Deaths in February 2017

The following is a list of notable deaths in February 2017. For notable deaths of other months in 2017, please see "Months".

 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, nationality, what the person is known for, cause of death (if known) and most importantly a source.


February

1
E. Ahamed, 78, Indian politician, Minister of External Affairs (2004–2014) and MP for Malappuram (since 2009), cardiac arrest.
Asim Basu, 81, Indian theatre director, lung infection.
Lars-Erik Berenett, 74, Swedish actor (Jordskott, Skilda världar), spinal cancer.
Albano Bortoletto Cavallin, 86, Brazilian Roman Catholic prelate, Bishop of Guarapuava (1986–1992) and Archbishop of Londrina (1992–2006), surgical complications.
Desmond Carrington, 90, British actor (Emergency – Ward 10) and broadcaster (The Music Goes Round), complications from Alzheimer's disease.
Sandy Gandhi, 59, Indian-born Australian comedian and journalist.
Stig Grybe, 88, Swedish actor (Charlie Strapp and Froggy Ball Flying High).
Cor van der Hoeven, 95, Dutch footballer (Ajax).
Sir Ken Morrison, 85, British businessman, President of Morrisons (since 1956).
Edward Tipper, 95, American World War II veteran (Easy Company), subject of Band of Brothers.
Étienne Tshisekedi, 84, Congolese politician, Prime Minister (1991, 1992–1993, 1997), pulmonary embolism.

2
José Antonio Alonso, 56, Spanish politician, Minister of the Interior (2004–2006) and Defence (2006–2008), lung cancer.
Alvin Baldus, 90, American politician, member of the U.S. House of Representatives (1975–1981) and the Wisconsin State Assembly (1966–1975, 1989–1997).
Bertram Kostant, 88, American mathematician, complications from a stroke.
Max Lüscher, 93, Swiss psychotherapist and writer, inventor of the Lüscher color test.
Predrag Matvejević, 84, Bosnian-Croatian writer and political activist.
Shunichiro Okano, 85, Japanese football player, manager (national team) and sports executive, lung cancer.
Miltos Papapostolou, 81, Greek football player and manager (AEK Athens, national team).
Jeff Sauer, 73, American ice hockey coach (Wisconsin Badgers), pancreatic cancer.
Elliot Sperling, 66, American historian. (death announced on this date)

3
Dritëro Agolli, 85, Albanian writer and politician, lung disease.
Gordon Aikman, 31, British ALS campaigner, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Robert Dahlqvist, 40, Swedish rock musician (The Hellacopters, Dundertåget). (death announced on this date)
Yoshiro Hayashi, 89, Japanese politician, Minister of Finance (1992–1993), multiple organ failure.
John M. Hayes, 76, American geochemist, pulmonary fibrosis.
Hassan Joharchi, 48, Iranian actor, cardiac arrest.
Marisa Letícia Lula da Silva, 66, Brazilian trade unionist, First Lady (2003–2010), stroke.
Richard Lyon, 93, American admiral and politician, Mayor of Oceanside, California (1992–2000).
Shumon Miura, 91, Japanese Third Generation author, pneumonia.
Benny Perrin, 57, American football player (St. Louis Cardinals), suicide.
Lou Rowan, 91, Australian Test cricket umpire.

4
Basil Hetzel, 94, Australian medical researcher.
Hans van der Hoek, 83, Dutch footballer (Feyenoord, SC Enschede, ADO).
John Howes, 92, American professor of Asian studies.
Steve Lang, 67, Canadian rock guitarist (April Wine).
Bano Qudsia, 88, Pakistani writer (Raja Gidh).
Marc Spitz, 47, American writer (We Got the Neutron Bomb, Bowie: A Biography) and music journalist (Spin).
Georgi Taratorkin, 72, Russian actor (Sofiya Perovskaya, A Very English Murder, Dyuba-Dyuba).

5
Sonny Geraci, 69, American musician (The Outsiders, Climax).
Luis Gómez-Montejano, 94, Spanish football executive, President of Real Madrid (2006).
Björn Granath, 70, Swedish actor (Madicken, Pelle the Conqueror, The American).

