Pancreatic Cancer

Jaune Quick-to-See Smith (1940–2025), Native American artist

Jaune Quick-to-See Smith was a Native American artist, activist, and curator who used her work to explore Native American identity and the United States’ history of oppressing indigenous people.

Paul Teal (1989–2024), One Tree Hill actor 

Paul Teal was an actor best known for his performance as Josh Avery on the TV drama “One Tree Hill.”

Bruce Degen (1945–2024), The Magic School Bus illustrator

Bruce Degen was an artist and writer best known for illustrating dozens of books for young readers, including the beloved children’s book series “The Magic School Bus.”

Quincy Jones (1933–2024), legendary music producer

Quincy Jones was a noted jazz musician, film composer, and one of the greatest music producers of the 20th century, working with Frank Sinatra (1915–1998), Dinah Washington (1924–1963), Michael Jackson (1958–2009), and other top musicians.

Drake Hogestyn (1953–2024), longtime star of Days of Our Lives

Drake Hogestyn was an actor best known for his long-running role as John Black on the soap opera “Days of Our Lives.” 

Walt Ehmer (1966–2024), Waffle House CEO

Walt Ehmer was the CEO of the popular restaurant chain Waffle House from 2012 until his death.

Paul Harrell (1966–2024), firearms educator and YouTuber 

Paul Harrell was a U.S. Army and Marine Corps veteran who garnered a strong following on YouTube as a firearms educator and gun rights activist.

Linda Deutsch (1943–2024), court reporter who covered landmark trials

Linda Deutsch was an Associated Press reporter who made her name covering the landmark trials of legendary figures like , , Sirhan Sirhan, and .

Bob Tischler (1946–2024), former head writer on Saturday Night Live

Bob Tischler was a television writer and producer who produced four comedy albums before becoming the “Saturday Night Live” head writer in the early 1980s, helping champion Eddie Murphy’s rise to stardom.

Sheila Jackson Lee (1950–2024), 30-year congresswoman from Texas

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee was a 30-year congresswoman from Texas best known for her advocacy of progressive causes.

Howard Fineman (1948–2024), noted political journalist and commentator

Howard Fineman was a political journalist and television commentator who became a mainstay at Newsweek and NBC, covering nine presidential elections over the course of his career.

Héctor Ortiz (1969–2024), coach with the Texas Rangers 

Héctor Ortiz was a former Major League Baseball (MLB) catcher and a coach with the Texas Rangers.

Wayne Kramer (1948–2024), MC5 guitarist and co-founder 

Wayne Kramer was a guitarist and one of the co-founders of MC5, a loud, politically charged rock band out of Detroit that is credited as a major precursor to what would become punk.

Brian Barczyk (1969–2024), TikTok reptile expert 

Brian Barczyk was a reptile expert who founded the Reptarium Reptile Zoo in Michigan and had widely followed channels on TikTok and YouTube.

Camden Toy (1955–2023), Buffy the Vampire Slayer character actor

Camden Toy was a character actor who specialized in villains and creatures for independent movies and horror shows like "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," often performing under layers of grotesque prosthetics and makeup.

John Delendick (1949–2023), FDNY chaplain on 9/11

Rev. Monsignor John Delendick was a Catholic chaplain with the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) who comforted firefighters and their families at Ground Zero after the 9/11 attacks.

Richard Roundtree (1942–2023), star of Shaft 

Richard Roundtree was an actor who became the first Black action star when he played an ultra-cool private detective in “Shaft.” 

Dom Famularo (1953–2023), worldwide advocate for drumming

Dom Famularo was a drummer and drum teacher who became renowned and respected for his four decades of advocacy for the art.

Edith Grossman (1936–2023), Gabriel García Márquez's translator 

Edith Grossman was a literary translator best known for her work with the novels of great Spanish-language authors.

Samuel Wurzelbacher (1973–2023), Joe the Plumber conservative activist  

Samuel Wurzelbacher was a conservative activist and commentator better known as “Joe the Plumber.” 

John Warnock (1940–2023), tech giant and co-creator of the PDF 

John Warnock was a computer scientist and tech businessman who co-founded Adobe Systems, makers of software mainstays like Illustrator, Photoshop, and the ubiquitous PDF file format.

John Fielder (1950–2023), celebrated Colorado landscape photographer

John Fielder was a photographer known for his images of Colorado’s natural beauty.

Daniel Ellsberg (1931–2023), Pentagon Papers whistleblower

Daniel Ellsberg was a political activist who exposed the Pentagon Papers, top-secret documents that analyzed U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War.

Rev. Timothy Keller (1950–2023), pastor and bestselling author

Rev. Timothy Keller was the well-known pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, New York, as well as the author of bestselling books of Christianity and faith.

Andy Rourke (1964–2023), bassist for the Smiths 

Andy Rourke was the bassist for the British band the Smiths, known for their melodic ‘80s indie rock.

