Obituaries

National

Remembering disability rights activist Judith Heumann

6:09pm March 06, 2023

Judith Heumann was a disability rights activist and a leader of the disability community. In 1977, she helped to revive legislation that set the groundwork for the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Queue Listen Now

Music & Culture

Lynyrd Skynyrd founding member Gary Rossington dies at 71

9:44am March 06, 2023

by The Associated Press

Rossington was the last surviving original founding member of the Southern rock band, known for its anthemic "Free Bird," among many other hit songs.

Judy Heumann was a major American civil rights activist who remained little-known until a flurry of attention in the last three years of her life.

Activist Judy Heumann led a reimagining of what it means to be disabled

5:26pm March 05, 2023

by Joseph Shapiro

Heumann was instrumental in pushing to expand the civil rights of Americans with disabilities and continued to advocate for disability rights around the globe. She died on Saturday at age 75.

Rafael Viñoly, a Uruguayan architect whose portfolio includes London's "Walkie-Talkie" building, died on Thursday. He was 78.

Arts

Rafael Viñoly, the architect behind the 'Walkie-Talkie' building, has died

7:02pm March 04, 2023

by Emma Bowman

The Uruguayan-born architect died unexpectedly this week from an aneurysm, his New York-based firm said. He was 78.

Actor Tom Sizemore during the 2014 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.

Arts

Tom Sizemore, 'Saving Private Ryan' actor, has died at 61

11:28pm March 03, 2023

by Neda Ulaby

Before addiction consumed Tim Sizemore's career, he was a go-to character actor known for portraying tough guys in movies such as "Heat" and "Saving Private Ryan."

Census Bureau Director Barbara Bryant (center) participates in a press conference about the 1990 census in Denver with the city's mayor, Federico Peña (right), and William Adams, a regional director for the bureau.

Barbara Bryant, the first woman to head the U.S. census, has died at 96

7:42pm March 03, 2023

by Hansi Lo Wang

Barbara Bryant, the first woman to ever head the U.S. census, has died at age 96. A market researcher, she oversaw the 1990 count as an appointee of former President George H.W. Bush's administration.

San Francisco's 'Bucket Man' Larry Hunt has died at 64

4:35pm March 02, 2023

Larry Hunt, the "Bucket Man" who brought his percussive soundtrack to the streets of downtown San Francisco, has died at 64.

Music & Culture

Wayne Shorter, sage of the saxophone, dies at 89

4:35pm March 02, 2023

by Felix Contreras

The composer and saxophonist, who won a dozen Grammy Awards and recorded with everyone from Miles Davis to Joni Mitchell, died on Thursday, March 2 in Los Angeles.

Zandra Flemister, the first Black woman special agent in the Secret Service, left the agency after four years because of discrimination. She is seen here escorting Prime Minister of Jamaica Michael Manley (right) during his 1977 visit to Washington.

Politics & Government

Zandra Flemister blazed a tough trail in the Secret Service. Now she's getting credit

1:06pm March 02, 2023

by Rachel Treisman

Flemister, who died last week, was the first Black woman to serve as a special agent in the 1970s, but was forced out by racial discrimination. She spent the next three decades in the foreign service.

Patricia Cole (left) strove to make every NPR story she touched better, and she embraced the silliness that sometimes breaks out in a newsroom. She's seen here with her friend Maquita Peters.

National

Former NPR copy editor Patricia Cole, known for her quick wit and editing eye, dies

5:18pm February 28, 2023

by Bill Chappell

She worked on feature stories and breaking news with equal aplomb. Journalism is the only thing she ever wanted to do, her brother told NPR.