The LuLac Edition #3099, December 26th, 2015

MOVING ON 2015

MOVING ON

Continuing a LuLac end of year tradition, here is our edition of “Moving On” highlighting notable deaths in 2015 sourced by Wikipedia, You Tube and our own local archives.

JANUARY

Mario Cuomo, 82, American politician, Governor of New York (1983–1994), heart failure.
Donna Douglas, 82, American actress (The Beverly Hillbillies, Frankie and Johnny, The Twilight Zone), pancreatic cancer.
Fiona Cumming, 77, British television director (Doctor Who).
Little Jimmy Dickens, 94, American country music singer ("May the Bird of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose"), cardiac arrest. In 2009 Mrs. LuLac saw Dickens in concert at The Grand Ole Opry in Nashville and according to her he was spry, entertaining and very good.

Edward Brooke, 95, American politician, member of the U.S. Senate from Massachusetts (1967–1979).
Allie Sherman, 91, American football player (Philadelphia Eagles) and coach (New York Giants)
Stu Miller, 87, American baseball player (San Francisco Giants, Baltimore Orioles.
Hank Peters, 90, American baseball executive (Baltimore Orioles), complications from a stroke.
Stuart Scott, 49, American sports journalist (SportsCenter), appendix cancer.
Bernard Joseph McLaughlin, 102, American Roman Catholic prelate, Auxiliary Bishop of Buffalo (1968–1988).
King Sporty, 71, Jamaican-American reggae musician.
Arch A. Moore, Jr., 91, American politician, Governor of West Virginia (1969–1977, 1985–1989).
Rod Taylor, 84, Australian actor (The Time Machine, The Birds),
Dallas Taylor, 66, American drummer (Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young).
Ernie Banks, 83, American Hall of Fame baseball player (Chicago Cubs), heart attack.
Joe Franklin, 88, American television and radio talk show host, prostate cancer..
Rocky Bridges, 87, American baseball player (Cincinnati Reds, Washington Senators.
Rod McKuen, 81, American poet, singer and songwriter ("Jean", "Seasons in the Sun"), respiratory arrest.

FEBRUARY

Anita Darian, 87, American singer, complications after intestinal surgery.
Ron Johnson, 76, American basketball player (Los Angeles Lakers), aneurysm.
Ann Mara, 85, American football team owner (New York Giants), complications from fall.
Bergman, 61, American baseball player (San Francisco Giants, Detroit Tigers), bile duct cancer.
Sandra Chalmers, 74, British broadcaster (Woman's Hour).
Jeffrey Segal, 94, British actor (Fawlty Towers, Z-Cars).
Norm Drucker, 94, American basketball referee.
Joseph M. Gaydos, 88, American politician, member of the House of Representatives (1968–1993), Pennsylvania Senate (1967–1968),
Dean Smith, 83, American Hall of Fame basketball coach (North Carolina).
Bob Simon, 73, American television journalist (60 Minutes), traffic collision.
Jerry Tarkanian, 84, American Hall of Fame basketball coach (Long Beach State, UNLV, San Antonio Spurs, Fresno State).[
Gary Owens, 80, American television announcer (Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In) and voice actor (Space Ghost, Garfield and Friends), diabetes.
Stan Chambers, 91, American television reporter (KTLA).

Wendell Kim, 64, American baseball player and coach (Chicago Cubs, Boston Red Sox.
Lesley Gore, 68, American singer ("It's My Party", "Judy's Turn to Cry", "You Don't Own Me"), lung cancer.

Gary Sittler, 62, Canadian ice hockey player.
Theodore Hesburgh, 97, American Roman Catholic priest, President of the University of Notre Dame (1952–1987).[
Tom Schweich, 54, American politician, State Auditor of Missouri (since 2011), suicide by gunshot.
Leonard Nimoy, 83, American actor and director (Star Trek, Mission: Impossible, Fringe),
Bohdan Tomaszewski, 93, Polish sports commentator.

Alex Johnson, 72, American baseball player (California Angels, Cincinnati Reds), prostate cancer.
Anthony Mason, 48, American basketball player (New York Knicks), heart failure.

MARCH

Lynn Borden, 77, American actress (Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry, Hazel)
Steve Shea, 72, American baseball player (Houston Astros, Montreal Expos).
Edward Egan, 82, American Roman Catholic prelate, Cardinal, Bishop of Bridgeport (1988–2000), Archbishop of New York (2000–2009).
Gene Gene the Dancing Machine, 82, American stagehand and performer (The Gong Show), diabetes.

