Obituaries for 2016

[montanajoe]

I remember back in the summer of 62 we were down in Yellowstone. My best friend and I were looking at the mud pots and my mother came up yelling that John Glenn was in the parking lot. Got down there just in time to see him leave which was still a big thrill, getting a glimpse of him in person was one of the best childhood memories for a space nut like me.

RIP...

[catfish1957]

As a musician who can play a dozen or so instruments, I can honestly say that ELP though maybe not the most aesthetically pleasing or listenable band, cumulatively were the most talented technically in rock history.

Just the technique used in Brain Salad Surgery is mind boggling.

[mountaineer]

Longtime WV public servant Ken Hechler dies at 102
Paul J. Nyden , Staff Writer
December 10, 2016

Ken Hechler, a longtime West Virginia public servant who also advised President Harry S. Truman, questioned Nazi leaders after World War II and was the oldest living former member of Congress in the nation, died Saturday, according to friends. He was 102 years old. ...

Hechler’s political career lasted more than six decades, stretching from the White House to Congress to the West Virginia secretary of state’s office.

He was also a soldier, author, teacher and activist. He shook Theodore Roosevelt’s hand as a boy and wrote a book about his grandfather’s service in the Union Army during the Civil War.  ...

Born on Sept. 20, 1914, in Roslyn, a town on Long Island in New York, Hechler was the son of Charles Henry, an estate superintendent, and Catherine Elizabeth Hauhart Hechler. His grandfather, George Hechler, was a German immigrant.

Hechler received a bachelor’s degree from Swarthmore College in 1935, where he helped organize campus support for President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal, much to the chagrin of his staunchly Republican parents. He earned a master’s degree in 1936 and Ph.D. in political science in 1940, both from Columbia University.

He was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1942, shortly after the United States entered World War II. Originally trained as an infantryman and then as a tank commander, Hechler was eventually assigned as an Army combat historian in Europe and rose to the rank of colonel.

After the war, Hechler was one of five people assigned to interview Herman Goering and other leaders of Nazi Germany before they were put on trial for war crimes in Nuremberg. One of Hechler’s last books, “Goering and His Gang,” was a collection of interview transcripts from that time.  ...

He was a professor at Marshall (College, now University) for only one term — the 1957 spring semester — and ran for Congress the following year. He defeated the sitting Republican congressman, Will Neal, and served nine terms in the U.S. House of Representatives between 1959 and 1977.

Hechler attributed his initial victory — despite having been in West Virginia fewer than two years — to his association with Truman and the popularity of his book “The Bridge at Remagen,” his account of a significant Allied victory in Germany in World War II. (Hechler was at the battle, and the book was made into a 1969 film starring George Segal and Robert Vaughn.) 

He said in the 1985 interview he was most active in Congress on three issues: “coal mine safety, coal mine health in terms of setting a level above which the dust in coal mines would not be allowed to go, and black lung compensation.”  ...

Hechler returned to Marshall to teach for a few years, then ran for secretary of state and was elected in 1984. He held that post for 16 years, until he gave it up to run for a different U.S. House seat in 2000, after Rep. Bob Wise vacated it.

Hechler lost in the Democratic primary; Republican Shelley Moore Capito was eventually elected to the seat. Hechler was 86 years old then, and never again held public office — although he ran for secretary of state in 2004 and U.S. Senate in 2010.

He spent his last years as a political activist. ...

In addition to “The Bridge at Remagen” and “Goering and His Gang,” Hechler’s books included “West Virginia Memories of President Kennedy” (1965), “Working with Truman: A Personal Memoir of the White House Years” (1982) and “Soldier of the Union” (2011), a collection of letters written by his grandfather, George Hechler, and great-uncle, John Hechler, during their time as soldiers in the Civil War.

Charleston Gazette-Mail - EXCERPTED

[Gefn]

Alan Thicke, the actor died tonight at the age of 69.

http://www.tmz.com/2016/12/13/alan-thicke-dead/

Another 80s sitcom actor gone..,R.I.P. Mr. Seaver.

[TomSea]

Alan Thicke, the actor died tonight at the age of 69.

http://www.tmz.com/2016/12/13/alan-thicke-dead/

Another 80s sitcom actor gone..,R.I.P. Mr. Seaver.

RIP, heart attack while playing ice hockey with his son. That does sound like it demands a lot.

[Gefn]

RIP, heart attack while playing ice hockey with his son. That does sound like it demands a lot.

He just had a reality TV show with the wife. I had seen an ad for it I think in September.

[TomSea]

Here's a bit of a mystery death that just happened,

Trevor Tice, Yoga Mogul for Core-Power Yoga:

By Crimesider Staff CBS/AP December 13, 2016, 6:45 PM
Investigators probe suspicious death of yoga studio chain founder

SAN DIEGO -- A man found dead under suspicious circumstances at his San Diego home has been identified as Trevor Tice, the founder of a nationwide yoga studio chain, reports CBS affiliate KFMB.

