Roy DeCarava (89) art photographer whose pictures of everyday life in Harlem helped to clarify the black experience for a wider audience. DeCarava became one of the most important photographers of his generation by chronicling the lives of Harlem’s ordinary people and its jazz giants. Shown above is his Dancers (1956). He died in New York City on October 27, 2009.

Lawrence Halprin (93) American landscape architect renowned for his melding of modernism, nature, and movement in hundreds of projects, including his personal favorite, the memorial to President Franklin D. Roosevelt in Washington, DC. Halprin died of complications from a fall, in Kentfield, California on October 25, 2009.

Albert York (80) painter of small, mysterious landscapes and still lifes who shunned the art world but had a loyal following within it. York painted only about 200-250 works in his lifetime; most are in private collections and museums. A rare auction of his work took place in the mid-‘90s after the death of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, who owned six of his paintings. York died of cancer in Southampton, New York on October 27, 2009.

William Basch (82) retired Los Angeles garment industry executive, one of the Holocaust survivors whose stories were told in the Oscar-winning documentary The Last Days (1998). A survivor of the Buchenwald and Dachau concentration camps in Germany who had helped to save Jews while working in the underground resistance movement in Budapest, Hungary, Basch arrived in the US penniless in 1947 and launched a successful high-end women’s apparel manufacturing business, Basch Fashions, in ’71. He died in Marina del Rey, California on October 26, 2009.

William Belton (95) former US diplomat and self-taught ornithologist who painstakingly recorded the tweets, coos, and whistles of the bird life of Rio Grande do Sul, the southernmost Brazilian state. Belton’s field recordings have tremendous value for scientists, conservationists, and educators. He died of congestive heart failure in Great Cacapon, West Virginia on October 25, 2009.

Leslie Geddes (88) Purdue University bioengineering professor credited with more than 30 patents for biomedical devices. Purdue says that the technologies developed by Geddes have generated more than $15 million in royalties for the university. He died in West Lafayette, Indiana on October 25, 2009.

Claude Lévi-Strauss (100) French anthropologist and philosopher widely considered the father of modern anthropology because of his then-revolutionary conclusion that so-called primitive societies did not differ greatly intellectually from modern ones. Lévi-Strauss died of cardiac arrest in Paris, France on October 30, 2009.

Dr. Jeremy N. Morris (99) British epidemiologist whose comparison of heart attack rates among double-decker bus drivers and conductors in London in the late ‘40s and early ‘50s laid the scientific groundwork for the modern aerobics movement. Morris died of pneumonia and kidney failure in Hampstead, London, England on October 28, 2009.

Joel Murray (69) Chicago criminal defense attorney and entrepreneur who, circa 1980, invested $200,000 in tiny Simmons Airlines, which operated a handful of flights in the Midwest, and built it into a competitive regional carrier, bought in ‘88 by Dallas-based AMR Corp., parent of American Airlines, for $78 million. Murray died of congestive heart failure in Los Angeles, California on October 25, 2009.

Jeffry Picower (67) philanthropist accused of profiting by more than $7 billion from the investment schemes of his longtime friend, Bernard Madoff, now serving a 150-year prison sentence after he admitted losing billions of dollars belonging to thousands of clients over a 50-year career that saw him rise to be a NASDAQ chairman. Picower was found at the bottom of the swimming pool at his oceanside mansion and was pronounced dead at a hospital, in Palm Beach, Florida on October 25, 2009. His death was ruled an accidental drowning caused by a massive heart attack.

Michael Ronis (60) chef who helped to conceive Carmine’s, an Italian restaurant that lures New Yorkers and out-of-towners to Times Square and the Upper West Side with huge portions and moderate prices. Ronis died of brain cancer in Greenwich, Connecticut on October 29, 2009.

Troy N. Smith (87) founder of a drive-in chain that became Sonic restaurants. Smith started the Top Hat root beer stand in Shawnee, Okla. in 1953 and later converted it into a drive-in restaurant. He eventually changed the name to Sonic Drive-Ins; there currently are nearly 3,600 restaurants in 42 states. He died in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on October 26, 2009.

