Saying Goodbye To Old Friends
I can’t remember how or when it all started. But over the years, and the older I became, the more I read the obituaries.
Soon I became interested in reading the eulogies mostly trying to learn about the recently deceased and the legacy that they will leave behind. This is saying goodbye to old friends.
Many aspects of death fascinated me, especially the fact that everything surrounding death is unknown and a mystery. Soon with all my reading, my views on death changed. Death still remains a mystery but my fears diminished.
Think for a moment about the number of people that pass away each year. They come from all walks of life. Some are famous and rich, while others are poor and less noble.
However, no one eludes death no matter what race or religion. This fact verifies “death” is a natural part of the life cycle and should not be feared.
Now that the year is coming to a close, I am always curious about the people we leave behind. The folks that didn’t make it to the new year. Every year I start to research the notable people we lost in the current year.
This year I decided to compile a list of these people who have touched our lives over the years, who passed away in 2010. I also put together a video on YouTube with their photos with Sarah McLachlan singing Angel in the background.
We may not remember all their names or place all their faces, but we will never forget their accomplishments or the legacy they left us with.
Notable names in Sports, Entertainment, Music & History:
Thank you for being a part of our lives – God Bless you and rest in Eternal peace
| Name | Date of Death | Age | Legacy |
| Art Clokey | January 08, 2010 | 88 | Stop motion animator (Gumby, Davey and Goliath) |
| Miep Gies | January 11, 2010 | 100 | protector of Anne Frank and her family |
| Teddy Pendergrass | January 13, 2010 | 59 | Soul singer Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes |
| Carl Smith | January 16, 2010 | 82 | 1950’s Country Singer |
| Erich Segal | January 17, 2010 | 72 | professor, author (Love Story), and screenwriter (Yellow Submarine) |
| Pernell Roberts | January 24, 2010 | 81 | Bonanza and Trapper John MD TV series |
| J.D. Salinger | January 27, 2010 | 94 | Catcher in the Rye Author |
| Zelda Rubinstein | January 27, 2010 | 76 | actress (Poltergeist, Picket Fences) |
| Mallia Franklin | February 05, 2010 | 57 | Singer for Parliament ~ |
| Dale Hawkins | February 13, 2010 | 73 | Rockabilly guitarist musician |
| Doug Fieger | February 14, 2010 | 57 | Musician (The Knack) |
| Tom Wolk | February 28, 2010 | 58 | Bass guitarist (Hall & Oates) |
| Ron Banks | March 04, 2010 | 58 | Singer (The Dramatics) |
| Lolly Vegas | March 04, 2010 | 70 | Singer (Redbone) |
| Merlin Olsen | March 11, 2010 | 69 | Football player LA Rams |
| Corey Haim | March 10, 2010 | 38 | Canadian actor (Lucas, The Lost Boys, License to Drive) |
| Lesley Duncan | March 12, 2010 | 66 | British singer-songwriter |
| Peter Graves | March 14, 2010 | 83 | Actor (Mission: Impossible, Airplane!) |
| Ron Lundy, | March 15, 2010 | 75 | A radio disc jockey (WABC, WCBS-FM) |
| Alex Chilton, | March 17, 2010 | 59 | Musician (The Box Tops) |
| Fess Parker | March 18, 2010 | 85 | Actor (Davy Crockett, Daniel Boone) |
| Robert Culp | March 24, 2010 | 79 | Actor (I Spy, The Greatest Hero, Everybody Loves Raymond) |
| Johnny Maestro | March 24, 2010 | 70 | Singer (The Crests, The Brooklyn Bridge) |
