John F. Kennedy Jr., 38, affable, athletic and handsome heir to Camelot and a president’s son who forged a life apart from the traditional politics and scandals that drew in much of his family; July 16, off the Massachusetts coast, in the crash of a small plane he was piloting. Also killed were his wife, Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, 33, and her sister Lauren Bessette, 34, a Wall Street financial analyst.
A. Stanley Tretick, 77, former Look magazine photographer who took memorable portraits of President John F. Kennedy and his children; among the indelible images he captured was the famous picture of John F. Kennedy Jr. as a toddler looking out from under his father’s desk a month before the president was assassinated; in the 1970s, he was one of the founding photographers of People magazine; July 19, in Gaithersburg, Md.
David Ogilvy, 88, master ad man who created such promotions as the eye-patched man in the Hathaway shirt, the distinguished Commander Whitehead to pitch “Schweppervescent” mixers and the first Pepperidge Farm bread ads in 1956; he was 37 when he started the New York agency of Ogilvy & Mather and, over the years, his clients included General Foods, Lever Brothers, Shell, Sears and American Express; July 21, in his home in Bonnes, France.
Thomas A. Ventress, 74, of Des Plaines; spent 50 years directing and performing in community theaters in the Northwest suburbs; he started in a touring theater group duringorld War II; he directed productions at the Des Plaines Theater Guild, the Arlington Repertory Theatre Society and the Elgin Community Theatre, and was also a founding member of the Forum Theatre in Chicago; July 13, in Good Shepherd Hospital in Barrington.
Robert Cohn, 72, of Winnetka; with his brother owned Continental Coffee of Chicago until they sold it in 1985 after renaming it CFS Continental and making it the second-largest food-service company in the country; he was a philanthropist who regularly gave to organizations geared toward helping underprivileged children and recently had made a substantial gift to Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Medical Center for a new research center and upon its completion will be named the Robert H. and Terri Cohn Research Building; July 16; in his Winnetka home, after a long illness.
Sister Joanne Mullee, BVM, 67, of Oak Park; she spent 38 years teaching at Chicago Catholic Schools as a nun with the Sisters of Charity BVM, including St. Bridget’s in Bridgeport, which she had attended as a child, July 15 in the Galapagos Islands, of a heart attack.
Milton L. Potter, 74, of Spooner, Wis.; he became the first band director at Carl Sandburg High School in Palos Park when the school opened in 1954 and remained there until his retirement in 1980, after leading the band to many championships and serving in several capacities as a teacher and department chairman; July 19, in Spooner, Wis., of a heart attack.
Helen Corley Petit, 93, of Winnetka; lifelong Chicago-area resident and philanthropist who over the past several years made some substantial donations to the Lincoln Park Zoo to help it acquire two lions, Adelor and Helene; Adelor had recently fathered triplet sons at the zoo with Myra, another member of the pride; the births represent the first American born members of a new bloodline for a lion subspecies rare in American zoos; July 12, at Evanston Hospital.
Emil Andres, 88, of Flossmoor; since he was 16, he attended every Indianapolis 500 auto race, with the exception of his service in World War II, and competed in nine of the races; his best race was in 1945 when he placed fourth and won $5,425; he was also a supervisor for the United States Auto Club Stock Car Division and founded the Midwest Racing Club; July 20, at the Resthaven Rehabilitation Institute in South Holland.
Patricia Zipprodt, 74, Evanston native who became a Tony-winning costume designer; her work extended to theater, dance, opera, film and television; she won Tonys for “Fiddler on the Roof” (1964), “Cabaret” (1966) and “Sweet Charity” (1985), and her costumes were featured in many other musicals; her movie and television work included “The Graduate” (1967) and “The Glass Menagerie” (1973); July 17, in New York City.
Frank M. Johnson Jr., 80, the legendary federal jurist from Alabama whose historic civil rights decisions led to ostracism, cross-burnings and death threats but helped to change the face of the segregationist South in the 1950s and 1960s; July 23 in Montgomery, Ala.
Arthur Katz, 91, who created the Corgi toy cars beloved by a generation of collectors; he was best-known for improving on the typical die-cast metal toy cars by adding details, gadgets and gimmicks that thrilled children and adults, who now pay hundreds of dollars for mint-condition Corgi cars from the 1970s; June 25 (reported Wednesday), in London.
Donal McCann, 56, Irish actor who starred in “The Dead” (1987), director John Huston’s last movie; his other film credits include “Out of Africa” (1985) with Meryl Streep and Robert Redford and “High Spirits” (1988) with Peter O’Toole and Steve Guttenberg; earlier, he appeared with Susan Hampshire in “The Pallisers,” a 1970s British television drama series about Victorian politics and passion; July 18, in London.
Viktor Liberman, 68, Russian-born violinist who gained fame in the former Soviet Union before moving to the Netherlands in 1979; he then joined the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra as concert master, remaining with the orchestra until 1985, when he became concert master with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra; he led the orchestra until his partial retirement in 1997; July 17, in Amsterdam.
Abelardo Diaz Alfaro, 82, whose short stories gave voice to Puerto Ricans’ search for identity; he published thousands of short stories and scripts, first winning international acclaim with his 1947 collection, “Terrazo,” (Terrace); July 22, in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Hugh Fish, 76, British environmental engineer who led efforts in the 1970s to clean up the Thames River; after he became director of scientific services in 1974, the cooperation between the agency and industry had improved the river’s quality so that 80 varieties of fish thrive in the Thames; by 1985, salmon returned to the river for the first time in 150 years; May 26 (reported Thursday), in Wallingford, Great Britain.
Anthony W. Marshall, 93, television producer whose long list of television comedies includes ABC’s “Laverne & Shirley,” starring his daughter Penny; he moved from New York to Los Angeles to join son Garry in television programming, then produced a series of comedies, including “The Odd Couple,” “Happy Days” and “Mork & Mindy”; July 12, in Los Angeles.
Ed Long, 83, who held the world record for the most flying hours as a pilot in the history of aviation, spending a total of nearly seven years in the air; he began flying in earnest at 17 after taking his first and only flying lesson; in September 1989, he broke the world record for flying hours, with 53,290 hours of logged flights since May 1933, a record that still stands; July 18, in Montgomery, Ala.
John R. Steelman, 99, the only person to serve in the post of assistant to the president of the United States; he was named to the post by President Harry S. Truman on Dec. 12, 1946, after having served as director of the Office of War Mobilization and Reconversion; in 1952, he was head of the U.S. defense mobilization and was prominent in negotiating settlements of labor disputes in the railroad and coal industries; July 14, in Naples, Fla.
