The following is a list of notable deaths in March 1989.
Entries for each day are listed alphabetically by surname. A typical entry lists information in the following sequence: Name, age, country of citizenship at birth, subsequent country of citizenship (if applicable), reason for notability, cause of death (if known), and reference.
March 1989
1 Annie Ackerman, 75, American political activist. Mukul Dey, 93, Indian artist (drypoint-etching). Sammy Moore, 88, Irish Olympic water polo player (1928). Vasantdada Patil, 71, Indian politician, Governor of Rajasthan.Death. timescontent.. Retrieved 23 May 2024. Odie Payne, 62, American blues drummer.Odie Payne. Headstone. Retrieved 23 May 2024. Frank W. Preston, 92, English-American engineer, ecologist and conservationist.resolution of respect. Ecological Society of America. Retrieved 23 May 2024. Mark M. Ravitch, 78, American surgeon (surgical staples), colon and prostate cancer.
2 Liviu Cornel Babeș, 46, Romanian electrician and painter, committed suicide by self-immolation as a political protest. John Bryans, British actor (Blake's 7). Claus Egil Feyling, 72, Norwegian politician. Luigi Firpo, 74, Italian historian and politician. Tamás Kertész, 59, Hungarian international footballer and coach (Ferencvárosi, Hungary). Ernest Steven Monteiro, 84, Singaporean physician, Singapore Ambassador to the United States, Cambodia and Brazil, liver failure.Ernest Steven Monteiro. Royal College of Physicians. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
3 James Brook, 92, English cricketer. Bill Harvey, 80, American Negro Leagues baseball player. Jackie Hegan, 88, English Olympic footballer (1920). Ned McGehee, 81, American college baseball and football coach (Southeastern Louisiana Lions). Richard B. Morris, 84, American historian, melanoma. Dong Qiwu, 89, Chinese general in the People's Liberation Army.Dong Qiwu. wiki.china.org.cn. Retrieved 23 May 2024. Vytautas Vičiulis, 37, Lithuanian painter, self-immolation as a political protest.Empty Pedestals. Baltimore Review. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
4 Agha Ibrahim Akram, 65, Pakistani army general. Tiny Grimes, 72, American jazz and R&B guitarist, meningitis.Guitarist Lloyd (Tiny) Grimes, 72. L.A. Times. Retrieved 23 May 2024. Viktor Nikiforov, 57, Soviet ice hockey player and Olympic gold medalist (1956).Viktor Nikiforov. Olympedia. Retrieved 23 May 2024. Edward Makuka Nkoloso, 69–70, member of Zambian resistance movement, planned to beat the U.S. and Soviet Union to the moon.The Zambian “Afronaut” Who Wanted to Join the Space Race. The New Yorker. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
5 Prithvi Singh Azad, 96, Indian independence activist, founder of Ghadar Party.Prithi Singh Azad. amritmahotsav.nic.in. Retrieved 23 May 2024. Daniel Webster Cluff, 72, United States Coast Guard officer, rescued thirty-two survivors from SS Pendleton.Daniel W. Cluff. Headstone. Retrieved 23 May 2024. Wes Dove, 25, American NFL player (Seattle Seahawks). James Edwin Doyle, 86, American advertising executive, co-founder of Doyle Dane Bernbach agency, emphysema. Richmond Barthé, 88, American sculptor of busts.Richmond Barthe, Sculptor, Dies. New York Times. Retrieved 23 May 2024. Ray Hunt, 70, Australian rules footballer.
6 Harry Andrews, 77, English actor (The Hill, The Agony and the Ecstasy). John Green, 67, American NFL player (Philadelphia Eagles). Hans-Joachim Hannemann, 73, German Olympic rower (1936). Alla Ilchun, 62, Chinese-born Kazakh fashion model.Kazakh-Russian Roots of Alla Ilchun (yelshin) Combated Against Fascism, the Future Muse of Christian Dior (december 10, 1926 - march 6, 1989). Academia.edu. Retrieved 23 May 2024. Raja Hossain Khan, 50–51, Bangladeshi composer and violinist, road accident. Franca Marzi, 62, Italian film actress (Nights of Cabiria). Amir Habibullah Khan Saadi, 79, Indian-born Pakistani freedom fighter. Fritz Stoll, 80, American Olympic soccer player (1936). Werner Walldén, 89, Finnish Olympic equestrian (1936).
