Obituaries for 2016

[musiclady]

Harper Lee created one of the greatest heroes in fiction.

[Paladin]

Marine who led WWII charge up Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima dies

The Marine who led the charge to place the first American flag above Iwo Jima has died.

First Lt. John Wells, 94, died Feb. 11 at the Arvada Care Rehabilitation Center in Arvada, Colorado.

 Wells received the Navy Cross, Bronze Star and Purple Heart after leading his Marines in a frontal assault up the slopes of Mount Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II.

 He didn’t make it to the top after taking multiple enemy rounds, but continued to command, leading his men to victory. His platoon raised the first flag atop the mountain, hours before the iconic photo of the second flag raising was captured.

The passing of a true American hero. RIP.

[Sanguine]

Marine who led WWII charge up Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima dies

The Marine who led the charge to place the first American flag above Iwo Jima has died.

First Lt. John Wells, 94, died Feb. 11 at the Arvada Care Rehabilitation Center in Arvada, Colorado.

 Wells received the Navy Cross, Bronze Star and Purple Heart after leading his Marines in a frontal assault up the slopes of Mount Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II.

 He didn’t make it to the top after taking multiple enemy rounds, but continued to command, leading his men to victory. His platoon raised the first flag atop the mountain, hours before the iconic photo of the second flag raising was captured.

The passing of a true American hero. RIP.

Yes, indeed.  RIP.

[Machiavelli]

Sonny James, Country Singer Known for 'Young Love,' Dies at 87

Wikipedia


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pU_8D5jBqd0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pU_8D5jBqd0

[MACVSOG68]

Sonny James, Country Singer Known for 'Young Love,' Dies at 87

Wikipedia

 

Yeah I remember well he and Tab Hunter battling with their versions of "Young Love".  Great song.  RIP Sonny.

[jmyrlefuller]

Eddie Einhorn, sportscasting and media mogul, dies at 80

Einhorn, at age 22, was the man responsible for introducing college basketball to a national audience. He began with radio broadcasts in 1958, then expanded to television in 1960. Einhorn's TVS network distributed games on its own and produced others for major networks such as NBC. He also dabbled in other sports, including roles as vice chairman of the Chicago White Sox, broadcaster of the World Football League, developer of the short-lived International Wrestling Association in the 1970s, and one of Donald Trump's allies trying to force the United States Football League to move its schedule to the fall in the 1980s. Einhorn later worked for CBS, where he managed the anthology series CBS Sports Spectacular.

Einhorn died February 24 from a stroke.

Obituary from NorthJersey.com

Wikipedia

[flowers]

George Kennedy 'Naked Gun' Star Dead at 91


http://www.tmz.com/2016/02/29/george-kennedy-dies/

George Kennedy, star of "Cool Hand Luke" and the 'Naked Gun' movies, has died at the age of 91 ... TMZ has learned.

George's grandson Cory Schenkel says Kennedy died Sunday morning at 4:30 AM in Boise, ID. He says his grandfather had been in failing health ever since his wife Joan died a little over a year ago. George had been under hospice care for the past month.

Kennedy won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar in 1968 for "Cool Hand Luke." He also starred in all 3 of the 'Naked Gun' flicks, "Airport 1975," "Earthquake" and many many more.

His last role was in "The Gambler" with Mark Wahlberg in 2014.

[alicewonders]

RIP George Kennedy.  He was in so many GREAT movies.

[Wingnut]

"Hey, Lord... whatever I done, don't strike me blind for another couple of minutes."

[truth_seeker]

RIP George Kennedy.  He was in so many GREAT movies.

Cool guy. Six weeks younger than my mother. Kennedy served in combat during WWII--a real man, good citizen, all around actor.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Kennedy

[mountaineer]

Cool guy. Six weeks younger than my mother. Kennedy served in combat during WWII--a real man, good citizen, all around actor.

Having seen your post, I had to check. He was about 5 wks younger than my mother, who died in 12/2014. I remember when George seemed to be in every other movie. Always an excellent actor.

[truth_seeker]

Having seen your post, I had to check. He was about 5 wks younger than my mother, who died in 12/2014. I remember when George seemed to be in every other movie. Always an excellent actor.

My mother celebrated 91 years the first week in Jan. My mother-in-law turns 89 in a couple of months.

Kennedy had a very long and productive entertainment career AFTER serving 16 years in the military. Including WWII combat.

[jmyrlefuller]

Announcer Charlie Tuna dies at 71

Born Art Ferguson, Charlie Tuna had his on-air name imposed on him because the previous disc jockey (named Charlie) used it for one day, then left the station; it of course came from the Star-Kist would-be spokesman. Beginning his career at various stations in the Great Plains, Tuna reached Los Angeles in 1967, the city where he would remain the rest of his career.

Working in Los Angeles allowed Tuna the opportunity to work on several national projects. In the 1980s, Tuna was in demand as a game-show announcer. He hosted several, mostly 1970s-oriented national radio programs and was the host of a daily voicetracked service at the time of his sudden death on February 19.

Wikipedia

Obituary from KRTH, his flagship station at the time of his death

[Paladin]

Gayle McCormick, lead singer of the band Smith, dies at 67

ST. ANN, Mo. — Gayle McCormick, the lead singer of the group Smith, which recorded the 1969 top-10 song "Baby, It's You," has died in suburban St. Louis. She was 67.

