Obituary Stories category, Page 3
Ross mourns passings of former police officers Boyd, Freedman
The Ross community mourned the recent passings of two longtime public servants in the township, who died two weeks apart in August. Howard Boyd, a former Ross police officer and code enforcement officer, died on Saturday, Aug. 16. He was 83. Ralph C. Freedman Jr., a former police officer, chief...
CBS News’ Mark Knoller, veteran White House correspondent, dies at 73
Mark Knoller, a longtime White House correspondent for CBS News, has died, according to the network. He was 73. A cause of death was was not disclosed, but he had reportedly suffered from diabetes and was in poor health. “Mark Knoller was the hardest-working and most prolific White House correspondent...
Washington High School teacher and coach Ron Todd remembered for dedication to community
William Ronald Todd was more than a football coach and teacher in the Washington, Pa. School District. “Ron Todd was a great guy. He’s going to be dearly missed,” said one of his colleagues, Mike Bosnic Sr. The elder Bosnic, like Todd, is on the Prexies coaching staff led by...
Mariam Dagga, AP freelance journalist in Gaza, was killed by an Israeli strike
Mariam Dagga, a visual journalist who freelanced for The Associated Press and other news organizations and produced harrowing images of the war in Gaza, was killed Monday by an Israeli strike on a hospital. She was 33. Through photographs and video, Dagga captured the lives of ordinary Palestinians facing extraordinary...
Matthew Rooney, grandson of Steelers founder Art Rooney, dead at 51
Matthew “Dutch” Rooney, grandson of Pittsburgh Steelers founding owner Art Rooney, has died. An obituary says he died Aug. 15 at his home in East Hampton, New York. He was 51. Steelers spokesman Burt Lauten confirmed his death to TribLive and said the Rooney family is mourning his loss. A...
Brent Hinds, former Mastodon singer-guitarist, dies at 51 in motorcycle crash
Brent Hinds, the former singer-guitarist for the Grammy-winning heavy metal band Mastodon, has died in a motorcycle accident in Atlanta, the band and authorities said. He was 51. Hinds was killed while riding a Harley-Davidson motorcycle late Wednesday night when the driver of a BMW SUV failed to yield while...
James Dobson, Focus on the Family founder and key leader on the Christian right, dies at 89
COLORADO SPRINGS, Co. — James Dobson, who founded the conservative Christian ministry Focus on the Family and was a politically influential campaigner against abortion and LGBTQ+ rights, died on Thursday. He was 89. Born in 1936 in Shreveport, Louisiana, Dobson was a child psychologist who launched a radio show to...
Rhode Island Judge Frank Caprio, whose empathy in court earned him fame online, dies at 88
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Frank Caprio, a retired municipal judge in Rhode Island who found online fame as a caring jurist and host of ” Caught in Providence,” died. He was 88. His official social media accounts said Wednesday he “passed away peacefully” after “a long and courageous battle with pancreatic...
Jeannette’s Smarto remembered for strong community ties, commitment to family
Janice Smarto made a name for herself in real estate and community service, but it was dedication to her family where she stood tall, her daughter said Wednesday. Smarto, 82, died Aug. 10 from injuries sustained in a fall two weeks earlier in her Jeannette home. “She was a spitfire...
Danielle Spencer, former child actor known for sitcom ‘What’s Happening!!,’ dies at 60
Danielle Spencer, the former child star who played sassy tattletale Dee Thomas on the 1970s sitcom “What’s Happening!!,” has died. She was 60. Spencer died Monday after she “lost her battle with cancer,” her brother, jazz trumpeter Jeremy Pelt, announced on Instagram. Spencer had suffered other health issues — including...
Robbie Brewer dies after medical emergency during race at Bowman Gray Stadium
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — A veteran stock-car driver at a North Carolina short track died over the weekend after suffering a medical emergency while competing in a race, officials said. Robbie Brewer’s car struck head-on a wall on the quarter-mile track at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem and came to a...
Apollo 13 moon mission leader James Lovell dies at 97
CHICAGO — James Lovell, the commander of Apollo 13 who helped turn a failed moon mission into a triumph of on-the-fly can-do engineering, has died. He was 97. Lovell died Thursday in Lake Forest, Ill., NASA said in a statement Friday. “Jim’s character and steadfast courage helped our nation reach...
Brandon Blackstock, Kelly Clarkson’s ex-husband and former manager, dies at 48
Brandon Blackstock, Kelly Clarkson’s ex-husband and talent manager, has died of cancer, his family said Thursday. He was 48. “Brandon bravely battled cancer for more than three years,” a representative for the Blackstock family shared in a statement to The Associated Press. “He passed away peacefully and was surrounded by...
