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.
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.
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 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; 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.
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.
Russell Lowell Mixter, 100, former chairman of the biology department at Wheaton College, where he taught for 50 years; Jan. 16, in Carol Stream.
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.
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.
