Departures

O.J. Simpson

Simpson, an American icon whose ­televised trial for murder overshadowed his accomplishments as a football star and film actor, died April 10. He was 76. Simpson won a Heisman Trophy as a running back for the USC Trojans before a standout career with the Buffalo Bills. After football, he appeared in Naked Gun movies and Hertz commercials. In 1994, millions of Americans watched on TV as Simpson fled police following the ­double murder of his ex-wife and her friend. Simpson was acquitted of ­murder despite strong evidence ­suggesting his guilt. He later lost a wrongful death lawsuit brought by the second ­victim’s family.

Beverly LaHaye

An evangelical activist and author who fought feminist movements, LaHaye died April 14 at age 94. Born Beverly Ratcliffe, LaHaye ­married an aspiring pastor named Tim LaHaye in 1947. In the ’70s, as an office worker in the San Diego church her husband pastored, LaHaye sought to push back against liberal groups like the National Organization for Women. She founded Concerned Women for America in 1979, and soon it had built a national reputation as a critic of the ill-fated Equal Rights Amendment. LaHaye’s standing in the religious right made her voice influential in the Reagan and Bush administrations. She was married to her husband, the co-author of the Left Behind series, until his death in 2016.