Qian Xuesen (98) rocket scientist known as the father of China’s space technology program. Qian began his career in the US and was regarded as one of the brightest minds in the new field of aeronautics before returning to China in 1955, driven out of the US at the height of anti-Communist fervor. He died in Beijing, China on October 31, 2009.

Dr. Paul C. Zamecnik (96) molecular biologist who codiscovered transfer RNA, a molecule essential to the making of proteins. Zamecnik also discovered a method for blocking individual genes that led to a new class of drugs. He died of cancer in Boston, Massachusetts on October 27, 2009.

Jean-François Bergier (77) Swiss historian who led a highly critical probe of Switzerland’s conduct during World War II. Bergier won wide renown for leading an international panel in a major study that in 2001 concluded that Switzerland "got involved in [Nazi] crimes by abandoning refugees to their persecutors" even though the Swiss government knew by 1942 of the Nazis’ “final solution” and that rejected refugees would likely face deportation and death. Bergier died of cancer in Blonay, near Lake Geneva, Switzerland on October 29, 2009.

August Coppola (75) former literature professor, father of actor Nicholas Cage and brother of filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola and actress Talia Shire. August Coppola taught literature and was dean of creative arts at San Francisco State University (1984-92). He died of a heart attack in Los Angeles, California on October 27, 2009.

Seymour Fromer (87) administrator of Jewish schools who with his wife, Rebecca, opened the Judah L. Magnes Museum in Berkeley, Calif., which holds one of the largest collections of Judaica (historical and literary materials relating to Judaism) in North America, including archives documenting the history of Jews in the American West. Fromer died in Berkeley, California on October 25, 2009.

Dee Anthony (83) music manager who began a 40-year career representing neighborhood friend Jerry Vale in the ‘50s and later worked for Tony Bennett, Peter Frampton, Joe Cocker, and other popular artists. Anthony died of pneumonia in Norwalk, Connecticut on October 25, 2009.

Antonio Luis Alves de Souza (54) leader of Olodum, a Brazilian percussion band notable for its social work and its music, who lent his distinctive rhythms to a Paul Simon album and a Michael Jackson video. DeSouza died of a heart attack in Salvador da Bahia, Brazil on October 31, 2009.

Donovan Kramer Sr. (84) longtime publisher of the Casa Grande Dispatch and owner of several weekly community newspapers in Arizona. Kramer died of complications from pulmonary and renal failure in Casa Grande, Arizona on October 25, 2009.

Michelle Triola Marvin (76) nightclub singer whose ‘70s landmark alimony-without-marriage lawsuit against her former lover, actor Lee Marvin (d. 1987), put the word “palimony” in the family law lexicon and changed the legal rights of unmarried cohabiting partners. Michelle Marvin underwent surgery for lung cancer in 2008 and died at the Malibu, California home of actor Dick van Dyke, her partner of 30 years, on October 30, 2009.

Mike McQueen (52) Associated Press bureau chief in Louisiana and Mississippi. McQueen’s career spanned 30 years, including two stints with the AP and work on two Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper teams. He had been on medical leave since the spring and died from complications of cancer and congestive heart failure in New Orleans, Louisiana on October 25, 2009.

George Na'ope (81) Hawaiian hula master who for more than 60 years taught hula and chanting in Europe, South America, Australia, Japan, and in the continental US, inspiring native Hawaiians to revive their sacred dance. Na’ope died of lung disease in Hilo, Hawaii on October 26, 2009.

Stacy Rowles (54) jazz trumpeter, fluegelhorn player, and singer active on the Los Angeles jazz scene since the ‘80s. The daughter of jazz pianist and composer Jimmy Rowles, Stacy often made music with her father until shortly before his death in 1996. The albums they recorded together included I’m Glad There Is You, Me & the Moon, Looking Back, and Tell It Like It Is. Stacy Rowles died two weeks after suffering injuries in a car accident, in Burbank, California on October 27, 2009.

