Deaths in December 2018

The following is a list of deaths that should be noted in December 2018. For deaths that should be noted before the month that the world is in, please see "Months". Names under each date are noted in the order of the alphabet by last name or pseudonym. Deaths of non-humans are noted here also if it is worth noting.

Each listing of a death must have a source. If no reference is included, the death notice will be removed. The following are the requirements of adding a name to the list in its order: name, age, where they came from, what the person is known for, cause of death (if known) and a source.

December

1
Ken Berry, 85, American actor (F Troop, Mayberry R.F.D., Mama's Family).
Ennio Fantastichini, 63, Italian actor (Open Doors, At the End of the Night, Loose Cannons), Donatello winner (2010), leukemia.
Anwar Hossain, 70, Bangladeshi photographer and cinematographer (Sundori, Emiler Goenda Bahini, Anya Jibon), heart attack.
Ivan Katardžiev, 92, Macedonian historian.
Pauls Putniņš, 81, Latvian playwright, journalist and politician, member of the Riga City Council (until 2010).
Scott Stearney, 58, American Navy vice admiral, Commander of the Fifth Fleet (since 2018), suspected suicide.
Stefanie Tücking, 56, German radio and television presenter (Südwestrundfunk), suspected cardiac arrest.
Shoucheng Zhang, 55, Chinese-born American physicist, member of the National Academy of Sciences (since 2015), suspected suicide.

2
Séry Bailly, 70, Ivorian writer and politician, Minister of Communication (2002–2003), complications from surgery.
Ugo De Censi, 94, Italian-Peruvian priest.
Paul Sherwen, 62, English racing cyclist (A.C.B.B., Raleigh Bicycle Company) and broadcaster (NBC), British National Road Race champion (1987), heart failure.

3
Markus Beyer, 47, German Olympic boxer (1992, 1996), WBC super middleweight champion (1999–2000, 2003–2006).
Andrei Bitov, 81, Russian writer (A Captive of the Caucasus, Pushkin House, The Symmetry Teacher), heart attack.
Philip Bosco, 88, American actor (Lend Me a Tenor, Working Girl, My Best Friend's Wedding), Tony Award winner (1989), complications from dementia.
Geoff Murphy, 80, New Zealand movie director (Goodbye Pork Pie, Freejack, Young Guns II).
Josep Lluís Núñez, 87, Spanish businessman, President of F.C. Barcelona (1978–2000).

4
Kadyrzhan Batyrov, 62, Kyrgyz businessman and political activist.
Selma Engel-Wijnberg, 96, Dutch Holocaust survivor (Sobibor) and writer.
Nika Rurua, 50, Georgian politician, Minister of Culture (2009–2012), heart attack.

5
Dynamite Kid, 60, British professional wrestler (WWF, Stampede, AJPW).
Thor Hansen, 71, Norwegian poker player, WSOP Bracelet winner (1988, 2002), cancer.
Harry W. Shlaudeman, 92, American politician, Ambassador to Venezuela (1975–1976), Peru (1977–1980), Argentina (1980–1983), Brazil (1986–1989) and Nicaragua (1990–1992).

6
José de Anchieta Júnior, 53, Brazilian politician, Governor of Roraima (2007–2014), heart attack.
Ace Cannon, 84, American saxophonist, emphysema.
José Castillo, 37, Venezuelan baseball player (Pittsburgh Pirates, San Francisco Giants), car crash.
Győző Forintos, 83, Hungarian chess player and economist.
Larry Hennig, 82, American professional wrestler (AWA, NWA, WWWF), kidney failure.
Joseph Joffo, 87, French writer (A Bag of Marbles).
Jim Meehan, 66, American poker player.
Pete Shelley, 63, English singer-songwriter ("Homosapien") and rock guitarist (Buzzcocks), heart attack.
Luis Valbuena, 33, Venezuelan baseball player (Chicago Cubs, Houston Astros, Los Angeles Angels), car crash.

7
Belisario Betancur, 95, Colombian politician, President (1982–1986), kidney infection.
Shmuel Flatto-Sharon, 88, French-Israeli politician, member of the Knesset (1977–1981).
Håkan Jeppsson, 57, Swedish sports executive, Chairman of Malmö FF (since 2010).
Luigi Radice, 83, Italian football player (Milan) and manager (Torino, Inter Milan), complications from Alzheimer's disease.

8
Lyudmila Alexeyeva, 91, Russian human rights activist (Moscow Helsinki Group).
Enrico Crispolti, 85, Italian art critic and historian.
Jolanta Szczypińska, 61, Polish politician, member of the Sejm (since 2005), urinary tract infection.
Pentti Tiusanen, 69, Finnish politician, MP (1995–2011), stomach cancer.
Sir David Weatherall, 85, British physician and molecular geneticist.

