Ashok Batavia, 52, popular economics instructor at DePaul University; Jan. 8, in Evanston, of lung cancer.
Dave Brown, 52, Texas Tech assistant football coach who played in the NFL for 16 seasons; Jan. 10, in Lubbock, Texas.
Raul Davila, 74, actor who played Hector Santos on the soap opera “All My Children” in the 1990s; Jan. 2, in Newark, N.J., of a heart attack.
Patricia Reilly Hitt, 87, highest-ranking woman in President Richard Nixon’s first administration as an assistant secretary of Health, Education and Welfare; Jan. 9, in Newport Beach, Calif., of natural causes.
Betty Hockin, 84, grandmother of hockey great and Phoenix Coyotes coach Wayne Gretzky; Jan. 7, in Brantford, Ontario.
Raymond “Cowboy Ray” Hofstatter, 45, recurring guest on “Mancow’s Morning Madhouse” radio show; Jan. 10, in Chicago, of injuries stemming from a hit-and-run car accident in November.
Allan Johnson, 46, Chicago Tribune writer who started his career as a copy clerk; Jan. 6, in Chicago, of complications from a brain hemorrhage.
Jack Mabley, 90, longtime columnist whose career included the Tribune; Jan. 7, in Glenview, of complications from a broken hip.
Elizabeth Toomes Petty, 88, mother of racing great Richard Petty; Jan. 8, in Level Cross, N.C.
Jack Tanner, 86, the first black federal judge in the Northwest; and known for his sometimes controversial civil rights rulings; Jan. 10, in Seattle, of cancer.