Eileen Saki (1943–2023), played Rosie on M*A*S*H

Eileen Saki was an actor best known as the third and final person to play the role of Rosie, the bar owner on the Korean War sitcom, “M*A*S*H.”

Michael Rhodes (1953–2023), bassist on How Do I Live

Michael Rhodes was a bass player known for his work on Nashville hits including “I Hope You Dance” and “How Do I Live.”

Robbie Knievel (1962–2023), daredevil and son of Evel Knievel

Robbie Knievel was a daredevil known for motorcycle stunts, following in the footsteps of his father, .

Louis Orr (1958–2022), former NBA player and college basketball coach   

Louis Orr was a college basketball star at Syracuse University who played in the NBA and was a college basketball head coach.

Aline Kominsky-Crumb (1948–2022), pioneer of women’s underground comics

Aline Kominsky-Crumb was a comics artist and a leader of the movement of women writing and drawing underground comics.

Wilko Johnson (1947–2022), Dr. Feelgood guitarist

Wilko Johnson was a musician and actor who was the guitarist for the British pub rock band Dr. Feelgood and played an executioner in “Game of Thrones.”  

Robert LuPone (1946–2022), “A Chorus Line” star

Robert LuPone was an actor who was nominated for a Tony Award for his performance as Zach in the original Broadway cast of “A Chorus Line.”

Wolfgang Petersen (1941–2022), director of “Das Boot,” “The NeverEnding Story”

Wolfgang Petersen was the Oscar-nominated director of movies including “Das Boot,” “Air Force One,” and “The NeverEnding Story.”

George Pérez (1954–2022), comic book artist who rebooted Wonder Woman

George P érez was a comic book artist and writer known for his work on series including “Wonder Woman” and “Crisis on Infinite Earths.”

Harry Reid (1939–2021), former U.S. Senate Majority Leader

Harry Reid was a U.S. Senator from Nevada from 1987 to 2017, including an eight-year tenure as the Senate Majority Leader from 2007 to 2015.

Curley Culp (1946–2021), Hall of Fame defensive lineman

Curley Culp was a Hall of Fame nose tackle who won a Super Bowl with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Willie Garson (1964–2021), “Sex and the City” star

Willie Garson was an actor best known for playing Stanford Blatch on “Sex and the City.”

Rick Aiello (1955–2021), “Do the Right Thing” actor

Rick Aiello was an actor known for roles in movies including “Do the Right Thing” and Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me.”

Alcee Hastings (1936–2021), longtime U.S. Representative from Florida

Alcee Hastings was a U.S. Representative from Florida who served from 1993 until his death.

Siegfried Fischbacher (1939–2021), half of Siegfried & Roy magic duo

Siegfried Fischbacher was a German-American entertainer who was one half of Siegfried & Roy, the famed Las Vegas stage magic duo who incorporated white tigers and lions into their act.

Alex Trebek (1940–2020), beloved 'Jeopardy!' host

Alex Trebek was the beloved host of the iconic game show “Jeopardy!” for more than 35 years.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg (1933–2020), influential U.S. Supreme Court justice

Ruth Bader Ginsburg was an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, the second woman and the first Jewish woman appointed to the court in U.S. history.

Frankie Banali (1951–2020), Quiet Riot drummer    

Drummer for Quiet Riot’s classic hit-making line-up, Frankie Banali also played with W.A.S.P.

Donna Kauffman (1960–2020), bestselling romance novelist

Donna Kauffman was a bestselling romance novelist whose books include “Blue Hollow Falls,” “Sugar Rush,” and “Pelican Point.”

Jeff Blackshear (1969–2019), former NFL offensive lineman

Jeff Blackshear was an offensive lineman who played with the Baltimore Ravens, Seattle Seahawks, Kansas City Chiefs, and Green Bay Packers. The guard started every game for the Ravens from 1997 until 1999. He was drafted by the Seahawks out of Northeast Louisiana University in the eighth round.

D&D-loving grandma's Twitter eulogy is the loveliest thing you'll read today

Fighting cancer at 75, she fell in love with her grandson's fantasy role-playing game.

Johnny Clegg (1953–2019), South African music legend

His multi-racial bands performed in defiance of apartheid segregation.

Bushwick Bill (1966–2019), rapper with the Geto Boys

Bushwick Bill was a member of the iconic Houston based rap trio the Geto Boys. Real name Richard Shaw, he was born in Kingston, Jamaica with dwarfism. He first joined the Geto Boys as a dancer and then became a rapper alongside Willie D and Scarface. The trio were pioneers of southern hip-hop and horrorcore. Bushwick Bill was featured on the Geto Boy’s hit songs, “Mind Playing Tricks on Me” and “Damn It Feels Good to Be a Gangsta.” He also released multiple solo albums.

Vonda McIntyre (1948–2019), author who gave George Takei's Mr. Sulu his name

Wrote novelizations of Star Trek films including “Search for Spock.”