| Elliot Willensky | March 29, 2010 | 66 | Songwriter (Micheal Jackson’s Got to be There) |
| Jaime Escalante | March 30, 2010 | 79 | inspiration for the film Stand and Deliver |
| John Forsythe | April 01, 2010 | 92 | Actor (Bachelor Father, Charlie’s Angels, Dynasty |
| Buddy Gorman | April 01, 2010 | 88 | Actor (Bowery Boys, Dead End Kids) |
| Eddie Carroll, | April 06, 2010 | 76 | Canadian voice actor (Jiminy Cricket). |
| Wilma Mankiller | April 06, 2010 | 64 | first female Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation |
| Malcolm McLaren | April 08, 2010 | 64 | musician Sex Pistols, New York Dolls |
| Meinhardt Raabe | April 09, 2010 | 94 | He was one of the last surviving Munchkin- in The Wizard of Oz ~ He played the coroner |
| 250 people died | April 10, 2010 | the Polish Air Force Tu-154 plane crash | |
| Dixie Carter | April 10, 2010 | 70 | Actress (Designing Women, Diff’rent Strokes |
| Benjamin Hooks | April 15, 2010 | 85 | Civil rights leader |
| Daryl Gates | April 16, 2010 | 83 | Chief of police LA PD during the Manson Family Murders |
| Dorothy Provine | April 25, 2010 | 73 | Actress, (It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World) |
| Lynn Redgrave | May 02, 2010 | 67 | English actress (Georgy Girl, Gods, and Monsters) |
| Ernie Harwell | May 04, 2010 | 92 | sportscaster Detroit Tigers |
| Robin Roberts | May 06, 2010 | 83 | Professional Baseball Player |
| Dave Fisher, | May 07, 2010 | 69 | Folk singer (The Highwaymen) |
| Lena Horne | May 09, 2010 | 92 | Singer and actress (Stormy Weather, The Wiz) |
| Erica Blasberg | May 09, 2010 | 25 | LPGA golfer |
| Ronnie James Dio | May 16, 2010 | 67 | heavy metal singer (Black Sabbath), |
| José Lima, | May 23, 2010 | 37 | Professional baseball player, |
| Jarvis Williams, | May 25, 2010 | 45 | Professional football player (Miami Dolphins, New York Giants) |
| Art Linkletter | May 26, 2010 | 97 | television personality (House Party, People are Funny) |
| Gary Coleman | May 28, 2010 | 42 | Actor (Diff’rent Strokes) |
| Dennis Hopper | May 29, 2010 | 74 | Actor and film director (Easy Rider, Speed) |
| Ali-Ollie Woodson | May 30, 2010 | 58 | Soul singer (The Temptations) |
| Dorothy DeBorba | June 02, 2010 | 85 | Actress (Our Gang) |
| Joe Gardi, | June 02, 2010 | 71 | Hofstra University football coach |
| Rue McClanahan | June 03, 2010 | 76 | Actress (The Golden Girls, Maude |
| John Wooden | June 04, 2010 | 99 | Professional basketball player (Purdue, Indianapolis Kautskys) and coach (UCLA, 1948–1975) |
| Tony Peluso | June 04, 2010 | 60 | Guitarist (The Carpenters) |
| Marvin Isley | June 06, 2010 | 56 | Bassist (The Isley Brothers, Isley-Jasper-Isley), |
| Crispian St. Peters, | June 08, 2010 | 71 | British pop singer (“The Pied Piper”, “You Were on My Mind”) |
| Jimmy Dean | June 13, 2010 | 81 | country music singer (Big Bad John), actor and businessman (Jimmy Dean Foods) |
| Jim Pugliano, | June 15, 2010 | 63 | Drummer (The Jaggerz, The Rapper) |
| Garry Shider, | June 16, 2010 | 56 | Musician (Parliament-Funkadelic) |
| Ronald Neame | June 16, 2010 | 99 | British film director (The Poseidon Adventure) |
| Manute Bol | June 19, 2010 | 47 | Professional basketball player |
| Don Coryell | July 01, 2010 | 85 | Professional NFL coach (San Diego Chargers, St. Louis Cardinals) |
| Bob Sheppard, | July 11, 2010 | 99 | Public address announcer New York Yankees, New York Giants |
| George Steinbrenner | July 13, 2010 | 80 | Major League baseball team owner (New York Yankees), |
