William Robert Wright, American biographer and politician, Chairman of the Utah Republican Party (1977–1979), died from Alzheimer's disease he was 76.

 

William Robert Wright , known as Robert Wright, was an American attorney and biographer of David O. McKay died from Alzheimer's disease he was 76.. With Gregory Prince, he is the co-author of the book David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism, which was named the 2006 Best Biography by the Mormon History Association.

(May 30, 1935 – January 13, 2012)

Biography

Born in 1935,^{[1][dead link]} Wright was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). His aunt was Clare Middlemiss, the longtime personal secretary of David O. McKay, who collected records of McKay's presidency for over 35 years. Through Middlemiss, Wright knew McKay personally. On one occasion, after Wright and his twin brother Richard had submitted their missionary applications, but had not yet received their assignments, McKay asked how it was going and told them that Robert would serve in Switzerland and Richard in England.^[2]
Wright promised his aunt that upon her retirement or death, he would take care to preserve her records of McKay and have them published. Wright donated McKay's diaries, discourses and some other records to the David Oman McKay Papers, a massive collection held by the Manuscript Division of Special Collections in the University of Utah's Marriott Library. These and other materials were significant in the research of Prince and Wright's biography of McKay.^[3]
Wright served the LDS Church as president of the Washington D.C. Mission from 1989 to 1992. It was during that time in Washington that he met Prince and began collaboration on their ten-year effort to produce the David O. McKay biography.^[4]
Wright was a retired attorney who practiced law in Salt Lake City and Washington, D.C. His varied public service included serving as the chairman of the University of Utah's Institutional Council and as chairman of the Utah State School Board. He lived in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Wright was also Chairman of the Utah Republican Party from 1977 to 1979. He ran unsuccessfully as the GOP's candidate for Utah governor in the 1980 gubernatorial election. He died January 13, 2012 after a 20-year struggle with Alzheimer's disease.^[5]
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Richard Threlkeld, American television journalist (CBS News), died from traffic collision he was 74.

Richard Threlkeld was an American television news correspondent who spent 25 years with CBS News  died from traffic collision he was 74..

(November 30, 1937 – January 13, 2012)

Life

Threlkeld was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and grew up in Barrington, Illinois. He earned a degree in history and political science from Ripon College. He then earned a master's degree from Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.^[1]
Threlkeld held positions at WHAS-TV in Louisville, Kentucky, and WMT-TV in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He joined CBS News in 1966 and stayed there until December 1981, serving as co-anchor of the CBS Morning News (with Lesley Stahl) from 1977 to 1979. He covered John Paul II's visit to Mexico in 1979.
Threlkeld went to ABC News in 1982 and was given the special assignment of filing a weekly Status Report segment for World News Tonight, which sought to give a deeper perspective to the week's most important story.^[2] In that role, he reported on the Falklands War, the invasion of Lebanon and many other domestic and international issues. Status Reports won a DuPont-Columbia Award in 1983.^[3]
After seven years at ABC, Threlkeld returned to CBS in 1989 and remained there until his retirement in 1999.
During his news career, Threlkeld also covered the Vietnam War, the Persian Gulf War, and the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. In the United States he covered such stories as the Robert F. Kennedy assassination and the Patty Hearst kidnapping, as well as numerous political campaigns.
Threlkeld's last assignment before retirement was as CBS News Moscow correspondent. His wife, Betsy Aaron, was CNN Moscow correspondent at the same time. He and his wife retired to Tucson, Arizona.
Threlkeld authored the book Dispatches from the Former Evil Empire in 2001.
Threlkeld was killed in an accident on January 13, 2012, in Amagansett, New York. His 2008 Mini convertible collided with a propane truck.^[4] He was 74.


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Miljan Miljanić, Serbian footballer, coach and administrator, died he was 81.

Miljan Miljanić was a Yugoslav football player, coach and administrator died he was 81..