9
Yigal Bashan, 68, Israeli singer and composer, heart attack.
Robert Bergland, 90, American politician, U.S. Representative from Minnesota's 7th congressional district (1971–1977) and Secretary of Agriculture (1977–1981).
William Blum, 85, American author (Rogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower) and historian, kidney failure.
Riccardo Giacconi, 87, Italian-born American astrophysicist, Nobel Prize winner (2002).
Bob Giggie, 85, American baseball player (Milwaukee Braves, Kansas City Athletics).
Gordon Scholes, 87, Australian politician, Speaker of the House of Representatives (1975–1976), Minister for Defence (1983–1984) and Territories (1984–1987).
Dick Van Orden, 97, American rear admiral, Chief of Naval Research (1973–1975), prostate cancer.

10
C. N. Balakrishnan, 84, Indian politician, kidney and heart failure.
Chiang Pin-kung, 85, Taiwanese politician, Minister of Economic Affairs (1993–1996) and Vice President of the Legislative Yuan (2002–2005), multiple organ failure.
Robert Spaemann, 91, German Roman Catholic philosopher.
Xavier Tilliette, 97, French philosopher and theologian (Revue de métaphysique et de morale), member of the Society of Jesus (since 1938), pneumonia.

11
Winifred Griffin, 86, New Zealand swimmer, British Empire Games silver medalist (1950), lung cancer.
Hiwi Tauroa, 91, New Zealand rugby union player (New Zealand Māori) and coach (Counties), Race Relations Conciliator (1980–1986).

12
Iraj Danaeifard, 67, Iranian football player (Taj, Pas Tehran, national team), heart attack.
Wilhelm Genazino, 75, German journalist (Lesezeichen) and author (Abschaffel-Trilogie), Georg Büchner Prize winner (2004), lung cancer.
W. Brantley Harvey Jr., 88, American politician, Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina (1975–1979) and member of the South Carolina House of Representatives (1958–1975).
Ferenc Kósa, 81, Hungarian movie director (The Upthrown Stone, Ten Thousand Days).
James Lyons, 91, American admiral, Commander of the United States Pacific Fleet (1985–1987), respiratory failure.
William Newsom, 84, American politician, Associate Justice of the California First District Court of Appeal (1975–1995).

13
Seán Garland, 84, Irish politician, General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Ireland (1977–1990).
Noah Klieger, 92, Israeli journalist (L'Équipe), sports administrator (Maccabi Tel Aviv B.C.) and Holocaust survivor, complications from heart disease.
Nancy Wilson, 81, American jazz singer ("(You Don't Know) How Glad I Am", "Guess Who I Saw Today", "Uptight (Everything's Alright)"), Grammy winner (1965, 2005, 2007), kidney cancer.

14
Matti Kassila, 94, Finnish movie director (Komisario Palmun erehdys, The Harvest Month, The Scarlet Dove), complications from a fall.
Remedios Loza, 69, Bolivian politician, member of the Plurinational Legislative Assembly (1998–2002), stomach cancer.
Joe Osborn, 81, American bass guitarist, pancreatic cancer.
Edmond Simeoni, 84, French politician, member of the Corsican Assembly (1981–1992, since 2003), heart failure.
Jean-Pierre Van Rossem, 73, Belgian economist and politician, member of the Chamber of Representatives (1991–1995) and the Flemish Parliament (1992–1995), complications from COPD.

15
Milunka Lazarević, 86, Serbian chess player.
Philippe Moureaux, 79, Belgian politician, Minister-President of the French Community (1981–1985, 1988), cancer.
Girma Wolde-Giorgis, 93, Ethiopian politician, President (2001–2013).

16
Eraldo Isidori, 78, Italian politician, Deputy (2010–2012), complications from surgery.
T. K. Wetherell, 72, American politician and academic administrator, Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives (1991–1992) and President of Florida State University (2003–2010), complications from prostate cancer.

17
Jon Bluming, 85, Dutch martial artist and actor.
Penny Marshall, 75, American actress (Laverne & Shirley) and director (Big, A League of Their Own), heart failure.
Amélie Mummendey, 74, German social psychologist.
Anca Pop, 34, Romanian-Canadian singer-songwriter, traffic collision. (body found on this date)
Rona Ramon, 54, Israeli educator and activist, pancreatic cancer.
Francis Roache, 82, American police officer and politician, Boston Police Commissioner (1985–1993).

