2016 Obituaries of Note

[waltky]

Was suffering from stage 4 cancer when she appeared on Jeopardy...

Tributes paid to Jeopardy winner who died before quiz broadcast
Thu, 22 Dec 2016 - Tributes are paid to a US woman whose appearances on the Jeopardy quiz were broadcast after she died.

Tributes have been paid to a US woman with colon cancer whose appearances in a six-game series of wins on the popular quiz show Jeopardy were first broadcast eight days after she died. Cindy Stowell was recorded appearing in the show between August and September. The science content developer, 41, needed to take painkillers to do so, at one point becoming so weak that her voice was barely audible. The show's producers say she bravely gave her prize money to cancer groups.

Cindy Stowell, right, appears on the Jeopardy! set with Alex Trebek in Culver City, California.

'Lifelong ambition'

"When she taped her episodes in August and September of this year, she had stage four cancer, and she lost her battle with the disease on 5 December," the Jeopardy! website says. "Cindy won her first game, unseating reigning seven-game champ Tim Aten and claiming $22,801, then went on to win the remaining three games that day. "She returned [to Texas] for a short break before the next tape session on 13 September, when she won two more games and brought her final total to $103,801."

Jeopardy host Alex Trebek concluded the show on Wednesday with a tribute to Cindy. "Appearing on the show was the fulfilment of a lifelong ambition for that lady," he said. "What you did not know is that when we taped these programmes with her a few weeks ago, she was suffering from stage four cancer. "Sadly, Cindy Stowell has passed away. So from all of us here at Jeopardy our sincere condolences to her family and her friends." The winning contestant was shown a recording of three of her appearances on the show while in hospital.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38408522

[waltky]

Former astronaut Piers Sellers joins John Glenn in the Great Beyond...

Piers Sellers, NASA Climate Scientist, Former Astronaut, Dies at 61
December 24, 2016 | WASHINGTON — Piers Sellers, a climate scientist and former astronaut who gained fame late in life for his eloquent commentary about the earth’s fragility and his own cancer diagnosis, has died. He was 61. Sellers died Friday morning in Houston of pancreatic cancer, NASA said in a statement.

Sellers shared his astronaut’s perspective on climate change in Leonardo DiCaprio’s documentary, “Before the Flood,” released this fall. He told DiCaprio that seeing the earth’s atmosphere as a “tiny little onion skin” from space helped him gain a fuller understanding of the planet’s delicacy. He also wrote a New York Times op-ed about grappling with the meaning of his life’s work after learning he had terminal cancer. In both the film and the op-ed, he was optimistic, arguing that he expected human ingenuity to rescue the planet from a dire future of runaway global warming.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (from left) Leonardo Dicaprio, Piers Sellers and Fisher Stevens attend the premiere of National Geographic Channel's "Before The Flood," at the United Nations headquarters, Oct. 20, 2016. Sellers, a climate scientist and former astronaut died Dec. 23. He was 61.

Sellers optimistic

“Piers devoted his life to saving the planet,” NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said in a statement. “His legacy will be one not only of urgency that the climate is warming but also of hope that we can yet improve humanity’s stewardship of this planet.” In the op-ed, Sellers wrote that the best way he could imagine spending his final months was to continue working, despite knowing he would not live to see the worst of climate change or the harnessing of possible solutions. “New technologies have a way of bettering our lives in ways we cannot anticipate. There is no convincing, demonstrated reason to believe that our evolving future will be worse than our present, assuming careful management of the challenges and risks,” Sellers wrote. “History is replete with examples of us humans getting out of tight spots.”

Three tours in space

The British-born Sellers was deputy director for sciences and exploration at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. He started working for NASA as a scientist in 1982 and joined its astronaut corps in 1996. He made three flights to the International Space Station, the last in 2010. “When I was a kid, I watched the Apollo launches from across the ocean, and I thought NASA was the holy mountain,” Sellers said earlier this year when Bolden presented him with the Distinguished Service Medal, the agency’s highest honor. “As soon as I could, I came over here to see if I could climb that mountain.”

http://www.voanews.com/a/piers-selle...s/3649245.html

[waltky]

It wasn't her time - until now...

