In Memoriam: Those We Lost in 2006
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Gerald R. Ford,, 93 -- Thirty-eighth president of the United States, who ascended to the presidency in the wake of Richard Nixon's resignation. He was the only president never to be elected to national office. His pardon of Nixon helped heal the nation after the divisiveness of Watergate.
"My fellow Americans: our long national nightmare is over."
Saddam Hussein, 69 -- Former Iraqi dictator; deposed by the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, Hussein was put on trial for his crimes, convicted and executed.
James Brown, 73 -- Musician and entertainer whose legendary talent and innovative hits earned him the nickname, "Godfather of Soul."
Joseph Barbera, 95 -- Cartoonist who collaborated with William Hanna to produce some of TV's most memorable animated characters.
Sen. Robert Stafford, 93 -- Former U.S. senator from Vermont who was a champion of education; the federal student loan program is named after him.
Anne Rogers Clark, 77 -- Westminster Dog Show judge who attended every Westminster show since 1941 and handled three best-in-show winners.
Ahmet Ertegun, 83 -- Founder of Atlantic Records who helped define American music, shaping the careers of some of the most celebrated artists of our time.
"It's been a great, a great career for me because I've done what I really love the most."
Lamar Hunt, 74 -- Football pioneer who founded the American Football League and coined the term "Super Bowl."
Peter Boyle, 71 -- "Everybody Loves Raymond" actor who was nominated for 10 Emmys during his five decade career.
Jeane Kirkpatrick, 80 -- The first female U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and a chief architect of President Reagan's foreign policy.
"The defense of freedom begins at home and the price of freedom is vigilance and courage."
Mary Miller Arnold, 68 -- Senate doorkeeper.
Sen. Bill Frist, R-Tenn.: "She was one of a kind. We are lesser now with the loss of her old Southern grace."
Kenneth Taylor, 86 -- World War II Army pilot who was one of the first American pilots aloft during the attack on Pearl Harbor.
"When you are awakened suddenly, as I was, you generally jump into the first pants that you can find. And mine happened to be tuxedo pants. We were in the air maybe 15 minutes after the attack started."
Rose Mattus, 90 -- Co-creator of Häagen-Dazs ice cream with her husband Reuben; they launched Häagen-Dazs in 1961.
Bebe Moore Campbell, 56 -- Her novels explored race and the complicated relationships between men and women.
"You've got to begin to tell your children about race and not to pretend it doesn't exist, but to have some honest conversations with them. And along with that comes definitions of racism."
Robert Altman, 81 -- Film and TV director regarded as one of America's most influential filmmakers, who was was known for his use of improvisation.
"I'm not showing you how I think life should be. … I'm showing you the way I find it."
Gerald Boyd, 56 -- Former New York Times editor who helped lead the paper to nine Pulitzer Prizes, but was forced to resign amid the Jayson Blair plagiarism scandal in 2003.
Anita O'Day, 87 -- Big-band and jazz singer.
Betty Comden, 89 -- Tony award-winning lyricist whose 60-year partnership with Adolph Green produced some of stage and screen's most memorable musicals.
Ruth Brown, 78 -- Grammy winner who was one of the top-selling R&B singers of the 1950s; her career spanned six decades.
Milton Friedman, 94 -- Nobel Prize-winning economist and proponent of free-market economics, who advocated individual freedom and less government.
"The influence which the market has on the economy has been grossly exaggerated because of the tendency to think that if the cock crows it's causing the sun to rise."
Bo Schembechler, 77 -- Legendary coach who guided Michigan's football team for 21 seasons, taking his team to 13 Big Ten championships.
"The toughest thing I ever had to do was give up my football team."
Jack Palance, 87 -- Veteran character actor who won his first Oscar in 1992, charming the audience with his acceptance performance, which included one-armed pushups.
Gerald Levert, 40 -- R&B singer who had five songs reach number one on the Billboard R&B charts.
Ed Bradley, 65 -- Legendary 60 Minutes correspondent who, as one of the first black journalists on network television, won 19 Emmys.
"As a child, even as a young adult, in my wildest imagination I could not have imagined the life that I would live … the life that I've been privilege to lead."
P.W. Botha, 90 -- South African leader from 1978 to 1989, whose defense of apartheid resulted in civil unrest and, ultimately, his downfall as president.
"I'm going to keep order in South Africa, and nobody in the world is going to stop me from keeping order."
Sister Cindy Mahoney, 54 -- Volunteer at Ground Zero who died of lung disease, but arranged for her own autopsy, believing it would help other 9/11 rescuers suffering from lung conditions.
William Styron, 81 -- Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist whose novel "Sophie's Choice" was made into an Oscar-winning film in 1982.
Arnold "Red" Auerbach, 89 -- Legendary NBA coach who coached the Boston Celtics to nine NBA championships, building one of the greatest sports dynasties in history.
"You just have to cut your pre-game speeches short. Let them adjust to you. We're not going to adjust to them. They adjust to us. We're the champions."
Jane Wyatt, 96 -- Actress who won three Emmy Awards for her role as Margaret Anderson in "Father Knows Best."
Jeffrey Newbauer, 22 -- Cancer victim and baseball fan who raised awareness for childhood cancer while pursuing his dream to visit every Major League baseball park.
"I don't live life on cancer's terms. I live life on my terms. It's a great day to be alive."
Christopher Glenn, 68 -- CBS News correspondent who anchored coverage of the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion in 1986.
Jeff Getty, 49 -- AIDS activist who received the first bone marrow transplant from one species to another in 1995.
"This whole process of being a fighter and a warrior against this disease, for me, has been the key to my survival."
Ed Benedict, 94 -- Cartoon artist who created famous cartoon characters such as Fred Flintstone, Yogi Bear and Huckleberry Hound.
Gerry Studds, 69 -- Democratic Massachusetts congressman from 1973 to 1997 who was censured by the House in 1983 for having sexual relations with a male page.
"All members of Congress are in need of humble experiences from time to time."
Cory Lidle, 34 -- New York Yankees pitcher.
and
Tyler Stanger, 26 -- Flight instructor.
Both were killed when a small plane they were riding in crashed into a New York City building.
R.W. Apple, 71 -- New York Times correspondent and editor. In his more than four decades at the newspaper he wrote about politics, war and food.
"Your job is to represent your reader -- go and experience it and try to explain it and relate it to that reader."
Rep. Helen Chenoweth-Hage, 68 -- Idaho congresswoman from 1995 to 2001.
"We're fighters out here in Idaho, and we're not going to give up our vision, and we're not going to give up our future."
Buck O'Neil, 94 -- Pioneer in Negro League baseball. As the first African-American coach in the major leagues, he helped integrate black players into the game.
"I played with and against some of the best athletes in the world. I just didn't make as much money, but [gained] the satisfaction that I could compete on that level."
