Departures

Jerry Lee Lewis

Lewis, a rock ’n’ roll pioneer known for his wild stage antics and colorful personal life, died Oct. 28 at his home in Nesbit, Miss. He was 87. Lewis learned to play the piano jamming with cousins Mickey Gilley, later a Nashville star, and Jimmy Swaggart, a future televangelist. By the time a 21-year-old Lewis arrived at the famed Sun Records in Memphis to collaborate with future stars Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash, he’d already been expelled from a Texas seminary and married twice. In 1957, Lewis recorded “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On” and “Great Balls of Fire.” The boogie woogie ­revolution made Lewis an instant star despite charges that his songs appealed to prurient interest. But his third ­marriage to his 13-year-old cousin overshadowed his career with scandal.

Ash Carter

Carter, a Yale- and Oxford-trained academic who served in the Department of Defense for two Democratic presidents, died Oct. 24 at the age of 68. Carter earned his doctorate in theoretical physics but turned his attention to defense technology and international relations while teaching at Harvard in the 1980s. Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama both hired him to Defense Department positions. By 2015, Carter had been confirmed as Secretary of Defense. In that role, he helped shift the Pentagon’s focus back to future great power conflicts with Russia and China and oversaw the opening of all military roles to women.