The Absent Friends of 2012

Christmas is behind us, New Year's Day is just ahead.  A time to look back.

In 2012, The Grandstander noted the loss of 43 Absent Friends, those who left us in this year whose mark on history, society, popular culture or just on me personally was such that I felt it noteworthy to comment upon their passing.  

Here is a final look back on all of them.  Oh, and I cannot do this without saluting the great sportswriter, Red Smith, who always used the term "Absent Friends" when writing about those who had died.  In addition to those below, I want to note two others who were not public people, so I will not use their full names, but I also feel the loss of the passing of Betty S., the mother of my oldest boyhood friend, and Denise H., the wife of a friend and co-worker.

That said, a final salute to the Absent Friends of 2012:

Joe Paterno
Robert Heyges
Whitney Houston
Gary Carter
Sharon Ilkin
Davy Jones
Furman Bisher
Jerry Lynch
Dick Clark
Levon Helm
Charles Colson
Bill "Moose" Skowron
Junior Seau
Donna Summer
Robin Gibb
Jack Twyman
Teofilo Stevenson
Leroy Neiman
Victor Spinetti
Nora Ephron
Andy Griffith
Ernest Borgnine
Ted "Captain Showbiz" Atkins
Tom Davis
Sally Ride
Robert W. Creamer
Maeve Binchy
Marvin Hamlisch
Ron Palillo
Neil Armstrong
Art Heyman
Hal David
Barbara Cloud
Steve Sabol
Andy Williams
Beano Cook
George McGovern
Booth Lustig
Cleve Duncan
Marvin Miller
Earl "Speedo" Carroll
Jack Klugman
Charles Durning

Rest In Peace.