Eddie Palmieri, pioneering Latin jazz musician and Grammy winner, dies at 88
Eddie Palmieri, the avant-garde musician who was one of the most innovative artists of rumba and Latin jazz, has died. He was 88. Fania Records announced Palmieri’s death Wednesday evening. Palmieri’s daughter Gabriela told The New York Times that her father died earlier that day at his home in New...
Popular 1980s actor Loni Anderson of the hit TV series ‘WKRP in Cincinnati’ has died
LOS ANGELES — Loni Anderson, who played a struggling radio station’s empowered receptionist on the hit TV comedy “WKRP in Cincinnati,” died Sunday, just days before her 80th birthday. Anderson died at a Los Angeles hospital following a prolonged illness, said her longtime publicist, Cheryl J. Kagan. “We are heartbroken...
Hall of Fame 2nd baseman Ryne Sandberg dies after battling cancer
CHICAGO — Ryne Sandberg, a Hall of Fame second baseman who became one of baseball’s best all-around players while starring for the Chicago Cubs, has died. He was 65. Sandberg was surrounded by his family when he died at his home Monday, according to the team. Sandberg announced in January...
Tom Lehrer, song satirist and mathematician, dies at 97
LOS ANGELES — Tom Lehrer, the popular song satirist who lampooned marriage, politics, racism and the Cold War, then largely abandoned his music career to return to teaching math at Harvard and other universities, has died. He was 97. Longtime friend David Herder said Lehrer died Saturday at his home...
Jazz trumpeter Chuck Mangione of ‘Feels So Good’ fame dead at 84Video
NEW YORK — Chuck Mangione, the Rochester-born jazz trumpeter who rocketed to worldwide fame with his 1978 album “Feels So Good,” has died. He was 84. Mangione died from natural causes on Tuesday at his home in Rochester, his family told the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle. Though “Feels So Good”...
Hulk Hogan, icon in professional wrestling, dies at age 71Video
CLEARWATER, Fla. — Hulk Hogan, the mustachioed, headscarf-wearing icon in the world of professional wrestling, has died at the age of 71, Florida police and WWE said Thursday. In Clearwater, Florida, authorities responded to a call Thursday morning about a cardiac arrest. Hogan was pronounced dead at a hospital, police...
Legendary singer Connie Francis dead at 87
Connie Francis, the wholesome pop star of the 1950s and 1960s whose hits include “Pretty Little Baby” and who would later serve as an ironic title for a personal life filled with heartbreak and tragedy, has died at age 87. Her death was announced Thursday by her friend and publicist,...
Jimmy Joe Robinson, Pitt’s 1st Black varsity football player, dies at 97
Jimmy Joe Robinson, the first Black varsity football player at Pitt, died Monday at the age of 97, the university announced Wednesday afternoon. Robinson was born in Connellsville and debuted with the Panthers in 1945, when Pitt finished 3-7 under coach Clark Shaughnessy. He lettered at Pitt for two additional...
Reserve native remembered for work helping Pittsburgh HIV/AIDS community
After being diagnosed with HIV in Delaware in 1987, six years after graduating from Shaler Area High School, Bart Rauluk was given a book with what was known about AIDS at the time and told to get ready to die. “He refused to read the book,” said his niece, Arianne...
Former Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Jim Shooter, a Pittsburgh native, dies at 73
Former Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Jim Shooter, a native of Pittsburgh, died Monday at age 73. Shooter died after battling esophageal cancer, according to several reports. A 1969 graduate of Bethel Park High School, Shooter plotted stories for DC Comics as a teenager, created dozens of characters for several companies and...
Televangelist Jimmy Swaggart, whose ministry was toppled by prostitution scandals, dies at 90
BATON ROUGE, La. — Televangelist Jimmy Swaggart, whose multimillion-dollar ministry and huge audience dwindled following his prostitution scandals, has died. He was 90. Swaggart death was announced Tuesday on his public Facebook page. A cause wasn’t immediately given, though Swaggart had been in ill health. The Louisiana native was best...
Bill Moyers, the former White House press secretary turned acclaimed TV journalist, dead at 91
NEW YORK — Bill Moyers, the former White House press secretary who became one of television’s most honored journalists, masterfully using a visual medium to illuminate a world of ideas, died Thursday at age 91. Moyers died in a New York City hospital, according to longtime friend Tom Johnson, the...