6
Ivar Aronsson, 88, Swedish rower, Olympic silver medalist (1956).
Boy Asistio, 80, Filipino politician, Mayor of Caloocan (1980–1986, 1988–1995).
Irwin Corey, 102, American comedian (The Steve Allen Show) and actor (Car Wash, Doc, Thieves).
José Gea Escolano, 87, Spanish Roman Catholic prelate, Bishop of Ibiza (1976–1987) and Mondoñedo-Ferrol (1987–2005).
Neil Gehrels, 64, American astronomer.
Inge Keller, 93, German actress (The Last Year, Aimée & Jaguar, Lola and Billy the Kid).
Djelloul Khatib, 80, Algerian independence activist and politician.
Alec McCowen, 91, English actor (A Night to Remember, Frenzy, Gangs of New York).
Raymond Smullyan, 97, American mathematician and philosopher.
Roger Walkowiak, 89, French road bicycle racer, Tour de France winner (1956).
Joost van der Westhuizen, 45, South African rugby union player (Bulls, Blue Bulls, national team), complications from motor neuron disease.
Ritchie Yorke, 73, Australian music journalist, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

7
Svend Asmussen, 100, Danish jazz violinist.
Valeriu Bularca, 85, Romania wrestler, Olympic silver medalist (1964). 
Sotsha Dlamini, 76, Swazi politician, Prime Minister (1986–1989), complications from a fall.
Smail Hamdani, 86, Algerian politician, Prime Minister (1998–1999), heart attack. (body discovered on this date)
Richard Hatch, 71, American actor (All My Children, Battlestar Galactica, The Streets of San Francisco), pancreatic cancer.
Loukianos Kilaidonis, 73, Greek singer-songwriter, respiratory infection.
Antonín Přidal, 81, Czech writer (Všechny moje hlasy, Sudičky) and translator, stroke.
Hans Rosling, 68, Swedish academic, professor of International Health and co-founder of the Gapminder Foundation, pancreatic cancer.
John Salt, 75, British Anglican bishop, Diocese of St Helena (1999–2011).
Tzvetan Todorov, 77, Bulgarian-French historian, philosopher and essayist.
Richard B. Wright, 79, Canadian novelist (Clara Callan), complications from a fall.

8
Sir Peter Mansfield, 83, English physicist, laureate of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (2003).
Brendan McGahon, 80, Irish politician, TD (1982–2002).
Mohamud Muse Hersi, 79, Somali politician, President of Puntland (2005–2009).
Ólöf Nordal, 50, Icelandic politician, Minister of the Interior (2014–2017), pancreatic cancer.
Tara Palmer-Tomkinson, 45, British socialite and television presenter, perforated ulcer.
Tom Raworth, 78, British poet and visual artist, complications from prostate cancer.
Alan Simpson, 87, British comedy scriptwriter (Hancock's Half Hour, Comedy Playhouse, Steptoe and Son), lung disease.
Steve Sumner, 61, English-born New Zealand footballer (Christchurch United, Manurewa, national team), prostate cancer.
Mikhail Tolstykh, 36, Ukrainian DPR separatist commander (War in Donbass), rocket launcher explosion.

9
Serge Baguet, 47, Belgian racing cyclist (Lotto), colon cancer.
Radu Gabrea, 79, Romanian movie director (Călătoria lui Gruber) and screenwriter.
Packy, 54, American-held Asian elephant, euthanized.
André Salvat, 96, French Army World War II-colonel, recipient of the Legion of Honour and Order of Liberation.

10
Wiesław Adamski, 69, Polish sculptor.
Bradley Ayers, 81, American soldier and CIA operative.
Edward Bryant, 71, American science fiction and horror writer.
Mike Ilitch, 87, American businessman and sports owner (Detroit Red Wings, Detroit Tigers), founder of Little Caesars.
Piet Keizer, 73, Dutch footballer (Ajax, national team), lung cancer.
Hal Moore, 94, American lieutenant general and author (We Were Soldiers Once… And Young), complications from a stroke.
Yuriy Poyarkov, 80, Ukrainian volleyball player, Olympic champion (1964, 1968).
Tsuyoshi Yamanaka, 78, Japanese swimmer, Olympic silver medalist (1956, 1960), pneumonia.

