Legends, leaders, and legacies: The year in farewells

By Joseph P. Kahn, Globe Staff  |  January 1, 2007

At the close of a year fraught with political conflict and cultural fragmentation, Americans were touched by the deaths of two iconic figures, one hailed for restoring decency and civility to national politics, the other for imbuing pop music with a propulsive beat that cut across genres and generations.

Gerald R. Ford, an uncomplicated man who became the 38th president of the United States, was never elected to national office. Yet when called upon to lead the country through troubled times, he met the challenge with courage, humility, and an innate inclination toward bipartisanship. James Brown, the Godfather of Soul, was more than a hit-making machine, laying the foundation for funk and hip-hop with his churning rhythms and dynamic stage presence.

They lead a long list of notables who died in 2006, figures -- national, world, and local -- whose influence and accomplishments will long be remembered.

Two women who dedicated themselves to civil rights and social change also passed from the scene. Coretta Scott King carried forward the legacy of her husband, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., by making his dream of a better America her own. Betty Friedan changed the national conversation with her book "The Feminine Mystique," a radical break from gender orthodoxy that fueled the feminist movement.

The nation bade farewell to two economists of towering stature. John Kenneth Galbraith was a bestselling author, diplomat, professor, and public intellectual whose writings helped define modern liberalism. Nobel laureate and free-market champion Milton Friedman served as trusted presidential adviser and hero to political conservatives.

The arts world saluted photographer, filmmaker, and writer Gordon Parks, who documented the African-American experience with great dignity and creativity, and director Robert Altman, who revolutionized filmmaking with ensemble masterpieces such as "Nashville" and "Gosford Park." Also eulogized was novelist William Styron, who explored darkly complex historical and moral issues in such works as "Sophie's Choice" and "The Confessions of Nat Turner."

The sports world cheered two of its immortals: Arnold "Red" Auerbach, the cigar-puffing architect of the Boston Celtics' 16 NBA championships; and golf champion Byron Nelson, who still holds the record for most consecutive tournaments won. Also applauded was Curt Gowdy, the Hall of Fame sportscaster and onetime voice of the Boston Red Sox.

CBS newsman Ed Bradley and record mogul Ahmet Ertegun, who bridged the worlds of R&B, gospel, soul, jazz, and rock, shared a love of music and stylish sensibility that stamped them as true originals. Conductor Sarah Caldwell, founding director of the Opera Company of Boston, dazzled audiences for three decades with her theatrical flair.

Massachusetts paid homage to Gerry Studds, a leading voice on maritime, environmental, and healthcare issues and the first openly gay US congressman, and to Edward King, a governor who made economic growth his top priority and bedrock governing philosophy. Bostonians lost a local institution in restaurateur Joe Tecce, who wined and dined celebrities at his North End eatery for 40 colorful years.

In the hearts of all Americans, meanwhile, were the uniformed men and women who gave their lives serving in conflicts overseas. As a new year dawns, may their sacrifices light the way toward a new path to peace.

A country that prides itself on producing dynamic leaders and colorful personalities lost many in 2006. As budget adviser and secretary of defense, Caspar Weinberger earned the nickname Cap The Knife and the respect of Beltway insiders. Texans Lloyd Bentsen and Ann Richards were larger-than-life politicians, Bentsen serving as US representative , senator, and Treasury secretary, and Richards holding the governor's chair with a dash of sass and wit.

As Yale University chaplain, the Rev. William Sloane Coffin was a strong voice for social justice during the 1960s civil rights and antiwar movements. UN ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick spoke forcefully for human rights during the Reagan administration. Presidential aide Lyn Nofziger was a key political operative who went on to serve as White House press secretary.

On Capitol Hill, tributes were paid to Senators J. Glenn Beall (Maryland), Robert Stafford (Vermont), and Chic Hecht (Nevada); and Representatives Virginia Smith (Nebraska), Elford Cederberg and Richard VanderVeen (Michigan), Stanley Tupper (Maine), Clair Burgener and John McFall (California), Thomas Manton (New York), Gillespie Montgomery (Mississippi), Robert Giaimo (Connecticut), Joel Broyhill and James Olin (Virginia), and Helen Chenoweth-Hage (Idaho). In state houses across the nation, these governors were remembered: Sam Goddard (Arizona), William Quinn (Hawaii), Thomas Judge (Montana), and Raymond Shafer (Pennsylvania).