7 Paul Boesch, 76, American professional wrestler and promoter (Houston Wrestling), heart attack.Paul Boesch obit march 1989. Newspapers.com (Courier News). Retrieved 24 May 2024. Jerry Bywaters, 82, American artist, museum director and art critic.Bywaters, Williamson Gerald [Jerry] (1906–1989). Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved 24 May 2024. Jean Colin, 83, English actress.Colin, Jean (1905–1989). encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 24 May 2024. Avis DeVoto, 84, American culinary editor and cook, pancreatic cancer. Gi Hyeong-do, 28–29, Korean poet (The Black Leaf in My Mouth).Ki Hyongdo(기형도). Digital Library of Korean Literature. Retrieved 24 May 2024. Judson Philips, 85, American writer, emphysema. Norman Saunders, 82, American commercial artist. Karel Velebný, 57, Czech jazz musician and composer.
8 Elisaveta Bykova, 75, Soviet chess player and dual Women's World Chess Champion.Elizaveta Ivanovna Bykova. Britannica. Retrieved 24 May 2024. Dale Coogan, 58, American MLB player (Pittsburgh Pirates). Albert De Roocker, 85, Belgian Olympic fencer (1924, 1928). Charles Exbrayat, 82, French fiction writer. Winfried Freudenberg, 32, East German defector, gas balloon crash. Stuart Hamblen, 80, American singer and songwriter (This Ole House), Billy Graham crusader, brain cancer. Herman Kogan, 74, American journalist (Chicago Daily News, Chicago Sun-Times). Robert Lacoste, 90, French socialist politician, member of the National Assembly and senator. Chhuttan Lal Meena, 68, Indian politician, Member of Parliament. Stanley Wijesundera, 65, Sri Lankan professor of biochemistry, vice chancellor of the University of Colombo, assassinated.Prof. Stanley Wijesundera remembered. Sunday Observer. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
9 Kermit Beahan, 70, American officer in the U.S. Air Force, bombardier on the Bockscar atomic bomb flight, heart attack. André Hornez, 83, French lyricist (C'est si bon; Rien dans les mains, rien dans les poches). Robert Mapplethorpe, 42, American photographer, complications from AIDS. Sam Melville, 52, American film and television actor, heart failure.Sam Melville, 52; Actor Co-Starred in ‘Rookies’. L.A. Times. Retrieved 24 May 2024. Sean O'Sullivan, 37, Canadian politician and Roman Catholic priest, leukemia.Sean O'Sullivan fonds RG 431. Brock University. Retrieved 24 May 2024. Mihemed Şêxo, 41, Kurdish folk singer. Hilda Strike, 78, Canadian track athlete and Olympic medalist (1932).Strike, Hilda (1910–1989). encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
10 Selwyn Jepson, 89, English mystery and detective author and screenwriter (Man Running). Maurizio Merli, 49, Italian film actor (Catene, Violent Rome), myocardial infarction.
11 Joe Bartos, 62, American NFL player (Washington Redskins). William Challee, 84, American actor (Five Easy Pieces).William Challee; Veteran Actor of Stage and Movies. L.A. Times. Retrieved 24 May 2024. Joseph Ferriola, 61, American mobster, boss of the Chicago Outfit, complications after heart transplant. Julius Hansen, 92, Danish Olympic sports shooter (1936). James Kee, 71, American politician, member of the U.S. House of Representatives (1965–1973). John J. McCloy, 93, American diplomat and presidential advisor, Assistant Secretary of War, pulmonary edema. Edward A. Weeks, 91, American writer, editor of The Atlantic.
12 Maurice Evans, 87, English actor (Planet of the Apes), (Bewitched), heart failure. Jakob Gimpel, 82, Polish-born concert pianist. Thaddeus B. Hurd, 85, American architect and historian.HURD, THADDEUS B. Kiyoshi Mutō, 86, Japanese architect and structural engineer (Keio Plaza Hotel, Kasumigaseki Building).KIYOSHI MUTO 1903-1989. National Academy of Engineering. Retrieved 25 May 2024. John Baptist Lucius Noel, 99, British mountaineer and filmmaker (1924 British Mount Everest expedition).John Baptist Lucius Noel. European Literary Bibliography. Retrieved 25 May 2024. Frederick Ramsden, 78, English-born Scottish cricketer. Chet Soda, 80, American businessman, general manager of the Oakland Raiders. Bill Speer, 46, Canadian NHL player (Pittsburgh Penguins, Boston Bruins). Carlos Terry, 32, American NBA basketballer (Washington Bullets), car accident.EX-BULLETS PLAYER TERRY DIES IN BELTWAY CRASH. Washington Post. Retrieved 25 May 2024. Luigi Tosi, 73, Italian actor.
