John Givens died he was 83

John Givens died he was 83. Givens was a basketball player and coach.

Givens, a native of McHenry, Kentucky^[1], played college basketball at Western Kentucky University. He was drafted by the NBA's Rochester Royals in the sixth round of the 1950. He joined the Air Force during World War II, where he also played basketball during his service years. In 1946 he attended Western Kentucky University and became a basketball star. While playing for WKU he was in the Who's Who in American Colleges and Universities. He was a professional player for Sheboygan, WI, Redskins, where he was MVP during the 1950-51 season in the All Professional League while his team won the championship that year. He later played for the Minneapolis Lakers with the great George Mikan.

He then went on to become a high school coach. His coaching career experienced 194

victories and 97 defeats as of 1967. He coached for six schools, New Albany High School, where the team went to two state finals; Marion Indiana High School; Las Vegas, NM; and Highlands University. During the 1964-65 season he was the NAIA District 7 Coach of the Year, at Highlands University; then the Kentucky Colonels Pro-American Basketball Association, where he was the first coach for the Colonels; and finished his career with Thomas Jefferson High School as athletic director and finally, Fern Creek High Schools Girls Basketball. He had influenced a number of students and athletes during his career as teacher and coach.

Givens was a starting guard on the 1950-51 Sheboygan Red Skins of the National Professional Basketball League. The Red Skins finished with the league's best record at 29-16, after which the league dissolved. Givens was one of the league's most electric performers and finished seventh in NPBL scoring with 569 points in 44 games, a 12.9 per-game average.

Givens became the first head coach of the Kentucky Colonels during the American Basketball Association's first season in 1967-1968. Givens also became the first coach in the history of the ABA to be fired, after a 5-12 start. He was replaced as head coach of the Colonels by Gene Rhodes.^[3]

Givens later coached at Thomas Jefferson High School and Fern Creek High School, both in Jefferson County, Kentucky, before he retired.^[4]

Givens died on December 8, 2009 at his home in Louisville, Kentucky.^[5]

To see more of who died in 2009 click here

Willie Maxine Perry died she was 64, American mother of filmmaker Tyler Perry.

Filmmaker Tyler Perry's mother, the inspriration for his "Madea" character, passed yesterday away at age 64 according to a message Perry's website. Willie Maxine Perry died she was 64.
Feb. 12, 1945 Dec 8, 2009

Mr. Perry gained popularity over the years playing Madea, the antithesis of the sweet old granny, in a dozen stage plays and films including Diary of a Mad Black Woman, Madea Goes to Jail, and the recent I Can Do Bad All by Myself.

In one of his most recent efforts Mr. Perry, 40, co-produced the film Precious with Oprah Winfrey. Mr. Perry, whose films have grossed almost $400 million worldwide, will appear tonight on ABC in a pre-recorded interview with Barbara Walters as part of Walters' The 10 Most Facinating People of 2009 special.

"When my mother was trying to protect me from my father, she started taking me everywhere with her. If I made one more trip to Lane Bryant I would have just died! She took me to the hair salon, all these women would get together and have their card games ... it gave me a sense of, a different sensibility toward women," Mr. Perry tells Ms. Walters in the interview.

Al Dorow died he was 80,

Albert Richard "Al" Dorow died he was 80. Dorow was a former professional American football quarterback in the National Football League and the American Football League.

(November 15, 1929 – December 7, 2009)

Dorow, a quarterback, played college football at Michigan State University and was All-American in 1951. He was drafted in the third round of the 1952 NFL Draft. After serving the required two years in the military, Dorow played for the Washington Redskins during the 1954, 1955, and 1956 seasons, and for the Philadelphia Eagles in 1957. After being released by the Eagles before the start of the 1958 season, Dorow spent two years in the Canadian Football League, playing for Saskatchewan, British Columbia, and Toronto. Dorow moved to the AFL for its inaugral season, playing for the New York Titans (forerunner of the New York Jets) in 1960 and 1961, before being traded to the Buffalo Bills for the 1962 season. Dorow injured his arm in the fourth game of the 1962 season and was unable to play again.

Dorow's awards include All American in football for MSU in 1951 and Most Valuable Player in the NFL Pro Bowl of 1956. Dorow's other accomplishments include leading the AFL in most touchdowns thrown (26) in 1960. Dorow also co-holds the CFL single-game record for sacks with 7, matched by two others.

After leaving professional football, Dorow was a backfield coach for Hillsdale College in Michigan for the 1963 and 1964 seasons. He then became an assistant to Duffy Daugherty at Michigan State for the 1965 through 1970 seasons. He was the head coach of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 1971 and part of the 1972 season.

