As we say goodbye to 2019, there are many we’ve said farewell to throughout the year. This space isn’t large enough to list them all but we will look at some of the notable ones. Some of these you will remember. Some..you may not.
Entertainment: Daryl Dragon: the ‘Captain’ of Captain and Tennille fame passed on January 2nd. Also leaving us this year: writer Toni Morrison, singer/actress Doris Day, actor Luke Perry, puppeteer Caroll Spinney (the voice and soul of Sesame Street’s Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch), pioneering black actress Diahann Carroll, former radio host Don Imus, wrestling announcer “Mean” Gene Okerlund, singer Eddie Money, reality TV star Beth Chapman (wife of Dog the Bounty Hunter), Easy Rider actor Peter Fonda, Boyz in the Hood director John Singleton, actor Danny Aiello and Maude actor Bill Macy. We also cannot forget Internet icon Grumpy Cat.
Politics and Government: This past year we lost a leader in the U.S. House of Representatives: Maryland Democrat Elijah Cummings. He was a central figure in the pursuit of impeachment articles against President Donald Trump. Also leaving us this year: former Michigan congressman John Conyers, Supreme Court justice John Paul Stevens, former Southe Carolina senator (and a real character) Ernest “Fritz” Hollings, former North Carolina senator Kay Hagen and third-party presidential candidate back in the day H. Ross Perot.
Sports: Tyler Trent wasn’t an athlete..but he was a super fan of Purdue University’s Boilermakers. He died New Year’s Day 2019 of cancer. Here is ESPN reporter Tom Rinaldi’s remembrance.
Other notable sports deaths include: NASCAR pioneer Junior Johnson, former high school football coach Herman Boone (portrayed by Denzel Washington in the movie Remember the Titans), former Iowa football coach Hayden Fry, Green Bay Packers’ Super Bowl champ Bart Starr, former Summerville (SC) high school football coach John McKissick (the winningest football coach at any level), Boston Celtics great John Havlicek and racer Jessi Combs (dubbed “fastest woman on the planet).
Journalists: If it had to do with politics, NPR’s Cokie Roberts knew all about it. She was a child of politicians and was immersed in that world at an early age. She died in September at 75. Other journalists who left us: former ABC reporters Sander Vanocur and Sylvia Chase, writer and TV consumer advocate David Horowitz and Auburn University play-by-play broadcaster Rod Bramblett (with his wife Paula in a car accident in May).
There are so many people I’ve not named. I do want to mention one more.
Luis Alvarez was there on one of the darkest days in American history: 9/11. He was also there when others who were at ‘Ground Zero’ needed him. He was on Capitol Hill on June 11th when the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund was threatened. He knew he was terminally ill..but went anyway and delivered an impassioned testimony to sustain the fund. He succeeded..prompting Congress to renew the fund for decades. Alvarez died less than three weeks later. His effort — and those of others — will not soon be forgotten.
We say farewell to these notable people and a multitude of others who have been among us each day as a new year..and new memories arise.
WELCOME TO MY WORLD!! 