13 L. E. Baynes, 86, English aeronautical engineer, developed the Scud gliders. Carl Dahlhaus, 60, German musicologist, kidney failure. Salvatore Dell'Isola, 88, Italian conductor.Salvatore Dell'Isola, Musical Director, 88 Carl von Horn, 85, Swedish Army general. Tice James, 74, American Negro Leagues baseball player. Jo Mommers, 61, Dutch Olympic footballer (1952). Reg Mulavin, 76, Australian rules footballer. James G. O'Hara, 63, American soldier and politician, member of U.S. House of Representatives (1959–1977), lung cancer.Ex-Rep. James O'Hara, 63, Dies. New York Times. Retrieved 25 May 2024. Fahrettin Özdilek, 90–91, Turkish Army general and politician, acting Prime Minister of Turkey.
14 Edward Abbey, 62, American author (The Monkey Wrench Gang, Desert Solitaire), environmentalist and anarchist, complications from surgery. Stephen Bechtel Sr., 88, American president of Bechtel Corporation. Charles Billingslea, 74, American general in the U.S. Army (Distinguished Service Cross), pneumonia. Chang Hsing-hsien, 79, Taiwanese Olympic athlete (1932, 1936). Chris Cortemeglia, 85, American NFL player (Frankford Yellow Jackets). Charles Roy Henderson, 77, American statistician (Best linear unbiased prediction), pioneer in animal breeding. Happy Humphrey, 62, American wrestler, heaviest professional wrestler of all time (364 kg), heart attack.William Joseph Cobb. Headstone. Retrieved 25 May 2024. Mark Kilroy, 21, American kidnapped and murdered in Mexico.UT Austin student murdered in Mexico 35 years ago. Fox 7 Austin. Retrieved 25 May 2024. Omar Knedlik, 72, American inventor and businessman (ICEE frozen drink).Omar S Knedlik. Headstone. Retrieved 25 May 2024. Timothy Meyers, 43, American actor (Grease), AIDS. Egon Morbitzer, 62, German violinist, concertmaster of Staatskapelle Berlin, cancer. Gladys Pyle, 98, American politician, U.S. Senator.Incredible Gladys Pyle Collection. South Dakota State University. Retrieved 25 May 2024. Zita of Bourbon-Parma, 96, last Queen of Hungary and Empress of Austria, wife of Charles I.Zita Of Parma (1892–1989). encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
15 Henry Cass, 85, British director. Manlio Di Rosa, 74, Italian Olympic fencer (1936, 1948, 1952, 1956). Mohamed Jameel Didi, 73, Maldivian politician, Minister of Justice and Attorney General.Famous People Who Died in 1989. onthisday.com. Retrieved 25 May 2024. Charles Schultz, 73, American NFL player (Green Bay Packers).
16 Raymond Affleck, 66, Canadian architect, founder of architectural firm Arcop (Queen Elizabeth Theatre, Vancouver).Fonds 62 - Raymond Affleck. McGill University Archival Catalogue. Retrieved 25 May 2024. Georges Blond, 82, French writer, sympathiser with fascism. Eddie Buczynski, 42, American archaeologist and follower of Wicca, parasitic infection.Eddie Buczynski. LGBTQ Religious Archives Network. Retrieved 25 May 2024. Harry Englund, 88, American NFL player (Chicago Staleys/Bears). Denver D. Hargis, 67, American politician, member of the United States House of Representatives (1959–1961). Jack Harrison, 73, Australian rules footballer. Pierre Huylebroeck, 66, Belgian Olympic speed skater (1948, 1952, 1956). Jesús María de Leizaola, 92, Spanish politician, President of the Basque government in exile.Jesus de Leizaola, 92, A Basque Leader, Dies. New York Times. Retrieved 25 May 2024. George Lynn, 73, American composer, conductor and pianist. Marcus Morris, 73, English Anglican priest, founded the Eagle weekly comic. Alan Redpath, 82, British-American evangelist and author.
17 Adeola Aboyade-Cole, 38, Nigerian Olympic hurdler (1972). Beulah Ream Allen, 92, American nurse and physician, civilian physician during World War II (Medal of Freedom).