Lou Silverstone, 90, American comedy writer (Mad, Cracked).
William Beckley, 85, American actor (Dynasty). Beckley was Gerald the Butler in the program.
Al Rosen, 91, American baseball player (Cleveland Indians
Sally Forrest, 86, American dancer and actress (Rawhide), cancer.

Bernice Steadman was an American professional aviator and businesswoman. Steadman was one of thirteen women chosen to train as astronauts during the early 1960s. The group later became known as the Mercury 13.However, Steadman and the other twelve women in the program were denied the opportunity to become astronauts due to their gender.[1] Steadman, a professional pilot, later co-founded the International Women's Air & Space Museum in Ohio during the 1980s
Michael Brown, 65, American musician (The Left Banke) and songwriter ("Walk Away Renée").
Chuck Bednarik, 89, American NFL Hall of Fame football player (Philadelphia Eagles).
Gary Dahl, 78, American entrepreneur, inventor of the Pet Rock, COPD.
Nick Peters, 75, American journalist (Sacramento Bee) and baseball beat writer (San Francisco Giants), recipient of the J. G. Taylor Spink Award (2009). 

Ralph Sharon, 91, English-born American pianist and bandleader for Tony Bennett. Born in London to an English mother and Latvian born father, he emigrated to the United States in early 1954,  becoming a naturalized citizen five years later.
By 1958, Ralph Sharon was recording with Tony Bennett, the start of a more than 50 year working relationship as Bennett's man behind the music on many Grammy winning studio recordings, and touring with Bennett for many years. He found "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" for Bennett, a year after placing it in a bureau and forgetting about it. Sharon discovered the manuscript while packing for a tour that included San Francisco. While Bennett and Sharon liked the song, they were convinced it would only be a local hit. The song became Bennett's signature tune.

A great jazz pianist in his own right, recording a series of his own albums, Sharon was best known as one of the greatest pianists who backed up singers, including Bennett, Robert Goulet, Chris Connor and many others.
Retiring to Boulder, Colorado from on-the-road work with Bennett when he reached 80, Ralph Sharon continued to perform in the Denver metropolitan area until shortly before his death. He and the Ralph Sharon Trio performed at various jazz venues, including Dazzle Restaurant & Lounge in Denver, Colorado.
I met Ralph Sharon when he was part of the trio that traveled the country with Tony Bennett. In 1986 Tony Bennett's son took over managing his father's affairs. I was part of a group that brought in Bennett to the Kirby through the help of John Loesser the son of the legendary Frank Loesser. Before the concert we made sure we fed the trio at the old Sheraton Crossgates. Sharon made it a point to thank us for feeding the band because not many people do that. He said, "We tend to be invisible, thank you for seeing us". Ralph Sharon was anything but invisible. Bennett even called out Ralph's piano skills as he did in this "I'll Be Home For Christmas" tune when toward the end Bennett says, "Take me home Ralph". On subsequent trip we met up again with Sharon who was a delight.
Here's a video with the Sharon trio then the video where Bennett calls Ralph out.

APRIL

Eddie LeBaron, 85, American football player (Washington Redskins, Dallas Cowboys)
Cynthia Lennon, 75, British author, cancer.
Bauyrzhan Baimukhammedov, 67, Kazakh football player and coach
Richard Dysart, 86, American character actor (L.A. Law, Wall Street, The Thing).
Don Looney, 98, American football player (Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers).
James Best, 88, American actor (The Dukes of Hazzard, Ride Lonesome, The Twilight Zone), pneumonia.
Ray Charles, 96, American musician (The Perry Como Show, The Muppet Show), cancer
Hermann Schweppenhäuser, 87, German philosopher.
Keith McCormack, 74, American singer and songwriter ("Sugar Shack").[
Roberto Tucci, 93, Italian Roman Catholic prelate, President of Vatican Radio (1985–2001), Cardinal-Priest of S. Ignazio di Loyola a Campo Marzio (since 2001).[
Robert P. Griffin, 91, American politician, member of the U.S. Senate from Michigan (1966–1977) and House of Representatives from Michigan's 9th district (1957–1966). Griffin was a key player in the Gerald Ford re-election campaign.
Don Quayle, 84, American broadcast journalist, President of NPR (1970–1973).[348]
Jack Rieley, 72, American record producer and band manager (The Beach Boys
Scott Mason, 55, American radio personality. For nearly twenty years, Mason hosted "OpenLine", KROQ-FM's Public Affairs program.
Cindy Yang, 24, Taiwanese model and actress (First of May), suicide by helium inhalation
Jack Ely, 71, American singer ("Louie Louie").
Dan Walker, 92, American politician, Governor of Illinois (1973–1977), heart failure
Calvin Peete, 71, American golfer, Tournament Players champion (1985.
Nigel Terry, 69, British actor (The Lion in Winter, Excalibur, Troy), emphysema.