A friend went to his home Monday to check on the 48-year-old Tice when he didn’t return calls or texts, Lt. Mike Holden of the San Diego police told CBS News. Officers responded and evidence there prompted them to call in homicide detectives to investigate, Holden told KFMB.

Investigators are treating the death as suspicious until a cause is determined, Holden told CBS News. An autopsy was expected to be completed within 24 hours. He said investigators won’t say whether Tice was murdered, because they don’t yet know.

Tice reportedly founded CorePower Yoga, a Denver-based chain of fitness studios, in 2002. The company has 160 locations across the country and several in San Diego.

Continued: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/trevor-tice-investigators-probe-suspicious-death-of-core-power-yoga-studio-chain-founder/

I don't get the success of some people, this is impressive. I'm aware of a man who made millions in, of all things, car bumpers... build a better car bumper...

In 2001, Tice sold his IT company, TechPartners International for $60 million before starting up his yoga business.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4031216/Yoga-mogul-mysteriously-dead-suspicious-circumstances-3million-California-mansion.html#ixzz4SmEndmEt

So, afterwards, he went on to start a yoga business and had 160 studios nationwide which struck me, yoga is everywhere. One of the articles read that he got into yoga after a rock climbing accident and he couldn't run anymore which was his previous passion.

So, we will have to see what this is about, Rest In Peace.

[Applewood]

Bernard Fox, of 'Bewitched' and 'Hogan's Heroes,' dies at 89

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Bernard Fox, the mustachioed actor known to TV viewers as Dr. Bombay on Bewitched and Col. Crittendon on Hogan's Heroes, has died. He was 89.

Harlan Boll, a spokesman for Fox's family, said he died Wednesday of heart failure at a Los Angeles-area hospital.

The Welsh-born actor's extensive, wide-ranging film and TV credits included The Mummy, Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo, The Dyke Van Dyke Show, McHale's Navy and Columbo.

He appeared in both 1997's Titanic, playing Col. Archibald Gracie, and in a 1958 movie about the ship tragedy, A Night to Remember. He had an uncredited role in the latter, playing a sailor who delivers the line, "Iceberg's dead ahead, sir!" according to his family.

Excerpt.  Read more at:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2016/12/15/bernard-fox-dr-bombay-on-bewitched-dies-at-89/95462844/

And here:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Fox_%28actor%29?wprov=sfla1

[Frank Cannon]

Dr Bombay was my favorite character on Bewitched. I am surprised he was still alive.

[Idiot]

Dr Bombay was my favorite character on Bewitched. I am surprised he was still alive.

He was one of my favorites on Hogan's Heros.  As a matter of fact I saw him the other night in that character in reruns.

Sad...........

[TomSea]

Malcolm Meriweather at least 2 times on this show.  He rode one of those old English 3-speeds on the show.



And I'm rather sure, he was in the movie "Battle of Britain".

[Applewood]

I enjoyed one of his two appearances on Columbo.  Fox played an officer of a cruise ship.  Columbo and his wife had won a cruise and they were supposed to be on vacation.  But a lounge singer performing on the ship is murdered and Columbo goes to work to solve the crime. 

A running joke had Columbo referring to the ship as a boat and Fox's character corrects him.  At the end of the episode, Columbo refers to a tender taking the passengers to shore as a ship, and Fox's character tells him it's a boat.  A befuddled Colombo throws his hands up in the air and says, aw, the hell with it.

Coincidentally, the murderer was played by Robert Vaughn., who passed away last month.

[mountaineer]

Colorful NBA Sideline Reporter Craig Sager, 65, Dies
December 15, 2016 3:41 PM

 Craig Sager, the longtime NBA sideline reporter famous for his flashy suits and probing questions, has died after a batter with cancer, Turner Sports announced Thursday. He was 65.

“Craig Sager was a beloved member of the Turner family for more than three decades and he has been a true inspiration to all of us,” Turner President David Levy said in a statement. “There will never be another Craig Sager. His incredible talent, tireless work ethic and commitment to his craft took him all over the world covering sports.”

Levy’s statement did not say when or where Sager died.

Sager, who worked basketball games for TNT for nearly a quarter-century, revealed in March 2016 that his leukemia was no longer in remission. He said doctors told him the typical prognosis was three to six months to live, but “I am receiving the best treatment in the world and I remain fully confident I will win this battle.”

Sager first announced in April 2014 that he had been diagnosed with leukemia, and he missed the playoffs and much of the following season as he underwent two bone marrow transplants.  ... KDKA

[TomSea]

That name, Craig Sager sure is familiar. RIP.

[TomSea]

I enjoyed one of his two appearances on Columbo.  Fox played an officer of a cruise ship.  Columbo and his wife had won a cruise and they were supposed to be on vacation.  But a lounge singer performing on the ship is murdered and Columbo goes to work to solve the crime. 