Vesna Vulovic, stewardess who survived 33000ft fall, dies
24 December 2016 - Vesna Vulovic, an air stewardess who survived the highest ever fall by a human being after her plane broke up at 33,000ft (10,000m), has died aged 66.

State TV in Vulovic's home country of Serbia said she was found dead in her apartment in Belgrade. The cause of death was not immediately known. Vulovic was working on a Yugoslav Airlines Douglas DC-9 on 26 Jan 1972 when a suspected bomb brought the plane down among mountains in Czechoslovakia. All 27 other passengers and crew died. According to investigators, Vulovic was trapped by a food cart in the plane's tail section as it plummeted to earth in freezing temperatures. The tail landed in a heavily wooded and snow-blanketed part of a moutainside, which was thought to have cushioned the impact.

Vulovic was rescued by Bruno Honke, a woodsman who heard her screaming in the dark while the debris came down around them. It was suspected that a bomb was planted inside the jet during a stopover in Copenhagen, Denmark, but nothing was ever proven and no arrests were made. After arriving in hospital, Vulovic fell into a coma for 10 days. She had a fractured skull, two crushed vertebrae and she had broken her pelvis, several ribs and both legs. "I was broken, and the doctors put me back together again," she told the New York Times in 2008. "Nobody ever expected me to live this long."

Vesna Vulovic, an ex-air stewardess, and survivor of a fall from 10,000 meters when in 1972 her plane was blown up in mid-fight by a bomb

The fall gained Vulovic a place in the Guinness Book of Records of 1985 for the highest fall survived without a parachute. The stewardess was temporarily paralysed from the waist down by the fall but in time she made a near-full recovery and returned to work for the airline in a desk job. She never regained any memory of the accident or of her rescue, she said, and she continued to fly as a passenger. "People always want to sit next to me on the plane," she said.

The spectacular survival story won Vulovic celebrity in Serbia, where she channelled her fame into campaigning for political causes. She was fired from her job at the airline in 1990 after taking part in protests against President Slobodan Milosevic but avoided arrest. She continued for two more decades to fight against nationalism. "I am like a cat, I have had nine lives," she told the New York Times. "But if nationalist forces in this country prevail, my heart will burst."

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-38427411

[waltky]

Another pop star passes on...

George Michael: Pop superstar dies at 53
26 December 2016 - Singer George Michael has died at the age of 53, his publicist has said.

The star, who launched his career with Wham! in the 1980s and continued his success as a solo performer, is said to have "passed away peacefully at home" in Goring, Oxfordshire. Thames Valley Police say they are treating the death as unexplained but there were no suspicious circumstances. His former Wham! bandmate Andrew Ridgeley said he was "heartbroken at the loss of my beloved friend". Writing on Twitter and referring to Michael as "Yog", a nickname for "Yours Only George", he added: "Me, his loved ones, his friends, the world of music, the world at large. 4ever loved. A xx"

In a statement, Michael's publicist said: "It is with great sadness that we can confirm our beloved son, brother and friend George passed away peacefully at home over the Christmas period. "The family would ask that their privacy be respected at this difficult and emotional time. There will be no further comment at this stage." On Instagram, Sir Elton John posted a photograph of himself with Michael, writing: "I am in deep shock. I have lost a beloved friend - the kindest, most generous soul and a brilliant artist. My heart goes out to his family and all of his fans."

Thames Valley Police said South Central Ambulance Service attended a property in Goring at 13:42 GMT on Christmas Day. The force said: "At this stage the death is being treated as unexplained but not suspicious. "A post-mortem will be undertaken in due course. There will be no further updates from Thames Valley Police until the post-mortem has taken place."

Treatment for pneumonia

Michael, who was born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou in north London, sold more than 100 million albums throughout a career spanning almost four decades. He first found fame with his schoolfriend Andrew Ridgeley in duo Wham! before going on to release solo albums, including the multi-million selling Faith and follow-up Listen Without Prejudice Vol 1. It outsold Faith in the UK but led to Michael losing a court case with record label Sony over his frustration over how the album has been marketed.

