Man knows not his time
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A prewinter storm that dumped about a foot of snow and ice this month on the Midwest forced some urban Chicagoans to ponder their mortality. "It's only by the grace of God that I wasn't killed," said Sonny Skinner, who watched a four-foot chunk of ice whistle downward hundreds of feet from a nearby skyscraper and crash on the sidewalk. Mr. Skinner cringed as shards of ice hit his pantlegs, but he pulled his jacket over his head and soldiered on. Pedestrians in Chicago and other large cities that receive a lot of snowfall often find themselves sidestepping, weaving, or flat-out sprinting down sidewalks to avoid falling ice. Warning signs crop up around city buildings at the first freeze and remain until spring. Mr. Skinner, however, was well outside the area roped off with yellow "Caution Falling Ice" signs. "They didn't do me much good right there," he said. "There's nothing they can do." No, there's not. "Man knows not the time of his death," noted Puritan pastor Increase Mather in 1697. "Often it is so, when death falls upon a man, he thinks no more of it than the fishes think of the net before they are caught in it." Each year, WORLD compiles a large list of relatively well-known men and women from different walks of life who passed away over the last 12 months. This is a much more subtle method of provoking thoughts of eternal things than ice falling from skyscrapers, but we hope it's just as effective. "All future contingencies are known to God only ... ," Mather warned, "that so His children might live by faith, that so they might live a life of holy dependence upon God continually." JANUARY
Patrick O'Brian (Jan. 2), 85, author of 20 richly detailed novels that chronicle the experiences of Captain Jack Aubrey and his shipmate Stephen Maturin (friend, surgeon, intellectual, musician, and naturalist) as they sailed around the globe, pursuing Napoleon's navy, rich prizes, and wonderful adventures. He died while at work on the 21st in the series. Elmo R. Zumwalt Jr. (Jan. 2), 79, retired Navy admiral who in the 1970s modernized the service with "Z-Grams" that relaxed regulations. Tom Fears (Jan. 4), 76, NFL Hall of Fame wide receiver with the Los Angeles Rams whose record of 18 catches in a game still stands. Rick Acton (Jan. 5), 54, Senior PGA Tour golfer. Don Martin (Jan. 6), 68, the Mad magazine "maddest cartoonist" whose hapless characters met frying-pan-in-the-face fates punctuated by wacky sounds like SHKLIP! Ivan DeBlois Combe (Jan. 11), 88, one of history's little-known benefactors: He invented Clearasil, the acne cream that helped millions of baby boomers get through puberty. Bob Lemon (Jan. 11), 79, star right-hander for the Cleveland Indians who won 20 games seven times. In 1978, he became manager of the slumping New York Yankees at midseason and led them to a startling comeback, including a one-game playoff win over the Boston Red Sox and a World Series title. Robert Rathbun Wilson (Jan. 16), 85, nuclear physicist who led the Manhattan Project and served as director of the National Accelerator Laboratory. Bettino Craxi (Jan. 19), 65, socialist prime minister of Italy who went into exile to escape charges of bribery. Hedy Lamarr (Jan. 19), 86, sultry Austrian-born Hollywood actress who lit up the screen in films of the 1930s and '40s with such leading men as Charles Boyer, Clark Gable, and Spencer Tracy. Craig Claiborne (Jan. 22), 79, New York Times food writer who took readers from the delights of a deli sandwich to the splendors of haute cuisine, including a $4,000 dinner in Paris. Jean MacArthur (Jan. 22), 101, widow of Gen. Douglas MacArthur. Carl Curtis (Jan. 24), 94, former Republican senator from Nebraska who served 40 years in Congress and stuck by President Nixon during the final days of Watergate. Don Budge (Jan. 26), 84, Hall of Fame men's tennis great who in 1938 swept all four major tournaments to become the first Grand Slam winner. Harold H. Greene (Jan. 29), 76, a federal judge who oversaw the breakup of AT&T. Earlier, as a government attorney, he played a key role in shaping civil-rights laws.FEBRUARY
