2020 Deaths: Part 1

2020 Deaths:

January:

1^st: Martin Bundi, 87, Swiss politician, president of the National Council (1985–1986).

1^st: Jiao Ruoyu, 104, Chinese politician and diplomat, Mayor of Beijing (1981–1983), Ambassador to Peru (1972–1977) and Iran (1977–1979).

3^rd: Christopher Beeny, 78, English actor (Upstairs, Downstairs, In Loving Memory, Last of the Summer Wine).

3^rd: Robert Blanche, 57, American actor (Leverage, Grimm).

3^rd: Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, 65, Iraqi military commander, head of the Popular Mobilization Forces (since 2011).

3^rd: Qasem Soleimani, 62, Iranian major general, commander of the Quds Force (since 1998).

4^th: Russell Bannock, 100, Canadian fighter ace during World War II.

4^th: Byron W. Bender, 90, American linguist.

4^th: Marie-Thérèse Cheroutre, 95, French historian, General Commissioner of Guides de France (1953–1979).

4^th: Károly Gesztesi, 56, Hungarian actor (A Kind of America, The District!, Children of Glory), heart attack.

5^th: Maciej Górski, 75, Polish diplomat, ambassador to Italy (1996–2001) and Greece (2005–2006).

5^th: Antoni Morell Mora, 78, Spanish-born Andorran diplomat and writer, ambassador to the Holy See (2005–2010), heart failure.

5^th: Sir Michael Stear, 81, British Royal Air Force air chief marshal.

8^th: Edd Byrnes, 87, American actor (77 Sunset Strip, Grease) and recording artist ("Kookie, Kookie (Lend Me Your Comb)").

9^th: Jacques de Bauffremont, 97, French prince.

9^th: Walter J. Boyne, 90, American Air Force officer and writer (The Wild Blue: The Novel of the U.S. Air Force).

9^th: Galen Cole, 94, American World War II veteran and philanthropist, manager of the Cole Land Transportation Museum.

9^th: David Glass, 84, American businessman, CEO of Walmart (1988–2000), owner of the Kansas City Royals (2000–2019), complications from pneumonia.

11^th: Jean-René Farthouat, 85, French lawyer and Legion of Honour recipient.

11^th: Stan Kirsch, 51, American actor (Highlander: The Series), suicide by hanging.

11^th: Norma Michaels, 95, American actress (The King of Queens, Mind of Mencia, Easy A).

14^th: Josef Čermák, 91, Czech literary historian and translator, Franz Kafka expert.

15^th: Ivan Ustinov, 100, Russian intelligence officer (NKVD, SMERSH, KGB).

21^st: Tengiz Sigua, 85, Georgian politician, Prime Minister (1992–1993).

22^nd: John Karlen, 86, American actor (Daughters of Darkness, Dark Shadows, Cagney & Lacey), heart failure.

23^rd: Armando Uribe, 86, Chilean writer and diplomat, Ambassador to China (1971–1973) and winner of the National Prize for Literature (2004).

24^th: Yuri Viktorovich Kuznetsov, 73, Russian military officer, Hero of the Soviet Union.

25^th: Vasily Bakalov, 90, Russian military engineer and designer (9M113 Konkurs, 2K22 Tunguska, Drozd).

26^th: Louis Nirenberg, 94, Canadian-American mathematician, co-developer of Gagliardo–Nirenberg interpolation inequality, Abel Prize winner (2015).

26^th: Bob Shane, 85, American singer and guitarist (The Kingston Trio), complications from pneumonia.

26^th: Kobe Bryant, 41, basketball player (Los Angeles Lakers), Olympic champion (2008, 2012) and Oscar winner (2018).

27^th: Jack Burns, 86, American comedian, actor (The Andy Griffith Show) and screenwriter (The Muppet Show), respiratory failure.

27^th: Edvardas Gudavičius, 90, Lithuanian historian.

28^th: Svetlana Ageyeva, 79, Russian actress (Shore leave, Operation Y and Shurik's Other Adventures).

28^th: Paul Farnes, 101, British Royal Air Force flying ace (The Few).

29^th: Frank Press, 95, American geophysicist, President of the National Academy of Sciences (1981–1993).