Obituaries were written as well for social-political activists Damu Smith, George Field, Robert McCullough, and Frank Wilkinson; AmeriCorps architect Eli Segal; Peace Corps cofounder Joseph Kauffman; commerce secretary Alexander Trowbridge; Federal Reserve chairman G. William Miller; presidential adviser Ruth Morgenthau; Watergate figure Robert Mardian; Yippie cofounder Stew Albert; and labor lawyer Morris Glushien.

Also for military heroes Carl Brashear, Claude Kinsey, Robert Scott, Desmond Doss, Fred Christensen, Donald Rudolph, Guy Gabaldon, Hector Santa Anna, and Kenneth Taylor; General George Blanchard, who headed the US Army in Europe; presidential sister Patricia Kennedy Lawford; Texas first lady Nellie Connally; hobo king "Steam Train" Maury Graham; and Lillian Asplund, America's last survivor of the Titanic sinking.

Passing from the world's stage last year were many leaders more feared than revered, yet who shaped history nonetheless. Iraqi president Saddam Hussein paid the ultimate price for his brutal reign of terror when he was sent to the gallows in the waning hours of '06. Yugoslavia's Slobodan Milosevic was facing war-crime charges when his life ended. Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet had ruled his country with an iron fist. South Africa's P. W. Botha was a hard-line pro-apartheid leader, and Al Qaeda's Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, killed in Iraq, was a key target in the war on terrorism.

British Cabinet minister John Profumo was remembered for his role in a headline-making sex scandal. World Health Organization chief Dr. Lee Jong Wook led efforts to fight the global AIDS epidemic. Iva Toguri D'Aquino was better known to history as WWII's Tokyo Rose. Markus Wolf was a legendary German spy during the Cold War, and Rudolf Vrba an eloquent eyewitness to Auschwitz.

Laid to rest also were prime ministers Charles Haughey (Ireland), Ryutaro Hashimoto (Japan), and Bulent Ecevit (Turkey); presidents Johannes Rau (Germany), Elias Hrawi (Lebanon), Noor Hassanali (Trinidad), Valentin Paniagua (Peru), Ghulam Ishaq Khan (Pakistan), Hassan Gouled Aptidon (Djibouti), Romeo Garcia (Guatemala), Saparmurat Niyazov (Turkmenistan), and Ibrahim Rugova (Kosovo); Kuwaiti emir Sheik Jaber al-Ahmad al-Sabah; Tonga's King Taufa'ahau Tupou IV; Nigerian Muslim leader Muhammadu Maccido; Lebanese political leader Pierre Gemayel; South African anti-apartheid crusader Ellen Kuzwayo; journalists Anna Politkovskaya and Jesus Blancornelas; and Austrian explorer Heinrich Harrer.

The world of letters closed the book on Egyptian novelist Naguib Mahfouz, the first Arabic-language writer to win literature's Nobel Prize, and Stanley Kunitz, a poet -- and US poet laureate -- of unmatched grace and versatility. Novelist Peter Benchley wrote the bestseller "Jaws," then became an ardent conservationist and shark protector. Muriel Spark crafted spare novels laced with dark humor. Mystery writer Mickey Spillane gifted readers with hard-boiled gumshoe Mike Hammer.

Fans penned notes of appreciation for science-fiction author Stanislaw Lem, writer-social critic Jane Jacobs, who inspired the livable-city movement, iconoclastic essayist George W. S. Trow, and cookbook author Edna Lewis. Also for novelists Frederick Busch, Michael Gilbert, John McGahern, Pramoedya Ananta Toer, Sybille Bedford, Henry Farrell, Dorothy Uhnak, Octavia Butler, Jack Williamson, William Diehl, Bebe Moore Campbell, and John Ford; and, critics Ellen Willis, Gilbert Sorrentino, and Philip Rieff.

Bowing out, too, were historians Robert Peterson, Theodore Draper, Jaroslav Pelikan, Leonard Levy, Lawrence Levine, Curtis Cate, George Tindall; poets Peter Viereck and Barbara Guest; editors Barbara Epstein, Elizabeth Maguire, Laura Van Dam, and Sheldon Meyer; and publishers Ralph Ginzburg and Lyle Stuart.

Hollywood and its fans looked back with fondness on Glenn Ford, who starred in westerns, melodramas, and romantic comedies, and celluloid tough guy Jack Palance, who won an Oscar for his comedic role in "City Slickers." Tributes were screened for two-time Oscar winner Shelley Winters, starlet June Allyson, who appeared in such classics as "The Glenn Miller Story," actor Peter Boyle, who played the top-hatted monster in "Young Frankenstein," and jaunty actor-comedian Red Buttons.