MAY

Ray Ceresino, 86, Canadian ice hockey player (Toronto Maple Leafs).
Dave Goldberg, 47, American executive (SurveyMonkey, LAUNCH Media), head trauma from treadmill fall.
Grace Lee Whitney, 85, American actress (Star Trek, Irma la Douce, Some Like It Hot).
Sarah Correa, 22, Brazilian swimmer, South American Games champion (2010), hit by car.
Wes Schuck, 40, American film and music producer, colon cancerSchuck ran Two Fish Studios with his wife, Kristi, and No Alternative Films with creative partner Ryan Sturgis.
Jim Wright, 92, American politician, member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 12th district (1955–1989), Speaker of the House (1987–1989).
Elizabeth Wilson, 94, American actress (The Birds, The Graduate, 9 to 5), Tony Award winner (1972).
Tranquility Bass, 47, American hip-hop musician.

Happy Rockefeller, 88, American socialite and philanthropist, Second Lady of the United States (1974–1977), First Lady of New York (1963–1973).
Mary Ellen Trainor, 62, American actress (Lethal Weapon, Die Hard, The Goonies), pancreatic cancer.
Fred Gladding, 78, American baseball player (Detroit Tigers, Houston Astros).
Anne Meara, 85, American comedian (Stiller and Meara) and actress (Archie Bunker's Place, The King of Queens).
John Buckner, 67, American politician, member of the Colorado House of Representatives (since 2013), sarcoidosis.
Skeeter Kell, 85, American baseball player (Philadelphia Athletics).
Betsy Palmer, 88, American actress (I've Got a Secret, Mister Roberts, Friday the 13th.
Jim Bailey, 77, American singer, actor and impressionist (Judy Garland, Barbra Streisand).
Beau Biden, 46, American politician, Attorney General of Delaware (2007–2015), brain cancer

JUNE

Stephen Wojdak, 76, American lobbyist and politician, member of the Pa. House of Representatives from 1969–1976, respiratory failure.
Herb Wakabayashi, 70, Canadian-born Japanese ice hockey player.
James Last, 86, German composer and big band leader.
Jim Ed Brown, 81, American country singer (The Browns), lung cancer.
George Winslow, 69, American child actor (Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, My Pal Gus), heart attack.
Blaze Starr, 83, American stripper, burlesque comedienne and club owner, subject of Blaze. She was also known for her affair with Louisiana Governor Earl Kemp Long. The 1989 film Blaze is based on her memoir.
John David Crow, 79, American Heisman Trophy-winning football player (Texas A&M, Chicago/St. Louis Cardinals) and coach (Northeast Louisiana.
Nelson Doubleday, Jr., 81, American publisher (Doubleday) and Major League Baseball team owner (New York Mets), pneumonia.
Ralph J. Roberts, 95, American businessman, founder of Comcast.
JoAnn Dean Killingsworth, 91, American actress and dancer (Lullaby of Broadway, Red Garters), first person to play Snow White at Disneyland, cancer.
Darryl Hamilton, 50, American baseball player (Milwaukee Brewers), shot.
Remo Remotti, 90, Italian actor (The Godfather Part III, Nine), playwright, painter, sculptor and poet.
Dick Van Patten, 86, American actor (Eight Is Enough, Spaceballs, Robin Hood: Men in Tights), complications from diabetes.
Mario Biaggi, 97, American politician, member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York (1969–1988).
Jack Carter, 93, American comedian (Cavalcade of Stars) and actor (Dr. Kildare, Alligator), respiratory failure.

