Lesser Known Deaths In 2022

by Jason Goldtrap

This article is dedicated to George Goldtrap Jr., 85. My father always en-joyed these articles and encouraged me to do my best. I miss you, Padre.

Before we say goodbye to 2022 let’s remember those for whom we have fond memories. There have been 209 police officers lose their lives in 2022.

Gail Halvorsen, 101, was an American pilot who dropped small bags of candy to starving children during the Berlin Airlift. WWII vet Millie Bailey, 104, was one of the first Black Americans in the WAC. On August 16, 1960, Air Force pilot Joseph Kittinger, 94, performed a skydive from 102,800 feet.

Yvette Mimieux, 80, was Dr. Kate Mc-Crae in The Black Hole. Farrah Forke was Alex Lambert on the sit-com Wings. June Preston, 93, was a child star rival to Shirley Temple. Maggie Peterson was the love-lorn Charlene Darling on The Andy Griffith Show. Lee Lawson, 80, was Bea Reardon on Guiding Light. Virginia Patton, 97, was Harry Bailey’s wife in It’s A Wonderful Life. Mary Kornman, 97, was Mildred in Our Gang. Ann Flood, 89, was Nancy Pollock Karr in The Edge Of Night.

Ray Boyle, 98, was Morgan Earp on The Life And Legend Of Wyatt Earp. Peter Robbins, 65, was the voice of Charlie Brown. Conrad Janis, 94, was the exasperated father on Mork And Mindy. Johnny Brown, 84, was the building superintendent in Good Times. Timothy Considine, 81, was slapped by George C. Scott in Patton. Emilio Delgado, 81, was Luis and Bob McGrath, 90, was Bob on Sesame Street. Actor Robert Morse, 90, knew How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying. David Birney, 83, was Dr. Ben Samuels on St. Elsewhere. Charles Siebert, 84, was Dr. Stanley Riverside II on Trapper John MD. John Aylward, 75, was Dr. Donald Anspaugh on ER. Joe Turkel, 94, was Lloyd the bartender in The Shinning.

Larry Storch, 99, was Corporal Randolph Agran on F Troop. Donnie Beezer Smith, 97, was part of Our Gang. Mark Miller, 97, was Jim Nash in Please Don’t Eat The Daises. Henry Silva, 95, was Johnny Cool. Mickey Kuhn, 90, was Beau Wilkes in Gone With The Wind.

Fans of Twin Peaks will remember Lenny Von Dohlen, 63, the agoraphobia plagued orchid grower who kept Laura Palmer’s diary. Al Strobel, 82, was the beleaguered one-armed Mike. Kenneth Walsh, 80, the evil former FBI agent Windom Earl. David Warner, 80, the conniving business man Thomas Eckhardt. The theme song Falling was melodically cooed by Julee Cruise, 65.

As the lead singer of Procol Harum, Gary Broker, 76, sank his soul into A Whiter Shade Of Pale. C. W. McCall, 93, sang about a Convoy. Bobby Rydell, 79, was a Wild One. Bernard Wright, 58, asked Who Do You Love. Jim Seals, 79, has sailed away on a Summer Breeze. Ken Williams, 83, ad- mitted Everybody Plays The Fool. Adam Wade, 87, could see The Writing On The Wall. Jesse Powell, 51, opined for You. As the lead singer of Nazareth Dan McCafferty, 76, wailed Love Hurts. Tony Facenda, 83, sang about High School USA.

If you have listened to the song Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head you’ll remember the distinctive ukulele strumming of Bill Pitman, 102. Jerry Allison, 82, drummed for The Crickets. The happy clarinet of Gene Cipriano, 94, piped on Baby Elephant Walk. Greek musician Vangelis, 79, scored a #1 hit with the instrumental Chariots Of Fire.

Marilyn Bergman, 93, wrote The Windmills Of Your Mind. Joni James, 91, opined Why Don’t You Believe Me? Big Band leader Gloria Parker, 100, was the Princess Of The Marimba. Marva Hicks, 66, along with Michael Jackson sand, I Just Can’t Stop Loving You. Jody Miller, 80, proclaimed herself to be Queen Of The House.

Mark Shields, 85, was a commentator for the PBS NewsHour. Fox News losses include anchor Uma Pemmaraju, 64, The Five panelist Bob Beckel, 73, and correspondent Jim Angle, 75. The opening night of the Gulf War was nervously covered by CNN anchor Bernard Shaw, 82.

David Boggs, 71, co-invented the Ethernet. Steve Wilhite, 74, brought animation to the internet when he invented the GIF. David Walden, 79, helped develop ARPANET, an predecessor to the internet. Harry Dornbrand, 99, helped develop early satellites. Drew McDermott, 72, was a pioneer in Artificial Intelligence. You can watch movies on your phone because of the computing language for bitmaps developed from Ken Knowlton, 91.

Edward Johnson III, 91, ran Fidelity Investments. Investor Geraldine Weiss, 96, was the Grand Dame Of Dividends. Marilyn Loden, 76, coined the phrase Glass Ceiling. Nathan Boya, 98, was the first Black American to go over Niagara Falls.

John Andrews, 88, designed Toronto’s CN Tower. Colin Cantwell, came up with the TIE Fighter for Star Wars. Greg Jein, 76, designed the mother ship in Close En-counters Of The Third Kind. Jules Bass, 87, used stop-motion animation to bring Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer to life.

Willie Morrow, 82, invented the afro pick. Iranian hermit Amou Haji, 94, was proclaimed the World’s Dirtiest Man be-cause he had not bathed in more than 60 years. Sacheen Littlefeather, 75, on behalf of Marlin Brando, famously refused an Oscar for best actor in The Godfather.