Every year seems to have a list of those we lost just as bad as the year before. I suppose this doesn’t come as a surprise, but when so many leave us at such relatively young ages with so much life left to live and talent left to share, it can be quite traumatic for many.
This year includes South Korean actor Lee Sun-kyun, who was just found dead on December 27th. He was only 48 and best known for his award-winning role in the film Parasite. Another actor is Andre Braugher of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Homicide: Life on the Street, and Men of a Certain Age. He was only 61.
Sandra Day O’Connor wasn’t young, nor a surprise, but she will be missed as much as anyone passing away at 93. Her life will be celebrated for decades to come, if not in the history books until the very end.
The same might be said for Henry Kissinger, a former US Secretary of State and National Security Advisor who escaped Nazi Germany in his youth to become one of the most influential and controversial people in politics who died at the age of 100 on November 29th.
Mary Cleave, the first woman to fly on a space shuttle mission after the Challenger disaster, died at age 76 also on November 29th.
Former President Jimmy Carter, age 100, and his wife, Rosalynn Carter, age 96, both passed away this year. Although only a one-term president that some considered a failure, the Carters went on to serve America for decades to come with one of the most prolific post-presidency service records.
Bob Knight, one of the college’s winningest coaches, as well as one of the college’s most controversial coaches, passed away at 83.
Mathew Perry, a celebrity and loved actor by many for his iconic role as Chandler Bing on Friends, died in an apparent drowning accident.
Suzanne Somers, the actress from Three’s Company and Iconic Pitch Woman of the fitness industry with things like The Thigh Master, left us at age 76.
Hughes “Uncle Redd” Van Ellis, one of the last survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Race massacre, passed on at age 102.
Diane Feinstein, who served for over 3 decades in the Senate, made her the longest-serving female senator in history, died at the age of 90
Bob Barker, the former host of the Price is Right, died at age 99.
Ron Cephas Jones, who won two Emmys in recent years for his role in This is Us, died at age 66.
Angus Cloud, an actor best known for the controversial HBO drama Euphoria, died at age 25.
Legendary singer and crooner Tony Bennet, winner of 19 Grammys over multiple decades, died at age 96.
Well-known Hong Kong-born singer CoCo Lee died at age 48.
Christine King Farris, the eldest sister of Martin Luther King Jr, died at age 95. She was a founding board member and long-time volunteer of the King Center.
Tina Turner, the singer who became one of the most popular female artists of all time and an inspiration to future singers everywhere, died at the age of 83.
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