Philip Agee, 72, former CIA agent whose naming of agency operatives helped lead to a U.S. law against exposing government spies; Jan. 7, in Havana.
Rabbi Shmuel Berenbaum, 87, Talmudic scholar who led a yeshiva in Brooklyn for more than 50 years after fleeing Nazi-occupied Poland and briefly taking refuge in Shanghai; Jan. 6, in New York, of cancer.
Brandi Borr, 39, comedian who drew material from her battle with breast cancer; Jan. 4, in Chicago, of breast cancer complications.
Christopher Bowman, 40, former U.S. figure skating champion dubbed “Bowman the Showman” for his flair on the ice; found dead Jan. 10, in Los Angeles; authorities suspect natural causes or an accident.
Charles Dickerman, 75, Argonne National Laboratory physicist for 50 years; Dec. 26, in Downers Grove, of a brain tumor.
Jim Dooley, 77, George Halas’ immediate successor as Bears head coach; Jan. 8, in Lake Forest, of Lou Gehrig’s disease.
William Doyle, 92, former chief administrative officer under former Cook County Board President George Dunne; Jan. 6, in Glenview.
Melvin Dunn, 74, retired Kane County Circuit Court judge; Jan. 7, in Naples, Fla., of cancer complications.
Raymond Epstein, 89, engineer who helped lead A. Epstein and Sons, his father’s engineering and architectural firm; Dec. 29, in Chicago.
Ray Farkas, 71, Emmy Award-winning producer and TV documentarian; Jan. 4, in Washington, of colon cancer.
Donald Glassberg, 70, partner in the law firm of Levenfeld Pearlstein and recognized expert in estate planning; Jan. 7, in Glencoe, of lung cancer complications.
Johnny Grant, 84, honorary mayor of Hollywood who traveled the world as Tinseltown’s No. 1 cheerleader for more than a half-century; Jan. 9, in Hollywood, of natural causes.
Gilbert Harrison, 92, former editor and publisher of the New Republic magazine who ran the influential weekly for 20 years; Jan. 3, in Scottsdale, Ariz., of congestive heart failure.
Sir Edmund Hillary, 88, New Zealand beekeeper who became the first person to reach the summit of Mt. Everest; Feb. 11, in Auckland, New Zealand, of a heart attack.
Gene Hoffman, 75, former Elmhurst resident and Republican lawmaker in the Illinois General Assembly for 24 years, known during that time as “Mr. Education;” Dec. 28, in Aurora, Colo., of Alzheimer’s disease.
Bill Idelson, 88, actor, television writer and producer perhaps best known for his role as Rose Marie’s mother-dominated boyfriend on TV’s “The Dick Van Dyke Show;” Dec. 31, in Los Angeles, of complications from a broken hip.
Joan Ingpen, 91, founder of the classical artist management agency Ingpen & Williams and an influential voice in the opera world; Dec. 29, in Hove, England, after a short illness.
Carl Karcher, 90, entrepreneur who parlayed a $325 investment in a hot-dog cart into Carl’s Jr., one of the largest hamburger chains in the West; Jan. 11, in Fullerton, Calif., after battling pneumonia.
Herbert Keppler, 82, publisher and columnist at leading photographic magazines who pioneered independent testing of camera equipment; Jan. 4, in Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y.
Edward Klosinski, 65, Polish cinematographer who worked with directors Andrzej Wajda and Krzysztof Kieslowski; Jan. 5, in Milanowek, Poland, months after a lung cancer diagnosis.
Edward “Buddy” LeRoux, 77, former part owner of the Boston Red Sox; Jan. 7, in Tuftonboro, N.H.
Arthur Lowy, 79, lawyer who represented several of the U.S. hostages held in Iran in the late 1970s and victims of the Union Carbide poison-gas leak in India in the 1980s; Jan. 1, in Alexandria, Va., of cancer.
Ken Nelson, 96, longtime talent scout at Capitol Records who produced dozens of No. 1 country music hits and helped push Buck Owens and Merle Haggard to country stardom in the 1960s; Jan. 6, in Somis, Calif., of natural causes.
Earl Paul, 84, 32-year veteran with the Aurora Police Department; Jan. 7, in Aurora, of kidney failure complications.
Dr. Pramod Karan Sethi, 80, inventor of a low-cost prosthetic foot that has helped millions of people in developing and war-torn countries; Jan. 6, in Jaipur, India, of cardiac arrest.
James Spain, 81, South Side native and longtime foreign diplomat and author; Jan. 2, in Wilmington, N.C.
Gerry Staley, 87, All-Star pitcher who won 134 major-league games; Jan. 2, in Vancouver, of natural causes.
Eloise Stranahan, 74, former real estate agent in Park Ridge and onetime board member and president of Park Ridge-Niles School District 64; Jan. 4, in Barrington, of pancreatic cancer complications.
Shu Uemura, 79, makeup artist who won acclaim in Hollywood and built an international cosmetics brand under his name; Dec. 29, in Tokyo, of pneumonia.
Patricia Tennes Weisser, 60, nursing home administrator who worked for 35 years while for years enduring the debilitating effects of a brain tumor; Jan. 6, in Arlington Heights, of infection complications.