JULY

Cecil, 13, Zimbabwean protected lion, shot.
Curly Moe, 53, Canadian professional wrestler.
Boyd K. Packer, 90, American apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, President of the Quorum of the Twelve (since 2008).
Jerry Weintraub, 77, American film producer (Ocean's Eleven, Diner, The Karate Kid), chairman and CEO of United Artists, heart attacks.
Julia Buencamino, 15, Filipino actress (Oh My G!), suicide by hanging.
Ken Stabler, 69, American football player (Oakland Raiders), colon cancer.
Omar Sharif, 83, Egyptian actor (Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago, Funny Girl), heart attack.
Buddy Lively, 90, American baseball player (Cincinnati Reds). His nickname was “Red” and he compiled an 8-13 record over two seasons.
Dave Somerville, 81, Canadian-American singer (The Diamonds), cancer. In the hallway of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation during the fall of 1953, Somerville met by chance an unnamed quartet (Stan Fisher, Ted Kowalski, Phil Levitt and Bill Reed) and soon became their vocal coach. Later that year when Fisher opted for college, Dave became the group’s lead singer. That quartet became The Diamonds. On August 1, 1955, the group tied for first place on Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts in New York City. In February 1956 with the recommendation of Cleveland’s genius DJ, Dr. Bill Randle, they signed a long-term contract with Mercury Records. Somerville performed eight years with The Diamonds, singing lead on all sixteen of their Billboard chart selections, peaking with the song “Little Darlin';” for eight weeks, this selection remained at #2 on the charts, becoming the third best selling single record of 1957. After leaving The Diamnds in 1961, he became a folk singer under the name of David Try. He also studied acting under Leonard Nomoy and appeared a star trek episode called “The Conscience of the King,” from the original Star Trek (of which Nimoy, his acting coach, was one of the regular cast members) that dealt with an infamous but guilt-plagued criminal; Somerville, credited as Troy, acted out the role of Lieutenant Lawrence "Larry" Matson in the episode.

Olaf Pooley, 101, English actor (Doctor Who, Star Trek: Voyager, Sunday Night Theatre) and writer.
Marlene Sanders, 84, American television news executive (ABC World News Tonight, CBS News) and journalist, cancer.
Buddy Buie, 74, American songwriter ("Spooky", "Traces"), heart attack.
Alex Rocco, 79, American actor (The Godfather, The George Carlin Show, The Facts of Life), Emmy winner (1990), cancer. He was Moe Greene in “The Godfather”.
Van Alexander, 100, American big band leader, songwriter-arranger ("A-Tisket, A-Tasket"), film and television composer (I Dream of Jeannie, Bewitched, The Donna Reed Show), heart failure.
Rugger Ardizoia, 95, Italian baseball player (New York Yankees), stroke. He appeared in one game for the New York Yankees in 1947 and, at the time of his death, was the oldest living former member of the team.
Wayne Carson, 72, American songwriter ("The Letter", "Always on My Mind", "Neon Rainbow").[
Tom Moore, 86, American cartoonist (Archie), throat cancer.
Theodore Bikel, 91, Austrian-born American actor (The Defiant Ones, My Fair Lady, Fiddler on the Roof), folk singer and composer.
Marilyn C. Jones, 88, American baseball player (AAGBPL).[ ״Jonesy״, as her teammates called her, entered the league in 1948 with the Kenosha Comets, and would be used as a backup for catcher Dorothy Naum.
Billy Pierce, 88, American baseball player (Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers, San Francisco Giants), gallbladder cancer.
Roddy Piper, 61, Canadian professional wrestler (WWE, NWA, WCW) and actor (They Live, Hell Comes to Frogtown, Body Slam), hypertension
Gerald S. O'Loughlin, 93, American actor (The Rookies, In Cold Blood, Ice Station Zebra).

Richard Schweiker, 89, American politician, Secretary of HHS (1981–1983), Senator from Pennsylvania (1969–1981), U.S. Representative from Penn 13th district (1961–1969), infection.

AUGUST

Cilla Black, 72, British singer ("Anyone Who Had a Heart", "You're My World", "Step Inside Love") and TV presenter (Blind Date, Surprise Surprise, The Moment of Truth), stroke following a fall.

Mel Farr, 70, American football player (Detroit Lions).
Frank Gifford, 84, American Hall of Fame football player (New York Giants) and broadcaster (Monday Night Football).

