Deaths in 2007

The following is a list of notable deaths in 2007. Links to other years follow.

Names are listed under the date of death, not the date it was announced. Names under each date are listed in alphabetical order by family name. Only persons meeting the Wikipedia notability guidelines are listed and with a reference to a reliable source. A typical entry appears in the following sequence:

• Name, age, country of citizenship, reason for notability, established cause of death, reference.

Causes of death such as "old age" and "natural causes" are not cited unless stated in the reference.

April 2007

20

• Audrey Fagan, 44, Australian Federal Police assistant commissioner. [1]
• Melissa Greer, 27, meteorologist for WBTV (Charlotte CBS affiliate), cancer. [2]
• Jan Kociniak, 69, Polish actor [3]
• Terry Major-Ball, 75, brother of former British Prime Minister John Major and media celebrity. [4]

19

• Jean-Pierre Cassel, 74, French actor, cancer. [5] (French)
• Bruce Haslingden, 84, Australian Olympic cross-country skier, staphylococcus infection. [6]
• Bohdan Paczynski, 67, Polish Astrophysicist, long illness [7]
• Helen Walton, 87, American widow of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton, natural causes. [8]
• George Webster, 61, American football player. [9]

18

• Iccho Itoh, 61, Japanese mayor of Nagasaki, homicide by shooting. [10] [11]
• Raymond Kaelbel, 75, French international footballer. [12]
• Andrej Kvašňák, 70, Slovak footballer, lung cancer. [13]
• Alvin Roth, 92, American contract bridge champion. [14]
• Donald Stephens, 79, American long-serving mayor of Rosemont, Illinois, founder of Hummel figurine museum, stomach cancer. [15]
• Tony Suarez, 51, American footballer (Carolina Lightnin', Cleveland Force), 1981 Rookie of the Year. [16] [17]

17

• Nair Bello, 75, Brazilian actress, heart failure. [18] [19] (Portuguese)
• Steven Boghos Derounian, 89, Bulgarian-born American Republican Representative from New York state (1953–1965). [20]
• Len Fitzgerald, 76, Australian footballer, cancer. [21] [22]
• Kitty Carlisle Hart, 96, American actress (A Night at the Opera), television personality (To Tell the Truth) and singer, heart failure. [23]
• Chauncey Starr, 95, American electrical engineer, pioneer in the field of nuclear energy. [24]
• Glenn Sutton, 69, American country songwriter and record producer, heart attack. [25]

16

• Frank Bateson, 97, New Zealand astronomer and writer. [26]
• Cho Seung-hui, 23, South Korean Virginia Tech mass murderer, suicide by gunshot. [27]
• Jocelyne Couture-Nowak, Canadian instructor at Virginia Tech, homicide. [28]
• Tran Bach Dang, 81, Vietnamese journalist and politician. [29]
• Gaetan Duchesne, 44, Canadian NHL player (1981–1995), heart attack. [30]
• Kevin Granata, 45, American associate professor of engineering at Virginia Tech, homicide. [31]
• Robert Jones, 56, British Conservative politician (MP 1983–1997), minister in the government of John Major, liver cancer. [32]
• Maria Lenk, 92, Brazilian Olympic swimmer (1932, 1936), rupture of aortic aneurysm. [33]
• Liviu Librescu, 76, Romanian-born professor of engineering at Virginia Tech, Holocaust survivor, homicide. [34]
• G. V. Loganathan, 50, Indian-born professor of engineering at Virginia Tech, homicide.
• Jack Wiebe, 70, Canadian politician, Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan (1994–2000), Senator (2000–2004), lung cancer. [35]

15

• Patricia Buckley, 80, Canadian-born socialite and fundraiser, wife of William F. Buckley, Jr., infection after long illness. [36]
• Maria Antonietta Macciocchi, 84, Italian politician and journalist. [37] (Italian)
• Brant Parker, 86, American cartoonist who co-created The Wizard of Id. [38]
• Justine Saunders, 54, Australian actress, cancer. [39] [40]

