http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/dies/ en-us Sun, 20 Jul 2008 20:16:07 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2048483/posts Officer Suspended For 5 DaysCHARLOTTE, N.C. -- A teenager died after being hit with a police Taser gun for 37 seconds, and the whole thing was caught on tape by surveillance cameras. Authorities said that Darryl Turner had been in a confrontation with a supervisor at work at a North Carolina grocery store. When Officer Jerry Dawson arrived, he fired his Taser gun at the 17-year-old and struck him in the sternum. "The initial use of the (Taser gun) is not in question," said Charlotte-Mecklenburg police Chief Ken Miller. However, for 37 seconds, Dawson continued to use the Taser gun... NBC4 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2048483/posts#comment Sun, 20 Jul 2008 20:16:07 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2046212/posts Australian woman dies at age 108 after winning an international audience World's oldest blogger dies July 14: Olive Riley, considered the world's oldest blogger has died at the age of 108. Msnbc.com's Dara Brown reports. CANBERRA, Australia - An Australian woman renowned as the world's oldest blogger has died at the age of 108, with her last posting talking about her ailing health but also how she still sings a happy song every day. Olive Riley, of Woy Woy about 50 miles north of Sydney, began blogging in February last year, sharing stories from her life during the two world... msnbc.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2046212/posts#comment Wed, 16 Jul 2008 10:11:25 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2032493/posts A peregrine falcon named Cielo has died after the 2-month-old bird likely crashed into San Jose City Hall where she and her family have been living on a ledge. She is believed to have died late Monday night or early Tuesday morning after being driven to an animal hospital that specializes in birds on Monday morning. Cielo's siblings, Meyye and Mercury, are alive and well. In fact, her sister and brother, respectively, are flying about, and expected to leave the nest - literally - sometime this summer. The falcon family has drawn widespread interest from bird watchers throughout the world... Mercury News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2032493/posts#comment Tue, 17 Jun 2008 22:43:04 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2021977/posts HUNTSVILLE, Ala. - Ernst Stuhlinger, one of the last surviving German rocket scientists who came to America after World War II and formed the engineering foundation of the nation's space program, has died. He was 94. Stuhlinger, who died Sunday, had been in failing health for several months, according to the U.S. Space & Rocket Center. Stuhlinger served as chief scientist for Wernher von Braun and was among the group of German scientists who moved with him to Huntsville in 1950 when the Army established the Ordnance Missile Laboratories. The von Braun team developed the propulsion system that helped NASA... AP on Yahoo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2021977/posts#comment Tue, 27 May 2008 17:23:07 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2014576/posts MOUNT VERNON, Mo. - , an influential gospel singer and songwriter, died early Sunday when her tour bus ran off the highway and struck an embankment. She was 74. Seven other people on the bus were injured in the wreck about two miles east of Mount Vernon on Interstate 44, the Missouri Highway Patrol said. They were hospitalized in Springfield with moderate to severe injuries, according to the patrol. It was unclear whether the crash was related to the severe storms and tornadoes that hit the region on Saturday. Storms also swept through the area later in the night, according... AP on Yahoo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2014576/posts#comment Sun, 11 May 2008 23:23:37 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1997289/posts TOKYO - Kaku Yamanaka, Japan's oldest person, has died of old age in central Japan, officials said Saturday. She was 113. Yamanaka died at a hospital where she was taken early Saturday after falling ill at a nursing home in Yatomi City in Aichi prefecture (state), an official at her nursing home said on condition of anonymity, citing policy. Born on Dec. 11, 1894, Yamanaka became Japan's oldest person when Tsuneyo Toyonaga, 113, died in February. It was not immediately clear who had become Japan's new oldest person, and Health Ministry officials were not available for comment Saturday. Yamanaka was... AP on Yahoo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1997289/posts#comment Sat, 5 Apr 2008 20:31:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1996835/posts NEW YORK - Wayne "Frosty Freeze" Frost, a hip-hop pioneer whose acrobatic performance with the legendary Rock Steady Crew in the 1983 movie "Flashdance" helped set off a worldwide breakdancing craze, has died. He was 44. Frost died Thursday at Mount Sinai Medical Center after a long illness, said Jorge "Fabel" Pabon, a senior vice president of the crew where Frost and other so-called b-boys (for beat or break boys) made their name performing complicated and daring dance routines. "He was one of most charismatic b-boys that ever lived," said Benson Lee, director of the new documentary film "Planet B-Boy."