Tinseltown also waved good-bye to actors Jack Warden, Bruno Kirby, Anthony Franciosa, Chris Penn, Jack Wild, Richard Bright, Patrick Cranshaw, Arthur Franz, Mako, Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez, Mickey Hargitay, Philippe Noiret, Edward Albert Jr. , Barnard Hughes , and Sid Raymond; actresses Tamara Dobson, Jane Wyatt , and Marian Marsh; and directors Richard Fleischer, Vilgot Sjoman, Vincent Sherman, and Gillo Pontecorvo.

Screenwriters Joseph Stefano, Gerald Green, and Leonard Schrader will be missed, too, as will cinematographers Leonard South and Sven Nykvist; film editor Stu Linder; stuntwoman Polly Burson; and manager to the stars Jay Bernstein.

On the tube and around the dial, many giants of the entertainment industry were extolled upon their deaths. Frank Stanton helped build CBS into a media powerhouse as network president for three decades. Producer Aaron Spelling launched "The Love Boat," "Charlie's Angels," and dozens more hit series and TV specials. Animator Joseph Barbera gave life to "The Flintstones," "The Jetsons," and other cartoon classics. Mike Douglas was a popular talk-show host and big-band vocalist.

As long as there are reruns, fans will cherish actor-comedian Don Knotts, whose nerdy, nervous persona was memorably channeled as Barney Fife on "The Andy Griffith Show"; Dennis Weaver, the lanky actor who starred in "Gunsmoke" and "McCloud" plus many film roles; and Steve Irwin, the Aussie "Crocodile Hunter" and wildlife conservationist.

Also comedian and TV host Jan Murray; actors Darren McGavin, Al Lewis, Robert Sterling, Frankie Thomas, Pat Corley, Mike Evans, and Arthur Hill; producers Gloria Monty, Scott Brazil, and George Crile; writers Jerry Belson, Alan Shalleck, Bruce Hart, and Chris Hayward; NPR commentators Roderick MacLeish and Ralph Schoenstein; animator Ed Benedict; "60 Minutes" director Arthur Bloom; "Nature" host George Page; "Antiques Roadshow" appraiser Frank Boos; ventriloquist Rickie Layne; documentary filmmaker Alan Levin; and bandleader Lew Anderson, who played Clarabell The Clown on "The Howdy Doody Show."

The arts world raised a toast to Arnold Newman, a stylish photographer famous for his environmental portraiture and compositional artistry, and Nam June Paik, a groundbreaking video artist and avant-garde pioneer. Ceramicist Edith Heath and collage artist Mimmo Rotella also passed from the scene, as did art historian Donelson Hoopes, curator Jiri Frel, cartoonists Donald Reilly, Bob Thaves, and Eldon Dedini, illustrators Myron Waldman and Richard Mock, and sculptors Jim Gary, Dimitri Hadzi, and Frederick Franck.

Also painters Albert Gold, Karel Appel, John Jagel, Larry Zox, Barbara Schwartz, Andrée Ruellan, Richard Sheehan, Benny Andrews, Vladimir Tretchikoff, Robert Richenburg, Mose Tolliver, Stanley Meltzoff, Roy Newell, and Henry Pearson; photographers Robert Heinecken, Martha Holmes, Philip Hyde, William Gottlieb, Slim Aarons, William Garnett, Warren Bolster, and Ruth Bernhard; artists Ian Finlay and Allan Kaprow; designers Warren Platner and Beth Levine; album designers Burt Goldblatt and Ed Thrasher; art director Walter Allner; comic book artists Dave Cockrum and Alex Toth; and architect Paul Grayson.

Sounding their last notes in '06 were scores of music legends. Soul singer Wilson Pickett recorded such classic hits as "In The Midnight Hour" and "Mustang Sally." Singer-songwriter Buck Owens was a twangy-voiced country star and "Hee Haw" host. Grammy-winning keyboardist Billy Preston played with both the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. Ruth Brown was a brassy R&B legend. Founding band members Syd Barrett of Pink Floyd and Arthur Lee of Love made their musical marks, as did trumpeter-band leader Maynard Ferguson, pop crooner Lou Rawls, and ska pioneer Desmond Dekker.

Silenced, too, were opera stars Anna Moffo, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Leopold Simoneau, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, Enrico Di Giuseppe, Astrid Varnay, Norman Kelley, and Robert McFerrin; composers James Tenney, Gyorgy Ligeti, Arlene Zallman , and Malcolm Arnold; pianists Edward Aldwell, Joyce Hatto, and Leonid Hambro; oboists John Mack and Ralph Gomberg; and violinist-conductor Milton Katims.