McCormick died Tuesday of cancer. Her death was confirmed Friday by the Alexander-White-Mullen Funeral Home in St. Ann, Missouri.

McCormick grew up in St. Louis County before joining the short-lived group Smith, whose first of two albums, "A Group Called Smith," reached No. 17 on the Billboard chart.

"Baby, It's You," a cover of a song first performed by the Shirelles in 1961, was the group's only top-10 hit, reaching No. 5 on Billboard on Nov. 1, 1969.

I am more familiar with the Shirelles' version. RIP Gayle.

[mountaineer]

Joey Feek, 40,  of the country duo Joey + Rory, has died of cancer, her husband Rory reports.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcpjSMmWUDw

[EasyAce]

Gayle McCormick, lead singer of the band Smith, dies at 67

ST. ANN, Mo. — Gayle McCormick, the lead singer of the group Smith, which recorded the 1969 top-10 song "Baby, It's You," has died in suburban St. Louis. She was 67.

McCormick died Tuesday of cancer. Her death was confirmed Friday by the Alexander-White-Mullen Funeral Home in St. Ann, Missouri.

McCormick grew up in St. Louis County before joining the short-lived group Smith, whose first of two albums, "A Group Called Smith," reached No. 17 on the Billboard chart.

"Baby, It's You," a cover of a song first performed by the Shirelles in 1961, was the group's only top-10 hit, reaching No. 5 on Billboard on Nov. 1, 1969.

I am more familiar with the Shirelles' version. RIP Gayle.

Smith, "Baby It's You"

[A-Lert]

Joey Feek, 40,  of the country duo Joey + Rory, has died of cancer, her husband Rory reports.

So sad, so young and vibrant. Enjoyed their TV program.

[mountaineer]

So sad, so young and vibrant. Enjoyed their TV program.

I never was much of a country music fan, but have watched some of their videos in the past year and have grown to appreciate their old-fashioned style. Hoping to pick up the new hymns CD.

[Machiavelli]

Pat Conroy, Author of 'The Prince of Tides' and 'The Great Santini,' Dies at 70

Pat Conroy, whose tortured family life and the scenic marshlands of coastal South Carolina served as unending sources of inspiration for his fiction, notably the novels "The Great Santini," "The Lords of Discipline" and "The Prince of Tides," died on Friday. He was 70.

His death was confirmed by Todd Doughty, the vice president, executive director of publicity at Doubleday. He said the cause of death was pancreatic cancer.

More

Wikipedia

My Heart's Content

[Paladin]

"Barbra Streisand is remembering her late friend, Pat Conroy.

Just one day after the author died at the age of 70 from pancreatic cancer, the Oscar-winning actress took to Instagram to share a photo of the two at the 44th Annual Writers Guild of America Awards in 1992, accompanied by a beautiful message detailing the significant role he played in her life.

"First, I fell in love with Pat Conroy's book, 'The Prince of Tides,' and then I fell in love with him," she remembered. "He was generous and kind, humble and loving…such a joy to work with. I was so honored that he entrusted his beautiful book to me."

"Pat's natural language was poetry…he wrote sentences that are like an incantation," Streisand, 73, continued. "He observed every nuance of human behavior and dug deep down to the truth…presenting it in all its glorious and stubborn complexity."

"I am so sad today," she concluded. "I lost a dear friend, and the world has lost a great writer."

As ET previously reported, Streisand directed and starred in the film adaptation of The Prince of Tides. The film was nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture."

http://www.msn.com/en-us/entertainment/news/barbra-streisand-pens-beautiful-tribute-to-late-prince-of-tides-author-pat-conroy/ar-BBqnRHq?ocid=spartanntp

[jmyrlefuller]

For posterity:

Former First Lady and actress Nancy Davis Reagan dies at 94

[mountaineer]

We can merge the separate thread on Mrs Reagan into this one after a day or so.

[jmyrlefuller]

We can merge the separate thread on Mrs Reagan into this one after a day or so.

If you want; I'm not sure it's necessary. Mrs. Reagan's death I believe is significant enough to warrant its own thread, hence why I simply linked to the thread.

[Sanguine]

Email inventor Raymond Tomlinson dies: 5 things to know, such as why the @ symbol



Associated Press By Associated Press
on March 06, 2016 at 6:37 PM, updated March 06, 2016 at 6:47 PM

Raymond Tomlinson, the inventor of modern email and selector of the "@" symbol, has died. He was 74.

Raytheon Co., his employer, on Sunday confirmed his death; the details were not immediately available.

Email existed in a limited capacity before Tomlinson in that electronic messages could be shared amid multiple people within a limited framework. But until his invention in 1971 of the first network person-to-person email, there was no way to send something to a specific person at a specific address.

Here are five things to know about Tomlinson's invention:

1. The first email was sent on the ARPANET system. The computer network  created for the U.S. government is considered a precursor to the Internet. Tomlinson also contributed to its development....

http://www.pennlive.com/nation-world/2016/03/email_inventor_raymond_tomlins.html

He was quite young

[EasyAce]

George Martin, producer and arranger for the Beatles, dies at 90

He gave the Beatles their head from the outset, helped them shape their more sophisticated ideas, turned
a lot of their ideas into the best accompanying arrangements especially after they came off the road,
and together they made a music catalog to envy.

Paul McCartney
settles it: George Martin was the fifth Beatle

RIP Sir George.