Notable deaths, April 2009

Obituaries

Here are a selection of notable deaths from Georgia, the nation and the world for April 2009.

Beatrice Arthur: May 13, 1922 - April 25 --- Arthur's lore in television history is cemented with her two tour-de-force, Emmy-award winning roles. One as Maude Findlay in the 1970s sitcoms, 'All in the Family' and 'Maude' and another as Dorothy Zbornak in the 1980s sitcom 'The Golden Girls'. 'Maude' tackled serious social issues like drugs, abortion and infidelity while 'Golden Girls' showed aging women as active daters and passion-filled friends. Arthur died of cancer.

David 'Pop' Winans: April 20, 1934 - April 8 --- Winans was the Grammy-nominated patriarch for the most successful family in contemporary gospel music. In current gospel, the Winans name was everywhere. Widely known as Pop, he married pianist Delores Ransom in 1953, and they had 10 children. They all found fame as performers winning a total of 18 Grammy Awards, with the most successful being siblings, BeBe and CeCe. Winans died in Nashville, Tenn. from heart attack complications.

Tom Deitz: January 17, 1952 - April 27 --- Deitz was a science fiction novelist from Georgia who authored several books including the 'Soulsmith Trilogy' and 'The Gryphon King'. He received a B.A.and an M.A. in medieval English from UGA and taught at Gainesville State College. Deitz had a heart attack in January and was a candidate to receive an assisted device but had suffered too much damage to his heart for the device to be implanted. He died of heart failure.

Judith Krug: March 15, 1940 -- April 11 --- Krug was a librarian who fought the banning of books, including 'Huckleberry Finn,' 'Mein Kampf,' 'Little Black Sambo,' and 'Catcher in the Rye.' In 1982, she helped found Banned Books Week, an annual event that includes authors reading from prohibited books. Later, Krug became a leader in fighting censorship on the Internet, an issue taken up by libraries because those with no home computers used library ones. Krug died of stomach cancer.

Marilyn Chambers: April 22, 1952 - April 12 --- Chambers is best-known as an adult-film actress. Her most popular film 'Behind the Green Door' was among the first X-rated films to gain wide distribution. Chambers does not have a single word of dialogue in the entire film. It became more popular after it was learned she was the 'ivory soap girl' on the Ivory Snow soap box, posing as a mother holding a baby. Chambers died from a cerebral hemorrhage and aneurysm.

Harry Kalas: March 26, 1936 - April 13 --- 'Swing ... and a long drive ... and this ball is ... outta here! Home run!!' Sound familiar? Kalas will forever be known as the play-by-play announcer that created these famous lines. He will be closely identified as the voice of the Philadelphia Phillies, the voice-over narrator for NFL films and calling football games on Westwood One Radio. Kalas died of heart disease in Washington D.C. after collapsing in the press box of the Washington Nationals.

Dave Arnerson: October 1, 1947 - April 7 --- Arneson was a game designer best known for co-developing the first published role-playing game (and immensely popular), Dungeons & Dragons in 1974. It's estimated more than 20 million people have played the game, spending more than $1 billion on rule books and equipment. Later, he pursued teaching and began speaking at schools about educational uses of role-playing and using multi-sided dice to teach math. Arneson died of cancer.

Timothy Wright: June 17, 1947 - April 24 --- Wright was a Grammy-nominated American gospel singer and pastor. His best-known songs include 'Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,' 'Who's on the Lord's Side,' and 'You Must Come In at the Door.' On July 4, Wright was critically injured in a car crash in Pennsylvania, and it killed his wife and grandson. Wright was paralyzed by a C4 spinal cord injury and had continued months of rehabilitation. He died as a result of the injuries.

Patty Costello: May 8, 1947 - April 16 --- Costello was one of the best female bowlers of the 1970s and 1980s. She earned 25 professional titles and set the record for most titles in a year. Her career suffered a setback in 1997 when her father suddenly died of a heart attack while watching her provide commentary for a bowling telecast. Afterwards, she had depression and anxiety attacks for years before retiring to be a medical transport driver. She died of pancreatic cancer.

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Beatrice Arthur: May 13, 1922 - April 25 --- Arthur's lore in television history is cemented with her two tour-de-force, Emmy-award winning roles. One as Maude Findlay in the 1970s sitcoms, 'All in the Family' and 'Maude' and another as Dorothy Zbornak in the 1980s sitcom 'The Golden Girls'. 'Maude' tackled serious social issues like drugs, abortion and infidelity while 'Golden Girls' showed aging women as active daters and passion-filled friends. Arthur died of cancer.

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