaican international football (soccer) player who began his professional career with Tivoli Gardens and scored the winning goal in a final round victory over Arnett Gardens to lead the club to the 2009 Jamaican National Premier League title. Simpson also made a few appearances with the Jamaica national football team, part of the build-up to the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup. He was stabbed to death during a dispute with a man from his neighborhood, with whom he allegedly had an ongoing feud, in Kingston, Jamaica on October 13, 2009.

Frank Vandenbroucke (34) Belgian winner of the Liege-Bastogne-Liege and Paris-Nice cycling races (1998-99) before his career was marred by a doping scandal. Vandenbroucke was on holiday when he was discovered dead in his hotel room of a lung embolism, in Senegal on October 12, 2009.