Obituaries: dies

Showing posts with label dies. Show all posts

02 January 2014

Music: Final Exits of 2013

Politics: Final Exits of 2013

Final Exits of 2013

16 August 2011

Ex-Zimbabwean Military Chief Dies

General Solomon Mujuru, Zimbabwe's retired military chief and husband of the current vice president, has died at his farm outside Harare.

Initial reports say Mujuru, who was in his mid-to-late 60s, was killed in a house fire.

Mujuru led the guerrilla war that won Zimbabwe its independence from Britain in 1980, and served as military commander under President Robert Mugabe for more than a decade.

He was married to Vice President Joice Mujuru, the leader of a faction of Zimbabwe's ruling party who is vying to succeed the 87-year-old Mugabe once he steps down from office. The other faction is led by Defense Minster Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Mr. Mugabe entered into a power sharing agreement with Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai in 2008 after disputed elections were held.

15 August 2011

Oldest Bataan March Survivor Dies at 105

The oldest survivor of the harrowing World War II march from Bataan province near the Philippine capital, Manila, to a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp has died at the age of 105.

Albert Brown died Sunday at a nursing home in the northern U.S. state of Illinois.

He survived the so-called Bataan Death March that U.S. and Philippine prisoners were forced to make in 1942 after losing the battle of Bataan. The Japanese Imperial Army forced about 75,000 prisoners of war to march more than 90 kilometers to a Japanese camp. Thousands died during the forced transfer, which an Allied military commission later categorized as a Japanese war crime.

Brown was in his late 30s when he endured the march, but it was not until Japan's surrender in 1945 that he could return home. During his internment, he endured near starvation, cruel treatment by the Japanese prison guards and a host of diseases and ailments.

His remarkable experience during the march and in the Japanese camp is chronicled in a recently published book Forsaken Heroes of the Pacific War: One Man's True Story by Kevin Moore and Don Morrow.

In 2007, Brown was recognized at an annual convention of Bataan survivors as the oldest one still living.

Photo: U.S. and Filipino forces surrender to the Japanese Army at Bataan. Photo by U.S. military / Department of Defense, courtesy of National Park Service.

13 August 2011

Czech Anti-Communist Activist Masin Dies at 81

Ctirad Masin, a Czech anti-communist fighter who shot his way to freedom in a daring escape in 1953, died Saturday in a war veteran's residence in the U.S. midwestern city of Cleveland, Ohio. He was 81.

Masin, his brother Josef and another man, Milan Paumer, were part of the Masin brothers resistance cell established after the communists seized power in 1948 in the then Central European nation of Czechoslovakia. The group carried out raids in Czechoslovakia, killing several people, before fleeing to the West in 1953.

Two members of the five-person cell were captured during the escape and executed but the other three reached West Berlin after a month-long manhunt involving thousands of East German police and soldiers.

The three later settled in the United State and served in the U.S. army. Paumer returned home following the fall of communism in 1989 and died last year. The Masin brothers never returned to Czechoslovakia, which split in 1993 into the Czech Republic and Slovakia, saying it has not fully rid itself of its communist past.

Many Czechs consider the fighters to be heroes but others say they were criminals. In 2008, the group was awarded a prime minister's medal.

Photo: Ctirad Masin, 1950, courtesy of Barbara Masin, digitized by Don Rumata.

19 June 2011

Springsteen Sax Star Clarence Clemons Dies

Clarence Clemons ("The Big Man") playing his saxophone part on "Night" early in a show during Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band's Working on a Dream Tour. Estadio José Zorrilla, Valladolid, Spain, August 1, 2009. (Photo: Manuel Martinez Perez)

19 June 2011
Springsteen Sax Star Clarence Clemons Dies
VOA News

Clarence Clemons, the burly star saxophonist of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, died Saturday, six days after suffering a stroke following surgery. Clemons was 69.

His bandleader, Springsteen, announced on his website Clemons' loss was "immeasurable." Springsteen said "we are honored and thankful to have known him and had the opportunity to stand beside him for nearly 40 years."

Clemons died at his home in the southern U.S. state of Florida. His health had been fragile in recent years after the musician underwent hip and knee surgeries.

Clemons' powerful raw style was featured on many hits by Springsteen, including "Jungleland" and "Born to Run."

Clemons last appeared with Springsteen and his longtime band in December.

Clemons is the second E Street Band member to die. Longtime keyboard player Danny Federici died of cancer nearly three years ago at the age of 58.

18 June 2011

Ex-Zambian President Chiluba Dies

Saturday, 18 June 2011

Former Zambian President Frederick Chiluba died early Saturday at his home in Lusaka. He was 68-years old.

Mr. Chiluba's spokesman, Emmanuel Mwamba, said the country's first democratically elected leader suffered a heart attack after spending most of Friday with members of parliament and his lawyers. Mwamba said Mr. Chiluba became ill Friday evening and died five minutes after midnight.

Mr. Chiluba led Zambia from 1991 to 2002.

In 1990, he helped found the Movement for Multiparty Democracy, leading it to victory the next year in the first multiparty post-colonial elections in Zambia.

The son of a copper miner and former union leader, Mr. Chiluba took office after almost three decades of one party rule by Kenneth Kaunda. He began his tenure by allowing greater political freedoms and liberalizing the country's economy.