| Ralph Houk | July 21, 2010 | 90 | Baseball Manager (New York Yankees) |
| Vic Ziegel | July 23, 2010 | 72 | Sportswriter (NY Daily News) |
| Kenyon Cotton | July 23, 2010 | 23 | Professional football player (Baltimore Ravens) |
| Jack Tatum | July 27, 2010 | 61 | Professional football player (Oakland Raiders), |
| Lorenzen Wright | July 28, 2010 | 34 | Professional basketball player (Los Angeles Clippers) |
| Mitch Miller | July 31, 2010 | 99 | music executive and television host (Sing Along with Mitch) |
| Patricia Neal | August 08, 2010 | 84 | Actress, 1964 Academy Award winner (Hud) |
| Antonio Pettigrew | August 10, 2010 | 42 | 1999 Olympic sprinter |
| Edwin Newman | August 13, 2010 | 91 | journalist and newscaster (NBC News) |
| Bobby Thomson | August 16, 2010 | 86 | baseball player (Shot Heard ‘Round the World) |
| Cammie King | September 01, 2010 | 76 | Actress (Gone with the Wind) |
| Glenn Shadix, | September 07, 2010 | 58 | Actor (Beetlejuice, The Nightmare Before Christmas) |
| Harold Gould | September 11, 2010 | 86 | Actor (The Sting, Rhoda, The Golden Girls) |
| Kevin McCarthy | September 11, 2010 | 96 | Actor Invasion of the Body Snatchers |
| Leonard Skinner | September 20, 2010 | 77 | Schoolteacher, the namesake of Lynyrd Skynyrd |
| Kenny McKinley, | September 20, 2010 | 23 | Professional football player (Denver Broncos) |
| Eddie Fisher | September 22, 2010 | 82 | Singer and entertainer |
| Gloria Stuart | September 26, 2010 | 100 | Actress (The Invisible Man, Titanic) |
| George Blanda | September 27, 2010 | 83 | Hall of Fame football player (Chicago Bears, Houston Oilers, Oakland Raiders) |
| Tony Curtis | September 29, 2010 | 85 | Actor (Some Like It Hot, Spartacus, The Defiant Ones) |
| Maury Allen, | October 03, 2010 | 78 | sportswriter (The New York Post) |
| Norman Wisdom | October 04, 2010 | 95 | British comedian and actor |
| Johnny Sheffield | October 15, 2010 | 79 | actor (Tarzan Finds a Son!, Bomba, the Jungle Boy, Knute Rockne All ) |
| Barbara Billingsley | October 16, 2010 | 94 | actress (Leave It to Beaver) |
| Tom Bosley | October 19, 2010 | 83 | actor (Happy Days, Father Dowling Mysteries) |
| Bob Guccione | October 20, 2010 | 79 | publisher, founder of Penthouse |
| James MacArthur | October 28, 2010 | 72 | actor (Hawaii Five-O, Swiss Family Robinson) |
| Jim Hunter | October 29, 2010 | 71 | NASCAR vice president |
| Shannon Tavarez | November 01, 2010 | 11 | actress (The Lion King), |
| Andy Irons | November 02, 2010 | 32 | Professional surfer |
| Sparky Anderson | November 04, 2010 | 76 | Baseball Hall of Famer and manager (Cincinnati Reds, Detroit Tigers) |
| Jill Clayburgh | November 05, 2010 | 66 | actress (An Unmarried Woman Ally McBeal) |
| Dino De Laurentiis | November 11, 2010 | 91 | Italian film producer |
| Tony West, | November 11, 2010 | 72 | British musician (The Searchers) |
| Pat Burns | November 19, 2010 | 58 | NHL coach |
| Ronni Chasen | November 16, 2010 | 64 | Hollywood Publicist |
| Gil McDougald, | November 28, 2010 | 82 | Professional baseball player (New York Yankees), |
| Leslie Nielsen | November 28, 2010 | 84 | Actor (Airplane!, The Naked Gun) |
| Ron Santo | December 02, 2010 | 70 | Professional baseball player (Cubs) |
| Don Meredith | December 05, 2010 | 72 | Professional football player (Dallas Cowboys) and commentator (Monday Night Football), |
| Elizabeth Edwards | December 07, 2010 | 61 | Wife of former Senator John Edwards |