A running joke had Columbo referring to the ship as a boat and Fox's character corrects him.  At the end of the episode, Columbo refers to a tender taking the passengers to shore as a ship, and Fox's character tells him it's a boat.  A befuddled Colombo throws his hands up in the air and says, aw, the hell with it.

Coincidentally, the murderer was played by Robert Vaughn., who passed away last month.

Yes, I saw that one Columbo not too long ago. Hallmark Movies Channel airs Columbo M-F except for these 2 months before Christmas. Oh well.

[Applewood]

Yes, I saw that one Columbo not too long ago. Hallmark Movies Channel airs Columbo M-F except for these 2 months before Christmas. Oh well.

One of our local TV stations has a tie-in to  MeTV and Colombo airs on that station at 8 pm on Sundays.  I understand that soon the station will also be carrying Colombo episodes from when ABC revived the show.  In addition, I subscribe to Netflix, and Colombo is one of my favorites.

Yes, Hallmark, ION and a few others are airing a bunch of sappy Christmas movies from now till the holiday, and I'm sure one or more channels will air It's a Wonderful Life, A Christmas Story and/or Elf. 

[Machiavelli]

Composer and conductor Karel Husa dies at 95

Influential and internationally acclaimed composer and conductor Karel Jaroslav Husa, who taught at Cornell for 38 years and conducted major orchestras as well as campus ensembles, died Dec. 14 at his home in Apex, North Carolina. He was 95...

Husa was born in Prague on Aug. 7, 1921...

Husa became an American citizen in 1959...

Husa won the Pulitzer Prize in Music in 1969 for his String Quartet No. 3, and the 1993 Grawemeyer Award for his Concerto for Cello and Orchestra, and many other composition prizes over his career.

His best known work is the four-movement “Music for Prague 1968,” written after the Soviet occupation of Czechoslovakia and featuring such symbols of resistance and hope as a 15th century Hussite war song and the sound of bells...

Full article

Wikipedia

[Sanguine]

Lawrence Colburn Dies; Helped End Vietnam's My Lai Massacre

    By chevel johnson, associated press

Dec 15, 2016, 9:57 PM ET

Lawrence Manley Colburn, a helicopter gunner in the Vietnam War who helped end the slaughter of hundreds of unarmed Vietnamese villagers by U.S. troops at My Lai, has died. He was 67.

Lisa Colburn, speaking with The Associated Press on Thursday evening, said her husband of 31 years was diagnosed with cancer in late September and died Tuesday.

"It was very quick," she said by phone from her Canton, Georgia, home near Atlanta. "He was a very peaceful man who had a great desire for there to be a peaceful world."

She also called him "a compassionate person who was a hero in many people's eyes."

Colburn was the last surviving member of a U.S. Army crew that ended the My Lai massacre of March 16, 1968. According to accounts, pilot Hugh Thompson landed the helicopter between unarmed villagers and American troops and ordered Colburn and crew chief Glenn Andreotta to cover him....

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/lawrence-colburn-dies-helped-end-vietnams-lai-massacre-44226366

[Machiavelli]

Henry Heimlich, inventor of the anti-choking Heimlich maneuver that saved at least 50,000 people in America alone, dies aged 96

The creator of the lifesaving Heimlich maneuver has died at the age of 96.

Dr Henry Heimlich, who became famous in the 1970s for creating the technique to save choking victims, passed away at Christ Hospital in Cincinnati on Saturday.

Heimlich had suffered a massive heart attack on Monday and died from complications.

Heimlich was director of surgery at Jewish Hospital in Cincinnati in 1974 when he devised the treatment for choking victims that would make his name famous.

The first aid procedure relies on abdominal thrusts to clear a person's airway of foreign objects and prevent suffocation.

More

Wikipedia

[Applewood]

The husband of a friend of mine was one of countless lives saved by Dr. Heimlich's famous maneuver.  Rest in peace, Doctor.

[Gefn]

Breaking-

Zsa Zsa Gabor dead at 99


http://www.tmz.com/2016/12/18/zsa-zsa-gabor-dead-at-99/


Not a full obit.

[Frank Cannon]

Breaking-

Zsa Zsa Gabor dead at 99


http://www.tmz.com/2016/12/18/zsa-zsa-gabor-dead-at-99/


Not a full obit.

Struck down in the prime of her life. Why do the good die so young?

[Applewood]

Terrible to say, but I thought Zsa Zsa died years ago. 

She was a colorful lady.  I still remember the time she slapped a police officer.  Say what you will about her.  She was unique.   She was her own woman.

Rest in peace, Zsa, Zsa. 

[Wingnut]

Trump used her for a wife model. Dahling.

[EasyAce]

Zsa Zsa Gabor certainly believed in marriage. Obviously, she also believed practise makes perfect.