Fred Starner (72) economics professor and banjo-playing folk singer who documented hobo music and culture. Starner died of complications from pneumonia and the autoimmune disorder sarcoidosis, in West Hills, California on October 25, 2009.

Frederick K. Biebel (83) longtime Republican leader in Connecticut and a former deputy chairman of the Republican National Committee. Biebel, who attended 14 national Republican conventions, was involved in the state party for more than 65 years as campaign manager, executive director, and (1975-79) state chairman. He died in Stratford, Connecticut on October 27, 2009.

Teel Bivins (61) former Texas lawmaker and US ambassador to Sweden. The Amarillo Republican served in the Texas Senate for 15 years before President George W. Bush appointed him US ambassador to Sweden in 2004. Bivins died in Amarillo, Texas on October 26, 2009.

Gustavo De La Vina (70) former US Border Patrol chief who worked to tighten the flow of illegal immigrants into the country. The Texas native joined the Border Patrol in 1970 and rose through the ranks to become deputy El Paso sector chief, San Diego sector chief, and Western regional director. De La Vina was promoted to chief of the Border Patrol in December 1997 and remained in that post until he retired in 2004. He died in the Balkan nation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, where he worked as a private adviser, on October 26, 2009.

Lee Hu-rak (85) former South Korean spy chief who brokered the signing of a historic 1972 peace document with North Korea after a secret trip to Pyongyang. Lee was then a close associate of former President Park Chung-hee, who ruled South Korea with an iron fist for 18 years after a coup in 1961. Hospitalized since early May, Lee died of old age and a brain tumor in Seoul, South Korea on October 31, 2009.

Amin Huweidi (88) Egyptian defense minister who oversaw the so-called War of Attrition with Israel that followed the loss of the Sinai Peninsula in the 1967 war. Huweidi died in Cairo, Egypt on October 31, 2009.

Dave Treen (81) Louisiana’s first Republican governor since Reconstruction, elected in 1979, who lost a reelection bid to flamboyant Democrat Edwin Edwards in ’83, despite Treen’s unassailed reputation for integrity and Edwards’ penchant for scandal. Treen died of a respiratory illness in the New Orleans suburb of Metairie, Louisiana on October 29, 2009.

Melvin Brunetti (75) US federal appeals court judge since 1985 whose opinions included upholding antihate crime legislation, broader Pentagon scrutiny of homosexuals’ security clearances, and the death penalty in 1992 for Robert Alton Harris for the murder of two San Diego teenagers in ‘78. Brunetti was appointed to the US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals by President Ronald Reagan. He died of cancer in Reno, Nevada, his birthplace, on October 30, 2009.

John M. O'Quinn (68) flamboyant Houston lawyer who won billions in verdicts against makers of breast implants, pharmaceuticals, and tobacco products. O’Quinn and passenger Johnny Cutliff, his personal assistant for 26 years, were killed when the SUV O’Quinn was driving skidded across the median of a rain-slicked parkway just outside downtown Houston, Texas, went airborne, and slammed into a tree, on October 29, 2009. Neither man was wearing a seat belt.

Forest Evashevski (91) former University of Michigan football star who coached the University of Iowa to two Rose Bowl victories in the ‘50s. Hired at Iowa in 1952, Evashevski inherited a team at the bottom of the Big 10; but by ‘56 the Hawkeyes were in the Rose Bowl, defeating Oregon State 35-19. They went again in 1958, beating California 38-12. Evashevski won 52 games at Iowa, where he coached until 1960; he also led the team to three Big 10 championships. He died of liver cancer in Petoskey, Michigan on October 30, 2009.

Cordner Nelson (91) writer and editor who drew on his youthful fascination with Olympic athletes to create, with his brother, Bert (d. 1994), Track & Field News in 1948 and helped to turn it into the sport’s premier monthly magazine. Cordner Nelson died of T-cell lymphoma in Carmel, California on October 26, 2009.

Dick Thompson (74) pioneer in auto-racing public relations during nearly 40 years at the Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. Thompson was the track’s first public relations director and only the second full-time public relations representative in NASCAR. He died in Martinsville, Virginia on October 28, 2009.