Richard Kleindienst (Feb. 3), 76, U.S. attorney general during the Nixon administration who resigned during Watergate. Carl Albert (Feb. 4), 91, Oklahoma politician elected to Congress in 1947 who served as Speaker of the House from 1971 to 1976. Doug Henning (Feb. 7), 52, mustachioed magician whose showmanship in the 1970s helped rejuvenate the craft with TV specials and Broadway extravaganzas. Derrick Thomas (Feb. 8), 33, nine-time pro-bowl linebacker for the Kansas City Chiefs. A fan favorite because of his heavy involvement in local charities, he died from injuries suffered in a car accident on the way to the airport; he intended to fly to St. Louis to watch the NFC championship game. Sid Abel (Feb. 10), 81, National Hockey League Hall of Famer who led the Detroit Red Wings to three Stanley Cup championships in the '40s and '50s. Tom Landry (Feb. 12), 75, composed Dallas Cowboys coach for 29 years with 270 NFL victories and five Super Bowl appearances, active in Christian ministries. Charles Schulz (Feb. 12), 77, creator of the Peanuts comic strip. "Why do musicians compose symphonies and poets write poems?" he once said. "They do it because life wouldn't have any meaning for them if they didn't. That's why I draw cartoons. It's my life." Mr. Schulz died just as his last original Peanuts strip appeared in newspapers.MARCH
Abe Yanofsky (March 5), 74, Canada's first chess grand master. William Porter (March 10), 73, Olympic gold medal hurdler. Ignatius Kung (March 12), 98, Roman Catholic cardinal who spent 30 years in prison in China for defying Communist attempts to control Catholics through a state-run church. Matthew "Mack" Robinson (March 12), 85, Olympic 200-meter medalist and older brother of baseball great Jackie Robinson. Thomas Wilson Ferebee (March 16), 81, the bombardier who dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Edward F. Knipling (March 17), 91, a National Medal of Science-winning researcher who developed pesticide-free ways of killing bugs. Alex Comfort (March 26), 80, author of the 1972 Joy of Sex, a canonical text of the sexual revolution.APRIL
Tommaso Buscetta (April 2), 71, Mafia turncoat who helped convict hundreds of mobsters in Italy and the United States. Lee Petty (April 5), 86, winner of the first Daytona 500 and patriarch of one of stock car racing's royal families, including son Richard and grandson Kyle. Claire Trevor (April 8), 90, sensual-voiced actress who won an Academy Award for her 1948 performance as a boozy, broken torch singer in Key Largo. Larry Linville (April 10), 60, actor best known as the hung-up Major Burns on the TV version of M*A*S*H. Phillip Katz (April 14), 37, creator of the PKZIP file-compressing software program used by millions of PC users. He created the program at his mother's breakfast table as a hobby: "I didn't expect it to turn into a business." David Merrick (April 25), 88, Broadway's most successful producer, whose flair for showmanship helped create such hits as Gypsy, Hello, Dolly!, and 42nd Street. Herbert Wechsler (April 26), 90, influential Columbia Law School professor who successfully defended The New York Times in the landmark 1964 First Amendment case of New York Times vs. Sullivan. William Boyle (April 30), 88, Long Island banker who pioneered the concept of the bank credit card, which shifted consumer credit away from department store credit issuers and led millions into temptation.MAY
John O'Connor (May 3), 80, conservative Catholic archbishop of New York who was passionately and articulately opposed to abortion and homosexual practice. He also confounded liberal stereotypes with his active opposition to racism and anti-Semitism and support for the concerns of blue-collar laborers. Greg Barnes (May 4), 17, Columbine High School basketball star who watched a friend and teacher die in the 1999 massacre at the school; suicide. Douglas Fairbanks Jr. (May 7), 90, actor, war hero, and friend of royalty. Adam Petty (May 12), 19, race car driver and youngest of the famed Petty auto-racing clan. Donald Coggan (May 17), 90, middle-of-the-road evangelical leader of the world's Anglicans as Archbishop of Canterbury from 1974 to 1980. Barbara Cartland (May 21), 98, British romantic fiction author who wrote 750 "clean" books with sales of more than one billion copies. John Gielgud (May 22), 96, British actor widely lauded as one of the best of