Also, pop singers William and Barry Cowsill, Grant McLennan, Freddie Garrity, Gene Pitney, June Pointer, Gerald Levert, and Georgia Gibbs died last year. So did producers Arif Mardin, Bob Weinstock, and James Yancey; country stars Freddy Fender, Billy Walker, Janette Carter, and Cindy Walker; guitarist-songwriter Ali Farka Touré; singer-songwriter Pio Leyva; folk singer Joe Glazer; and sound engineer Henry Lewy.

Among jazz artists who died were Anita O'Day, Jay McShann , Ray Barretto, John Hicks, Don Alias, Hilton Ruiz, Moacir Santos, Dewey Redman, and Walter Booker. Blues legends Sam Myers, Jessie Mae Hemphill, Johnny Jenkins, Willie Kent, Floyd Dixon, Bennie Smith, Robert "H-Bomb" Ferguson, and Etta Baker were memorialized, too, along with drummer Paul Caruso, bandleader Ted Herbert, keyboardist Vince Welnick, and bass player Allen Paulino.

Broadway dimmed its lights for Wendy Wasserstein, the Pulitzer-winning dramatist who wryly explored feminism, careerism, and motherhood in such works as "The Heidi Chronicles"; lyricist Betty Comden, who collaborated on some of Broadway's most celebrated musicals; Fayard Nicholas, one half of the famed dancing Nicholas Brothers; and Maureen Stapleton, star of stage, screen, and television, who played tough-minded women with uncommon grit and grace.

Mourned, too, were dancer-choreographer Katherine Dunham, who formed America's first black modern dance company; Lloyd Richards, who directed the original Broadway production of "A Raisin in the Sun"; and ballerina Moira Shearer, who starred in the film "The Red Shoes"; and actress-singer Dana Reeve, a leading advocate for the disabled.

Also taking their final bows were actresses Anne Meacham, Carrie Nye, Joan Diener, Isabel Bigley, and Elizabeth Allen; actor Henderson Forsythe; playwrights Jay Presson Allen and John Belluso; producer Cy Feuer; dancers Doris Jones and Sophie Maslow; ballet star Melissa Hayden; and costume designer Florence Klotz

In a year when the media landscape underwent rapid change, many pioneers were remembered for their contributions. A. M. Rosenthal was a Pulitzer-winning correspondent and editor who guided The New York Times through a key period of expansion and modernization. Globe-trotting journalist Oriana Fallaci made world leaders squirm, while journalist-author Louis Rukeyser served as genial host of PBS's long-running "Wall Street Week." Photojournalist Joe Rosenthal snapped the immortal Iwo Jima flag-raising shot. Reuven Frank of NBC and CBS's Gordon Manning left an indelible mark on broadcast journalism.

Reporter-gourmand R. W. Apple died last year, as did Times editor Gerald Boyd and reporter-editor David Rosenbaum. Also publishers Otis Chandler, Barry Bingham Jr., Hugh Patterson, Philip Merrill, Gene Scott, William Ziff, and Fausto Vitello; CBS newsmen Neil Strawser and Christopher Glenn; and radio correspondent Pye Chamberlayne.

Also columnists Dennis Duggan; journalists Hans Fantel, Frank Gibney, Pham Xuan An, Nicholas Proffitt, Ross Mark, Smith Hempstone, and Frank Crepeau; photojournalists Thomas Abercrombie, Catherine Leroy, William Manning, Leonard Freed, and Tony Triolo; editors David Maness, James Keogh, and William Woo; critics Henry Hewes, Paul Nelson, and Richard Gilman; and editorial cartoonist Paul Rigby.

From the diamond to the gridiron, the links to the slopes, the sports world lost many key players last year. Baseball tipped its cap to Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett, who led the Minnesota Twins to two championships with his clutch play and infectious enthusiasm, and to Negro Leagues legend Buck O'Neil, a much beloved hardball ambassador. Hockey fans remembered the power and pluck of Montreal Canadian great Bernie "Boom Boom" Geoffrion. Boxing aficionados cheered the feats of heavyweight champ Floyd Patterson and featherweight title holder Willie Pep. Around the NFL, glasses were raised to Kansas Chiefs owner Lamar Hunt, who coined the term Super Bowl.