14

• Ladislav Adamec, 80, Czech communist politician, Prime Minister of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic (1988–1989). [41] (Czech)
• June Callwood, 82, Canadian journalist and activist, cancer. [42]
• Don Ho, 76, American Hawaiian musician and entertainer, heart failure. [43]
• Jim Jontz, 55, American congressman from Indiana (1987–1993), colon cancer. [44]
• René Rémond, 89, French historian and academician. [45] (French)
• Audrey Santo, 23, American brain-injured girl claimed to have performed miracles, cardio-respiratory failure. [46]
• Kaoru Shibayama, 43 Japanese manga artist and author, heart failure. [47]
• Frank Westheimer, 95, American chemist. [48]

13

• Marie Clay, 81, New Zealand world-renowned reading expert, after short illness. [49]
• Marc Galle, 76, Belgian politician. [50] (Flemish)
• Nathan Heffernan, 86, American judge, Chief Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court (1983–1995). [51]
• Hans Koning, 85, Dutch-born writer and journalist. [52]
• Andrzej Kurylewicz, 75, Polish composer, jazz pianist and trumpeter. [53]
• Wilma Elizabeth McDaniel, 88, American poet who covered the Dust Bowl. [54]
• Capil Rampersad, 46, Trinidad and Tobago cricketer. [55]
• Joseph Reynold Ray, Jr., 83, American open-wheel and stock car race driver, respiratory failure. [56]
• Don Selwyn, 71, New Zealand actor and director, complications from a kidney infection. [57]
• Marion Yorck von Wartenburg, 102, German World War II resistance fighter. [58] (German)

12

• Alberto Agazzi, 108, one of the last Italian veterans of World War I. [59] (Italian)
• Len Hill, 65, British cricketer for Glamorgan and footballer for Newport County. [60]
• James Lyons, 46, American film editor, squamous cell carcinoma. [61]
• Pierre Probst, 93, French children's book author and illustrator. [62] (French)
• Sándor Szerényi, 101, Hungarian politician and head of the Hungarian Chess Federation. [63] (Hungarian)
• Haywood "Little Sonny" Warner , 77, American singer who earned a gold record in 1959 with "“There’s Something on Your Mind". [64]

11

• Sergio Bardotti, 68, Italian lyricist. [65] (Italian)
• Roscoe Lee Browne, 81, American Emmy Award-winning actor (The Cosby Show, Soap), cancer. [66]
• Bobby Gibbes, 90, Australian World War II fighter pilot, awarded DSO and DFC, stroke. [67]
• Albin Kaiser, 107, German who was one of the last surviving WWI veterans from that country.
• Loïc Leferme, 36, French free diver, drowning. [68]
• Warren E. Preece, 85, American editor of Encyclopædia Britannica (1964–1975), heart failure. [69]
• Ronald Speirs, 86, American World War II commanding officer of Easy Company (Band of Brothers). [70]
• Warren Strelow, 73, American "Miracle on Ice" and NHL goaltending coach, stroke. [71] [72]
• Neal Valiton, 18, Swiss freeskier, skiing accident. [73] (French)
• Kurt Vonnegut, 84, American novelist and social critic, brain injury from a fall. [74]

10

• Kevin Crease, 70, Australian television newsreader, cancer. [75]
• Florence Finch, 113, British-born New Zealand supercentenarian, world's sixth-oldest person, cardio-respiratory failure. [76]
• Walter Hendl, 90, American conductor, heart and lung disease. [77]
• Ralph Heywood, 85, American football player. [78]
• Avdy Kuliyev, 71, Turkmen exiled politician and Foreign Minister (1990–1992), complications from stomach surgery. [79]
• György Méhes, 90, Transylvanian-Hungarian writer, Kossuth Prize winner. [80] (Hungarian)
• Salvatore Scarpitta, 88, American sculptor, complications from diabetes. [81]
• Dakota Staton, 76, American jazz vocalist, after long illness. [82]
• Harry Weber, 85, Austrian photographer, heart ailment. [83]
• Robert Whitney, 94, American actor (Singin' in the Rain), cancer. [84]
• Jack Williams, 85, American stuntman best known for his work in westerns, heart failure. [85]

