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A farewell to those who died in 2019

From left to right, top to bottom: Ric Ocasek, John Havlicek, Elijah Cummings, Toni Morrison, and Bill Buckner.File photos

Racism and racial justice weighed heavily upon America in 2019. From party politics and government policy to professional sports and popular culture, the country faced continual reminders that the struggle for equal rights takes many forms and engages many voices.

Two Americans who died in this last year of the 2010s used their distinctive voices to speak hard truths about the African-American experience. Their influence on the national conversation was profound.

Novelist Toni Morrison, who died in August at 88, was an eloquent, and vital, explorer of black identity in America. The author of “Song of Solomon” and “Beloved,” she crafted dream-like, often searing portrayals of slavery and its multigenerational scars.

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Elijah Cummings, elected 13 times to the House of Representatives, possessed a booming baritone and fiery commitment to civil rights. His innate sense of fairness won him respect from both sides of the political aisle, a rarity these days.

RELATED: Other notable deaths in 2019

The new year ahead offers an opportunity to reassess the lives and legacies of these celebrated Americans, along with scores of other notable figures who departed in 2019, men and women who left lasting imprints on the world, nation, and our neighborhoods.

Pete Frates offers a compelling example. A dozen years ago, he was known mostly in the Boston College community, as the heart and captain of its baseball team. When he died in December at 34, he was known worldwide for his fierce determination in transforming his devastating diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis into an opportunity. He fused his expansive courage and sense of fun with whatever energy and resources he had left in his failing body to promote the Ice Bucket Challenge, raising $220 million for research into an ALS cure he knew would come too late for him.

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As for Toni Morrison, she began her career as a book editor. Later, in honing her own storytelling gifts, she drew upon a black oral tradition rich in myth and superstition, expanding the boundaries of literary fiction while earning both commercial success and critical acclaim.

Toni Morrison drew upon a black oral tradition rich in myth and superstition, expanding the boundaries of literary fiction. Associated Press/2011/Associated Press

In 1993, she became the first African-American woman to win literature’s Nobel Prize. “We die. That may be the meaning of life,” she said in her acceptance speech. “But we do language. That may be the measure of our lives.”

By any measure, hers was an extraordinary life.

The son of sharecroppers, Elijah Cummings rose from humble roots to become one of the most powerful Democrats on Capitol Hill. Sensible gun laws, environmental protections, and affordable housing were some of the causes for which he fought right up until his death.

Already in failing health, he reminded an interviewer that no elected official, not even a president, is above the law — and that life itself is “not a dress rehearsal,” as he put it.

“The America people simply want to live their lives without fear of their leaders,” he asserted in May. “And we, as leaders, have a duty and a responsibility to keep our promise to them when we ran for office and won — and that is to make their lives better. While we’re all on this earth, that’s my message.”

US Representative Elijah Cummings.Mark Wilson/Getty Images

He died in October at 68, his message echoing in the corridors of power he roamed.

Improving the lives of ordinary citizens — or at least having an impact on them — was how many other notable figures who passed away in 2019 are destined to be remembered.

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Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, the court’s third-longest-serving member and leader of its liberal wing, delivered pivotal opinions on the issues of gay rights and affirmative action. Michigan’s John Dingell, the country’s longest-serving congressman, helped pass landmark legislation governing health care for seniors and clean air regulations. Senator Birch Bayh of Indiana fought to give 18-year-olds the right to vote and worked to enact Title IX protections against sex discrimination.

Former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens in 1976.Globe file

As their deaths commanded headlines, so, too, did those for visionary auto magnate Lee Iacocca; Pennsylvania Senator and AmeriCorps chief Harris Wofford; maverick presidential candidate H. Ross Perot; and Paul Volcker, whose painful rate hikes as Federal Reserve chairman in the late 1970s and early 1980s finally slew rampant inflation, a millstone of the economy.

The world of sports-crazed Boston suffered several losses. When John Havlicek, on April 15, 1965, “stole the ball,’’ he also stole the hearts of Celtics fans. In addition to helping the team win the Eastern Finals on that day on its way to another NBA title, “Hondo’’ would become known as the greatest bench player in league history. Notwithstanding his Game Six-changing error in the 1986 World Series, former Red Sox first baseman Bill Buckner enjoyed an outstanding career with five major-league ballclubs. Eventually, he would be welcomed back to Fenway Park with cheers.

John Havlicek (left) and Bill Bradley in a Boston vs. New York game in March 1971.The Boston Globe/File

By joining the Red Sox in 1959, Elijah “Pumpsie” Green made Boston, uncomfortably, the last MLB franchise to break the color barrier. Rugged Bruins defenseman Ted Green overcame career-threatening injures to help Boston hoist the Stanley Cup in 1972. All-Pro linebacker Nick Buoniconti, a Springfield native, anchored bone-rattling defenses for the Boston Patriots and Miami Dolphins.

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Also cheered for their Hall of Fame careers were slugger Frank Robinson, baseball’s first black manager; Green Bay Packers quarterback Bart Starr, winner of the first two Super Bowls; and hockey’s Ted Lindsay, a four-time Stanley Cup winner with the Detroit Red Wings.

Outside the lines, if there were a hall of honor for athlete-authors, it would be led by baseball’s Jim Bouton, who would settle in Western Massachusetts after his “Ball Four” gave a hilarious insider’s account of road life in the majors.

The world of letters penned fond farewells to a pair of Pulitzer Prize-winning poets whose best-known work paid close attention to the natural world: Mary Oliver, who set many of her unadorned poems in and around her beloved Provincetown; and W.S. Merwin, whose masterful six-decade output included essays, short fiction, memoirs, and translations.