After football, Dorow worked as a salesman and manager, retiring in 1989.

Dorow died of bone cancer on December 7, 2009.

Grady Patterson died he was 85

Grady Leslie Patterson, Jr.died he was 85. Patterson was the South Carolina State Treasurer and a United States Air Force General.^[1] In Grady L. Patterson, Jr.’s thirty years as South Carolina State Treasurer, he has been responsible for many of the changes that modernized state government and protected South Carolina’s citizens. During his tenure, South Carolina transformed itself from an agricultural economy to one strong in manufacturing and technology, but certain financial truths never changed for Treasurer Patterson.

(January 13, 1924–December 7, 2009)

Born in Calhoun Falls, South Carolina, Patterson graduated from University of South Carolina. He served in World War II and was State Treasurer of South Carolina for thirty-seven years.^[2]

For years South Carolina was an innovator in the management of public funds under the guidance of Treasurer Patterson. He has always advocated common sense conservative management policies. State officials recognized Grady Patterson’s leadership, and he has often been the voice for responsible fiscal management in often-contentious policy debates.

Because of his common sense approach to state government, Patterson promoted several initiatives to keep state spending on a tight leash and to make the Treasurer’s Office more responsive to the needs of South Carolinians.

In 2006, he was defeated for reelection by Republican Thomas Ravenel.

To see more of who died in 2009 click here

Mark Ritts died he was 63, American actor and puppeteer

Mark Ritts died he was 63. Ritts was an American actor, puppeteer, television producer and director, and author. Ritts also produced and directed many independent videos and television spots as President of Mark Ritts Productions, Inc., to clients around the world.

(June 16, 1946 – December 7, 2009)

Ritts was born in West Chester, Pennsylvania in 1946. He graduated from Harvard with a degree in English literature. Beingn the son of noted puppeteers Paul and Mary Ritts, he pursued a sideline in puppetry, starring in PBS's The Real Adventures of Sherlock Jones and Proctor Watson and NBC's The Pink Panther Show, among many others.

Throughout the 1990s, Ritts was the voice and manipulator of "Kino", the Emmy Award-winning puppet co-host of PBS's Storytime, as well as one of the show's writers.

From 1992 to 1998, he participated on CBS's Beakman's World. In it, Ritts starred as Lester, a disgruntled actor in a rat suit who reluctantly helps Beakman with his experiments and trades barbs with Josie, Liza and Phoebe. The character was originally conceived as a puppet character, but at the last minute, the show's producers decided he would be a costumed actor.The program has been televised in nearly 90 countries around the world, and is seen in syndication throughout the United States.

After moving to California from the East Coast in 1994, Mark wrote and produced a Barney the Dinosaur special for Fox, as well as a one-hour documentary on microbiology called Creators of the Future, which debuted in prime time on PBS in 1999.

Ritts is also the co-author (with Don Fleming, Ph.D) of a parenting book entitled Mom, I Hate You, released by Three Rivers/Random House in April 2003. In July 2005, he and co-producer/writer/director Ted Field released Cast Off for Catalina, a DVD about visiting and enjoying southern California's Santa Catalina Island aboard your own boat. A second DVD, Cast Off for Mexico, was released in 2007. Ritts provided the voice for the character Gianciotto in the 2007 film Dante's Inferno.

He made a major high-definition documentary for Merck & Co. and creative directed an elaborate conference for Carlson Hotels at Las Vegas's Bellagio Resort and Casino. He was also a director of the Court TV series North Mission Road.

Ritts died from kidney cancer on December 7, 2009 in La Cañada, California. He was 63 years old.^[1]

He was married to actress and singer Teresa Parente and had a daughter and two sons with her.

To see more of who died in 2009 click here

Eddie James died he was 46

Eddie James died in a motorcycle accident, James for more than 20 years, was the motorcycle enthusiast. He reveled in the freedom of long-distance riding, particularly to open areas in the West and South.

"I think it was a great escape for him," said his brother Jonathan Johnson. "He loved long horizons, the mountains."

With the wind blowing through his thick, snow-white hair, Mr. James rode his motorcycle to all 50 states, logging more than a half-million miles in his lifetime, his brother said. His favorite spots included Minnesota, Nebraska, South Dakota, Florida and Mississippi.

But Mr. James didn't just seek out vast stretches of highway and open terrain. He also explored oddball stops that were off the beaten path. For instance, he knew where to find the world's largest ball of twine in Darwin, Minn., and had visited the world's largest hand-dug well in Greensburg, Kan. He also had collected more than 650 stamps from hundreds of national parks.

And in 2006, Mr. James coordinated ride events for the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation's "Ride for Kids," raising money to find the cause of and cure for childhood brain tumors.