Red Sox stalwarts Charlie Wagner and Eddie Pellagrini hung 'em up, as did basketball's Paul Arizin, sled-dog racer Susan Butcher, boxer Trevor Berbick, soccer great Ferenc Puskas, golfer Patty Berg, extreme skier Doug Coombs, car racers Paul Dana and Louise Smith, horse breeder Roy Chapman, rower Ernestine Bayer, billiards ace Steve Mizerak, golf teacher Dick Harmon, roller derby star Ann Calvello, and Earl Woods, father of golfer Tiger Woods.

Pro football fans recalled the play of Harry Clarke, Craig Heyward, Jack Snow, Dick Bass, Northeastern's Dan Ross, Dave Brown, Ernie Stautner, Ron Jessie, Gil Bouley, Marshall Goldberg, Theo Bell, Marlin McKeever, Tony Sardisco, and Andre Waters. The coaching ranks were thinned by the loss of Bo Schembechler, Maggie Dixon, Rod Dedeaux, Ray Meyer, George Haines, Tom Nugent, John Vaught, Jim Trimble, and Eric Namesnik.

Olympians Bob Mathias, Peter Norman , Andrew Sudduth, Larry Black, and Maxi Baier also passed away, along with tennis champs Ham Richardson and Ken Fletcher, baseball executives Dick Wagner and Syd Thrift, MLB umpire Eric Gregg, and baseball players Cory Lidle, Johnny Sain, Paul Lindblad, Joe Niekro, Moe Drabowsky, Steve Howe, Sibby Sisti, Jim Lemon, Larry Sherry, Elden Auker, Johnny Callison, Pat Dobson, Silas Simmons, Jose Uribe, Chris Brown , and Cecil Travis.

Globalization and technological innovation dominated business headlines last year, but it was the sudden death of Enron chief Kenneth Lay, convicted of fraud and conspiracy in the 2001 collapse of the Houston-based energy giant, that proved most stunning. Passing from the scene, too, were Sir Freddie Laker, the low-cost airline pioneer; IBM chief Frank Cary, who guided his firm into personal computing; oil mogul and philanthropist Perry Bass; and clothing mogul Bernard Lacoste.

Among the ranks of chief executives, farewells were said to Thomas Murphy (General Motors), Philip Walden (Capricorn Records), Edward Jefferson (DuPont), Herbert Doan (Dow Chemical), John Weinberg (Goldman Sachs), Andrall Pearson (Pepsico), Robert Anderson (Rockwell International), Arthur Wood (Sears Roebuck), Alan Shugart (Seagate Technology), Peter McColough (Xerox), Gary Comer (Lands' End), and Robert Brooks (Hooters restaurants).

Also Control Data Corp. cofounder William Norris, TRW cofounder Dean Wooldridge, toy marketer Bernard Loomis, country-music couturier Bobbie Nudie, restaurateur Rene Lasserre, vintner Rodney Strong, and liquor importer Sidney Frank.

New developments in science and medicine underscore the importance of past pioneers. Physicist James Van Allen discovered the Earth's radiation belts, which are now named for him. Ophthalmologist Charles Schepens was considered the father of modern retina surgery. Research scientist William Haxby helped map the ocean floors, as did oceanographic cartographer Marie Tharp. Our world is better understood thanks to geographer Gilbert White, wildlife biologist Vagn Flyger, geologist Sir Nicholas Shackleton, earth scientist Rhodes Fairbridge, physicist William Shurcliff, and conservationist Luna Leopold.

Nobel winners Owen Chamberlain (physics), Bruce Merrifield (chemistry), Raymond Davis (physics), and Melvin Schwartz (physics) died in '06, as did radiologist Edward Webster, immunologist Robin Coombs, endocrinologist Estelle Ramey, heart-transplant surgeon Norman Shumway, infectious disease expert Robert Petersdorf, psychiatrist Jean Baker Miller, and psychologists Eli Rubenstein and John Money.

Dartmouth College president James O. Freedman, who died last year, was a leading spokesman for the liberal arts. Marketing expert Theodore Levitt edited the influential Harvard Business Review. After serving as Harvard University counsel, Daniel Steiner ably led the New England Conservatory. Harvard anthropologist William White Howells advanced the art of establishing population relationships through physical measurement. Sarah Lawrence College president Alice Stone Ilchman was assistant US secretary of state for education and cultural affairs.