all time; no one did Hamlet better. Maurice "Rocket" Richard (May 27), 78, first NHLer to score 50 goals in a season, led the Montreal Canadiens to five straight Stanley Cups (1956-60). He was honored in 1996 when the storied Montreal Forum was closed down to make way for the gleaming multipurpose amphitheater called the Molson Centre, where the mediocre Canadiens of today toil. Donald W. Davies (May 28), 75, a computer scientist whose work in the 1960s on data transmission by "packet switching" contributed immensely to the development of the Internet. Robert Casey (May 30), 68, two-term Democratic governor of Pennsylvania whose firm pro-life stands earned him the scorn of party leaders and excommunication at Democratic national conventions. John Coolidge (May 31), 93, son of Calvin Coolidge who was the oldest living offspring of an American president.JUNE
William E. Simon (June 3), 72, a Wall Street multimillionaire, former government official, and philanthropist. He served as the Nixon administration's "energy czar" during the 1970s oil crisis and later became treasury secretary for Presidents Nixon and Ford. He gave away $80 million of what he earned to various causes and two years ago announced his intention to give away his entire $350 million fortune. Frédéric Dard (June 6), 78, prolific Swiss detective novelist, whose characters include Paris police superintendent San Antonio. Jeff MacNelly (June 8), 52, Pulitzer Prize-winning syndicated cartoonist who was kind to visiting children and often poked fun at liberals and their causes. His cartoons appeared in WORLD. Hafez al-Assad (June 10), 69, iron-fisted dictatorial president of Syria and torturer of opponents. Marlin VanElderen (June 12), 54, Christian Reformed Church journalist from Grand Rapids, Mich., and editor of World Council of Churches publications in Geneva, Switzerland, since 1982. Robert Trent Jones (June 14), 93, the reputed father of modern golf course design. James Montgomery Boice (June 15), 61, Presbyterian pastor, broadcaster, and intellectual leader of evangelical Reformed causes. Dowager Nagako (June 16), 97, the widow of Japan's Emperor Hirohito. Nancy Marchand (June 18), 71, who played the scheming matriarch of a Mafia family on The Sopranos and the patrician publisher Mrs. Pynchon on television's Lou Grant. Don Parker (June 21), 88, who invented a learn-to-read system (SRA Reading Laboratories) used by generations of children worldwide. Jerome Richardson (June 23), 79, a saxophonist and flutist who was one of the most recorded musicians in the history of jazz. Vera Atkins (June 25), 92, British spymaster who recruited, trained, and monitored secret agents who parachuted into Nazi-occupied France during World War II. She was the inspiration for "Miss Moneypenny" in the James Bond films. Larry Kelley (June 27), 85, Heisman Trophy winner at Yale; suicide.JULY
Walter Matthau (July 1), 79, perpetually rumpled veteran movie actor, known mainly for his comic roles. He first appeared on Broadway in 1948. B. Clayton Bell (July 4), 67, retired long-time pastor of 5,000-member Highland Park Presbyterian Church in Dallas and renewalist in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). He died hours after a July 4 celebration at the North Carolina home of his brother-in-law, Billy Graham. Robert Runcie (July 12), 78, Archbishop of Canterbury 1979-1991. Alice Lord-Landon (July 13), 98, a pioneer in women's swimming, member of the first women's Olympic swimming team in 1920, and a one-time world record holder in the 400-meter freestyle. Raymond Portwood Jr. (July 17), 66, co-creator of the popular children's geography- and history-teaching computer game, Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? Paul Coverdell (July 18), 61, highly respected Republican senator from Georgia and proponent of tax-free accounts that parents could use to pay for their children's education. Eyvind Earle (July 20), 84, who painted the backgrounds for Sleeping Beauty, Lady and the Tramp, and other classic Disney films. Billie Cheney Speed (July 22), 73, a pioneering female sports writer in the 1940s and religion editor of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for 24 years. Oscar Shumsky (July 25), 83, brilliant violinist who trained generations of successful younger artists. Rene Favaloro (July 29), 77, Argentina-born surgeon who pioneered the coronary bypass surgical procedure (in 1967 at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio), an operation routinely performed on millions of people each year. Bertha Holt (July 31), 96, co-founder with her husband, Harry, of what has become the world's largest international adoption agency (Holt International) with programs in 10 countries.AUGUST