But his administration became increasingly bogged down by allegations of corruption and mismanagement. He was also the target of personal criticism for his lavish lifestyle.

After he left office, his hand-picked successor Levy Mwanawasa instituted anti-corruption probes and Mr. Chiluba was charged with misappropriating $500,000 to his personal account, but was acquitted in 2009.

However, state prosecutors also filed civil charges against him in Britain. A court in London convicted him of stealing $46 million in state funds while president of Zambia. He was ordered to repay 85 percent of the money but the court order was never enforced in Zambia.

Mr. Chiluba is survived by his second wife and nine children.

14 June 2011

Indian Spiritual Leader Dies After Months of Fasting

Tuesday, 14 June 2011

Indian spiritual leader Swami Nigamanand, who was on a hunger strike for 115 days to protest environmental abuses in the country, died late Monday at the age of 36 in a hospital in Uttarakhand state.

Nigamanand was fasting to bring attention to pollution of India's revered Ganga River, also known as the Ganges.

Nigamanand, who began his fast in February and had slipped into a coma last month, died in relative obscurity, compared to the fast of a celebrity yoga guru Baba Ramdev to protest corruption. Ramdev is very much alive and in the spotlight.

Sociology Professor Mala Kapur Shankardass says Ramdev's fast became a media frenzy because anything which has an impact on politics or on socio-economic aspects gets much more attention.

Shankardass said environmental protests like Nigamanand's tend to be limited to the affected regions. He said environmental issues are not yet on the public agenda like corruption.

India's government has been beleaguered by a series of recent corruption scandals. The largest involves the sale of telecom licenses at below market rates, allegedly causing the loss of up to $40 billion to the government.

The hunger strike is a traditional form of protest in India and was used as part of Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi's non-violence movement.

19 May 2011

Former Irish PM Dies at 85

Garret FitzGerald arriving for The Lisbon Treaty Count, 3 October 2009 (Photo: William Murphy)

Former Irish PM Dies at 85
Thursday, 19 May 2011

Former Irish Prime Minister Garret Fitzgerald has died in Dublin at the age of 85.

Mr. Fitzgerald served twice as prime minister. He is credited with organizing the framework for peace in Northern Ireland while improving Irish-British relations.

He also served as Ireland's foreign minister before retiring from politics in 1992.

Mr. Fitzgerald died one day after Britain's Queen Elizabeth's visit to Dublin. Queen Elizabeth offered her deep sympathy to all those who have suffered as a consequence of Ireland and Britain's troubled past.

17 May 2011

Baseball Great Harmon Killebrew Dies

Photo: Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Harmon Killebrew of the Minnesota Twins in 1962.

Tuesday, 17 May 2011

Hall of Fame baseball slugger Harmon Killebrew has died after a long battle with esophageal cancer at age 74.

Killebrew died peacefully Tuesday at his home in Scottsdale, Arizona with his wife Nita and their family at his side.

Last week, Killebrew announced that doctors had deemed his cancer incurable and he would no longer fight it, and he entered Hospice care.

The Minnesota Twins slugger was known for his tape-measure home runs. He hit 573 homers during his 22-year career, 11th-most in major league baseball history. Killebrew's eight seasons with 40 or more home runs is tied for second in league history behind only the legendary Babe Ruth.

Killebrew began his pro career at age 18 with the Washington Senators, and in his first full season with the club in 1959 he smashed 42 home runs. When the team moved to Minnesota in 1961, Killebrew – nicknamed Killer – was its first star. He helped power the team to its first World Series appearance in 1965.

He was named the American League's Most Valuable Player in 1969 when he hit 49 home runs, batted in 140 runs and walked 149 times. Those remain Minnesota team records.

Killebrew was voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1984. In all, he played in 2,435 games with 1,584 runs batted in and an average of .256.

16 May 2011

Kenyan Marathon Champ Wanjiru Dies in Fall

Photo: Samuel Wanjiru, breaking a world record in the 2007 Fortis City-Pier-City Half Marathon, 17 March 2007 (Photographer: FaceMePLS from The Hague, The Netherlands)

VOA News
16 May 2011

Police in Kenya say Olympic marathon champion Samuel Wanjiru has died after jumping off the balcony of his home during a domestic dispute.

Police say it appears the 24-year-old runner jumped in an attempt to stop his wife from leaving the house after she discovered him with another woman.

Regional police chief Jaspher Ombati said Wanjiru landed on a hard surface and sustained fatal injuries.

The dispute took place Sunday night in the Rift Valley town of Nyahururu, about 150 kilometers north of Nairobi. Wanjiru's wife, Triza Njeri, and his female companion were both questioned by police and then released.

Wanjiru set an Olympic record in 2008 to become the first Kenyan to win a marathon gold medal. He also won the London Marathon in 2009, and is a two-time winner of the Chicago Marathon.

But friends and colleagues say he was stressed by personal problems and had recently taken to heavy drinking.

Wanjiru was set to go before a court next week to face charges of possessing an illegal firearm.

In December, he was charged with threatening to kill his wife. Those charges were later dropped.

Ethiopian running great Haile Gebrselassie said on Twitter he was "totally shocked" to hear about Wanjiru's death.

And in a statement Monday, Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga said Wanjiru's death is a "big blow" to the country's dreams in next year's Olympics in London.