30^th: Vitaliy Boiko, 82, Ukrainian lawyer and diplomat, Minister of Justice (1990–1992), Ambassador to Moldova (1993–1994) and Chairman of the Supreme Court (1994–2002).

30^th: Luboš Dobrovský, 87, Czech journalist, politician and dissident, Minister of Defence (1990–1992) and Ambassador to Russia (1996–2000).

30^th: Erneido Oliva, 87, Cuban-American military officer (Brigade 2506).

31^st: Anne Cox Chambers, 100, American media proprietor (Cox Enterprises) and diplomat, Ambassador to Belgium (1977–1981).

31^st: Alan Harris, 81, British actor (The Empire Strikes Back).

31^st: Mary Higgins Clark, 92, American author (A Stranger Is Watching, A Cry in the Night, Remember Me).

31^st: Joe Vandever, 96, American Navajo code talker.

 

February:

1^st:  Viktor Afanasyev, 72, Russian military musician, Senior Director of the Military Band Service of the Armed Forces of Russia (1993–2002).

2^nd: Mike Moore, 71, New Zealand politician, Prime Minister (1990), Director-General of the World Trade Organization (1999–2002), Ambassador to the United States (2010–2015).

5^th: Kirk Douglas, 103, American actor (Spartacus, Paths of Glory, Lonely Are the Brave. Cast a Giant Shadow).

7^th: Orson Bean, 91, American actor (Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, Being John Malkovich) and game show panelist (To Tell the Truth), traffic collision.

7^th: Sir Leonard Appleyard, 81, British diplomat, Ambassador to China (1994–1997).

7^th: Mary Griffith, 85, American LGBT rights activist whose son, Bobby, committed suicide due to religious intolerance. Her story was made into a book and a 2008 film (Prayers For Bobby.)

7^th: Lucille Eichengreen, 95, German Holocaust survivor (Auschwitz) and memoirist.

7^th: John Lauck, 64, American food and charity executive, CEO of Children's Miracle Network Hospitals, cycling collision.

7^th: Li Wenliang, 33, Chinese ophthalmologist and whistleblower, coronavirus.

8^th: Mykolas Arlauskas, 89, Lithuanian agronomist, signatory of the Act of March 11.

8^th: Robert Conrad, 84, American actor (Hawaiian Eye, The Wild Wild West, Baa Baa Black Sheep), heart failure.

8^th: Paula Kelly, 77, American actress (Night Court, Santa Barbara, Soylent Green) and dancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

8^th: Yi Hae-won, 100, South Korean princess, head of the House of Yi (since 2005).

11^th: Anne Windfohr Marion, 81, American heiress and art patron, co-founder of Georgia O'Keeffe Museum.

13^th: Hermann Kahan, 93, Romanian-born Norwegian businessman and Holocaust survivor (Auschwitz.)

15^th: Caroline Flack, 40, English television and radio presenter (The X Factor, Love Island, I'm a Celebrity: Extra Camp), suicide by hanging.

15^th: A. E. Hotchner, 102, American editor and novelist, co-founder of Newman's Own.

15^th: Donald Stratton, 97, American naval seaman and memoirist (USS Arizona).

16^th: Zoe Caldwell, 86, Australian actress (Master Class, Lilo & Stitch, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close), 4-time Tony winner, complications from Parkinson's disease.

16^th: Theodore Johnson, 95, American veteran, member of the Tuskegee Airmen.

16^th: Kellye Nakahara, 72, American actress (M*A*S*H, Clue, 3 Ninjas Kick Back) and artist, cancer.

17^th: Ja'Net DuBois, 74, American actress (Good Times, The PJs) and singer (The Jeffersons theme).

17^th: Mário da Graça Machungo, 79, Mozambican politician, Prime Minister (1986–1994).

17^th: Kizito Mihigo, 38, Rwandan gospel singer, organist and peace activist, founder of the Kizito Mihigo Peace Foundation.

19^th: Jens Nygaard Knudsen, 78, Danish designer, inventor of the Lego minifigure, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

19^th: Inesa Kozlovskaya, 92, Russian physiologist, corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and Honored Scientist of the Russian Federation (1996).

19^th: Fernando Morán, 93, Spanish diplomat, Minister of Foreign Affairs (1982–1985), ambassador to the UN (1985–1987) and MEP (1987–1999).

