Deaths of famous people (2025)

[wj73]

Horrible news about Gene Hackman. Apparently his wife died of hantavirus, and he died about a week later. He had severe Alzheimer’s. And the poor dog who died was locked in a crate.


Just a sad, sad story all the way around.


I wish they’d arranged to have someone checking on them, but apparently they were quite private.

[Natsinpwc]

Horrible news about Gene Hackman. Apparently his wife died of hantavirus, and he died about a week later. He had severe Alzheimer’s. And the poor dog who died was locked in a crate.


Just a sad, sad story all the way around.


I wish they’d arranged to have someone checking on them, but apparently they were quite private.

Yea I read that. Terrible.  She probably figured at 65 she could handle things and didn’t anticipate something like this. And from what I read of the virus it’s starts like a cold or flu and then two days later you have 50’pervebg chance of dying. 

[wj73]

I have a group text with fellow seniors where we share our Wordle scores every morning. If someone doesn’t respond in a reasonable amount of time that day, we start checking. A fun way to check in on each other every day.


I wish they’d had some kind of daily check in with someone else outside the home. It seems they were quite private to the point of being reclusive, so no one thought much of them being out of touch for so long. It’s so sad.

[Natsinpwc]

Writer John Feinstein died.  Just 68. Some great books.

[imref]

Writer John Feinstein died.  Just 68. Some great books.

oh wow. Was a staple on Tony Kornheiser's show on WJFK over the years.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Feinstein I think was a pitch Strasburg in the playoffs guy, which earned him some critics here. Hard to believe he's just 68. Sad.

[imref]

Feinstein I think was a pitch Strasburg in the playoffs guy, which earned him some critics here. Hard to believe he's just 68. Sad.

not as bad as dibble, but yeah, he opposed the shutdown.

[Natsinpwc]

Feinstein I think was a pitch Strasburg in the playoffs guy, which earned him some critics here. Hard to believe he's just 68. Sad.

Yea he kept that up until they won.  He was kind of a d*** all around but a great writer.  The book on Knight of course but also enjoyed some of his others. The one that focuses on Glavine and Mussina was great. And Patriot League basketball.

[HalfSmokes]

Where nobody knows your name is my favorite baseball book. I loved him on Tony’s show back in the day

[English Natsie]

John 'Paddy' Hemingway (105) - last surviving Battle Of Britain pilot.

[Dave in Fairfax]

John 'Paddy' Hemingway (105) - last surviving Battle Of Britain pilot.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2025/03/18/john-paddy-hemingway-battle-britain-dies/

On Aug. 12, he scrambled repeatedly in his single-seat Hawker Hurricane as the Luftwaffe began striking RAF airfields and radar stations. On Aug. 18, he was shot down by a Junkers Ju 88 over the English Channel. “Bailed out into sea,” he wrote, “12 mls off Clacton.”

Aug. 26: “Shot down in flames.” This time, by a Messerschmitt Bf 109. He was back flying combat missions two days later.

“The main skill was luck. You had to be lucky, no matter how good you were,” recounted Mr. Hemingway, who was believed to be the last surviving RAF airman who took part in what became known as the Battle of Britain. He died March 17 at an elder-care facility in Dublin.

[Ali the Baseball Cat]

I remember a strange feeling when the last of the vets from the First World War passed 20 or so years ago...the passage of a huge event from living memory to written history.  Now the same is happening for the Second War. 

Glad to have heard the stories from my FiL and his shipmates

 

[imref]

George Foreman, 76. The grill and his boxing legacy live on.

[Copecwby20]

George Foreman, 76. The grill and his boxing legacy live on.

Grillin' dawgs and knockin' jaws up in the Great Forever.


At least there are still 5 George Foremans left.

[English Natsie]

When he was at his peak, he took part in a study of pro-sports athletes. Measuring the strength of his punch, they found that if he had punched an ordinary person from the front, it would have broken their spine...

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Kitty Dukakis, wife of former Massachusetts governor Michael Dukakis, dies at 88

Dukakis entered the national spotlight when her husband was the Democratic presidential candidate in 1988, later opening up about her struggles with depression and addiction.

 “Governor, if Kitty Dukakis were raped and murdered, would you favor an irrevocable death penalty for the killer?” One of the most 3 most critical responses to a debate question, probably up there with "there you go again" and Gerry Ford freeing Poland.