Jules S. Bacon, 89, won the Mr. America bodybuilding competition in 1943; Jan. 13, in York, Pa.
Bo Yibo, 98, the last of the leaders known as the “Eight Immortals” who led China through economic reforms and the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests; in Beijing.
Jane Bolin, 98, nation’s first black female judge and the first black woman to graduate from Yale Law School; Jan. 8, in New York.
Imogene Bowen, 71, overcame poverty and alcoholism to become a leader in her American Indian tribe and a prominent Democratic Party activist; Jan. 5, in Mt. Vernon, Wash., of cancer.
Michael Brecker, 57, influential saxophonist who won 11 Grammy Awards; Jan. 13, in New York, of leukemia.
Art Buchwald, 81, Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist and author who turned his infectious wit on the life of Washington, D.C.; Jan. 17, in Washington, of kidney failure.
Ron Carey, 71, comedic actor who played Officer Carl Levitt on “Barney Miller” and performed in Mel Brooks films including “High Anxiety” and “Silent Movie”; Jan. 16, in Los Angeles, of a stroke.
Harvey Cohen, 55, Emmy Award-winning composer and orchestrator who created music for films and TV shows including “Dallas” and “Sex and the City”; Jan. 14, in Los Angeles, of a heart attack.
Alice Coltrane, 69, jazz performer and composer whose late husband was the legendary saxophonist John Coltrane; Jan. 12, in Los Angeles, of respiratory failure.
Darlene Conley, 72, actress and Chicago native who entertained daytime audiences for nearly two decades as fashion mogul Sally Spectra on “The Bold and the Beautiful”; Jan. 14, in Los Angeles, of stomach cancer.
Denny Doherty, 66, one-quarter of the 1960s folk-rock group the Mamas and the Papas, known for their soaring harmony on hits including “California Dreamin”‘ and “Monday, Monday”; Jan. 19, in Mississauga, Canada, after a short illness.
Yury Golubev, 64, a founder of Yukos Oil, the former energy giant once led by Mikhail Khodorkovsky; found Jan. 8, in London, of natural causes.
Ward Grant, 75, longtime publicist of Bob Hope who pushed to have Burbank Airport renamed after his late boss; Jan. 11, in Burbank, Calif., of congestive heart failure.
James “Pookie” Hudson, 72, lead tenor of the Spaniels rhythm and blues group who wrote “Goodnight, Sweetheart, Goodnight”; Jan.16, in Capitol Heights, Md., of thymus cancer.
Arthur Lukowski, 79, owner of Art’s Drive-In in Hammond, Ind., and founder of the Oil Express quick lube chain; Jan. 14, in Dyer, Ind., of congestive heart failure.
Thomas Lyons, 75, headed the Cook County Democratic Party for nearly 17 years and was a veteran 45th Ward committeeman; Jan. 12, in Evanston, of paralysis complications.
Dora McDonald, 81, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s personal secretary and confidant; Jan. 13, in Atlanta, of cancer complications.
Russell Lowell Mixter, 100, former chairman of the biology department at Wheaton College, where he taught for 50 years; Jan. 16, in Carol Stream.
Donald Osterbrock, 82, leading astronomer who helped pioneer the use of physics to understand the sun and the Milky Way galaxy; Jan. 11, in Santa Cruz, Calif.
Benny Parsons, 65, taxi driver who became a NASCAR champion in 1973; Jan. 16, in Charlotte, of complications from lung cancer.
Donald Rice, 81, associate dean for student affairs at the University of Illinois at Chicago; Jan. 9, in Winfield, of congestive heart failure.
Rene Riffaud, 108, one of France’s last four living veterans of World War I; Jan. 16.
Augustin Diamacoune Senghor, 78, rebel leader who fought for an independent state in Senegal’s southern Casamance region for decades; Jan. 13, in Paris.
John W. Simpson, 92, former top executive and engineer for Westinghouse Electric Corp. who played a major role in developing the nation’s first commercial nuclear power plant and first nuclear-powered submarine; Jan. 4, in Hilton Head Island, S.C., of complications of pneumonia
Lawrence F. Skibbie, 74, retired lieutenant general who had a distinguished career in Army Ordnance Corps and once commanded the Rock Island Arsenal in Illinois; Dec. 10, in Arlington County, Va., of cancer.
Betty Trezza, 81, pioneer in women’s baseball; Jan. 16, in Brooklyn, N.Y., of a heart attack.
Larry Stewart, 58, millionaire who became known as Secret Santa for his habit of anonymously handing money to people each December; Jan. 12, in Kansas City, of esophageal cancer complications.
Bradford Washburn, 96, founded the Boston Museum of Science and directed a 1999 effort that revised the official elevation of Mt. Everest; Jan. 10, in Boston, of heart failure.