18
David C. H. Austin, 92, British rose breeder.
Alex Badeh, 61, Nigerian air force officer, Chief of the Defence Staff (2014–2015), shot.
Steve Daskewisz, 74, American actor and stuntman (Friday the 13th Part 2), complications from diabetes.
Tulsi Giri, 92, Nepali politician, Prime Minister (1963, 1964–1965, 1975–1977), liver cancer.
Kazimierz Kutz, 89, Polish movie director (Salt of the Black Earth, Pearl in the Crown, Reverted) and politician, Deputy Senator (1997–2009), respiratory failure.
Peter Masterson, 84, American playwright (The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas), movie director (The Trip to Bountiful), and actor (The Exorcist), complications from a fall.
Robert Neild, 94, British economist.
Shinobu Sekine, 75, Japanese judoka, Olympic champion (1972).
Bill Slater, 91, English footballer (Wolverhampton Wanderers, national team), Alzheimer's disease.
Raimo Vartia, 81, Finnish Olympic basketball player (1964).

19
Tömür Dawamat, 91, Chinese politician, Chairman of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (1985–1993).
Audrey Geisel, 97, American movie producer (The Grinch).
Mel Hutchins, 90, American basketball player (Milwaukee Hawks, Fort Wayne Pistons, New York Knicks), complications from Alzheimer's disease.
Geetha Salam, 72, Indian actor (Mani Koya Kurup, Malabar Wedding, Romans).

20
F. W. Bernstein, 80, German poet and cartoonist.
Klaus Hagerup, 72, Norwegian author (Alt er så nær meg) and actor (The Chieftain), colorectal cancer.
Donald Moffat, 87, English-American actor (The Thing, The Right Stuff, Clear and Present Danger), complications from a stroke.

21
Gerard Bernacki, 76, Polish Roman Catholic prelate, Auxiliary Bishop of Katowice (1988–2012).
Lars Hindmar, 97, Swedish Olympic racewalker (1952, 1956).

22
Paddy Ashdown, 77, British politician, Leader of the Liberal Democrats (1988–1999), High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina (2002–2006), MP (1983–2001), bladder cancer.
Jean Bourgain, 64, Belgian mathematician, Fields Medalist (1994).
Kelly Burnett, 92, Canadian ice hockey player (New York Rangers, Montreal Royals).
Jiko Luveni, 72, Fijian politician, Speaker of the Parliament (since 2014).
Simcha Rotem, 94, Polish-Israeli resistance fighter (Warsaw Ghetto Uprising).
Roberto Suazo Córdova, 91, Honduran politician, President (1982–1986), complications from stomach surgery.
Talal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, 87, Saudi prince and politician.

23
Alfred Bader, 94, Austrian-born Canadian chemist and businessman.
Nana Chudasama, 86, Indian politician, Mayor of Mumbai (1989–1990).
Elias M. Stein, 87, American mathematician.

24
Jozef Adamec, 76, Slovak football player (FC Spartak Trnava, national team) and manager (Inter Bratislava).
Osvaldo Bayer, 91, Argentine writer (La Patagonia rebelde) and journalist.
Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, 70, Iranian cleric and politician, Chairman of the Expediency Discernment Council (since 2017), Chief Justice (1999–2009), cancer.
Notable Mexican politicians killed in the 2018 Puebla helicopter crash:
Martha Erika Alonso Hidalgo, 45, Governor of Puebla (since 2018).
Rafael Moreno Valle Rosas, 50, Senator (2006–2010) and Governor of Puebla (2011–2017).

25
Bill Baillie, 84, New Zealand Olympic athlete (1964).
Larry Eisenberg, 99, American biomedical engineer and science fiction writer (What Happened to Auguste Clarot?), acute myeloid leukemia.
Álex Figueroa, 57, Chilean politician and physician, Minister of Health (1996–2000), liver cancer.
Sulagitti Narasamma, 98, Indian midwife and humanitarian, Padma Shri recipient (2018), complications from COPD.
Baldur Ragnarsson, 88, Icelandic writer (La lingvo serena), President of the Universal Esperanto Association (1975–1985).
Nancy Roman, 93, American astronomer (NASA), co-creator of the Hubble Space Telescope.
Sigi Schmid, 65, German-American Hall of Fame soccer coach (LA Galaxy, Columbus Crew SC, Seattle Sounders FC).
Rosalyn Terborg-Penn, 77, American historian and author (African American Women in the Struggle for the Vote, 1850-1920).

26
Wendy Beckett, 88, British nun, art historian and television personality (BBC).
John Culver, 86, American politician, U.S. Senator from Iowa (1975–1981) and U.S. Representative from Iowa's 2nd congressional district (1965–1975).
Roy J. Glauber, 93, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (2005).
Tomokatsu Kitagawa, 67, Japanese politician, MP (2003–2009, since 2012), complications from peritonitis.
Sono Osato, 99, American dancer and actress (The Kissing Bandit).
Lawrence Roberts, 81, American Hall of Fame computer scientist, founding father of the Internet.
Sir Peter Swinnerton-Dyer, 91, British mathematician.

