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Obituary Stories category, Page 22

Pope Francis, first Latin American pontiff, dies at 88
Celebrity attorney F. Lee Bailey dead at 87
WALTHAM, Mass. — F. Lee Bailey, the celebrity attorney who defended O.J. Simpson, Patricia Hearst and the alleged Boston Strangler, but whose legal career halted when he was disbarred in two states, has died, a former colleague said Thursday. He was 87. The death was confirmed Thursday by Peter Horstmann,...
‘Hooked on a Feeling’ singer B.J. Thomas dies at 78
B.J. Thomas, the Grammy-winning singer who enjoyed success on the pop, country and gospel charts with such hits as “I Just Can’t Help Believing,” “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head” and “Hooked on a Feeling,” has died. He was 78. Thomas, who announced in March that he had been diagnosed...
Gavin MacLeod, ‘Love Boat’ captain, dies at 90
LOS ANGELES — Gavin MacLeod, the veteran supporting actor who achieved stardom as Murray Slaughter, the sardonic TV news writer on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” before going on to even bigger fame as the cheerful Capt. Stubing on “The Love Boat,” has died. He was 90. MacLeod died early...
‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’ author Eric Carle dies at 91
NEW YORK — Eric Carle, the beloved children’s author and illustrator whose classic “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” and other works gave millions of kids some of their earliest and most cherished literary memories, has died at age 91. Carle’s family says he died Sunday at his summer studio in Northampton,...
Former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Stephen Zappala Sr. remembered for distinguished public service
Former Pennsylvania Supreme Court Chief Justice Stephen A. Zappala Sr. was remembered for his distinguished legal career and public service. Zappala, a Collier resident, died Friday. He was 88. Zappala went from a private law practice to Allegheny County planning development director to county solicitor, an Allegheny County judge in...
Pioneering comic Paul Mooney, a writer for Richard Pryor, dies at 79 
NEW YORK — Paul Mooney, the boundary-pushing comedian who was Richard Pryor’s longtime writing partner and whose bold, incisive musings on racism and American life made him a revered figure in stand-up, has died. He was 79. Cassandra Williams, Mooney’s publicist, said he died Wednesday morning at his home in...
Charles Grodin, Pittsburgh native and star of ‘Midnight Run,’ dies at 86
Charles Grodin, the Pittsburgh-born actor and writer whose offbeat style scored as a newlywed cad in “The Heartbreak Kid” and the father in the “Beethoven” comedies, has died. He was 86. Grodin’s son Nicholas said his father died Tuesday at his home in Wilton, Conn., from bone marrow cancer. Grodin...
Tawny Kitaen, star of ’80s rock music videos, dies at 59
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. — Tawny Kitaen, the sultry red-haired actress who appeared in rock music videos during the heyday of MTV and starred opposite Tom Hanks in the 1984 comedy “Bachelor Party,” has died. She was 59. The Orange County coroner’s office said she died at her home in Newport...
Rachel Zoll, much-admired AP religion writer, dead at 55
Rachel Zoll, who for 17 years as religion writer for The Associated Press endeared herself to colleagues, competitors and sources with her warm heart and world-class reporting skills, died Friday in Amherst, Massachusetts, after a three-year bout with brain cancer. She was 55. Zoll covered religion in all its aspects,...
Olympia Dukakis, Oscar-winning ‘Moonstruck’ star, dies at 89
MAPLEWOOD, N.J. — Olympia Dukakis, the veteran stage and screen actress whose flair for maternal roles helped her win an Oscar as Cher’s mother in the romantic comedy “Moonstruck,” has died. She was 89. Allison Levy, her agent at Innovative Artists, said Saturday that Dukakis died Saturday morning in her...
Astronaut Michael Collins, Apollo 11 pilot, dead of cancer
Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins, who piloted the ship from which Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin left to make their historic first steps on the moon in 1969, died Wednesday of cancer, his family said. He was 90. Collins was part of the three-man Apollo 11 crew that effectively ended...
Dr. William Balash’s half-century of medicine reflected deep concern for patients
A former colleague of Dr. William Balash will never forget the snowy night in January several years ago when he received a phone call at 2 a.m. One of Balash’s patients was in the intensive care unit of Allegheny Valley Hospital. He wasn’t doing well. “Dr. Balash cared about his...