From teen idol to long-term stardom

[Captain Obvious]

'Howard Stern Show' personality Joey Boots dies at 49

http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/24/entert...ey-boots-dead/

Radio personality Joey Boots, a frequent contributor to "The Howard Stern Show" who was best known for the catchphrase "Baba Booey,"died Friday night in his Bronx home, according to the New York Police Department.Boots, 49, whose real name was Joseph Bassolino, was found unconscious and unresponsive with no apparent trauma, a police statement said. He was pronounced dead, and the medical examiner will determine the cause of death.
Boots was known as one of Stern's Wack Packers, "an odd collection of misfits and unique characters," according to one Howard Stern biography. He popularized the phrase "Baba Booey" by shouting it on "The Howard Stern Show" and also behind reporters during live news broadcasts across New York City.
In addition to being a Stern regular, Boots had a live podcast called "The Joey Boots Show" on Friday nights.

[waltky]

Helped find powerful evidence of dark matter...

Vera Rubin, who did pioneering work on dark matter, dies
December 26, 2016 — Vera Rubin, a pioneering astronomer who helped find powerful evidence of dark matter, has died, her son said Monday. She was 88.

Allan Rubin, a professor of geosciences at Princeton University, told The Associated Press his mother died Sunday night of natural causes. He said the Philadelphia native had been living in the Princeton area. Vera Rubin found that galaxies don't quite rotate the way they were predicted, and that lent support to the theory that some other force was at work, namely dark matter. Dark matter, which hasn't been directly observed, makes up 27 percent of universe — as opposed to 5 percent of the universe being normal matter. Scientists better understand what dark matter isn't rather than what it is.

Rubin's scientific achievements earned her numerous honors, including becoming the second female astronomer to be elected to the National Academy of Sciences. She also received the National Medal of Science from President Bill Clinton in 1993 "for her pioneering research programs in observational cosmology." Rubin's interest in astronomy began as a young girl and grew with the involvement of her father, Philip Cooper, an electrical engineer who helped her build a telescope and took her to meetings of amateur astronomers.

She was the only astronomy major to graduate from Vassar College in 1948. When she sought to enroll as a graduate student at Princeton, she learned women were not allowed in the university's graduate astronomy program, so she instead earned her master's degree from Cornell University. Rubin earned her doctorate from Georgetown University, where she later worked as a faculty member for several years before working at the Carnegie Institution in Washington, a nonprofit scientific research center. During her career, Rubin examined more than 200 galaxies.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/pioneerin...66.html?ref=gs

[waltky]

Richard Adams author of Watership Down dies aged 96...

Watership Down author Richard Adams dies aged 96
Tue, 27 Dec 2016 - The author of Watership Down, Richard Adams, has died aged 96, his daughter says.

Juliet Johnson said her father had been "ailing for some time" but "died peacefully" on Christmas Eve. Watership Down, a children's classic about a group of rabbits in search of a new home after their warren was destroyed, was first published in 1972. Adams was 52 when he wrote it, after first telling the story to his two daughters on a long car journey. It went on to become a best-seller, with tens of millions of copies bought around the world.

'Magical night'

Mrs Johnson told BBC Radio 4 she had a "long talk" with her father on the night before he died. "I assured him that he was much loved, that he had done great work, that many people loved his books," she said. She said an upcoming adaptation, which is due to air on the BBC next year, gave Adams "great composure and comfort". Describing Christmas Eve a "rather a magical night", she said: "It's the night that traditionally the animals and birds can talk. "It was absolutely typical of Dad that he would choose such a night on which to leave this world."

'Cherished book'

Adams, a former civil servant from Newbury in Berkshire, also wrote Shardik, The Plague Dogs and The Girl in a Swing. Watership Down won the Carnegie Medal for children's fiction in 1972, the year of publication, despite having been rejected by several publishers. A statement on a website devoted to the book said: "Richard's much-loved family announce with sadness that their dear father, grandfather, and great-grandfather passed away peacefully at 10pm on Christmas Eve."