9

• Egon Bondy, 77, Czech philosopher and poet. [86]
• AJ Carothers, 75, American playwright and television writer, cancer. [87]
• Alain Etchegoyen, 55, French philosopher, cancer. [88] (French)
• Dorrit Hoffleit, 100, American research astronomer, brief illness. [89]
• Mark Langford, 42, British businessman, former head of The Accident Group, car accident. [90]
• Philip Mayne, 107, last surviving British officer of World War I. [91]
• Harry Rasky, 78, Canadian documentary film producer, heart failure. [92]
• Vivica Watkins, 56, Bahamian actress and comedienne, kidney complications. [93]
• Prince Wilhelm-Karl of Prussia, 85, last surviving grandson of Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany. [94]

8

• Ján Bzdúch, 84, Slovak actor. [95] (Slovak)
• Natalia Clare, 87, American ballet dancer and instructor, complications of strokes. [96]
• Neville Duke, 84, British fighter pilot during World War II. [97]
• Victor Kneale, 89, Manx Speaker of the House of Keys (1990–1991). [98]
• Sol LeWitt, 78, American artist known for his role in the Conceptualism and Minimalism movements, cancer. [99]
• Bill Mescher, 79, American politician; member of the South Carolina Senate from 1993 until his death, stroke. [100]
• Margaret Perry, 94, American actress and ex-wife of Burgess Meredith. [101]

7

• Marià Gonzalvo, 85, Spanish captain of FC Barcelona and international footballer for Spain. [102]
• Johnny Hart, 76, American cartoonist (B.C., The Wizard of Id), stroke. [103]
• Abigail Holman, 45, American politician, State Representative from Maine, skiing accident. [104]
• Brian Miller, 70, British footballer for Burnley and England. [105]
• Barry Nelson, 89, American actor, first to play James Bond on screen. [106]

6

• Emma Bodie Begay, 119?, American Navajo woman who claimed to be the world's oldest person. [107]
• Luigi Comencini, 90, Italian film director. [108]
• Stan Daniels, 72, Canadian writer and producer (Taxi, The Mary Tyler Moore Show), heart failure. [109]
• Colin Graham, 75, British opera, theatre and television director, cardiac arrest. [110]
• George Jenkins, 98, American Academy Award-winning production designer (All the President's Men), heart failure. [111]
• Józef Kos, 106, one of the last six World War I veterans from Germany. [112] (Polish)
• Raymond G. Murphy, 77, American Medal of Honor recipient during the Korean War. [113]
• Amado Ramirez Dillanes, Mexican journalist and news correspondent of Televisa, shot. [114]
• Jimmy Lee Smith, 76, American murderer whose story inspired the book and movie The Onion Field. [115]
• Jeff Uren, 81, British racing driver, Touring Car Championship winner in 1959. [116]

5

• Maria Gripe, 83, Swedish author. [117]
• Leela Majumdar, 99, Indian Bengali language children's author. [118]
• Mark St. John, 51, American guitarist (KISS, White Tiger), brain hemorrhage. [119]
• Darryl Stingley, 55, American football player, bronchial pneumonia. [120]
• Poornachandra Tejaswi, 68, Indian writer and novelist in the Kannada language, cardiac arrest. [121]
• John Winter, 39, American meteorologist for WFLA-TV, suicide by gunshot. [122]

4

• Jagjit Singh Chauhan, 80, Indian Sikh separatist leader, heart attack. [123]
• Bob Clark, 67, American film director (A Christmas Story, Porky's), car accident. [124]
• Reginald H. Fuller, 92, British-born biblical scholar and Anglican priest, complications of a broken hip. [125]
• Terry Hall, 80, British ventriloquist and children's television presenter. [126]
• Edward Mallory, 76, American television actor (Days of Our Lives). [127]
• Datuk K. Sivalingam, 59, Malaysian politician, heart attack. [128] [129]
• Karen Spärck Jones, 71, British professor emeritus of Computers and Information at the University of Cambridge, cancer. [130]