11
Barbara Carroll, 92, American jazz pianist.
Chavo Guerrero Sr., 68, American professional wrestler (NWA, AWA, WWE), liver cancer.
Harvey Lichtenstein, 87, American arts administrator (Brooklyn Academy of Music), complications from a stroke.
Fab Melo, 26, Brazilian professional basketball player (Boston Celtics), suspected heart attack.
Jarmila Šuláková, 87, Czech folk singer.
Jiro Taniguchi, 69, Japanese manga artist (A Distant Neighborhood).

12
Dave Adolph, 79, American football coach (Cleveland Browns, San Diego Chargers, Los Angeles Raiders).
Sara Coward, 69, British actress (The Archers), breast cancer.
Damian, 52, British pop singer, cancer.
Åsleik Engmark, 51, Norwegian comedian, actor, singer, director and stage writer.
Al Jarreau, 76, American jazz and R&B singer ("Moonlighting", "Since I Fell for You", "We Are the World"), seven-time Grammy winner, respiratory failure.
Sione Lauaki, 35, Tongan-born New Zealand rugby union player (Chiefs, New Zealand national team).
Yitzhak Livni, 82, Polish-born Israeli media executive and writer.
Quentin Moses, 33, American football player (Miami Dolphins), house fire.
Bobby Murdoch, 81, English footballer (Liverpool).
Ren Xinmin, 101, Chinese rocket scientist and educator (University at Buffalo), designer of the Long March 3.
Clint Roberts, 82, American politician, member of the U.S. House of Representatives from South Dakota's 2nd congressional district (1981–1983), COPD.
Krystyna Sienkiewicz, 81, Polish actress and singer.

13
e-dubble, 34, American rap artist (Freestyle Friday), blood infection.
Ricardo Arias Calderón, 83, Panamanian politician, Vice President (1990–1992).
Harold Denton, 80, American public servant, Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (1988–1998), complications from Alzheimer's disease and COPD.
Jan Grabowski, 66, Polish speedway rider.
Aileen Hernandez, 90, American union organizer and women's rights activist, President of the National Organization for Women (1970–1971).
Kim Jong-nam, 45, North Korean politician, poisoned.
Bruce Lansbury, 87, English-American television producer (Murder, She Wrote, The Wild Wild West, Knight Rider) and screenwriter, complications from Alzheimer's disease.
Lucky Pulpit, 16, American-trained racehorse, heart attack.
Seijun Suzuki, 93, Japanese director (Tokyo Drifter, Zigeunerweisen, Yumeji), screenwriter and actor (Cold Fever, EM Embalming, Matouqin Nocturne), COPD.

14
Cipriano Chemello, 71, Italian cyclist, Olympic bronze medalist (1968).
Siegfried Herrmann, 84, German Olympic long-distance runner (1956, 1964).
Jiří Lanský, 83, Czech high jumper, European championship silver medalist (1954, 1958).
Elisabeth Lichtenberger, 91, Austrian geographer.
Paul Nguyên Van Hòa, 85, Vietnamese Roman Catholic prelate, Bishop of Phan Thiết (1975) and Nha Trang (1975–2009).
Gelek Rimpoche, 77, Tibetan-American Buddhist teacher, heart failure.
Hans Trass, 88, Estonian botanist.

15
Bengt Gustavsson, 89, Swedish footballer (IFK Norrköping, Atalanta, national team) and manager (Åtvidabergs FF).
Infante Henrique, Duke of Coimbra, 67, Portuguese royal.
Manfred Kaiser, 88, German football player and manager (Wismut Gera).
Stuart McLean, 68, Canadian radio broadcaster (The Vinyl Cafe), melanoma.
José Solé, 87, Mexican actor and director, cardiac arrest.
Loren Wiseman, 65, American game designer (Game Designers' Workshop), heart failure.

16
Josef Augusta, 70, Czech ice hockey player and coach, Olympic silver medalist (1976), pancreatic cancer.
Dick Bruna, 89, Dutch author and illustrator (Miffy).
Jannis Kounellis, 80, Greek-Italian artist.
George Steele, 79, American professional wrestler (WWF) and actor (Ed Wood), renal failure.
Ep Wieldraaijer, 89, Dutch politician, member of House of Representatives (1963–1974).

