Deaths in December 2012

The following is a list of notable deaths in December 2012.

Entries for each day are listed alphabetically by surname. A typical entry lists information in the following sequence: Name, age, country of citizenship and reason for notability, established cause of death, reference.

December 2012

1 Ahmed Taib El Alj, 84, Moroccan writer. Raymond Ausloos, 82, Belgian football player. Jovan Belcher, 25, American football player (Kansas City Chiefs), suicide by gunshot.Chiefs LB Belcher kills himself outside stadium after fatally shooting girlfriend José Bénazéraf, 90, French film director and producer.RIP: José Bénazéraf and Celso Ad Castillo Arthur Chaskalson, 81, South African judge, Chief Justice (2001–2005), leukaemia.Former Chief Justice Arthur Chaskalson dies John Crigler, 76, American basketball player (University of Kentucky).Former UK great, SCHS teacher, coach John Crigler dies at 76 Steve Fox, 54, English footballer, cancer.Steve Fox R.I.P. Chuck Gavin, 78, American football player. Dee Harvey, 47, American R&B singer."Leave Well Enough Alone" singer Dee Harvey dies Rick Majerus, 64, American college basketball coach (University of Utah, Saint Louis University), heart failure.Rick Majerus, basketball coaching tactician, dies Ezroy Millwood, 70, Jamaican transport businessman.Transport Tycoon Dead Gerard Parker, 76, American Cherokee tribal leader, Principal Chief of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (1995).Former Principal Chief passes away Rubén Pellanda, 65, Argentine politician.Murió Rubén Pellanda, último gobernador de la dictadura en Córdoba Ed Price, 94, American politician, member of the Florida Senate (1958–1966). Ray Rosso, 96, Italian-born American football coach, natural causes.Ray Rosso beloved figure Marcia Russell, 72, New Zealand journalist and news presenter.Marcia Russell dies after short illness Edouard Saouma, 86, Lebanese civil servant, Director General of the Food and Agriculture Organization (1976–1993).Saouma, Edouard Victor Bhim Bahadur Tamang, 78, Nepali politician, stroke.Senior NC leader Tamang no more Phil Taylor, 95, English footballer and coach (Liverpool).Former Liverpool FC boss Phil Taylor dies aged 95 Vidal Vega, 48, Paraguayan peasant leader, shooting.Paraguayan peasant leader shot dead Yoshinori Watanabe, 71, Japanese yakuza, fifth godfather of the Yamaguchi-gumi.The Death and Legacy of Yakuza Boss 'Mr. Gorilla' Reinhold Weege, 62, American television writer and producer (Barney Miller, Night Court), natural causes.Night Court' Creator Reinhold Weege Dies at 62 James R. Whelan, 79, American publisher (The Washington Times), multiple organ failure.James R. Whelan, founding editor and publisher of the Washington Times, dies at 79

2 Ron Auchettl, 66, Australian footballer. Christopher Collett, 81, British accountant, lord mayor of London.www.cityoflondon.gov.uk Michael Crawford, 92, English cricketer.Obituary: Crawford, Michael Grove Gitte Dæhlin, 56, Norwegian sculptor. Preeti Ganguly, 59, Indian actress, cardiac arrest.Ashok Kumar's daughter and actor Preeti Ganguly passes away in Mumbai Michael A. Gorman, 62, American politician, member of the North Carolina House of Representatives (2003–2005), POEMS syndrome.Former Trent Woods mayor, legislator dies Tom Hendry, 83, Canadian playwright, founder of Manitoba Theatre Centre.RMTC co-founder Tom Hendry dies at the age of 83 Hiroshi Kato, 77, Japanese aikido master. Israel Keyes, 34, American alleged serial killer, suicide by hanging and lacerations.Israel Keyes, Admitted Alaska Serial Killer Found Dead, Linked To 7 Slayings Ehsan Naraghi, 86, Iranian sociologist and writer, Director of UNESCO's Youth Division (1980–1996), long illness. Sylvester Odhiambo, Kenyan football coach (Muhoroni Youth F.C.).Muhoroni mourn fallen Odhiambo Décio Pignatari, 85, Brazilian poet, essayist and translator, respiratory failure.Décio Pignatari, 1927–2012 Azumir Veríssimo, 77, Brazilian footballer.AZUMIR Szymon, 23, Australian musician, suicide.