(Serbian Cyrillic: Миљан Миљанић; 4 May 1930 – 13 January 2012)

Born in Bitola, Vardar Banovina, Kingdom of Yugoslavia, to a family originating from the Banjani clan in the Nikšić municipality in Montenegro, Miljanić spent the first years of his life in what would later become the SR Macedonia within SFR Yugoslavia and eventually present day Republic of Macedonia.
During his colourful career, Miljanić coached Red Star Belgrade (won 10 trophies), Real Madrid (won back-to-back La Liga titles, including a League/Cup double in the 1974/1975 season), Valencia CF (disappointing stint that lasted three quarters of the 1982/83 season when he got sacked with the team in 17th place in the league), and the Yugoslav national side, of which he was a head coach in the 1974 and 1982 World Cups.
He is equally known as the all-powerful president of the Football Association of FR Yugoslavia (FSJ), a post he occupied for years before leaving in 2001. His influence on the game of football in Yugoslavia is huge as an entire generation of coaches including Ćiro Blažević, Ivica Osim, Toza Veselinović, etc. came up under his tutelage. In addition to admirers, Miljanić has his share of detractors who feel his trademark cautious and defensive tactics as well as reliance on older players contributed to the Yugoslav national team's poor results and unattractive play throughout the 1970s and 1980s.

Coaching career

Real Madrid

Losing to Johan Cruijff's FC Barcelona 0-5 at home at the Bernabéu in February 1974 El Clásico, followed by finishing the league season in eight place spelled the end of Luis Molowny's short tenure as Real Madrid's head coach. The season marked the end of an era for the club as longtime head coach Miguel Muñoz got sacked mid-season. Club's iconic president Santiago Bernabéu Yeste felt it was time for major change, signing Miljan Miljanić as the new head coach of Real Madrid on 5 July 1974. The Serb's only condition was that he be allowed to bring along compatriot Srećko "Felix" Radišić as fitness coach. Radišić thus became the first fitness coach in club's history.^[1] Others in Miljanić's coaching staff were club-assigned goalkeeping coach Juan Santisteban and assistant coach Antonio Ruiz.
Miljanić initiated many innovative changes in the training methods at Real. Insisting on top physical and tactical preparation, he increased the number of daily training sessions from one to three, which initially cause an outrage.^[2] He insisted on players not having more than two touches on the ball, and had them perfect the long pass game with the entire team functioning as a precise mechanism. He also moved Pirri from his midfield role into the sweeper defensive role while the offensive movement usually converged with crosses for target forwards Santillana and new signing from Espanyol Roberto Martínez.^[3] Furthermore, Miljanić had at his disposal goalkeeper Miguel Ángel, defensive midfielder Vicente del Bosque, veteran right winger Amancio Amaro, German midfielder Günter Netzer, newly signed defenceman from Bayern Paul Breitner, and young defender from the youth system José Antonio Camacho. Despite facing fan criticism over unattractive play, Real won the league and cup double in his first season as coach while in the Cup Winners' Cup they got eliminated at the quarterfinal stage on penalties by Miljanić's former team Red Star Belgrade. The tie took place over two legs in March 1975, and Miljanić somewhat controversially decided not to travel to Belgrade for the return leg because he couldn't bear to lead the team against his former side, saying: "I can not betray my heart".^[4] Instead, he invited journalists to watch the game with him on television in Madrid. Going into the return leg Real had the 2-0 lead from the first leg, but led by Antonio Ruiz who stepped in for Miljanić that night, los merenegues lost 2-0 in Belgrade and then got eliminated in the penalty shootout.
After ending the 1976-77 season without silverware, Miljanić started his fourth campaign as Real's coach in September 1977. However, after losing the opening match of the league season to Salamanca 1-2, Miljanić resigned his post.