17
Alan Aldridge, 73, British graphic designer (The Who, Elton John).
Nicole Bass, 52, American bodybuilder and professional wrestler (WWF, ECW, NWA), heart attack complicated by a stroke. (life-support removed on this date)
Warren Frost, 91, American actor (Twin Peaks, Matlock, Seinfeld).
Börge Hellström, 59, Swedish writer (Roslund/Hellström), cancer.
Erland Kops, 80, Danish badminton player, European championship silver medalist (1970).
Theodore J. Lowi, 85, American political scientist.
Robert H. Michel, 93, American politician, U.S Representative from Illinois's 18th district (1957–1995) and House Minority Leader (1981–1995), pneumonia.
Michael Novak, 83, American Catholic theologian and political writer (The Spirit of Democratic Capitalism), complications from colon cancer.
Tom Regan, 78, American philosopher and animal rights advocate, pneumonia.
Andrew Schneider, 74, American journalist (Pittsburgh Press, Seattle Post-Intelligencer), Pulitzer Prize winner (1986, 1987), heart failure.
Peter Skellern, 69, English singer-songwriter ("You're a Lady", "Hard Times", "Hold on to Love") and priest, brain cancer.
James Stevenson, 87, American cartoonist (The New Yorker) and author (What's Under My Bed), complications from pneumonia.
Magnus Wenninger, 97, American mathematician (Polyhedron model).

18
Omar Abdel-Rahman, 78, Egyptian Muslim leader and convicted terrorist, diabetes and coronary artery disease.
Ivan Koloff, 74, Canadian professional wrestler (WWWF, NWA), liver cancer.
Norma McCorvey, 69, American political activist, plaintiff in U.S. Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade, heart failure.
Sir Michael Ogio, 74, Papua New Guinean politician, Governor-General (since 2010).
Richard Schickel, 84, American movie critic (Time), complications from a stroke.
Lawrence F. Snowden, 95, American military officer.
Pasquale Squitieri, 78, Italian movie director and screenwriter.
Clyde Stubblefield, 73, American drummer (James Brown), kidney failure.
Dan Vickerman, 37, South African-born Australian rugby union footballer (Brumbies, Waratahs, national team).

19
Alejandro Atchugarry, 64, Uruguayan lawyer and politician, Minister of Economy and Finance (2002–2003), aneurysm.
Kaci Kullmann Five, 65, Norwegian politician, Storting (1981–1997) and Chairwoman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee (since 2015), breast cancer.
Larry Coryell, 73, American jazz guitarist, cardiac arrest.
Roger Hynd, 75, Scottish football player (Rangers, Birmingham City) and manager (Motherwell).
Altamas Kabir, 68, Indian judge, Chief Justice (2012–2013), kidney disease.
Jørgen Kieler, 97, Danish Resistance member during World War II.
Igor Shafarevich, 93, Ukrainian-born Russian mathematician.
Danuta Szaflarska, 102, Polish actress (Zakazane piosenki, The Impossible Goodbye, Aftermath).
John S. Wold, 100, American politician, U.S. House of Representatives from Wyoming's at-large congressional district (1969–1971).
Marilyn B. Young, 79, American historian.
Roman Zhuravskyi, 68, Ukrainian football player (Dynamo Kyiv, Karpaty Lviv), pancreatic cancer.

20
Vitaly Churkin, 64, Russian diplomat, Permanent Representative of Russia to the United Nations (since 2006), Ambassador to Belgium (19941998) and child actor (A Mother's Heart), heart failure.
Mildred Dresselhaus, 86, American nanotechnologist (Carbon nanotubes) and first female professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, respiratory failure.
Steve Hewlett, 58, British journalist (The Guardian) and radio presenter (The Media Show), oesophageal cancer.
Sofía Ímber, 92, Romanian-born Venezuelan journalist and philanthropist, founder of the Contemporary Art Museum of Caracas, congestive heart failure.
Suthan Suthersan, 60, Sri Lankan-born American environmental engineer.