3 Jules Mikhael Al-Jamil, 74, Iraqi-born Lebanese Syrian Catholic hierarch, Archbishop-Procurator in Rome (since 1986).Archbishop Jules Mikhael Al-Jamil Leo Rajendram Antony, 85, Sri Lankan Roman Catholic prelate, Bishop of Trincomalee-Batticaloa (1974–1983).Bishop Leo Rajendram Antony Amir Mahmud Anvar, 67, Iranian literary academic and poet. Tommy Berggren, 62, Swedish footballer.Tommy Berggren har avlidit Ivan Boboshko, 83, Soviet football player and coach. Georgy Borisenko, 90, Soviet correspondence chess grandmaster and chess theoretician. Kuntal Chandra, 28, Bangladeshi cricketer, strangulation.Bangladesh first-class player Kuntal Chandra dies aged 28 Bill Donckers, 61, American football player, lymphoma. Christopher Erhardt, 53, American video game producer and academic.Obituary: Game designer, producer and educator Christopher Erhardt Peter Johnson Sr., 91, American trial lawyer and political power broker, pulmonary fibrosis.Peter Johnson Sr., brave World War II veteran, NYPD officer, political power broker and lion of the law, dies at 91 Fyodor Khitruk, 95, Russian animator and animation director (The Story of a Crime).Fyodor Khitruk obituary Mohamed Mahroof, 62, Sri Lankan politician, MP for Colombo (2000–2010).Mahroof passes away Diego Mendieta, 32, Paraguayan footballer, viral infection.Paraguayan player dies of viral infection in Indonesia Carlomagno Meneses, 85, Peruvian Olympic boxer. Eileen Moran, 60, American visual effects producer (The Lord of the Rings, Avatar, King Kong), cancer.Eileen Moran, Special Effects Wizard, Dies at 60 King G. Porter, 91, American politician, member of the Tennessee State Senate.Kingdon G. Porter 1921-2012 Sir Geoffrey Shakerley, 80, British photographer. Janet Shaw, 46, Australian Paralympic bronze medal-winning (2004) cyclist and author, cancer.Vale Paralympian Janet Shaw Jeroen Willems, 50, Dutch actor and singer, cardiac arrest.Actor Jeroen Willems dies, forcing Carré gala concert to be delayed

4 Alfredo Abon Lee, 85, Cuban military officer.Alfredo Abon Obituary Narmada Akka, Indian communist, shot. Grady Allen, 66, American football player (Atlanta Falcons), cardiac arrest.Oakland Raiders: Dennis Allen's persona shaped by father José Alves da Costa, 73, Brazilian Roman Catholic prelate, Bishop of Corumbá (1991–1999).Bishop José Alves da Costa, D.C. Vasily Belov, 80, Russian writer, poet and dramatist.Russian writer Vasily Belov dies at 80 Philippe Bena, 60, French Olympic fencer. Jean Bollack, 89, French philosopher, philologist and literary critic. Jack Brooks, 89, American politician, member of US House of Representatives (1953–1995) and Texas House of Representatives (1949–1953).Longtime SE Texas US Rep. Jack Brooks dead at 89 Miguel Calero, 41, Colombian footballer, cerebral thrombosis.Ex-Pachuca goalie Miguel Calero dies Rozina Cambos, 60, Israeli actress (The Human Resources Manager), leukemia.נפטרה השחקנית רוזינה קמבוס (in Hebrew) James B. Cardwell, 90, American bureaucrat, complications of a broken hip. Besse Cooper, 116, American supercentenarian, world's oldest person.Besse Cooper, World's Oldest Person, Dies at 116 Tony Deane-Drummond, 95, British army major general.Maj-Gen Tony Deane-Drummond Massimo Giustetti, 86, Italian Roman Catholic prelate, Bishop of Pinerolo (1974–1975), Mondovi (1975–1986) and Biella (1986–2001).Bishop Massimo Giustetti Jonathan Harvey, 73, English composer, motor neurone disease.British composer Jonathan Harvey dies Helen Johnson Houghton, 102, British racehorse trainer.Johnson Houghton dies, aged 102 Eamon Kelly, 65, Irish criminal, shot.Gang Boss Shot Dead: Real IRA Member Held Peter Kiesewetter, 67, German modern classical composer.Der vielstimmige Peter Kiesewetter – ein Nachruf Miroslav Klůc, 90, Czech Olympic ice hockey (1956) forward and coach, member of Czech Ice Hockey Hall of Fame, stroke.Miroslav Kluc Larry Lawrence, 63, American football player (Oakland Raiders, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Edmonton Eskimos), edema.Larry Lawrence Paul Marcotte, 84, American politician, member of the Kentucky House of Representatives (2005–2007). Branislav Milinković, 52, Serbian diplomat, ambassador to NATO and Austria, suicide by jumping.Serbia's Nato envoy Branislav Milinkovic leaps to his death at Brussels airport Robert Monclar, 82, French Olympic basketball player. Hilmar Moore, 92, American politician, longest-serving mayor in the United States, complications of a fall.Town Mourns a Mayor Who Had Staying Power Tony Sweeney, 81, Irish sports writer and historian, heart attack.Tony Sweeney dies aged 81 Michael Till, 77, British Anglican priest, Dean of Winchester (1996–2005).Dean Emeritus Michael Till Ken Trickey, 79, American basketball coach (Oral Roberts University). Gerrit van Dijk, 73, Dutch animator, long illness.Dutch Animator Gerrit Van Dijk Dies at Age 73 John Ward, 64, American football player (Minnesota Vikings), cancer.Ward, veteran of two Vikings Super Bowls, dies