Mathematician Raoul Bott, Shakespeare scholar G. Blakemore Evans, Celtic Studies chair Charles Dunn, music professor Elliot Forbes, and classics expert Herbert Bloch, all influential Harvard scholars, died last year. Also Boston College professors Anne Ferry and Albert Duhamel, Boston University's Lee Rouner, Brandeis biochemist Martin Gibbs, UMass sociologist Daisy Tagliacozzo, and Tufts University president Burton Hallowell and dean Frank Colcord.

Remembered for their scholarly contributions were cultural anthropologist Clifford Geertz, political scientist Duane Lockard, Wellesley College economist Carolyn Shaw Bell , musicologists Dika Newlin and David McAllester, statistician Frederick Mosteller, journalism teacher James Carey, educator George Lenchner, Thoreau scholar Bradley Dean, English lit professor Gwin Kolb, art historian S. Lane Faison, and historian Vera Laska.

The world would be a duller place without inventors and innovators such as the late Scott Crossfield, the fabled test pilot who was the first person to fly at twice the speed of sound, and Stanley Mason, who devised such useful products as the disposable diaper and microwave cookware. Henriette Avram designed the automatic cataloging system used by libraries. Elma Farnsworth, with her husband, Philo T., built the first television set. Warren Mitofsky gifted vote-trackers with the exit poll. Leonard Greene invented the airplane stall-warning alarm, a device no one wants to hear.

Other originators who died last year included Robert Rich (nondairy whipped topping), Harry Olivieri (cheesesteak sandwich), Robert Baker (chicken nugget), Ray Noorda (network computing), Bill Kirschner (fiberglass skis), Stanley Hiller (helicopters), James Conway (Mister Softee ice cream), Rose Mattus (Haagen-Dazs ice cream), Alan Kotok (video games), and Bill Meistrell (neoprene wetsuit).

Among last year's departed are many who left an indelible mark on Boston and the Bay State. As a top aide to Mayor Ray Flynn, Raymond Dooley was a key policy maker and strategic thinker for the city during the 1980s. Julius Babbitt ably served four Republican governors before joining the JFK School of Government staff. Among many charitable works, Sister Jeannette Normandin founded a home for women with AIDS. John Andrew Ross, the musical director for "Black Nativity," and blues promoter Ted Leyasmeyer made Boston a more tuneful place, as did composer Daniel Pinkham.

Heathcare executive John Larkin Thompson was a key business leader. Boston City Council members Francis Ahearn and Anthony Crayton and state Representatives Edward Connolly and Mary Jeanette Murray provided valuable leadership as did Cambridge school chief Mary Lou McGrath and the Rev. Peter Southwell-Sander of the Old South Church. Particularly valorous in their service were police detectives Thomas Scott and Robert Cunningham and firefighter James Loftus.

The local arts community will miss dancer and teacher Sue Ronson Levy, architect Hugh Stubbins Jr., artists Polly Thayer Starr and Richard Sheehan, arts patron Norma Jean Calderwood, publisher-bon vivant Martin Slobodkin, and radio personalities Jack Lazare, Darrell "Cosmic Muffin" Martinie, and Richard Kaye.

Community advocates and activists Marjorie O'Neill, Marilyn Carrington, Adrian du Cille, Jack E. Robinson, Jahmol Norfleet, Benjamin Ricci, and Frederick Boyce are gone but not forgotten. The same may be said for jeweler Ara Barmakian; traffic reporter Joe Green, and newsman Roger Goodrich; restaurateur Charles Doe; attorneys Monroe Inker, Owen Brock, James Murray Howe IV, and Ellen Carpenter; Boston Marathon organizer Marja Bakker; busing foe Pixie Palladino; and ALS patient Stephen Heywood, subject of the moving film "So Much So Fast."

Because the Globe is a family, too, we mourn the deaths last year of senior copy editor Arthur Ballou; columnists David Farrell and Don Murray ; reporter-researcher Anastasia Mulvoy; reporter-editors Herbert Black and Bill Cardoso; pressmen Arthur Clark, Edmund Healey, Thomas Connelley, and Robert Krance; clerks Eleanor Higgins and Catherine Rae; designers Stanley Bitchell, Joseph Tole, and Anthony Burak; secretaries Ann Mullen and Kathleen McColgan; maintenance man John Oshea; printer-compositors Armand Martel and Dominic DeBellis; librarian Robert Barr; salespersons Loretta Mitchell, Lawrence Grant, and Robert Fleming; mailer Paul Sullivan; reporters Dean Brelis and Arthur Jones; and education reporter Muriel Cohen.

May all rest in peace, and in our memories, for the ages.

Joseph P. Kahn can be reached at jkahn@globe.com.