3

• Marion Eames, 85, British novelist (The Secret Room). [131]
• Robin Montgomerie-Charrington, 91, British 1952 Grand Prix driver. [132]
• Walter Nicks, 81, American dancer and choreographer. [133]
• Thomas Hal Phillips, 84, American novelist and screenwriter. [134]
• Zoltán Pongrácz, 95, Hungarian composer and conductor. [135] (Hungarian)
• Eddie Robinson, 88, American college football coach at Grambling State University, Alzheimer's disease. [136]
• Neal Shine, 76, American publisher (Detroit Free Press), lymphatic cancer. [137]
• Burt Topper, 78, American screenwriter, film director and film producer, pulmonary failure. [138]
• Nina Wang, 69, Hong Kong businesswoman and Asia's richest woman. [139]

2

• Jeannie Ferris, 66, Australian Senator, ovarian cancer. [140]
• Henry Lee Giclas, 96, American astronomer. [141]
• Mark Harrison, 82, Canadian editor of the Montreal Gazette (1977–1989), Alzheimer's disease. [142]
• Tadjou Salou, 32, Togolese international footballer, after long illness. [143]
• Livio Vacchini, 74, Swiss architect. [144] (German)

1

• Laurie Baker, 90, British-born Indian architect. [145]
• John Billings, 89, Australian co-developer of the Billings ovulation method. [146]
• Herb Carneal, 83, American sportscaster, radio broadcaster for Minnesota Twins MLB team, congestive heart failure. [147]
• Driss Chraibi, 80, Moroccan writer. [148]
• Hans Karl Filbinger, 93, German jurist and right-wing politician. [149] (German)
• Char Fontane, 55, American actress and singer, daughter of Tony Fontane, breast cancer. [150]
• Norberto La Porta, 68, Argentine socialist politician, cancer. [151] (Spanish)
• Lou Limmer, 82, American Major League Baseball player for the Philadelphia Athletics. [152]
• Salem Ludwig, 91, American character actor. [153]
• Sally Merchant, 88, Canadian broadcaster and politician, cancer. [154] [155]
• Hannah Nydahl, 61, Danish teacher of Tibetan Buddhism, translator for her husband Lama Ole Nydahl, lung and brain cancer. [156]
• Thomas Rogers, 79, American emeritus professor of English at Pennsylvania State University, car accident. [157]
• Ladislav Rychman, 84, Czech film director. [158]
• George Sewell, 82, British actor, cancer. [159]
• Belinda Wright, 78, British ballerina, coronary ailment. [160]

March 2007

See Deaths in March 2007.

February 2007

See Deaths in February 2007.

January 2007

See Deaths in January 2007.

External links

• Obituaries on the Web
  • Recent AP Obituaries
  • The New York Times: Obituaries
  • Washington Post: Obituaries
  • The Boston Globe: Obituaries
  • Mail & Guardian (South Africa) Obituaries
  • The Guardian (UK): Obituaries
  • Daily Telegraph: Obituaries
  • The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia): Obituaries

• Specialized websites
  • Entertainment Insiders
  • The Blog of Death
  • Celebrity Death Beeper
  • Celebrity Obits
  • Dead or Alive
  • Dead People Server
  • Find a Grave
  • Operations Iraq Freedom and Enduring Freedom Casualties
  • Myspace Deaths
  • VIPatients.com
  • Writers We've Lost
  • Written in Stone - Literary deaths
  • Celebrity Obituary Headlines

For earlier deaths, see Deaths in 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001, 2000, 1999, 1998, 1997, 1996, 1995, 1994, 1993, 1992, 1991, 1990, 1989, 1988, ...