Rapper Shock G of Digital Underground found dead in Florida 
Rapper Shock G, who was famous for the hit single “The Humpty Dance,” died Thursday night, according to Digital Underground co-founder Chopmaster J. He was 57. A report from TMZ said that Shock G, named Gregory Jacobs by birth, died at a hotel in Tampa, Fla. RIP to Hip Hop...
Les McKeown, who fronted the Bay City Rollers, dies at 65 
LONDON — Les McKeown, the former lead singer of the 1970s Scottish pop sensation Bay City Rollers, has died suddenly at the age of 65, his family said Thursday. A statement from his family posted on social media said: “It is with profound sadness that we announce the death of...
Former Scottdale district judge dedicated to God, family, community
Former Scottdale police officer and longtime District Judge J. Bruce King was a man dedicated to the important things in life, his friends said. “He was first dedicated to God. Second, dedicated to his family and, third, dedicated to his community,” said Roger Eckels, a former Mt. Pleasant Township district...
Longtime Penn Hills science teacher James Schultz has died; grief counseling available
Longtime Penn Hills teacher James Schultz has died at the age of 64, district officials announced April 9. He began teaching in the district in 2001, most recently Linton Middle School and high school science classes via the district’s cyber academy. Superintendent Nancy Hines called Schultz “a true professional” and...
‘Chernobyl’ and ‘Harry Potter’ actor Paul Ritter dies at 54 
LONDON — Versatile British actor Paul Ritter, whose roles ranged from a hapless suburban patriarch in sitcom “Friday Night Dinner” to a Soviet engineer who helps cause a nuclear disaster in “Chernobyl,” has died, his agent said Tuesday. He was 54 and had been suffering from a brain tumor. A...
Retired Norwin teacher loved traveling, going to Olympics
Retired Norwin High School teacher Leslie “Les” M. Harvath had a lifelong love for the game of baseball, from playing on a Little League championship team to starring for the Norwin Knights and Duquesne Dukes that led to a tryout with the Pittsburgh Pirates and then imparting his knowledge of...
Larry Davis, pioneering dean of Pitt School of Social Work, dies at 74
Editor’s note: Mr. Davis’ age was incorrect in the original version of this story. When Larry Davis was promoting his most recent book “Why Are They Angry With Us?” in February 2016, he shared his frustration over the lack of progress when it came to race relations in America. “The...
G. Gordon Liddy, unrepentant Watergate burglar who became talk show host, dies at 90
G. Gordon Liddy, the tough-guy Watergate operative who went to prison rather than testify and later turned his Nixon-era infamy into a successful television and talk show career, has died at age 90. Liddy died Tuesday at his daugher’s house in Virginia, his son Thomas P. Liddy told The Washington...
Harrison World War II veteran Howard Traenkner dies at 100
Howard Traenkner of Harrison was born at the end of one pandemic and died in the midst of another one. A World War II Navy veteran, he was born as the Spanish flu pandemic was trailing off. He died Saturday, at 100, of natural causes, his family said. “I think...
Obama family matriarch has died in a Kenyan hospital at 99
Sarah Obama, the matriarch of former U.S. President Barack Obama’s Kenyan family has died, relatives and officials confirmed Monday. She was at least 99 years old. Mama Sarah, as the step-grandmother of the former U.S. president was fondly called, promoted education for girls and orphans in her rural Kogelo village....
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Larry McMurtry dies at 84
DALLAS — Larry McMurtry, the prolific and popular author who took readers back to the old American West in his Pulitzer Prize-winning “Lonesome Dove” and returned them to modern-day landscapes in works such as his emotional tale of a mother-daughter relationship in “Terms of Endearment,” has died. He was 84....
‘Arrested Development’ actor Jessica Walter dies at 80
LOS ANGELES — Jessica Walter, who played a scheming matriarch in TV’s “Arrested Development,” has died. She was 80. Walter’s death was confirmed Thursday by her daughter, Brooke Bowman. The actor’s best-known film role included playing the stalker in Clint Eastwood’s 1971 thriller, “Play Misty for Me.” Walter’s daughter said...
 ‘Virginia Woolf,’ ‘Goldbergs’ star George Segal dies at 87
LOS ANGELES — George Segal, the banjo player turned actor who was nominated for an Oscar for 1966’s “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?,” and starred in the ABC sitcom “The Goldbergs,” died Tuesday in Santa Rosa, Calif, his wife said. He was 87. “The family is devastated to announce that...


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