21
Leah Adler, 97, American pianist.
Kenneth Arrow, 95, American economist, laureate of the Nobel Prize in Economics (1972).
Brunella Bovo, 84, Italian actress (Miracle in Milan, The White Sheik, Revenge of a Crazy Girl), pneumonia.
Jeanne Martin Cissé, 91, Guinean teacher and politician, President of the United Nations Security Council (1972–1976) and Minister of Social Affairs (1976–1984).
Douglas Coe, 88, American evangelical leader, complications from a heart attack.
Desmond Connell, 90, Irish Roman Catholic cardinal, Archbishop of Dublin (1988–2004).
Ion Croitoru, 53, Canadian professional wrestler (SMW, AWA, WWF) and convicted criminal, suspected heart attack.
Sir Cosmo Haskard, 100, Irish-born British colonial administrator, Governor of the Falkland Islands (1964–1970).
Edwin Kessler, 88, American atmospheric scientist, helped develop Doppler weather radar.
Stanisław Skrowaczewski, 93, Polish-American conductor and composer.

22
Frank Delaney, 74, Irish author (Ireland, Simple Courage: A True Story of Peril on the Sea) and journalist.
Ricardo Dominguez, 31, Mexican welterweight boxer, colon cancer.
Eni Faleomavaega, 75, American Samoan politician and attorney, Delegate of American Samoa to the U.S. House of Representatives  (19892015), Lieutenant Governor of American Samoa (1985–1989).
Ed Garvey, 76, American labor attorney, NFLPA executive director and counsel (19701983).
John McCormack, 91, Canadian ice hockey player (Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, Chicago Blackhawks).
Aleksei Petrenko, 78, Russian actor (Agony, World War II: Behind Closed Doors, The Barber of Siberia).

23
Alan Colmes, 66, American political commentator  (Fox News) and television presenter (Hannity & Colmes), lymphoma.
Sabine Oberhauser, 53, Austrian physician and politician, Austrian Minister for Health and Women (since 2014), member of the Austrian National Council (since 2006), abdominal cancer.
David Waddington, Baron Waddington, 87, British politician, MP (1968–1974, 1979–1990), Home Secretary (1989–1990), Leader of the House of Lords (1990–1992), Governor of Bermuda (1992–1997).
Leon Ware, 77, American musician, record producer, and songwriter ("I Want You", "I Wanna Be Where You Are"), complications from prostate cancer.

24
Daryl, 61, American magician, hanging.
Gustaw Lutkiewicz, 92, Polish actor (Nikodem Dyzma, A Year of the Quiet Sun, Syzyfowe prace).

25
Hassan Al-Jundi, 78, Moroccan actor (The Message, Al Qadisiyya, Omar) and author.
Neil Fingleton, 36, English basketball player, actor and stuntman (Game of Thrones, 47 Ronin, Avengers: Age of Ultron), heart attack.
Toshio Nakanishi, 61, Japanese musician (Plastics), esophageal cancer.
Bill Paxton, 61, American actor (Apollo 13, Aliens, Big Love), stroke complicated by heart surgery.
Jack Pope, 103, American judge, attorney and author, Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court (1982–1985).
Boaz Vaadia, 65, Israeli-born American sculptor, pancreatic cancer.

26
Ludvig Faddeev, 82, Russian theoretical physicist and mathematician.
Eugene Garfield, 91, American linguist and businessman, founder of Histcite, heart attack.
Ned Garver, 91, American baseball pitcher (St. Louis Browns, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Athletics).
Preben Hertoft, 89, Danish sexologist. (death announced on this date)
Sir Gerald Kaufman, 86, British politician, MP for Manchester Ardwick (1970–1983) and Manchester Gorton (since 1983), Father of the House (since 2015).
Joseph Wapner, 97, American judge and television personality (The People's Court, Judge Wapner's Animal Court), respiratory failure.

27
John Harlan, 91, American radio and television personality (Name That Tune).
Carlos Humberto Romero, 92, Salvadoran politician, President (1977–1979).

28
Leone di Lernia, 78, Italian radio host (Lo Zoo di 105), singer (Leone di Lernia contro tutti), actor (Mario) and composer, liver cancer.
Paul Kangas, 79, American broadcaster (Nightly Business Report), complications from Parkinson's disease and prostate cancer.
Peter Mathews, 65, Irish politician, TD (2011–2016), oesophageal cancer.
Vladimir Petrov, 69, Russian ice hockey player, Olympic champion (1972, 1976) and silver medalist (1980).
Elisabeth Waldheim, 94, Austrian political figure, First Lady (1986–1992).

Months
 January 2017
 February 2017
 March 2017
 April 2017

Related pages
 Deaths in 2014
 Deaths in 2015
 Deaths in 2016

References

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

02
February 2017 events