Bidding Farewell To Those Who Left Us In 2012

This year (2012) the world lost some of its most precious jewels. Some of them were singers, writers, fighters, athletes, activists, educators and politicians. Two were siblings (David Peaston and Fontella Bass) To them all we say, Rest In Peace!!!

JANUARY

Jan. 16 - Jimmy Castor, funk and pop saxophonist.  He was 64.

Jan. 20 – Etta James, soul singer. She was 73.

Jan. 26 -  Robert Hegyes, who played Juan Epstein on Welcome Back Kotter' . He was 60.

FEBRUARY

Feb. 1 - Don Cornelius, Soul Trainer creator/pioneer. He was 75.

Feb. 1 -  Micheal Andre Lewis, organ and keyboardist with the group MAXAYN

Feb. 1 – David Peaston - He became famous on "It's Showtime at the Apollo" where he won numerous times singing "God Bless the Child."

Feb. 1- Angelo Dundee – trainer for Muhammad Ali.  He was 90.

WHITNEY HOUSTON

Feb. 11 – Whitney Houston. She was 48.

Feb 15 – Actor Dick Anthony Williams. He was 73.

Feb. 25 – Red Holloway, saxophonist. He was 84.

Feb. 29 – Davy Jones, lead singer of The Monkees. He was 66.

MARCH

March 6 -  U.S. Congressman Donald M. Payne, New Jersey's first and only African-American congressman. He was 77.

March 8 – Front man for the Trammps James T. "Jimmy" Ellis, who belted out the refrain "Burn, baby burn!" in a 1970s-era disco hit,  He was 74.

APRIL

 JAMAA FANAKA

April 1 – Jamaa Fanaka, Penetentiary II director; also a writer, producer. He was 69.

April 5 – Gil Noble,  pioneering journalist. He was 80.

April 19 - Tenor saxophonist Andrew Love. He was 70.

MAY

May 2 – Junior Seau, NFL star – San Diego Charger, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, He was 43.

May 13 - Bass player and songwriter Donald "Duck" Dunn, a member of the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame band Booker T. and the MGs and the Blues Brothers bane. He was 70.

May 16 - Go-Go legend Chuck Brown. He was 75. Brown was a Washington, DC icon & the Godfather of Go-Go!

May 17 – Queen of Disco, Donna Summer. She was 63.

May 20 – Calvin Hicks photographer, gallery founder. He was 71.

May 21 - Ex-NBA star, Olympian Bob Boozer. He was 75.

May 23 - Hal Jackson, who paved the way for African-Americans in the world of radio broadcast, has died from an unspecified illness, WBLS reports. He was 96.

May 25 - Family matriarch and a guiding force of Black Enterprise, Barbara Kydd Graves succumbed early this morning at Howard University Hospital after a more than three-year battle with gall bladder cancer. She was 74.

JUNE

June 1 - Orlando Woolridge, NBA player.  He was 52.

June 13 - Alabama Public Television journalist Jon Beans.

June 13 -  Erica Kennedy, author and blogger. She was 42.

June 14 – Yvette Wilson, comedienne and star of popular sitcom “Moesha.”  She was 48.

June 16 – Rodney King. The man at the center of the Los Angeles uprising. He was 47.

JULY

July 4 - Jimmy Bivins, a boxing great of the 1940s and 1950s who defeated some of the greatest fighters of his time. He was 92.

July 11 - Award-winning filmmaker Kelly Robin Hill-Greenwade.  She was 45.

July 17  - Rapper Ms. Melodie, (born Ramona Parker).  She was the ex-wife of rapper KRS-ONE and was a member of Boogie Down Productions.

July - Sylvia Woods, founder of Sylvia's Restaurant, the famed Harlem soul food restaurant.   She was 86.

SHERMAN HEMSLEY

July 24 – Sherman Hemsley, star of The Jeffersons and All in the Family. He was 74.

July 24  - Ghana President John Atta Mills. He was 68. 

July 26 – Lupe Ontiveros, actress starred in the films Selena and As Good As It Gets. She was 69.

July 30 – O.J. Murdock, a reserve receiver for the Tennessee Titans. He was 25.

AUGUST

Aug. 9 – Actor Al Freeman Jr. He was 78.

Aug. 21 - Meles Zenawi, Ethiopian Prime Minister. He was 57.

Aug. 30 - Chris Lighty, a mogul in the hip-hop world who managed the likes of 50 Cent, Diddy, Mariah Carey and Ja Rul. He was 44.

SEPTEMBER

Sept. 3 – Oscar nominated actor (The Green Mile) Michael Clarke Duncan. He was 54.

OCTOBER

Oct. 7 - Former California Lieutenant Governor Mervyn M. Dymally. He was 86.

 

Oct. 24 – James 'Jai Rich' Richardson, whose sonorous voice and lively mixture of Jazz, Gospel as well as r&b helped formulate the background music for Black Los Angeles from the 1960s to the 1970s. He was 78.

 

                                                                             EMANUEL STEWARD

Oct. 25 – Emanuel Steward, boxing trainer for several champions. He was 68.

 

NOVEMBER

 

Nov. 8 – Dontavies Boatwright, ‘Sunday Best’ finalist. He was 34.

DECEMBER

 FONTELLA BASS

Dec. 27 – Fontella Bass, singer of ‘Rescue Me.’  She was 72.