October 31, 2020
All Hallows’ Eve In Memoriam Edition
Good Morning, God and All…
In keeping with the true intention of this spoke in the wheel of the year, The Saturday Morning Post takes a pause in its normal format to focus on those whom we lost to eternity in the past twelve months. The list is by no means exhaustive. In my normal course of research, the compiled list at Wikipedia left out persons whose death alone catapulted them into the national spotlight; I dug deeper to include them; but in so doing left out anyone else who may have died in the process. I have also listed groups of persons whose names are unknown to most of us but have figured in what historians and writers will record for future generations, however many there may be, to read.
I pray that the reader of this list not be critical of the editing therein. It is my belief that ALL souls of the departed are commended to God’s mercy and justice, which is superabundant and has no equal on this earth.
We Remember:
(2019)
November 6 – Jan Stráský, 20th Prime Minister of Czechoslovakia (b. 1940)
November 29 – Yasuhiro Nakasone, 45th Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1918)
December 1 – Shelley Morrison, American actress (b. 1936)
December 8 - Caroll Spinney, American puppeteer (b. 1933)
December 8 - Juice Wrld, American rapper (b. 1998)
December 26 - Jerry Herman, American composer (b. 1931)
December 27 – Don Imus, American radio personality, television show host, and author (b. 1940)
(2020)
January 1 – David Stern, American businessman and NBA commissioner (b. 1942)
January 7 - Neil Peart, Canadian drummer and lyricist (b. 1952)
January 8 - Edd Byrnes, American actor (b. 1932)
January 8 - Buck Henry, American actor, screenwriter and television producer (b. 1930)
January 21 - Terry Jones, Welsh actor and comedian (b. 1942)
January 26 - Kobe Bryant, American professional basketball player (b. 1978)
January 31 - Mary Higgins Clark, American novelist (b. 1927)
February 5 - Kirk Douglas, American actor, director and producer (b. 1916)
February 7 - Orson Bean, American actor, comedian and producer (b. 1928)
February 8 – Robert Conrad, American actor (b. 1935)
February 24 - Clive Cussler, American author (b. 1931)
March 2 - James Lipton, American writer, lyricist and actor (b. 1926)
March 8 – Max von Sydow, Swedish-French actor (b. 1929)
March 13 - Breonna Taylor, African-American woman (b. 1994)
March 20 - Kenny Rogers, American country singer and songwriter (b. 1938)
March 30 - Bill Withers, American singer-songwriter (b. 1938)
April 7 – John Prine, American singer-songwriter (b. 1946)
April 15 - Brian Dennehy, American actor (b. 1938)
April 22 - Shirley Knight, American actress (b. 1936)
May 9 – Little Richard, American musician (b. 1932)
May 11 – Jerry Stiller, American comedian (b. 1927)
May 15 - Fred Willard, American actor and comedian (b. 1933)
May 25 - George Floyd, African-American Truck driver, security guard, rapper (b. 1973)
May 27 – Larry Kramer, American author and LGBT rights activist (b. 1935)
June 12 - Rayshard Brooks, African-American man (b. 1993)
June 29 - Johnny Mandel, American composer (b. 1925)
June 29 - Carl Reiner, American actor, film director and comedian (b. 1922)
July 6 - Charlie Daniels, American country singer-songwriter and musician (b. 1936)
July 17 - John Lewis, American civil rights leader and politician (b. 1940)
July 25 - Peter Green, English blues rock singer-songwriter (b. 1946)
July 26 – Olivia de Havilland, British-American actress (b. 1916)
August 1 – Wilford Brimley, American actor and singer (b. 1934)
August 11 - Trini Lopez, American singer and actor (b. 1937)
August 28 – Chadwick Boseman, American actor (b. 1976)
August 31 - Tom Seaver, American baseball player (b. 1944)
September 10 – Diana Rigg, English actress (b. 1938)
September 18 – Ruth Bader Ginsburg, American jurist, and gender equality pioneer (b. 1933)
September 22 - Road Warrior Animal, American professional wrestler (b. 1960)
September 23 - Gale Sayers, American gridiron football player (b. 1943)
September 29 - Mac Davis, American singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1942)
September 29 - Helen Reddy, Australian singer and actress (b. 1941)
October 2 - Bob Gibson, American baseball player (b. 1935)
October 6 - Johnny Nash, American singer-songwriter (b. 1940)
October 6 - Eddie Van Halen, Dutch-American musician and songwriter (b. 1955)
October 8 - Whitey Ford, American baseball player (b. 1928)
October 11 – Joe Morgan, American baseball player (b. 1943)
October 19 – Spencer Davis, Welsh musician (b. 1939)
October 20 - James Randi, Canadian-American magician and skeptic (b. 1928)
October 23 – Jerry Jeff Walker, American singer-songwriter (b. 1942)
October 31 – Sean Connery, Scottish actor (b. 1930)
…ALL victims of violence
…ALL victims of the COVID-19 pandemic (233, 187 in the US; 1,187,014 globally as of 6:45 AM CDT 10/31/2020)
...ALL those that the reader is keeping in the silence of his/her heart and memory
…ALL first-responders, critical workers, law enforcement officers, medical professionals, and military personnel who died as a result of their dutiful service to community, nation, and ultimately, to God
…ALL those whom I have forgotten or left out for any reason
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord; and let perpetual light shine around them, according to Your holy will. May all the faithful departed, through the Divine Mercy of Our Lord Jesus Christ, rest in eternal peace…Amen.
Parting Words:
Lest we all forget in the shuffle, Daylight Saving Time ends tonight across most of the USA - remember to set those devices requiring a manual adjustment back one hour tonight before bedtime. Also, check the batteries in your CO and smoke detectors…they may save your life and the lives of those you love. Finally, Tuesday is Election Day. It’s the right, duty, and responsibility of every eligible voter to cast a ballot. If you’ve already voted, in person or by mail, thank you. If you haven’t, please consider your choices carefully and vote on November 3.
Until we meet again, may God be with you…and may God have mercy on us all…
+the Phoenix