"Basically, anything that involved motorcycling and traveling, he was on board for," said his fiancée, Lisa Erbes of Atlanta.

He was killed doing what he loved the most, dying Dec. 6 in a motorcycle crash on Interstate 75 close to the Northside Drive exit.

A memorial service for Edmund "Eddie" Clarence James III, 46, of Atlanta will be at 2 p.m. Saturday at H.M. Patterson and Son, Arlington Chapel, in Sandy Springs. The funeral home is in charge of arrangements.

Born in Des Moines, Iowa, he grew up in the tiny town of Silver Lake, Minn. In his early teens, he moved to Winsted, Minn., to live with his older sister. He found a job 15 miles down the road, cleaning barns, bailing hay and milking cows as a herdsman assistant. To travel back and forth, the then-15-year-old bought his first motorcycle.

"It was a green [Hodaka] Road Toad. Basically, it was a glorified dirt bike," said sister Aura Lee Carpenter. "It was noisy as all get out. It leaked oil, and it was so ugly. But he fell in love with it."

In the early '80s, he worked at several Minneapolis/St. Paul motorcycle dealerships, and in 1984, he was a founder of TeamStrange Airheads, which has evolved into one of the leading long-distance riding organizations nationwide.

In 1989, he started racing at Brainerd International Raceway in Brainerd, Minn. He enjoyed racing, and even involved family members. In fact, he made them his pit crew, Mrs. Carpenter said.

He even drove his 7-year-old niece to her first communion on his motorcycle, dropping her off at the church's front steps. "We never had a moment in my family … that Eddie and his bike weren't involved," she said.

Mr. James moved to Atlanta a year ago and owned multiple bikes at the time of his death. He was a big bear of a man who lived life to the fullest and loved children, family members said.

"He's Santa Claus on a motorcycle," Mrs. Carpenter said. "He loved his bike. His whole life revolved around that."
To see more of who died in 2009 click here.

John Pittenger died he was 79,

John C. Pittenger, former Pennsylvania Secretary of Education and former state representative died Sunday at Homestead Village from complications of Parkinson's disease. He was 79.

"'Pitt,' as he was affectionately known, was a true patriot, serving his nation, his state and his community as a military veteran, as an educator, a farmer, a lawyer, a state legislator and a state Cabinet secretary," Bruce Beardsley, chairman of the Lancaster County Democratic Committee, said.

"To me, and to my political colleagues, he was a friend and trusted mentor," Beardsley said. "He played an invaluable behind-the-scenes role in the renaissance of the local Democratic Party, advising me, my predecessor and many others. He helped the party raise money, and he enjoyed and had a remarkable knack for motivating and recruiting people to volunteer for the party. It was almost impossible to say 'no' to Pitt."

Beardsley said Pittenger was the "epitome of a great American. Throughout a lifetime of service, he never abandoned the effort to make the world a little better place, although he did come to discover that it's a lot harder than he thought it would be. He will be sorely missed."

Mike Sturla, the current state Congressman for the 96th District, said, "I, along with countless others, consider him a mentor. Very few people talked to him and didn't learn learn something. I respected what he accomplished and what he tried to get others to accomplish."

Jim Shultz actively campaigned for Pittenger's election in the 1960s.

"He was a mentor to me and others. We sought out his counsel and great advice. He was selfless, taking an interest in our lives, in our careers and families," said Shultz, a friend of Pittenger for more than 50 years. "I admired his passion for the Democratic Party. He was the personification of Mr. Democrat."

Just three months ago, Pittenger was on the phone to committee people and working to get people registered to vote, Shultz said.

"He was passionate about public service," Shultz said. "I will greatly miss him."

G. Terry Madonna, director of Franklin & Marshall College's government department and a political analyst, said Pittenger was an early mentor of his, too.

"I deeply respected his views on politics and government. He was the first person to introduce me to politics when I was in college and to participating in government," Madonna said. "He deliberately sought out some of the young people at the college to get involved in politics."

Madonna said Pittenger encouraged young people to get into politics as an "honorable profession."

"He stressed that good people need to get into government service," Madonna said. "He was a man of incredible integrity with very, very strong convictions and willing to express them. He was an incredible role model."

Lancaster Mayor Rick Gray said Pittenger was "certainly a man of principles and an anchor in the Lancaster Democratic Party for many years."

"Even when he was not living here, he participated from a distance," Gray said. "His intellectual abilities were great, and he was a warm, caring person. His character traits were reflected in his politics. He was motivated to get the best for a person, whether aged, infirm or young. He was a tremendous guy."