27
Juan Bautista Agüero, 83, Paraguayan footballer (Sevilla, Real Madrid, national team).
Mãe Stella de Oxóssi, 93, Brazilian ialorixá and writer, stroke.
Robert Kerman, 71, American actor (Eaten Alive!, Cannibal Holocaust, Cannibal Ferox).
Miúcha, 81, Brazilian singer and composer, respiratory failure.
Richard Arvin Overton, 112, American supercentenarian, nation's oldest living World War II veteran, complications from pneumonia.
Tadeusz Pieronek, 84, Polish Catholic prelate, Auxiliary Bishop of Sosnowiec (1992–1998) and Rector of Pontifical Academy of Theology (1998–2004), heart attack.
Børge Ring, 97, Danish animator (Anna & Bella), Oscar winner (1985).

28
Abdelmalek Benhabyles, 97, Algerian politician, Acting President (1992).
Toshiko Fujita, 68, Japanese voice actress (Digimon Adventure, Zatch Bell!, Fist of the North Star), breast cancer.
Peter Hill-Wood, 82, British businessman and football executive (Arsenal).
Georges Loinger, 108, French resistance fighter.
Christine McGuire, 92, American singer (McGuire Sisters).
Amos Oz, 79, Israeli author (My Michael, A Perfect Peace, A Tale of Love and Darkness) and journalist, cancer.
Shehu Shagari, 93, Nigerian politician, President (1979–1983).
Tom Weisner, 69, American politician, Mayor of Aurora, Illinois (2005–2016), complications from colon cancer.
Dame June Whitfield, 93, English actress (Terry and June, Last of the Summer Wine, Absolutely Fabulous).

29
Yehoshua Glazer, 91, Israeli footballer (Maccabi Tel Aviv, national team).
Syed Jahangir, 83, Bangladeshi painter.
Ringo Lam, 63, Hong Kong movie director (Aces Go Places IV, City on Fire, Maximum Risk), suspected cardiac arrest.
Rosenda Monteros, 83, Mexican actress (A Woman's Devotion, The Magnificent Seven, Tiara Tahiti).
Aldo Parisot, 100, Brazilian-born American cellist.
Carlos Sánchez, 83, Colombian actor (Juan Valdez), respiratory tract infection.

30
Judith Rich Harris, 80, American psychology researcher and author (The Nurture Assumption), complications from multiple sclerosis.
Dick Helling, 68, Dutch footballer (Ajax, SC Telstar, FC Volendam), stroke.
Edgar Hilsenrath, 92, German writer (The Nazi and the Barber, The Story of the Last Thought), complications from pneumonia.
Don Lusk, 105, American animator and director (Pinocchio, 101 Dalmatians, Peanuts).
Warren Plunkett, 98, American football player (Cleveland Rams) and lawyer, complications from pneumonia.
Mrinal Sen, 95, Indian movie director (Bhuvan Shome, Mrigayaa, Khandhar), heart attack.
Héctor Timerman, 65, Argentine journalist and politician, Minister of Foreign Affairs (2010–2015), liver cancer.

31
Dean Ford, 72, Scottish singer (Marmalade) and songwriter ("Reflections of My Life", "I See the Rain"), complications from Parkinson's disease.
Etty Fraser, 87, Brazilian actress (Beto Rockfeller, Durval Discos, Cristina Wants to Get Married), heart failure.
Urbie Green, 92, American jazz trombonist, congestive heart failure.
Kader Khan, 81, Afghan-born Indian-Canadian actor (Daag, Farz Aur Kanoon) and screenwriter (Roti), complications from progressive supranuclear palsy.
Christian Mohn, 92, Norwegian ski jumper and sports official, president of the Norwegian Ski Federation (1978–1980).
István Seregély, 87, Hungarian Roman Catholic prelate, Archbishop of Eger (1987–2007).
Gülriz Sururi, 89, Turkish actress and author, bile duct cancer.
Peter Thompson, 76, English footballer (Liverpool, Bolton Wanderers, national team). (death announced on this date)

Months
 January
 February
 March
 April
 May
 June
 July
 August
 September
 October
 November

Related pages
 Deaths in 2014
 Deaths in 2015
 Deaths in 2016
 Deaths in 2017

References

Other websites
The Guardian, UK obituaries
The Telegraph obituaries
Obituaries, Chicago Tribune
Obituaries, Los Angeles Times
The New York Times, US obituaries
The Washington Post obituaries
The Sydney Morning Herald, Australian obituaries

912
December 2018 events