Buddy Baker, 74, American Hall of Fame NASCAR driver and commentator (CBS Sports), lung cancer.
Julian Bond, 75, American civil rights activist and politician, chairman of the NAACP (1998–2010), complications of vascular disease.
Doc Daugherty, 87, American baseball player (Detroit Tigers).He made one appearance as a pinch hitter in the Major Leagues for the Detroit Tigers in 1951.[1] In it, he struck out against Billy Pierce of the Chicago White Sox on April 22.
Danny Sembello, 52, American songwriter ("Neutron Dance") and record producer, drowned.
Bud Yorkin, 89, American film and television director, producer (All in the Family, Maude, Sanford and Son) and actor.
Toby Sheldon, 35, American television reality star (Botched, My Strange Addictionbecame a television reality star known for his many plastic surgeries had at extraordinary expense (self estimated at over $100,000)0 in order to effect the looks of singer and media personality Justin Bieber.
Alison Parker, 24, American news reporter (WDBJ), shot
Adam Ward, 27, American news cameraman (WDBJ) and photojournalist, shot.
Darryl Dawkins, 58, American basketball player (Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Nets), heart attack.
Wes Craven, 76, American film director, writer and producer (A Nightmare on Elm Street, Scream, The Hills Have Eyes), brain cancer.

SEPTEMBER

Boomer Castleman, 70, American singer-songwriter and guitarist, inventor of the palm pedal, cancer.
Judy Carne, 76, British actress and comedienne (Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In), pneumonia.
Barney Schultz, 89, American baseball player (Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals). Here's my Barney Schultz story. It was the third game of the World Series between the Yankees and the Cardinals. It was the bottom of the ninth and the score was tied 1-1. My father was a die hard Cardinals fan and while he appreciated the fact that Schultz, a journeyman saved 14 games down the stretch in '64 to beat the Phils, he was wary of the knuckle baller. My father had just come home from work and was going to cut the grass. He asked me the score, when I told him it was 1-1 in the ninth he was ready to sit down and join me until he asked who was up for the Yanks and who was pitching for his beloved Cards. When i told him Mantle was hitting and Schlutz was pitching, he went out and powered up the lawnmowers. When Mantle hit the infamous shot to give the Yanks the lead, I ran outside and in excitement told my father of the development. He waved me off and just said two words, "Barney Schultz!". Schultz's era for that series ended up at 18.00.

Moses Malone, 60, American Hall of Fame basketball player (Philadelphia 76ers, Houston Rockets), atherosclerosis.
Walter Young, 35, American baseball player (Baltimore Orioles), heart attack.,
Yogi Berra, 90, American Hall of Fame baseball player and manager (New York Yankees, New York Mets), member of 13 World Series championship teams.
Tom Kelley, 71, American Major League Baseball player (Cleveland Indians, Atlanta Braves).[
Catherine E. Coulson, 71, American actress and production assistant (Twin Peaks, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Eraserhead), cancer.
Frankie Ford, 76, American singer ("Sea Cruise").

OCTOBER

Don Edwards, 100, American politician, member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California (1963–1995). Edwards was involved in the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Edwards was a member of the House Judiciary Committee during the investigation of the Watergate scandal.
Andrew Rubin, 69, American actor (Police Academy, Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman), lung cancer
Billy Joe Royal, 73, American pop and country singer ("Down in the Boondocks", "Cherry Hill Park", "Burned Like a Rocket").
Gail Zappa, 70, American businesswoman, lung cancer was the wife of musician and composer Frank Zappa and the trustee of the Zappa Family Trust. They met in Los Angeles in 1966 and married while she was pregnant with their first child, Moon, later followed by Dweezil, Ahmet and Diva.
In 2002, Gail founded the Zappa Family Trust, a holder for the title and copyright to Frank's musical and artistic products, as well as his commercial image
Lindy Infante, 75, American football coach (Green Bay Packers, Indianapolis Colts), pneumonia.