The statement marked his death with a passage from his best-known work. "It seemed to Hazel that he would not be needing his body any more, so he left it lying on the edge of the ditch, but stopped for a moment to watch his rabbits and to try to get used to the extraordinary feeling that strength and speed were flowing inexhaustibly out of him into their sleek young bodies and healthy senses. "You needn't worry about them," said his companion. "They'll be alright - and thousands like them." Adams, a World War Two veteran, was head of animal welfare charity the RSPCA for a short spell.

Obituary: The man who turned a car story into a best-seller

[waltky]

OMG!...

US actress Debbie Reynolds dies
Thu, 29 Dec 2016 - Hollywood legend Debbie Reynolds dies, a day after the death of her film star daughter Carrie Fisher

US media said the 84-year-old had a stroke. She was taken to a Los Angeles hospital earlier in the day. The Hollywood legend is best known for her role in the 1952 musical Singin' in the Rain, opposite Gene Kelly.

Debbie Reynolds with her daughter and fellow actress Carrie Fisher in 2003

Fisher - renowned for her role as Princess Leia in the Star Wars series - died on Tuesday following a cardiac arrest on a plane. "She wanted to be with Carrie," Reynolds' son, Todd Fisher. was quoted as telling Variety magazine.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-38455777

See also:

Canadian actor Gordie Tapp, a regular on "Hee Haw" has died
December 28, 2016 — Canadian entertainer Gordie Tapp, who exercised his comedic chops as a regular on the popular American television variety series "Hee Haw," died earlier this month at age 94, the Canadian Broadcast Corp. announced. It said he died Dec. 18 from complications of pneumonia.

Born in London, Ontario, Tapp kicked off his career as a founding member of "Main Street Jamboree," a radio and TV show broadcast from Hamilton, Ontario, during the 1950s. He went on to host the CBC music-variety program "Country Hoedown" from 1956 to 1965. Tapp eventually took his act to Nashville to appear on "Hee Haw" as the goofy Cousin Clem.

This 1972 photo shows Gordie Tapp. Canada's public TV broadcaster has announced the death of entertainer Tapp, who exercised his comedic chops as a regular on the popular American television variety series "Hee Haw." Canadian Broadcast Corp. says Tapp died Dec. 18, 2016, from complications of pneumonia at age 94

Fellow comedian Colin Mochrie once paid tribute to Tapp by saying his career was influenced in part by "Hee Haw." "For me, it was the first show where I realized that Canadians could make it big in America. It was sort of an inspiration," said Mochrie, who appeared on the U.S. version of the television improvisation show "Whose Line Is it Anyway?" In more recent years, Tapp was known for appearing in TV commercials and was a committed philanthropist, raising funds for the Muscular Dystrophy Association and the Easter Seals Society.

Despite his successes with "Hee Haw," Tapp was resolute about staying in Canada, said his daughter, Kate Tapp Mock. "We were all up here and Dad didn't really think of himself as American. He was very proudly Canadian and he had enough work here," she said. The Canadian government honored Tapp with its highest award, a member of the Order of Canada. Tapp is survived by his wife and three children.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/canadian-...65.html?ref=gs

[waltky]

Father Mulcahy of TV's MASH passes away...

'MASH' Star William Christopher Dead at 84
12/31/2016 | "MASH" star William Christopher -- who played Father John Mulcahy on the iconic show -- is the latest celebrity to die in 2016.

Christopher was part of one of the most spectacular ensembles ever on TV ... a cast which included Alan Alda, Jamie Farr, Mike Farrell, Loretta Swit and Harry Morgan.

Christopher, who played a Catholic priest but was actually Methodist in real life, auditioned for the role but went off script with a rambling ad lib. Producers loved it and hired him on one condition ... that he stay on script for the series.

He also had roles on "Gomer Pyle," "The Andy Griffith Show" and "Hogan's Heroes." Christopher died at his Pasadena home from non-lung, small cell carcinoma. He leaves behind a wife and 2 kids. He was 84. RIP. 2016 ... almost over.

http://www.tmz.com/

[Hal Jordan]

It's over... time to start the 2017 version.