... AP on Yahoo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1996835/posts#comment Fri, 4 Apr 2008 19:29:34 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1991973/posts HARTFORD, Conn. - Richard Widmark, who made a sensational film debut as the giggling killer in "Kiss of Death" and became a Hollywood leading man in "Broken Lance," "Two Rode Together" and 40 other films, has died after a long illness. He was 93. Widmark's wife, Susan Blanchard, says the actor died at his home in Roxbury on Monday. She would not provide details of his illness and said funeral arrangements are private. "It was a big shock, but he was 93," Blanchard said. After a career in radio drama and theater, Widmark moved to films as Tommy Udo, who... AP on Yahoo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1991973/posts#comment Wed, 26 Mar 2008 18:04:19 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1987328/posts 3/17/2008 - SAN ANTONIO (AFPN) -- Retired Staff Sgt. Jacob DeShazer, 95, one of the famed "Doolittle Raiders," who helped boost American morale in the early days of World War II with a surprise air attack on Japan, died March 15. Born Nov. 15, 1912, in Salem, Ore., Sergeant DeShazer graduated from Madras High School in 1931. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1940. Sergeant DeShazer, then a corporal, was the bombardier of Crew No.16 flying the "Bat Out of Hell," the last of the 16 B-25 Mitchell bombers to launch from the USS Hornet April 18, 1942,... Air Force Link http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1987328/posts#comment Tue, 18 Mar 2008 01:05:21 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1984589/posts PARIS - France's last remaining veteran of World War I died Wednesday at age 110 after outliving 8.4 million Frenchmen who fought in what they called "la Grande Guerre." Lazare Ponticelli, who was born in Italy but chose to fight for France and was a French citizen for most of the past century, died at his home in the Paris suburb of Kremlin-Bicetre, the national veterans' office said. "It is to him and his generation that we owe in large part the peaceful and pacified Europe of today. It is up to us to be worthy of that," President Nicolas... AP on Yahoo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1984589/posts#comment Wed, 12 Mar 2008 20:06:42 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1978672/posts Hans Janitschek, an Austrian journalist who spent years as a U.N. consultant and also served as secretary general of the Socialist International organization, died suddenly at U.N. headquarters. He was 73. His wife, Friedl, said Friday that Janitschek died last week and the cause of death was believed to be a heart attack. Janitschek became foreign editor of Austria's largest daily newspaper, Kurier, in 1959. He joined the Austrian Foreign Service in 1964 and was sent to the United States as director of the Austrian Information Service. He was appointed special assistant to Bruno Kreisky, then-chairman of the Austrian Socialist... AP on Bakersfield Californian http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1978672/posts#comment Sat, 1 Mar 2008 06:44:17 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1977137/posts NEW YORK - William F. Buckley Jr., the erudite Ivy Leaguer and conservative herald who showered huge and scornful words on liberalism as he observed, abetted and cheered on the right's post-World War II rise from the fringes to the White House, died Wednesday. He was 82. His assistant Linda Bridges said Buckley was found dead by his cook at his home in Stamford, Conn. The cause of death was unknown, but he had been ill with emphysema, she said. Editor, columnist, novelist, debater, TV talk show star of "Firing Line," harpsichordist, trans-oceanic sailor and even a good-natured loser in... AP on Yahoo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1977137/posts#comment Wed, 27 Feb 2008 16:56:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1971961/posts UNITED NATIONS - A woman who worked for the United Nations died Sunday after falling from the 19th floor of the U.N.'s Secretariat Building, authorities said. ADVERTISEMENT Police and U.N. security officers at