Personal

Miljanić was married to Olivera Reljić with whom he had two children: son Miloš Miljanić (former footballer and current manager of Alianza F.C. of El Salvador) and daughter Zorka.
He died on 13 January 2012, aged 81, in Belgrade, Serbia after suffering from the Alzheimer's disease for several years. Mourning the loss of the club's former great, on 14 January, Real Madrid side coached by José Mourinho played their away league match at Real Mallorca with Madrid players wearing black armbands.

Honours and awards

Red Star Belgrade

• Yugoslav First League (4): 1967–68, 1968–69, 1969–70, 1972–73

• Yugoslav Cup (3): 1967–68, 1969–70, 1970–71

• Mitropa Cup (1): 1967–68

• Iberico Trophy Badajoz (1): 1971

• Orange Trophy (1): 1973

• Trofeo Costa del Sol (1): 1973

Real Madrid

• La Liga (2): 1974–75, 1975–76

• Copa del Rey (1): 1974–75

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Curt Meyer-Clason, German writer and translator, died he was 101.

Curt Meyer-Clason was a German writer and translator died he was 101..^[1]

^{(Ludwigsburg, 19 September 1910 – Munich, 13 January 2012)}

Biography

After graduating from high school, Meyer-Clason worked as a commercial clerk in Bremen and from 1936 as an independent businessman in Argentina and Brazil. From 1942 to 1944, he was interned in Brazil as an illegal alien. In 1955 he went back to Germany and worked as a freelance book editor in Munich. From the sixties, his work concentrated on working on translations of Portuguese, Spanish and Latin American books. From 1969 to 1976 Meyer-Clason acted as head of the Goethe Institute in Lisbon.
Curt Meyer-Clason was a member of the Association of German Writers, the PEN Center of the Federal Republic of Germany, and a corresponding member of the Academia Brasileira de Letras in Rio de Janeiro. He received the following awards: 1975 Translation Prize of the German Academy for Language and Literature, 1978 Translation Prize of the Cultural Committee of the Federal Association of German Industry (BDI) and in 1996 the Federal Merit 1st Class.
As of 2008, Meyer-Clason was living in Munich and in 2011 he turned 101.^[2]

Works

• Literatura alemana actual, Asunción 1969
• Erstens die Freiheit, Wuppertal 1978
• Portugiesische Tagebücher, Königstein/Ts. 1979
• Äquator, Bergisch Gladbach 1986
• Unterwegs, Bergisch Gladbach 1989
• Die Menschen sterben nicht, sie werden verzaubert, München [u. a.] 1990
• Die große Insel, Reicheneck 1995
• Der Unbekannte, München 1999
• Bin gleich wieder da, Weitra 2000

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Armand Mercier, American politician, died he was 78.

Armand Mercier was a Mayor and City Councilor of Lowell, Massachusetts  died he was 78..


(November 8, 1933 – January 13, 2012) 

Early life and career

He was born in Lowell on Nov. 8, 1933, a son of the late Peter & Lillian (Rodrigue) Mercier. He attended St. Joseph High School and has been a lifelong dedicated resident of Lowell. He was a long-time communicant of the former Ste. Jeanne d'Arc Church in the Pawtucketville section of the which he resided for many years. He also founded and operated a real estate office named Mercier Realty, a family business since 1985. Armand Mercier resided in the City of Lowell all of his life.^[1]
Armand's commitment to public service began in 1966 as the labor appointee to the Lowell Housing Authority Board of Commissioners, Mercier served as the Governor’s Representative for the Lowell Housing Authority. He dedicated his energies serving as Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Commissioner and Executive Director of the Lowell Housing Authority, as well as Development Director and Executive Director of the Lowell Historical Preservation Commission. He also served on the Lowell Plan of Directors; Community Teamwork Incorporated (CTI); Center Cities Committee, Vice President of the Mass Chapter of the National Association of Housing Redevelopment (NAHRO); Board of Director of Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union, Chair of the Greater Lowell March of Dimes and Delegate of Central Labor Council.^[2]

