page_title: 2012 in the United States
section_title: January
hierarchical_section_title: 2012 in the United States / Deaths / January
caption_attribution_description: Joe Paterno in 2010
context_page_description: Events in the year 2012 in the United States.
context_section_description: January 1 – Fred Milano, singer (b. 1939)
  January 2
  William P. Carey, businessman and philanthropist (b. 1930)
  Gordon Hirabayashi, sociologist and litigant, died in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada (b. 1918)
  Jim Huber, sports commentator (b. 1944)
  Larry Reinhardt, guitarist (b. 1948)
  January 3
  Gene Bartow, college basketball coach (b. 1930)
  Robert L. Carter, civil rights activist and judge (b. 1917)
  January 4
  Gatewood Galbraith, lawyer, author, and politician (b. 1947)
  David Wheeler, theatre director and producer (b. 1925)
  January 6
  Roger Boisjoly, aerodynamicist and engineer (b. 1938)
  John Celardo, illustrator (b. 1918)
  January 10 – Vince Gibson, American college football coach (b. 1933)
  January 12
  Natalee Holloway, missing person declared-dead in absentia (b. 1986)
  Bill Janklow, 27th and 30th Governor of South Dakota from 1979 until 1987 and from 1995 until 2003. (b. 1939)
  Jim Stanley, American college football coach (b. 1935)
  January 13 – Richard Threlkeld, American journalist and author (b. 1937)
  January 19 – Gene Methvin,  American pilot and journalist (b. 1934)
  January 20
  John F. Baker Jr., soldier (b. 1945)
  Etta James, singer (b. 1938)
  January 21
  Roy John Britten, biologist and geneticist (b. 1919)
  Cliff Chambers, baseball player (b. 1922)
  January 22 – Joe Paterno, American football coach (b. 1926)
  January 24
  J. Joseph Garrahy, soldier and politician, 69th Governor of Rhode Island (b. 1930)
  Patricia Neway, soprano and actress (b. 1919)
  January 26 – Bud Byerly, baseball player (b. 1920)
  January 29
  Damien Bona, historian and journalist (b. 1955)
  John Rich, director and producer (b. 1925)
  January 31 – Ayelet Galena, notable victim of rare congenital disease (b. 2009)
caption: Joe Paterno
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