Lucille Clifton (73) 2000 National Book Award-winning poet and 1988 Pulitzer finalist. A former poet laureate of Maryland, Clifton was hospitalized for an infection last week in Columbia, Md. before being transferred to Baltimore, Maryland, where she died on February 13, 2010.

Mable Hoffman (88) home economist and author of the first cookbook for the Crock Pot, Crockery Cookery (1975; rev. ‘96). Hoffman, who suffered from Alzheimer’s disease, died of complications from a stroke and pneumonia, in Del Mar, California on February 9, 2010.

William Tenn (89) author of satirical science fiction. Beginning in 2001, 35 years after Tenn had all but abandoned fiction writing to teach at Pennsylvania State University, his complete works were reprinted in three volumes. He died in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on February 7, 2010.

Jim Bowles (57) president of ConocoPhillips Alaska since November 2004 who oversaw roughly 900 employees in the state. Bowles was killed when he was swept away by an avalanche while snowmobiling with a dozen others on the Kenai Peninsula in the Grandview wilderness area near Seward, Alaska on February 13, 2010.

Dr. Sheldon G. Gilgore (77) leader of two major pharmaceutical companies (Pfizer [1971-86] and Searle [1986-95]) during decades of rapid change in the drug business. Gilgore died of pancreatic cancer in Naples, Florida on February 12, 2010.

Dr. Albert M. Kligman (93) dermatologist whose research led to discoveries including the acne and wrinkle drug Retin-A, a vitamin A derivative known generically as tretinoin. Kligman was credited as being the first dermatologist to show a link between sun exposure and wrinkles. He died of heart failure in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on February 9, 2010.

Sieg Lindstrom (82) last proprietor of Fowler Brothers, a historic bookstore and stationery shop cofounded by his grandfather in 1888 in downtown Los Angeles. When changing times—and disruptive subway construction—forced Fowler Brothers to close in 1994, it was the oldest family-owned bookstore in the city and, at 106 years old, a downtown institution. Lindstrom died of complications from surgery, in Glendora, California on February 11, 2010.

Rabbi Bernard Lander (94) founder and only president of Touro College, a Jewish-sponsored institution of higher learning that began in 1971 in Manhattan with a class of 35 and today educates thousands of students in 29 locations around the world. Lander died of congestive heart failure in Flushing, New York on February 8, 2010.

Irina Arkhipova (85) Soviet-era diva, a mezzo-soprano and later contralto, who sang leading operatic roles at the Bolshoi theater for decades after joining it in 1956. Arkhipova died of cardiac arrest in Moscow, Russia on February 11, 2010.

Nina Blanchard (81) founder in 1961 of the Nina Blanchard Agency, an internationally known Hollywood modeling agency whose roster included Cheryl Tiegs and other top models such as Christie Brinkley, Shari Belafonte, René Russo, Cristina Ferrare, and Catherine Oxenberg.

 Blanchard died of cardiac arrest in Burbank, California on February 7, 2010.

Jake Hanna (78) versatile drummer who played with such jazz figures as Woody Herman and was a longtime member of the band on Merv Griffin’s TV show. Hanna died of complications from a bone marrow disease, in West Los Angeles, California on February 12, 2010.

Phil Harris (53) fishing boat captain whose adventures off the Alaska coast were captured on the TV show Deadliest Catch. The reality show, which has filmed five seasons, has been one of the Discovery Channel’s most popular and depicts the crab fishing industry in the dangerous waters off Alaska. Harris suffered a massive stroke on Jan. 29 while the fishing vessel he captained, Cornelia Marie, was in port at St. Paul Island, Alaska. He was flown to Anchorage, Alaska for surgery and died there 11 days later, on February 9, 2010.

Dale Hawkins (73) singer-guitarist best known for his 1957 hit “Susie-Q,” which became a rock anthem. Hawkins was diagnosed with colon cancer more than four years ago and died in Little Rock, Arkansas on February 13, 2010.