22^nd: Thích Quảng Độ, 91, Vietnamese Buddhist monk, patriarch of the Unified Buddhist Sangha of Vietnam (since 2008).

24^th: Diana Serra Cary, 101, American actress (Little Red Riding Hood, The Darling of New York, Captain January).

24^th: Katherine Johnson, 101, American mathematician (NASA). Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015 and the Congressional Gold Medal in 2019. She was the basis of the 2016 film “Hidden Figures.)

24^th: Stephan Ross, 88, Polish-born American Holocaust survivor (Auschwitz), founder of New England Holocaust Memorial.

25^th: Javier Arias Stella, 95, Peruvian pathologist and politician, Minister of Health (1963–1965, 1967–1968) and of Foreign Affairs (1980–1983), discovered the Arias-Stella reaction.

25^th: Yuri Kuplyakov, 89, Russian diplomat, Soviet ambassador to Nigeria (1985–1990).

25^th: Hosni Mubarak, 91, Egyptian military officer and politician, President (1981–2011), Prime Minister (1981–1982) and Vice-President (1975–1981), kidney failure.

25^th: Satya Nandan, Fijian diplomat, representative to the United Nations (1970–1976, 1993–1995) and ambassador to the Netherlands (1976–1980).

25^th: Dmitry Yazov, 95, Russian military officer, Minister of Defence (1987–1991) and Marshal of the Soviet Union.

 

March:

2^nd: James Lipton, 93, American television host (Inside the Actors Studio), actor (Arrested Development) and writer (Guiding Light), bladder cancer.

4^th: Barbara Martin, 76, American singer (The Supremes).

4^th: Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, 100, Peruvian diplomat and politician, Secretary-General of the United Nations (1982–1991), Prime Minister (2000–2001).

4^th: Rosalind P. Walter, 95, American riveter and philanthropist, namesake of Rosie the Riveter.

5^th: Yevgeny Barilovich, 87, Russian naval officer, Hero of the Soviet Union.

5^th: Sir Toby Frere, 81, British vice admiral, Chief of Fleet Support (1994–1997).

5^th: Hossein Sheikholeslam, 67, Iranian politician, MP (2004–2008) and Ambassador to Syria (1998–2003), COVID-19.

8^th: Max von Sydow, 90, Swedish-born French actor (The Seventh Seal, The Exorcist, Pelle the Conqueror).

9^th: John Havelock Parker, 91, Canadian politician, Mayor of Yellowknife (1964–1967) and Commissioner of the Northwest Territories (1979–1989).

10^th: Beba Selimović, 80, Bosnian sevdalinka singer.

14^th: Jon Atle Gaarder, 85, Norwegian diplomat, ambassador to Saudi Arabia (1984–1990), India (1990–1994) and Lithuania (1999–2001).

14^th: Giancarlo Ghironzi, 88, Sammarinese politician, Captain Regent (1961, 1969–1970).

14^th: Mariano Puga, 88, Chilean Roman Catholic priest and human rights activist, opponent of the military dictatorship.

15^th: Charles Atger, 98, French pilot. He has held the World Record for longest glider flight time since 1952.

15^th: Tony Lewis, 78, English mathematician, co-inventor of cricket's Duckworth–Lewis–Stern method.

17^th: Lyle Waggoner, 84, American actor (The Carol Burnett Show, Wonder Woman, Love Me Deadly), cancer.

17^th: Betty Williams, 76, Northern Irish political activist, Nobel Prize laureate (1976).

18^th: Alfred Worden, 88, American astronaut (Apollo 15), stroke.

20^th: Kenny Rogers, 81, American Hall of Fame singer ("The Gambler", "Just Dropped In", "Islands in the Stream"), songwriter and actor.

24^th: Romi Cohn, 92, Czechoslovak-born American rabbi, real estate developer and Holocaust survivor, COVID-19.

24^th: Dario Gabbai, 97, Greek-American Holocaust survivor, Auschwitz Sonderkommando (1944).

26^th: Princess María Teresa of Bourbon-Parma, 86, Spanish royal, COVID-19.

27^th: Hamed Karoui, 92, Tunisian politician, Prime Minister (1989–1999) and Minister of Justice (1988–1989).