Also eulogized were highbrow literary critic Harold Bloom, unapologetic defender of the Western Canon; Herman Wouk, whose sweeping historical novels “The Caine Mutiny” and “The Winds of War” entertained millions simply looking for a good story; and Judith Krantz, the reigning queen of sex-and-shopping fiction.

From the Louvre Museum to Boston’s John F. Kennedy Museum, architect I.M. Pei, who died in May, succeeded in creating iconic structures that promise to, as he hoped, stand the test of time. Two fellow architects of note also died — Pritzker Prize-winner Kevin Roche and Cesar Pelli, designer of soaring skyscrapers — as did documentary photographer Robert Frank, creator of “The Americans,” a masterpiece of modern photojournalism.

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Architect I.M. Pei outside the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston, which he designed, on Oct. 16, 1979. It was the first time he had seen the building in person since designing it.Ted Dully/Globe Staff/File/Globe Staff

The media world, pummeled by critics from the left and right, paused this past year to honor two departed journalists whose fans were spread across the political spectrum.

Russell Baker, a witty op-ed columnist and award-winning memoirist, deftly skewered the high and mighty without fear or favor. National Public Radio and ABC News contributor Cokie Roberts blazed a trail for female journalists with her smart reporting and sharp interviewing.

Less revered, perhaps, but no less popular in his heyday was shock-jock radio host Don Imus, one of the first in radio to walk the line separating edgy entertainer from crass insult artist.

The Globe and its extended family suffered significant losses as well. Remembered for their exemplary careers were editors Jack Driscoll, Gerard O’Neill, and Edward Doherty, along with J.G. Taylor Spink Award-winning sportswriter Nick Cafardo. For Boston TV news viewers, the passing of Tom Ellis recalled a bygone era when local network anchors ruled the airwaves and celebrity pages.

In 2019, the lights dimmed for many star performers whose deaths saddened theater, film, television, and opera fans worldwide.

Actress Carol Channing lent a boisterously comedic air to the title role of “Hello, Dolly,” her signature stage role. Animal-rights advocates found a powerful ally in Doris Day, a popular singer and 1960s box-office queen whose film career spanned musicals, romantic comedies, and a Hitchcock thriller.

Carol Channing in 1967.AP/File/Associated Press

Superstar soprano Jessye Norman was a towering presence in the opera and recital world, earning five Grammys and countless encores over her stellar career. Broadway producer-director Hal Prince dominated the Great White Way for a generation, with such megahits as “West Side Story,” “Cabaret,” and “The Phantom of the Opera.”

British stage actor Albert Finney also lit up the silver screen in “Tom Jones” and “Erin Brockovich.” Peter Fonda, son of Hollywood royalty, rode to stardom of his own in the hippie-biker epic “Easy Rider.” Caroll Spinney brought the puppeteering skills he honed in home parties and small venues across Greater Boston to Sesame Street, inhabiting Big Bird and Oscar The Grouch for half a century.

Also remembered for their roles in popular TV series were actresses Valerie Harper (“The Mary Tyler Moore Show’’ and “Rhoda”), Diahann Carroll (“Julia”), and Kaye Ballard (“The Mothers-in-Law”) and actors Tim Conway (“The Carol Burnett Show”), Arte Johnson (“Laugh-In”), and Luke Perry (“Beverly Hills, 90210”).

Music fans marked the passing of several Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Famers. New Wave rocker Ric Ocasek was inducted as lead vocalist for The Cars, who roared out of Boston in the late 1970s. Ginger Baker’s propulsive drumming shaped the rock-blues sounds of supergroups Cream and Blind Faith. Mac Rebennack, aka Dr. John, spiced his long performing and recording career with a funky New Orleans voodoo vibe.

Ric Ocasek of The Cars outside Synchro Sound Studio on Newbury Street in Boston on March 20, 1984. John Blanding/Globe Staff

Also sounding their last notes were musical polymath Andre Previn, Monkees pop star Peter Tork, Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter, and R&B artist James Ingram.

The fashion world paid tribute to shape-shifting designer Karl Lagerfeld, for decades the industry’s consummate showman, and Gloria Vanderbilt, a blue-blood heiress who affixed her name to a top-selling line of designer jeans. Lee Radziwill, sister of Jackie Onassis, married into royalty before becoming a fashion icon in her own right, although she never fully escaped her famous sibling’s shadow.

Losses in the fields of science, medicine, and technology are sharp reminders of the role that visionary individuals play in advancing human knowledge. Two figures who sounded the early alarm on climate change were geologist Wallace Broecker, who popularized the term “global warming,” and environmental economist Martin Weitzman.

Also saluted for their contributions were oceanographer Walter Munk, known as the Einstein of the Oceans; renowned theoretical physicist Ann Nelson; and engineer Alan Pearlman of Newton, creator of the ARP synthesizer.

This past year brought the passing of many other local luminaries who enlivened and enriched the city and region. Among the departed were developer Harold Brown, pioneering Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court justice Ruth Abrams, housing authority chief Bill McGonagle, community activist and former city councilor Chuck Turner, WBZ radio newscaster Gary LaPierre, and jazz impresario Fred Taylor.

Also, physicians Marc Mitchell, Gerry Doyle, and Russell Boles, US attorney Paul Markham, Falmouth Road Race founder Tommy Leonard, and, occupying her own special corner of sports infamy, Rosie Ruiz, who falsely tried to claim the 1980 Boston Marathon crown.

Rosie Ruiz during the 1980 Boston Marathon.Bill Brett/Globe Staff/File

Finally, remembrances were held for the victims of mass violence, the brave first-responders who perished in the line of duty, and the men and women in uniform who sacrificed their lives, here and abroad, for their fellow citizens. They join the long list of notables whose lives ended at the close of a decade now consigned to the history books.


Joseph P. Kahn can be reached at josephpkahn@gmail.com