Last Surviving

Garth Hudson (1937–2025), last surviving member of The Band

Garth Hudson was a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame-inducted keyboardist and the last surviving member of The Band.

Don Marshall (1932–2024), five-time Stanley Cup winner

Don Marshall was an NHL veteran who won five straight Stanley Cups with the Montreal Canadiens and was the last surviving member of the legendary 1956 team. 

Ed Kranepool (1944–2024), 18-year New York Mets veteran

Ed Kranepool was a career New York Met and 18-year veteran of the team, being on hand from their first year and playing through its initial failures and successes.

Joe Engle (1932–2024), NASA astronaut and X-15 test pilot

Joe Engle was a pilot and NASA astronaut who was one of just 12 pilots to fly missions on the North American X-15, an experimental spaceplane.

Clarence “Bud” Anderson (1922–2024), last surviving WWII triple ace

Clarence “Bud” Anderson was a celebrated U.S. Air Force pilot who was the last surviving triple ace of WWII and the highest scoring P-51 Mustang pilot in his squadron.

Mike Pinder (1941–2024), the Moody Blues' last original member

Mike Pinder was the original keyboardist and the last surviving founding member of the superstar English rock band the Moody Blues, and an inductee in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Carl Erskine (1926–2024), All-Star pitcher during Dodgers’ heyday

Carl Erskine was an All-Star pitcher and the last of the “Boys of Summer” Dodgers teams of the 1940s and 1950s, who hurled two no-hitters with the team during their most illustrious era.

Ralph Puckett Jr. (1926–2024), last Korean War Medal of Honor recipient 

Ralph Puckett Jr. was an Army Ranger who served with valor in the Korean War and received the Medal of Honor more than 70 years later.

Henry Fambrough (1938–2024), last original member of the Spinners

Henry Fambrough was an R&B singer best known as one of the original members of the Motown group the Spinners.

Joyce Randolph (1924–2024), last surviving star of The Honeymooners

Joyce Randolph was an actress known best for playing Trixie Norton on the classic sitcom “The Honeymooners.”

Richard Barancik (1924–2023), last of the Monuments Men of WWII 

Richard Barancik was the last surviving member of the Monuments Men, a group of around 400 who worked to help protect, preserve, and return cultural items, art, and other significant artifacts affected by or stolen during World War II. 

Léon Gautier (1922–2023), last surviving French D-Day fighter 

Léon Gautier was a veteran of the French military, the country’s last surviving D-Day veteran.

Marlene Hagge-Vossler (1934–2023), last surviving LPGA founder

Marlene Hagge-Vossler was one of the 13 women who co-founded the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) in 1950, the last of the group to survive.

Ben Ferencz (1920–2023), convicted Nazis at Nuremburg trials

Ben Ferencz was the last living prosecutor who convicted Nazis in the Nuremburg trials for their war crimes. 

Gary Rossington (1951–2023), last surviving original Lynyrd Skynyrd member

Gary Rossington was a founding guitarist of the iconic Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, the last of the band’s original members to die.

Ricou Browning (1930–2023), Creature from the Black Lagoon’s Gill-man

Ricou Browning was an actor, stuntman, screenwriter, and director who played the Gill-man in the classic horror film “Creature from the Black Lagoon.”

Alan Copeland (1926–2022), last surviving member of the Modernaires

Alan Copeland was a singer with the Modernaires known for his appearances on “Your Hit Parade.”

Johnny Johnson (1921–2022), last surviving WWII Dambuster

Johnny Johnson was the last surviving member of the Royal Air Force squadron who bombed German dams in the morale-boosting World War II Dambusters raid.

Mickey Kuhn (1932–2022), last surviving “Gone With the Wind” cast member

Mickey Kuhn was the last surviving credited cast member of the 1939 smash “Gone With the Wind,” having played Beau Wilkes as a child actor.

Daniel Smith (1932–2022), last known living child of an enslaved American

Daniel Smith was believed to have been the last living child of a formerly enslaved American.

Virginia Patton (1925–2022), “It’s a Wonderful Life” actress 

Virginia Patton was an actress who is best remembered for playing the sister-in-law of Jimmy Stewart’s George Bailey in the holiday classic “It’s a Wonderful Life.”   

Bradford Freeman (1924–2022), last surviving “Band of Brothers” veteran

Bradford Freeman was a U.S. Army veteran of World War II and the last surviving member of Easy Company, the battalion made famous by the miniseries “Band of Brothers.”

Maxine McNair (2022), last surviving parent of a 1963 Birmingham bombing victim

Maxine McNair was a teacher whose daughter, Denise McNair, was killed in the 1963 bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama.

Edward Shames (1922–2021), last surviving “Band of Brothers” officer

Edward Shames was a U.S. Army veteran of World War II and the last surviving officer from Easy Company, profiled in the book and miniseries “Band of Brothers.”

Edgar Harrell (1924–2021), last surviving Marine from the USS Indianapolis

Edgar Harrell was the last living U.S. Marine who was serving on the USS Indianapolis during World War II when it was torpedoed and sank.

Jean Kennedy Smith (1928–2020), last surviving Kennedy sibling

Jean Kennedy Smith was the last surviving sibling of President and a diplomat who helped with the effort toward peace in Northern Ireland.

Mary Pratt (1918–2020), last surviving member of 1943 Rockford Peaches baseball team

Mary Pratt was a pitcher with the Rockford Peaches in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, which was featured in the hit 1992 movie “A League of Their Own.”

Werner Doehner (1929–2019), last survivor of the Hindenburg disaster

He was 8 years old when the Hindenburg crashed in 1937.

Richard Cole (1915–2019), last surviving member of World War II’s Doolittle Raiders

Co-pilot of the lead plane in the daring air raid on Japan.

Dick Churchill (2019), last surviving WWII "Great Escape" team member

Dick Churchill was the last surviving member of the real-life "Great Escape" team, who escaped from a German POW camp during World War II and were later immortalized on film in the 1963 Steve McQueen classic.

Jerry Maren (1920 – 2018), last surviving “Wizard of Oz” munchkin

Jerry Maren, the last surviving Oz munchkin, died during the last week of May, 2018 at a San Diego nursing care facility, according to multiple news sources. He was 98.