27^th: Frank Larkin, 48, Irish disability rights activist.

 

April:

1^st: Frank Larkin, 48, Irish disability rights activist.

2^nd: Bernardita Catalla, 62, Filipino diplomat, ambassador to Lebanon (since 2017), COVID-19.

2^nd: François de Gaulle, 98, French missionary, nephew of Charles de Gaulle, COVID-19.

2^nd: Oskar Fischer, 97, German politician, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the GDR (1975–1990).

3^rd: Frida Wattenberg, 95, French resistance member (Œuvre de secours aux enfants (OSE) and Armée Juive), COVID-19.

5^th: Shirley Douglas, 86, Canadian actress (Wind at My Back, Lolita, Barney's Great Adventure) and civil rights activist, complications from pneumonia.

7^th: Irene Hirano, 71, American non-profit executive, president of U.S.-Japan Council (since 2009) and the Japanese American National Museum (2008–2012).

7^th: Jan Křen, 89, Czech historian, academic and dissident, Charter 77 signatory, COVID-19.

7^th: Adrian V. Stokes, 74, British computer scientist and disability campaigner.

9^th: Phyllis Lyon, 95, American gay rights activist.

11^th: Edem Kodjo, 81, Togolese politician, Prime Minister (1994–1996, 2005–2006) and Chairperson of the African Union Commission (1978–1983).

13^th: Benjamin Levin, 93, Israeli partisan and Holocaust survivor, COVID-19.

14^th: Margit Feldman, 90, Hungarian-American educator, activist, and Holocaust survivor, COVID-19.

15^th: Brian Dennehy, 81, American actor (First Blood, Tommy Boy, Cocoon), Tony winner (1999, 2003), cardiac arrest due to sepsis.

17^th: Bennie G. Adkins, 86, American army Green Beret and intelligence sergeant major, Medal of Honor recipient, COVID-19.

18^th: Allan Gotlieb, 92, Canadian public servant, Ambassador to the United States (1981–1989), cancer and Parkinson's disease.

21^st: Laisenia Qarase, 79, Fijian politician, Prime Minister (2000–2001, 2001–2006).

22^nd: Shirley Knight, 83, American actress (The Dark at the Top of the Stairs, Sweet Bird of Youth, As Good as It Gets).

24^th: Sir James Adams, 87, British diplomat, ambassador to Tunisia (1984–1987) and Egypt (1987–1992).

25^th: Henri Kichka, 94, Belgian Holocaust survivor, COVID-19.

29^th: Ji Chaozhu, 90, Chinese diplomat and politician, Ambassador to Fiji (1985–1987) and United Kingdom (1987–1991).

29^th: Leonid Komogorov, 92, Russian diplomat, Soviet ambassador to Mauritania (1986–1990.)

 

May:

1^st: Else Blangsted, 99, German-born American music editor (The Goonies, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, The Color Purple).

1^st: Augustine Mahiga, 74, Tanzanian diplomat and politician, Minister of Justice (since 2019) and Permanent Representative to the UN (2003–2010).

3^rd: Eelke Bakker, 109, Dutch centenarian, oldest man in Benelux (since 2017), oldest man ever from Friesland.

4^th: Norma Doggett, 94, American actress (Seven Brides for Seven Brothers).

4^th: Maria Galitzine, 31, Luxembourgian-born Russian interior designer and princess, cardiac aneurysm.

4^th: Motoko Fujishiro Huthwaite, 92, American preservationist, last surviving female Monuments Men, COVID-19.

4^th: Froilan Tenorio, 80, Northern Marianan politician, Governor (1994–1998) and Resident Representative (1984–1990).

5^th: Sergei Adian, 89, Russian mathematician (Adian–Rabin theorem).

5^th: Paulette Sarcey, 96, French resistance fighter.

6^th: Sir John Birch, 84, British diplomat, ambassador to Hungary (1989–1995), cancer.

6^th: Mary Pratt, 101, American baseball player (Rockford Peaches, Kenosha Comets).

7^th: Maria Teresa Beccari, 69, Sanmarinese politician, Mayor of City of San Marino (2009-2018).

7^th: Princess Diana of Bourbon-Parma, 87, French royal, COVID-19.