Bobby Hoy (82) Hollywood stuntman who also acted, most memorably as a ranch hand on the TV series The High Chaparral (1967-71). In 1961, Hoy cofounded the Stuntmen’s Association of Motion Pictures. He died of cancer in Northridge, California on February 8, 2010.

Athan Karras (82) Greek-born dancer who helped to popularize Greek dancing in the US through theater, festivals, and the Intersection, a Silver Lake, Calif. club that featured nightly folk dancing. Karras also appeared in about 20 films and TV projects, staged several Greek-language plays in Los Angeles, and produced folklore programs and events throughout North America. He died of complications from coronary-bypass surgery in Tarzana, California on February 12, 2010.

Alexander McQueen (40) British fashion designer whose shocking catwalk collections made him an international star. McQueen’s hooflike platform booties, shown above, were worn by Lady Gaga in her music video “Bad Romance.” McQueen was reportedly depressed by the recent death of his mother. He was found dead, apparently a suicide by hanging, at his London home on February 11, 2010.

Caroline McWilliams (64) actress and director best known to TV audiences for her work on the series Benson and Soap. McWilliams was once married (1982-90) to actor Michael Keaton. She died of multiple myeloma in Los Angeles, California on February 11, 2010.

John Reed (94) principal comedian (1959-79) of the now defunct D’Oyly Carte Opera Co., the London professional troupe founded in the 1870s to stage the operettas of William S. Gilbert and Sir Arthur Sullivan. Among Reed’s most famous roles was that of Ko-Ko, the lord high executioner in The Mikado. He died on his 94th birthday in Halifax, England on February 13, 2010.

Patricia Travers (82) former child prodigy violinist who, without explanation, suddenly stopped performing as a young adult in the early ‘50s. At age 13, Travers was chosen by audition from hundreds of child performers to appear in There’s Magic in Music (1941), a Hollywood comedy set in a music camp and starring Allan Jones. She died of cancer in Montclair, New Jersey on February 9, 2010.

Gareth Wigan (78) London-born longtime Hollywood studio executive, also a producer and agent. After serving as a production executive on Star Wars (1977), Wigan helped to develop and produce such films as Chariots of Fire and The Right Stuff. He died in Los Angeles, California on February 13, 2010.

Dr. Arthur Hayes Jr. (76) former head of the Federal Drug Administration (1981-83) under President Ronald Reagan who helped to calm consumer fears after the Tylenol poisoning case in 1982 and, amid some controversy, approved the use of the artificial sweetener aspartame in Equal and Nutrasweet. Hayes died of leukemia in Danbury, Connecticut on February 11, 2010.

Bo Holmberg (67) husband of assassinated Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh, stabbed to death in a Stockholm department store in 2003 by a man who said the impulse attack was ordered by voices in his head. Like Lindh, Holmberg was a politician in the left-wing Social Democratic Party and held seats in both local and national governments. He died in Stockholm, Sweden on February 11, 2010.

Carl Kaysen (89) President John F. Kennedy’s behind-the-scenes negotiator of the groundbreaking nuclear test ban treaty with the Soviet Union in 1963. Kaysen was later a professor of economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for 34 years, starting in 1976. He died in Cambridge, Massachusetts on February 8, 2010.

John Murtha (77) retired US Marine Corps officer and congressman (D-Pa.), the first Vietnam War combat veteran elected to Congress and later an outspoken critic of the Iraq War. Murtha suffered from complications after gallbladder surgery under government health care at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., reportedly from an infection caused by an accidental cut in his intestine during the operation. He died in Arlington, Virginia on February 8, 2010.

Robert J. Myers (97) actuary who helped to create the Social Security program and to set America’s official retirement age at 65. Myers died of respiratory failure in Silver Spring, Maryland on February 13, 2010.

Francine Neff (84) former US treasurer in the ‘70s. Neff was appointed treasurer by President Richard M. Nixon in 1974, shortly before his resignation, then reappointed by President Gerald Ford, and served until ‘77. She died of heart failure in Pena Blanca, New Mexico on February 9, 2010.