the scene, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media, said the 45-year-old woman had jumped from a window after showing up to work early in the morning. "A U.N. agency staff member died after falling from the 19th floor of the U.N. Secretariat Building," U.N. deputy spokeswoman Marie Okabe said. "At this time there is no suspicion of... Yahoo News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1971961/posts#comment Sun, 17 Feb 2008 21:56:34 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1960391/posts JAKARTA, Indonesia - Former Indonesian President Suharto, the U.S. Cold War ally who led one of the 20th century's most brutal dictatorships over 32 years that saw up to a million political opponents killed, died Sunday. He was 86. Suharto had been ailing in a hospital in the capital, Jakarta, since Jan. 4 when he was admitted with failing kidneys, heart and lungs. Finally toppled by mass street protests in 1998, Suharto's departure opened the way for democracy in this predominantly Muslim nation of 235 million people and he withdrew from public life, rarely venturing from his comfortable villa on... AP on Yahoo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1960391/posts#comment Sun, 27 Jan 2008 18:51:57 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1959524/posts BERLIN - It was an American, Gen. Douglas MacArthur, who famously reflected that "old soldiers never die; they just fade away." But the phrase seems to apply better to the quiet passing of a German believed to have been the country's last World War I veteran. Erich Kaestner died Jan. 1 in a nursing home in Cologne at the age of 107, his son told The Associated Press. When France's second-last surviving veteran from World War I, Louis de Cazenave, died Jan. 20, the news made international headlines. But in Germany — which lost both world wars and has had... AP on Yahoo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1959524/posts#comment Fri, 25 Jan 2008 17:44:07 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1951690/posts WELLINGTON, New Zealand - Sir Edmund Hillary, the unassuming beekeeper who conquered Mount Everest to win renown as one of the 20th century's greatest adventurers, has died, New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark announced Friday. He was 88. The gangling New Zealander devoted much of his life to aiding the mountain people of Nepal and took his fame in stride, preferring to be called "Ed" and considering himself just an ordinary beekeeper. "Sir Ed described himself as an average New Zealander with modest abilities. In reality, he was a colossus. He was an heroic figure who not only 'knocked off'... AP on Yahoo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1951690/posts#comment Thu, 10 Jan 2008 23:09:14 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1942917/posts BELOIT, Wis. - A roofing company billionaire listed as the 91st richest man in the United States has died after a fall from a roof at his home. Police say 66-year-old Ken Hendricks was checking construction on a garage roof at his home in Rock, Wisc., on Thursday night when he fell through. His company, ABC Supply, says he suffered massive head injuries. Police say Hendricks' wife called authorities and attempted CPR, but her husband was pronounced dead after being transported to Rockford Memorial Hospital in Winnebago County, Illinois. Hendricks was the founder, chairman and CEO of ABC Supply, the... Canadian Press http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1942917/posts#comment Fri, 21 Dec 2007 20:29:21 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1934347/posts Jefferson J. DeBlanc, a World War II fighter pilot who was awarded the Medal of Honor for shooting down five Japanese planes on a single day while running out of fuel, died Nov. 22 in Lafayette, La. He was 86 and lived St. Martinville, La.. The cause was complications of pneumonia, said his daughter, Barbara DeBlanc Romero. On Jan. 31, 1943, Mr. DeBlanc, then a lieutenant in the Marines, took off from Guadalcanal in his Wildcat fighter, leading a six-plane section of Marine Fighting Squadron 112. They were assigned to protect dive bombers and torpedo planes attacking Japanese ships off... NY Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1934347/posts#comment Tue, 4 Dec 2007 06:31:38 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1931259/posts JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Dr. Robert Cade, who invented Gatorade and sparked the multimillion dollar sports drink industry, died Tuesday of kidney failure. He was 80. His death was announced by the University of Florida, where he and other researchers created Gatorade in 1965 to help the school's football players replace carbohydrates and electrolytes lost through