Dean Chance, 74, American baseball player (Los Angeles Angels, Minnesota Twins, Detroit Tigers) and boxing official, founder of the International Boxing Association, heart attack.
Kenneth D. Taylor, 81, Canadian diplomat, Ambassador to Iran (1977–1980), awarded U.S. Congressional Gold Medal for role in "Canadian Caper", colorectal cancer.
J. Robert Stassen, 88, American politician, member of the Minnesota Senate (1973–1976), Alzheimer's disease and dementia. He was the nephew of perennial GOP Presidential candidate Harold Stassen.
Cory Wells, 74, American singer (Three Dog Night), complications from multiple myeloma.
Marty Ingels, 79, American actor (I'm Dickens,  He's Fenster, Pac-Man), stroke.
Flip Saunders, 60, American basketball coach (Detroit Pistons, Washington Wizards, Minnesota Timberwolves), lymphoma.
Ed Walker, 83, American radio personality (Joy Boys), cancer. Walker, who was totally blind since birth, said that growing up "radio was my comic books, movies, everything". After graduating from Maryland School for the Blind, he was the first blind student at American University in Washington where, in 1950, he helped launch the campus radio station, WAMU-AM — the predecessor of WAMU-FM. Willard Scott joined the radio station the following year, forming a professional and personal bond with Walker that continued for his entire life. Scott said in his book, The Joy of Living, that they are "closer than most brothers".
From 1955 to 1974, Walker teamed with Scott as co-hosts of the nightly Joy Boys program, an improvised comedy radio show in Washington.  On Joy Boys, Scott sketched a list of characters and a few lead lines setting up the situation, which Walker would commit to memory or note on his Braille typewriter. The program began on WRC-AM, an NBC owned-and-operated station, moving in 1972 to WWDC-AM. In a 1999 article recalling the Joy Boys at the height of their popularity in the mid-1960s, the Washington Post said they "dominated Washington, providing entertainment, companionship, and community to a city on the verge of powerful change".
Since the Joy Boys left the air in October 1974, Walker worked on other Washington-area radio and television stations, including WJLA-TV from 1975 until 1980, News Channel 8 in the early 1990s and WRC, hosting radio programs.
I had the pleasure of meeting Ed Walker and his partner Willard Scott when they were at the height of their popularity on WRC 98 AM Washington. It was fascinating to watch them do their skits. One of their most famous was "As The Worm Turns". They ended their run together as "The Joy Boys" in 1972 on WRC AM.
Here's a part of the final broadcast. I'm proud to say I witnessed this duo live and in person when I lived in Washington in 1972.


Gregg Palmer, 88, American actor (Gunsmoke).

NOVEMBER

Cynthia Robinson, 69, American trumpeter and vocalist (Sly and the Family Stone), cancer.
Ken Johnson, 82, American baseball player (Atlanta Braves, Houston Astros.)
Bert Olmstead, 89, Canadian Hall of Fame ice hockey player (Montreal Canadiens, Chicago Black Hawks, Toronto Maple Leafs), complications from a stroke.
Carmen Castillo, 57, Dominican baseball player (Cleveland Indians, Minnesota Twins), heart attack.
Allen Toussaint, 77, American musician, producer, songwriter ("Fortune Teller", "Working in the Coal Mine", "Southern Nights") and arranger, heart attack.
Carol Doda, 78, American topless dancer, kidney failure.
Tommy Hanson, 29, American baseball player (Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Angels), multiple organ failure.
Andy White, 85, British drummer (The Beatles), stroke.
Betty Groff, 80, American chef and cookbook author, expert on the cuisine of the Pennsylvania Dutch.[276]
Aldo Guidolin, 83, Canadian ice hockey player (New York Rangers).
Fred Besana, 85, American baseball player (Baltimore Orioles).
Tommy Overstreet, 78, American country singer/
Barbara Snelling, 87, American politician, Vermont Lieutenant Governor (1993–1997), State Senator (1999–2002), and First Lady (1977–1985 and 1991. Howard Dean was the Lt. Governor serving under her Husband Richard Snelling. When Snelling died in 1991, Dean became Governor. In 1992, Mrs. Snelling the former widowed First Lady ran for Lt. Governor and won that office.
Fred Thompson, 73, American politician and actor (Die Hard 2, Law & Order, Sinister), U.S. Senator from Tennessee (1994–2003), minority counsel to the Senate Watergate Committee, lymphoma
David Canary, 77, American actor (All My Children, Bonanza.)
Marjorie Lord, 97, American film and television actress (The Danny Thomas Show.) She was the mother of actress Anne Archer.