7^th: Terry Clark, 101, British Royal Air Force officer (The Few).

8^th: Yuri Gryadunov, 90, Russian diplomat, ambassador to Jordan (1990–1992).

8^th: Roy Horn, 75, German-American magician (Siegfried & Roy), COVID-19.

8^th: Cécile Rol-Tanguy, 101, French resistance officer.

10^th: Trivo Inđić, 82, Serbian political advisor and diplomat, ambassador to Spain (2001–2004).

11^th: Jerry Stiller, 92, American actor (Seinfeld, The King of Queens) and comedian (Stiller and Meara).

12^th: Sisavath Keobounphanh, 92, Laotian military officer and politician, Vice President (1996–1998) and Prime Minister (1998–2001).

12^th: George Mikell, 91, Lithuanian-Australian actor (Kill Her Gently, The Guns of Navarone, The Great Escape).

12^th: Ernest Vinberg, 82, Russian mathematician (Vinberg's algorithm, Koecher–Vinberg theorem).

14^th: Ronald J. Shurer, 41, American army medic, recipient of Medal of Honor, complications from lung cancer.

14^th: William W. Snavely, 100, American Air Force lieutenant general.

16^th: Wilson Roosevelt Jerman, 91, American White House butler and staffer (1957–2012), COVID-19.

17^th: Du Wei, 57, Chinese diplomat, ambassador to Ukraine (2016–2020) and Israel (since 2020).

18^th: Ken Osmond, 76, American actor (Leave It to Beaver, The New Leave It to Beaver) and police officer (Los Angeles Police Department), complications from COPD.

19^th: Annie Glenn, 100, American disability rights activist and philanthropist, COVID-19.

20^th: Margaret Maughan, 91, British archer, swimmer and lawn bowler, Paralympic champion (1960, 1972).

21^st: Sergey Kramarenko, 97, Russian Air Force officer, Hero of the Soviet Union.

21^st: Lew Byong-hyun, 95, South Korean military officer and diplomat, Ambassador to the United States (1982–1985).

24^th: Carlo Durante, 73, Italian marathon runner, Paralympic champion (1992), heart attack.

28^th: Celine Fariala Mangaza, 52, Congolese disability advocate, COVID-19.

28^th: Robert M. Laughlin, 85, American anthropologist and linguist (Tzotzil language), COVID-19.

29^th: Abderrahmane Youssoufi, 96, Moroccan politician, Prime Minister (1998–2002), lung cancer.

30^th: Sir John Coward, 82, British vice admiral, Commandant Royal College of Defence Studies (1992–1994) and Lieutenant Governor of Guernsey (1994–2000).

June

3^rd: Jerzy Łukaszewski, 95, Polish diplomat and academic, Rector of the College of Europe (1972–1990).

4^th: Laura Hillman, 96, German-born American Holocaust survivor (one of the “Schindler’s Jews.”)

5^th: Jiří Hanák, 82, Czech journalist and dissident, Charter 77 signatory.

5^th: Tomisaku Kawasaki, 95, Japanese pediatrician, discoverer of Kawasaki disease.

5^th: Marian Tomaszewski, 97, Polish scout leader, officer and tank commander (2nd Polish Corps).

8^th: Bonnie Pointer, 69, American singer (The Pointer Sisters), cardiac arrest.

9^th: Simon Henshaw, 59, American diplomat, Ambassador to Guinea (since 2019).

11^th: Emmanuel Issoze-Ngondet, 59, Gabonese politician, Prime Minister (2016–2019) and Minister of Foreign Affairs (2012–2016), asthma.

11^th: Roy Little Chief, 81, Canadian First Nations rights activist and politician, Chief of the Siksika Nation (1981–1983).

14^th: Betty Goudsmit-Oudkerk, 96, Dutch resistance member.

17^th: Jean Kennedy Smith, 92, American diplomat, ambassador to Ireland (1993–1998), Presidential Medal of Freedom winner, founder of VSA.

18^th: Dame Vera Lynn, 103, British singer ("We'll Meet Again", "The White Cliffs of Dover").

19^th: Sir Ian Holm, 88, English actor (Alien, Chariots of Fire, The Lord of the Rings), BAFTA winner (1982), complications from Parkinson's disease.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deaths_in_2020#Previous_months