5 Allah Bachayo Khoso, 77, Pakistani artist and Alghoza player. Sammy Arena, 81, American singer, multiple organ failure. Petrine Archer-Straw, 55, British art historian, sickle-cell disease. Erwin Bischofberger, 76, Swedish Jesuit and medical practitioner. Dave Brubeck, 91, American jazz pianist ("Take Five") and composer ("Blue Rondo à la Turk"), heart failure.Dave Brubeck, jazz legend, dies at 91 MC Buffalo, 41, Croatian rapper, stroke. Carlos Francisco Chang Marín, 90, Panamanian painter, musician, journalist, and writer. Evgeny Chubarov, 77, Russian painter, sculptor, and graphic artist. Chen Wencong, 42, Singaporean actor, writer and producer, pneumonia.Deceased former actor Chen Wencong spent last year doing things he loved Eduardo J. Corso, 92, Uruguayan journalist and lawyer.Murió el periodista agropecuario Eduardo J. Corso Wilhelmus Demarteau, 95, Dutch-born Indonesian Roman Catholic prelate, Bishop of Banjarmasin (1954–1983).Bishop Wilhelmus Joannes (Guillaume Jean) Demarteau, M.S.F. Enebeli Elebuwa, 66, Nigerian actor, stroke. Peter Feltus, 70, American philatelist. Francesco Fonti, 64, Italian criminal.Muore il pentito Fonti. Parlò della "nave dei veleni" di Cetraro Kazbek Gekkiyev, 28, Russian journalist, shooting.Kazbek Gekkiyev, Russian journalist, shot dead Frigyes Hollósi, 71, Hungarian actor.Meghalt Hollósi Frigyes Ignatius IV of Antioch, 92, Syrian Orthodox patriarch of the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch (since 1979), stroke.Patriarch of Syria-based Eastern Orthodox church, Ignatius Hazim, dies in Beirut at 91 Nakamura Kanzaburō XVIII, 57, Japanese kabuki star, acute respiratory distress syndrome.Obituary: Nakamura Kanzaburō XVIII Dame Elisabeth Murdoch, 103, Australian philanthropist, widow of Sir Keith Murdoch, mother of Rupert Murdoch.Dame Elisabeth passes away at 103 Yves Niaré, 35, French Olympic (2008) shot putter, traffic collision.French Shot Putter Yves Niare Dies in Road Crash Oscar Niemeyer, 104, Brazilian architect, respiratory infection.Oscar Niemeyer, Architect Who Gave Brasília Its Flair, Dies at 104 Eileen Pollock, 86, American television writer and producer (Dynasty, The Colbys).Eileen (Mike) Pollock (1926–2012) Kaisa Sere, 58, Finnish computer scientist. Doug Smith, 75, Scottish footballer and administrator (Dundee United).Ex-Dundee United captain and Chairman Doug Smith, dies aged 75 Felix Weinberg, 84, Czech-born British physicist.Tribute Felix Weinberg

6 Miguel Abia Biteo Boricó, 51, Equatorial Guinean politician, Prime Minister (2004–2006), heart attack.Funeral of honor to bid farewell to Miguel Abia Biteo Boricó Mike Boyette, 71, American professional wrestler, heart disease.Remembering professional wrestling's 'Hippie' Mike Boyette Jan Carew, 92, Guyanese writer and academic.Renowned Guyanese novelist, Jan Carew, dead at 92 Ed Cassidy, 89, American musician (Spirit), cancer.Ed Cassidy dies at 89; drummer for band Spirit Liz Chadwick, 69, English golfer.