After practicing law in Lancaster from 1958 to 1965, Pittenger became involved in Democratic politics. He served in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the 96th District from 1965 to 1966. During this term, Pittenger helped draft the bill that set up the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency scholarship program and was a principal sponsor of the Mental Health/Mental Retardation Act of 1966.

He was defeated in the next election, but was re-elected the following term, serving from 1969 to 1970. As a member of the Democratic Policy Committee and chairman of the Joint Legislative Data Processing Committee, Pittenger helped develop assessment procedure reform and computerize all state registration and election figures.

Also during his two terms, Pittenger authored a controversial proposal for charging graduated -- or income-based -- tuition at state colleges and universities and vigorously supported a bill to strengthen the powers of the state Board of Education. He was the first member of the General Assembly to bring high school seniors to Harrisburg on a regular basis to serve as pages in the House of Representatives.

He also served as director of research for the minority Caucus of the House of Representatives from 1967 to 1968.

In 1971, while a member of the Commission on School Finance, Pittenger was appointed legislative secretary to Gov. Milton J. Shapp and served as a liaison between the governor's office and the Department of Education.

As legislative secretary, he helped steer the state's first personal income tax bill through the General Assembly, played an instrumental role in securing reforms to Workmen's Compensation and Unemployment Compensation Acts and guided to passage the bill that created the Department of Environmental Resources.

A year later, Shapp named Pittenger the state secretary of education.

As secretary, he established due process rights for handicapped children and created the Governor's School for the Arts and the state government internship program for state college students.

He also led the fight to mandate equal athletic programs for female students in public schools and supervised the first complete rewrite of the school code in 30 years. In addition, he played a key role in adopting the system of statewide achievement and attitudinal testing in grades five, eight and 11.

He served for three years as chairman of the legislative committee of the National Council of Chief State School Officers.

Pittenger resigned as secretary in late 1976 to accept a position as visiting lecturer at Harvard Graduate School of Education.

In 1978, state House Speaker K. Leroy Irvis asked Pittenger to chair a commission on the reform of the Pennsylvania House. His commission's report led to the establishment of the Bi-Partisan Management Committee and other major reforms.

In 1979, Pittenger threw his hat into the ring in the race for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Richard Schweiker, but withdrew a year later when Mayor Pete Flaherty of Pittsburgh entered the race.

Pittenger was named dean of Rutgers University Law School in 1981. There, he instituted an exchange program with the law faculty of Karl Francis University in Graz, Austria; presided over the development of specialties in taxation and international law; and helped persuade Rutgers to build a law school dormitory in Camden.

Although he stepped down as dean in 1986 to move back to Pittwillow Farm --the family farm in southern Chester County --he continued to teach at the law school until his retirement in 1994.

Throughout the years, Pittenger taught several courses as an adjunct professor in the government department at F&M and served as the college's pre-law advisor.

He also was the co-author, with Henry W. Bragdon, of "The Pursuit of Justice," an introduction to constitutional law for high school students, and of "Politics Ain't Beanbag," a political memoir.

Once Pittenger moved to Homestead Village in 1997, he became active in Democratic politics once more. He said he wouldn't be happy until the day there was a Democratic mayor in Lancaster, a Democratic governor in Harrisburg and a Democrat in the White House -- all at the same time.

Pittenger attended public school in Swarthmore and Phillips Exeter Academy, Exeter, N.H. He graduated summa cum laude from Harvard College with a degree in American history in 1951 and cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1958.

Between college and law school, Pittenger was a Frank Knox Fellow at the London School of Economics. He received the honorary degree, doctorate of humane letters, from Franklin & Marshall College in 1981.

A first lieutenant, he served in the infantry and government intelligence in the U.S. Army from 1952 to 1955.

He was a member of the Society of Friends.

Active in community affairs, Pittenger served as president of Lancaster Opera Workshop and Harvard Club of Central Pennsylvania and vice president of the board of Family and Children's Services and Lancaster Foundation for Educational Enrichment. He was a trustee of Lincoln University.

An avid squash and badminton player, he served intermittently for 15 years as the first coach of F&M's men's squash team.

He received the Lancaster Jaycee Good Government Award in 1967, the B'Nai B'rith Man of the Year Award in 1968 and the Penn State Special Award for Leadership in 1976. The Lancaster County Democratic Committee honored him in 2003 with its first Lifetime Achievement Award.

Born in Philadelphia, he was the son of the late Nicholas Otto and Cornelia VanDerveer Chapman Pittenger.

He was married to Pauline Miller Pittenger.

Surviving in addition to his wife are two stepsons, Josiah Leet of Lancaster and Matthew Leet of Oakland, Calif.; and a sister, Jane Kellenberger of Boulder, Colo.

To see what stars died in 2009 click here