Krzysztof Skubiszewski (83) legal expert who became Poland’s first foreign minister (1989-93) after communism’s collapse and helped the country to chart a pro-Western course. During Skubiszewski’s time in office, Warsaw opened talks with NATO that eventually led to Poland’s becoming a member. He died in Warsaw, Poland on February 8, 2010.

José Joaquin Trejos (93) former president of Costa Rica (1966-70) who pushed through reforms that prohibited presidential reelection, a step many other Latin American countries have taken to prevent strongman rule. Trejos died in San José, Costa Rica on February 10, 2010.

Gen. Frederick C. Weyand (93) former US Army Chief of Staff, last commander of US military operations in the Vietnam War. Weyand oversaw the withdrawal of US military forces from South Vietnam before becoming the Army’s chief of staff in 1974 and retired from active service in ‘76. He died in Honolulu, Hawaii on February 10, 2010.

Charlie Wilson (76) 12-term US congressman (D-Texas, 1973-96) best known for his playboy image whose backroom deals in the ‘80s funneled millions of dollars in weapons to Afghanistan, helping that country’s rebels to beat back the Red Army and speeding the downfall of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War. Wilson was played by Tom Hanks in the movie Charlie Wilson’s War (2007), based on a book about him. He died of cardiopulmonary arrest in Lufkin, Texas on February 10, 2010.

Allan Kornblum (71) former New York police officer and FBI agent who drafted guidelines for the bureau’s surveillance operations in the ‘70s and whose testimony helped to convict the murderer of a black man in a celebrated civil rights case revived nearly 40 years after the event. Kornblum died of esophageal cancer in Gainesville, Florida on February 12, 2010.

Fran Lee (99) outspoken consumer advocate whose campaign against dog waste helped to bring about New York’s pooper-scooper law in 1978. A longtime Manhattan resident, Lee moved to Israel several years ago and died in Jerusalem, Israel on February 13, 2010.

Carl Braun (82) pro basketball player chosen for five consecutive NBA All-Star games (1953-57) as a member of the New York Knicks who remained the team’s fifth leading scorer. Braun died in Stuart, Florida on February 10, 2010.

Edmund Gann (86) thoroughbred owner who campaigned Medaglia d’Oro and several other major stakes winners. Medaglia d’Oro earned more than $5.7 million during a career in which he won the 2002 Travers Stakes and the ‘03 Whitney Handicap. Gann died of cancer in Rancho Santa Fe, California on February 7, 2010.

Jimmie Heuga (66) US skier who won a bronze medal at the 1964 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria and was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in ’70. Heuga finished third in the slalom, just behind fellow American Billy Kidd; they were the first US men to win medals in skiing. Josef (“Pepi”) Stiegler of Austria won the gold.

 Heuga had recently been dealing with respiratory problems. He died in Boulder, Colorado on February 8, 2010.

Nodar Kumaritashvili (21) men’s Olympic luger from the country of Georgia. Kumaritashvili was killed in a high-speed crash during training for the 2010 Winter Olympics when he lost control of his sled, went over the track wall, and struck an unpadded steel pole near the finish line, in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada on February 12, 2010.

Fred Morrison (90) man credited with inventing the Frisbee. Morrison sold the production and manufacturing rights to his “Pluto Platter” in 1957. The plastic flying disc was later renamed the “Frisbee,” with sales surpassing 200 million. It is now a staple on beaches and college campuses across the US and spawned sports like Frisbee golf and the team sport Ultimate. Morrison died in Monroe, Utah on February 9, 2010.

Fred Schaus (84) former Los Angeles Lakers coach for their first seven seasons and later general manager who earlier had mentored Jerry West and Hot Rod Hundley at the University of West Virginia (1954-60). Schaus died in Morgantown, West Virginia on February 10, 2010.