Alec Guinness (Aug. 5), 86, versatile British stage, TV, and film actor. He won an Academy Award for his work in the 1957 film, The Bridge on the River Kwai. Thomas A. Foran (Aug. 6), 76, the chief federal prosecutor who won convictions against the "Chicago Seven" anti- Vietnam War activists. Sabina Wurmbrand (Aug. 12), 87, a Romanian refugee and Jewish convert to Christianity who with her late husband, Richard, founded a ministry aimed at helping Christians in communist-controlled Eastern Europe. Robert Gilruth (Aug. 17), 86, NASA scientist who pioneered manned space flight in the Mercury and Apollo space programs. Harry Oppenheimer (Aug. 19), 91, head of the DeBeers diamond empire and powerful foe of apartheid in his native South Africa. Andy Hug (Aug. 24), 35, world kickboxing champion; leukemia. Carl Barks (Aug. 25), 99, artist who created Scrooge McDuck, Gladstone Gander, and other Disney characters, and illustrated scores of Donald Duck comic books. Jack Nitzsche (Aug. 25), 63, Classic Rock composer with the Rolling Stones and others, and Oscar winner for his theme song to the 1982 film, An Officer and a Gentleman. Ginetta Sagan (Aug. 25), 75, founder of the American branch of Amnesty International. David M. Haskell (Aug. 30), 52, actor who starred in stage and film versions of Godspell. Rudolph Wendelin (Aug. 31), 90, artist who drew and painted "Smokey Bear" for more than 40 years for the U.S. Forest Service.SEPTEMBER
Jean Speegle Howard (Sept. 2), 72, TV and film actress (Apollo 13 and Cocoon). Curt Siodmak (Sept. 2), 98, sci-fi and suspense author, screenwriter (Donovan's Brain), and creator of The Wolf Man. George Musso (Sept. 5), 90, NFL Hall of Fame football star who played for the Chicago Bears. Ben Wicks (Sept. 10), 73, one of Canada's best-known syndicated cartoonists. Carl Thomas Rowan (Sept. 23), 75, a well-known broadcast commentator and syndicated columnist, once known as America's "most visible black journalist." Wilbur F. Pell Jr. (Sept. 25), 84, the federal appeals court judge who wrote the decision overturning the convictions of the "Chicago Seven" anti-Vietnam War activists. Frank Wills (Sept. 27), 52, Watergate security guard who stumbled upon the 1972 break-in that led to President Nixon's downfall. Pierre Trudeau (Sept. 28), 80, prime minister of Canada 1968-79. The flamboyant Quebecer thwarted his home province's independence movement.OCTOBER
Sidney Yates (Oct. 5), 91, Chicago congressman who led the fight to establish the National Endowment for the Arts. William P. Bundy (Oct. 6), 83, an architect of the United States' involvement in the Vietnam War and an adviser to Presidents Johnson and Kennedy. Richard Farnsworth (Oct. 6), 80, award-winning Hollywood stuntman and actor (The Straight Story). David Dukes (Oct. 9), 55, TV and movie actor, who died while filming the Stephen King miniseries Rose Red near Tacoma, Wash. Sirimavo Bandaranaike (Oct. 10), 80, socialist prime minister of Sri Lanka elected to office in 1960. She was the world's first woman prime minister. Jean Peters (Oct. 13), 73, actress who appeared in films with Marlon Brando and Spencer Tracy before marrying eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes. Gus Hall (Oct. 13), 90, the Communist Party USA boss, who toiled for the party for 74 years, followed orders from Moscow to the end, and bitterly lamented the fall of communism in Eastern Europe. "I did what I believe in. I believe socialism is inevitable," he said in a 1992 interview. "Life cannot go on forever without that step [socialism], and setbacks don't change it." Mel Carnahan (Oct. 16), 66, second-term Missouri governor and Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate, killed with his son and an adviser in a plane crash during the election campaign. Missourians voted for him