Lowell City Council

Armand continued to dedicate his time and energy to the citizens of Lowell having served six elected terms on the Lowell City Council, where he was affectionately known as "The Voice of Reason" from 1998 to 2010; during which he served one term as Vice-Mayor (2002–2004), and one term as Mayor (2004–2006).^[2]
Mercier has served on numerous subcommittees including Economic Development and Downtown, Public Safety, and Zoning.
In the 2009 Lowell City election Mercier lost reelection by 217 votes thus ending his twelve years and six terms of service on the Lowell City Council.^[3]

Post Council

The Lowell Housing Authority dedicated their community building on Salem Street as the Armand P. Mercier Multi-Service Center.^[1]
In 2011 Mercier ran to try and reclaim his seat on the council but come up short by 55 votes of rejoining the council.^[4]
Armand P. Mercier, died on Friday January 13, 2012, at Lowell General Hospital following a brief illness.^[1]


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Oscar Valentín Leal Caal, Guatemalan politician, Congressman (since 2008), died from gun-shot he was 41.

Oscar Valentín Leal Caal was a Guatemalan politician died from gun-shot he was 41.. He was elected to the Congress of Guatemala in 2008, and again in 2011. He was a former Governor of Alta Verapaz, and a former Mayor of San Juan Chamelco.^[2]

^{(20 February 1971[1] – 13 January 2012)}

Assassination

On 13 January 2012, Leal and his brother were shot dead in their car by gunmen riding motorcycles in Guatemala City. The shootings occurred the day before Otto Molina was sworn in as the new President of Guatemala.^[3]



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Lefter Küçükandonyadis, Turkish Olympic footballer (Fenerbahçe) and coach, died from pneumonia he was 86.

Lefter Küçükandonyadis was a Turkish-Greek football player, who is recognised as one of the greatest footballers to play for Fenerbahçe SK and Turkey died from pneumonia he was 86..^[2]

^{(22 December 1924 – 13 January 2012)}

Early life and club career

Of Greek descent, he was born as the son of a fisherman and a tailor; his parents' names were Christofis and Argyro. He grew up with ten other brothers and sisters. He started his footballing career in Büyükada (an island in Istanbul) but professionally played first with Taksim SK, a club based in the European sector Istanbul. Küçükandonyadis transferred to Fenerbahçe in 1947, achieving instant success. He was one of the first Turkish footballers to play abroad, playing during 1951–1953 for ACF Fiorentina in Italy and OGC Nice in France. Returning to Fenerbahçe, he won two Istanbul League titles and later, after the start of the Turkish national league, three Turkish League (1959, 1961 and 1964) championship titles. In the season 1953–1954, he was the top scorer in the Turkish league. Küçükandonyadis scored in all a total of 423 goals in 615 games for Fenerbahçe. After ending his career in Turkey in 1964, Küçükandonyadis played a single season in Greece with AEK Athens FC. He participated in five games in the 1965 season scoring two goals before an injury in the match against Iraklis forced his retirement.

National football team

Küçükandonyadis was capped 50 times for the Turkish national football team, 9 of which as the captain. He also played at the 1954 World Cup netting in 2 goals, one against West-Germany and the other against South-Korea. He scored 22 goals for the national team and was the top scorer for Turkey until overtaken by Hakan Şükür. He was the first Turkish football player to receive the "Golden Honor medal", from the Turkish Football Federation, for having played for the National Selection in 50 international matches.

After active football

Küçükandonyadis coached Egaleo F.C. in Greece and Supersport United in South Africa. He later returned to Turkey and coached the clubs Samsunspor, Orduspor, Mersin Idmanyurdu and Boluspor.
Küçükandonyadis was also known as "Ordinarius" (professor) in Turkey.^[3] His statue was built next to the Şükrü Saraçoğlu Stadium in 2009.

Honours

Fenerbahçe

• Turkish Championship: 1959, 1961, 1964
• Atatürk Cup: 1964
• Istanbul Football League: 1948, 1957, 1959
• National League: 1950

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