sweat while playing in swamp-like heat. A question from former Gator Coach Dwayne Douglas sparked their research, Cade said in a 2005 interview with The Associated Press. He asked, "Doctor, why don't football players wee-wee after a game." "That question changed our lives," Cade said.... AP on Yahoo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1931259/posts#comment Tue, 27 Nov 2007 18:52:35 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1929783/posts MIAMI - Herbert Saffir, an engineer who created the five-category system used to describe hurricane strength and warn millions of an approaching storm's danger, has died. He was 90. Saffir died Wednesday of complications from surgery, said his son, Richard Saffir. A structural engineer, Saffir created his scale in 1969 — laying out for the first time what kind of damage could be expected from an approaching hurricane. It has since become the definitive way to describe intensity for storms that form in the Atlantic and parts of the Pacific. Before the scale, hurricanes were simply described as major or... AP on Yahoo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1929783/posts#comment Sat, 24 Nov 2007 00:33:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1927980/posts Dick Wilson, the character actor and pitchman who for 21 years played an uptight grocer begging customers "Please, don't squeeze the Charmin," died Monday. He was 91. Wilson died of natural causes at the Motion Picture & Television Fund Hospital in Woodland Hills, said his daughter Melanie Wilson, who is known for her role as a flight attendant on the ABC sitcom "Perfect Strangers." "He is part of the culture. He was still funny to the very end. That's his legacy," his daughter said. Wilson made more than 500 commercials as Mr. George Whipple, a man consumed with keeping bubbly... AP on Bakersfield Californian http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1927980/posts#comment Mon, 19 Nov 2007 19:04:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1923761/posts <p>NEW YORK - Norman Mailer, the macho prince of American letters who for decades reigned as the country's literary conscience and provocateur with such books as "The Naked and the Dead," died Saturday, his literary executor said. He was 84.</p> AP on Yahoo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1923761/posts#comment Sat, 10 Nov 2007 13:23:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1923191/posts Dr. R. Scott Hitt, an AIDS specialist and the first openly gay person to head a presidential advisory board, has died. He was 49. Hitt died Thursday of colon cancer at his home in West Hollywood, according to John Duran, the city's mayor and a longtime friend. Hitt was chairman of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV and AIDS during President Clinton's administration in the 1990s. "I think Scott's legacy was drawing AIDS to the attention of the president. He was uncompromising," Duran said. "He was not afraid of challenging the president about what would make good public policy." When... AP on Bakersfield Californian http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1923191/posts#comment Fri, 9 Nov 2007 04:55:50 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1914873/posts 10/22/2007 - ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. (AFPN) -- When warriors deploy together to fight the war on terrorism, one doesn't imagine coming home without his partner, but a Robins Air Force Base NCO had to. Staff Sgt. Marcus Reaves, a military working dog handler in the 78th Security Forces Squadron's military working dog section here, was deployed to Iraq with his canine partner, Arras, when his dog was killed Sept. 25 in the line of duty. Arras, a 5-year-old Dutch shepherd explosives detector and patrol dog temporarily assigned to the 447th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron and Joint Operations at... Air Force Link http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1914873/posts#comment Tue, 23 Oct 2007 00:38:50 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1904471/posts SYDNEY (AFP) - Actress Lois Maxwell, who was known to millions of fans through her role as Miss Moneypenny in a series of Bond movies, has died in Australia, an official said Sunday. She was 80. "She passed away on 29th September at 11:40 pm," a spokeswoman for Fremantle Hospital in western Australia told AFP. The Canadian-born actress had been living in Australia for several years because her son and his family are based there. She first played the character, with whom the ever-charming 007 constantly flirted, alongside Sean Connery in "Dr No" in 1962. She continued to play the... AFP on Yahoo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1904471/posts#comment Sun, 30 Sep 2007 17:11:11 GMT