anyway, and the governor who succeeded him unlawfully appointed his widow to the Senate, without much protest from local Republicans. Rick Jason (Oct. 16), 74, who played the tough World War II platoon leader Lt. Gil Hanley in the 1960s television series Combat! Julie London (Oct. 18), 74, actress and chart-topping torch singer (Cry Me a River), best remembered by TV viewers as "Dixie McCall" on Emergency! David Golub (Oct. 19), 50, renowned American pianist and chamber music conductor. Steve Allen (Oct. 30), 78, comedian, songwriter, author, actor, and entertainer who pioneered talk radio and the TV talk show, and who created (and hosted) The Tonight Show in the 1950s. His Steve Allen Show (1956-64) inspired a generation of TV comedians, and he later fought the media indecency that some of his successors relished. Ring Lardner Jr. (Oct. 31), 85, Oscar winner for the script for M*A*S*H, and the last survivor of a group of left-wing writers and producers known as "The Hollywood 10" who were blacklisted and imprisoned for defying the House Committee on Un-American Activities.NOVEMBER
David Brower (Nov. 5), 88, environmental activist who led the Sierra Club and founded Friends of the Earth and the Earth Island Institute. Jimmie Davis (Nov. 5), 101, the Country Music Hall of Fame "singing governor" and composer who drew on his popularity as a maker of hits such as You Are My Sunshine to twice win election as a Democrat to Louisiana's top office. Guy Condon (Nov. 11), 46, president of CareNet, a nationwide umbrella group for 600 crisis pregnancy centers. He was president of Americans United for Life from 1988 to 1993 before moving to CareNet, where he fought for programs that would help both abortion-endangered children and troubled parents. He died in an automobile accident not far from his Virginia home. Eugene A. Marino (Nov. 12), 66, the nation's first black Catholic archbishop, who resigned amid a sex scandal as the head of Atlanta's Catholics. Robert Trout (Nov. 14), 91, legendary broadcast journalist who as one of Edward R. Murrow's "boys" at CBS in the 1930s and '40s helped to create the role of anchorman. During his 70-year career he covered the repeal of prohibition, John Philip Sousa's last public performance, Franklin Delano Roosevelt's fireside chats in the 1930s, World War II, and the first man on the moon. For the past several years he offered commentary on National Public Radio. Alexander Schindler (Nov. 15), 75, liberal leader of the Reform movement of American Judaism for a quarter of a century. Hosea Williams (Nov. 16), 74, a founding force of the civil-rights movement and leader of the march in Selma, Ala., that became a turning point in the fight for minority rights. Charles Ruff (Nov. 19), 61, an attorney whose cases included the Nixon Watergate investigation and the impeachment proceedings of President Clinton. Emil Zatopek (Nov. 21), 78, a four-time Czech Olympic track champion who set 18 world records. Frank J. Orland (Nov. 25), 83, a medical professor emeritus at the University of Chicago who established the connection between bacteria and tooth decay. Anne Barton (Nov. 27), 72, a film, stage, and TV actress who played Eddie Haskell's mother in the Leave It to Beaver TV series. Lou "The Toe" Groza (Nov. 29), 76, NFL Hall of Fame tacklekicker for the Cleveland Browns.DECEMBER (through Dec. 15)
Kevin Mills (Dec. 3), 32, singer and bass player with the high-flying Christian rock group Newsboys (more than 3 million records sold). He died in a motorcycle accident. Werner Klemperer (Dec. 6), 80, actor best known as the Nazi prison camp commander Colonel Klink on Hogan's Heroes. In real life, he was a Jewish refugee from Nazi Germany. Irving Koslowe (Dec. 6), 80, the Jewish rabbi and chaplain at Sing Sing prison who gave convicted spies Julius and Ethel Rosenberg their last spiritual counsel as they awaited execution. Marvin Leath (Dec. 8), 69, a conservative Democrat who served six terms as a congressman from central Texas. He was a supporter of arms control and of a tightened rein on Pentagon procurement practices. George Montgomery (Dec. 12), 84, a brawny leading man who starred in low-budget Westerns and later in musicals and romantic comedies.
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