DECEMBER

Ron Jacobs, 72, American basketball coach (Loyola Marymount University, Northern Cement, Philippine national team), stroke.
Carson Van Osten, 69, American artist, Disney Legend.
Evelio Hernández, 84, Cuban baseball player (Washington Senators.
Lillian Vernon, 88, German-born American businesswoman (Lillian Vernon).
Peter Block, 82, American hockey manager, founder of Pittsburgh Penguins, cancer.
Don Leaver, 86, British television director and producer (The Avengers, Prime Suspect)

Phil Pepe, 80, American sportswriter, heart attack. If you were a baseball fan in the last half of the 20th century, Pepe's work with the New York Daily News was prolific and astounding. He ghost wrote many books for the most popular Yankees of all time. He go the ultimate Daily News Sports Department tribute when he was memorialized by this cartoon.
John "Hot Rod" Williams, 53, American basketball player (Cleveland Cavaliers, Phoenix Suns), prostate cancer.
Martin E. Brooks, 90, American actor (The Six Million Dollar Man, The Bionic Woman, Dallas.
Robert Loggia, 85, American actor (Jagged Edge, Scarface, Big), Alzheimer's disease.
Scott Weiland, 48, American musician (Stone Temple Pilots, Velvet Revolver, The Wondergirls), accidental drug and alcohol overdose
Sandy Berger, 70, American political consultant, United States National Security Advisor (1997–2001), cancer.

Jim O'Toole, 78, American baseball player (Cincinnati Reds)
Bobby Dews, 76, American baseball player and coach (Atlanta Braves.
Dave Henderson, 57, American baseball player (Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox, Oakland Athletics), heart attack.
Lemmy, 70, English rock musician (Motörhead, Hawkwind), cancer.

Mary Scranton, The widow of former Pennsylvania Governor William Warren Scranton has died at the age of 97. The Associated Press reports that Mary Scranton passed away Saturday at a retirement community in Montecito, California, after battling an illness.
Her husband William Scranton was a descendant of the family that founded the city of Scranton and served as the 38th Governor of the Commonwealth from 1963 to 1967.
A Republican, he was considered a moderate conservative and was pegged to revive the state's GOP Party with his candidacy in the 1962 gubernatorial election in which he defeated Philadelphia Mayor Richardson Dilworth by a large margin.
He also served as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations under President Gerald Ford's administration. He died in 2013 as the result of a cerebral hemorrhage.
Mary Scranton led several charitable efforts in Pennsylvania over the course of her life, heading organizations that helped improve the city of Scranton's housing market and aided children suffering from mental health problem. 

Frank Malzone, 85, American baseball player (Boston Red Sox, California Angels).
Wayne Rogers, 82, American actor (M*A*S*H, Cool Hand Luke, House Calls), complications from pneumonia.

Vern Rapp, 87, American baseball manager (St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds).
And what better way, if there was a good way, to end the year with this sad news, Natalie Cole who like all the aforementioned was “Unforgettable”.
Natalie Cole, 65, was an American Grammy-winning singer ("This Will Be", "Sophisticated Lady", Unforgettable... with Love) and actress, congestive heart failure.

PEOPLE OF NOTE LOCALLY WHO PASSED AWAY

Owen Costello, former Wilkes Barre Area School Board member and Executive Director of The Keystone State Games.
Nolan Johannes, former news anchor at WNEP TV.
Sister Adrian Barrett, the head of the Friends of the Poor In Lackawanna County. Her tireless advocacy for the less fortunate made her known as the Mother Theresa of Scranton.
Scranton City Councilman Bob McGoff. McGoff was one who always tried to make sense out of the madness that used to be Scranton City Council meetings.
Anna Cervenak a Community volunteer, Bell Telephone Pioneers. Cervenak, 77, was known for her work as a philanthropist and volunteer. She served for many years on the Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce.
In 1991, she received the Athena Award which is given to someone who actively helps woman attain leadership skills.

Chef Lou from WYLN TV 35's "Chef Lou" Show.
Jim Petrie, former Music Promotion Man for DOT Records, Vietnam War Veteran, Sales Representative for Rock 107, General Manager of 1460 AM Radio, WEMR  in Tunkhannock in the early 90s and frequent poster to LuLac.
Jay (Longhaven) Daniels, For 25 years a member of the "Daniels and Webster" Morning Show on Rock 107. Daniels also was a well known voice in the area doing work for Fox 56 as well as voicing many local commercials.
Gottfreid Csala, Wilkes Barre architect and widely admired Community and Environmental volunteers. For many years he was President of the local branch of Habitat For Humanity.
Frank Stanley, former broadcaster at WGBI AM and FM as well as President of Thunder Broadcasting which put on WMJW FM 92.1 in 1973. 

Dr. Dan Kopen, well known area physician and surgeon who wrote two books on the Health Care System in the United States. The good Doctor died of ALS.