The following is a list of notable deaths in June 2002.
Entries for each day are listed alphabetically by surname. A typical entry lists information in the following sequence: Name, age, country of citizenship at birth, subsequent country of citizenship (if applicable), reason for notability, cause of death (if known), and reference.
June 2002
1 Michael Alexander, 65, British diplomat (ambassador to Austria, ambassador to NATO) and Olympic fencer (1960). Tom Austin, 78, Australian politician. Hansie Cronje, 32, South African cricketer, plane crash. Joseph Nanven Garba, 58, Nigerian soldier, diplomat and politician. James Gathers, 71, American Olympic track and field athlete (1952). Jerry Houghton, 76, American football player (Washington Redskins, Chicago Cardinals). Tibor Scitovsky, 91, Hungarian-American economist.
2 Boyd Bennett, 77, American rockabilly songwriter and singer ("Seventeen", "My Boy, Flat Top"), lung ailment. Herman Cohen, 76, American film producer (I Was a Teenage Werewolf), esophageal cancer. Tim Lopes, 51, Brazilian investigative journalist and television producer, tortured. Hugo van Lawick, 65, Dutch wildlife filmmaker and photographer. Konrad Wirnhier, 64, German Olympic sports shooter (1968, 1972).
3 Charles Antrobus, 69, Governor-General of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, leukemia. Donald Buck, 85, American Olympic field hockey player (1948). Cecil Hankins, 80, American basketball player (St. Louis Bombers, Boston Celtics). Fran Rogel, 74, American football player (Penn State, Pittsburgh Steelers), Parkinson's disease. Edward Somers, 73, New Zealand jurist and member of the Privy Council. Lew Wasserman, 89, American talent agent and studio executive (Universal Studios, Decca Records, MCA), complications from a stroke. Laughlin Edward Waters Sr., 87, American district judge (United States District Court for the Central District of California). Sam Whipple, 41, American actor (Seven Days, The Larry Sanders Show, Open All Night), cancer. Brian Woledge, 97, English scholar of medieval French language and literature.
4 Fernando Belaúnde, 89, Peruvian politician, President of Peru (1963–1968, 1980–1985). Maria da Costa, 71, Brazilian Olympic swimmer (1948). John W. Cunningham, 86, American author. Ann Henderson, 60, Australian politician. Pyotr Ivashutin, 92, Soviet Army General and head of the state. Bob Lackey, 53, American professional basketball player (Marquette University, New York Nets), cancer.
5 Curtis Amy, 74, American jazz saxophonist. Carlos Berlanga, 42, Spanish musician and painter, liver disease. Carmelo Bernaola, 72, Spanish composer and clarinetist. Michel Bernholc, 60, French composer, arranger and producer, suicide by gunshot. Bill Bradley, 60, American basketball player (Kentucky Colonels). Orlando Fantoni, 85, Brazilian footballer and manager. Gaston Geens, 70, Belgian politician, Minister-President of Flanders (1981 -1992). Aden Abdullahi Nur, Somali politician and army general. Truck Parham, 91, American jazz double-bassist. Gwen Plumb, 89, Australian performer and entertainer. Dee Dee Ramone, 50, American musician, founding member of The Ramones, heroin overdose. M. Sivasithamparam, 78, Sri Lankan Tamil politician. Alex Watson, 70, Australian rugby league footballer.
6 Peter Cowan, 87, Australian writer. Robbin Crosby, 42, American guitarist (Ratt), AIDS-related complications and heroin overdose. Bernard Destremau, 85, French tennis player, diplomat and politician. Yat Malmgren, 86, Swedish dancer and acting teacher. Shanta Shelke, 79, Indian poet and writer in the Marathi language, cancer. Holly Solomon, 68, American collector of contemporary art and art dealer, complications from pneumonia. Tadeusz Świcarz, 82, Polish footballer and Olympic ice hockey player (1952). Betty Winkler, 88, American radio actor.
7 Wayne Cody, 65, American sportscaster. Donald S. Fredrickson, 77, American medical researcher. Signe Hasso, 86, Swedish actress, writer, and composer, pneumonia. Rodney Hilton, 85, British medieval historian. Basappa Danappa Jatti, 89, Indian politician and acting president of India (1977), kidney cancer. James Luisi, 73, American basketball player and actor, cancer. Lilian, Princess of Réthy, 85, British-Belgian royal. Anselmo Sule, 68, Chilean politician. Edmond Séchan, 82, French cinematographer and film director.
8 Ray Alexander, 77, American jazz drummer and vibraphonist, complications from elective surgery. George Mudie, 86, Jamaican cricketer. Antonio Oppes, 85, Italian Olympic equestrian (1960). Lino Tonti, 81, Italian motorcycle engineer.
9 Elena Burke, 74, Cuban singer of boleros and romantic ballads, cancer. Paul Chubb, 53, Australian actor (The Coca-Cola Kid, Stan and George's New Life, The Roly Poly Man, Dirty Deeds), post operative cardiomyopathy complications. Hans Janmaat, 67, Dutch far-right politician, heart failure. Bob McDonald, 70, Canadian football player and politician. Peter Mokaba, 53, South African politician and political activist, acute pneumonia and respiratory problems. Alexander Molodchy, 81, Soviet long-range pilot during World War II. Maxwell M. Rabb, 91, American lawyer and diplomat. Alexander Vlasov, 70, Soviet/Russian politician. James Wheaton, 78, American actor, heart attack.
10 Dick Brittenden, 82, New Zealand cricket writer. Louis Carré, 77, Belgian football player and coach. John Gotti, 61, Italian-American gangster and boss of the Gambino crime family, throat cancer. Maury Travis, 36, American murderer and serial killer, suicide by hanging. Panagiotis Ventouris, 59, Greek footballer. John Wansbrough, 74, American historian and professor. Benjamin Ward, 75, first African American New York City Police Commissioner.
11 Tahseen Bashir, 77, Egyptian diplomat, spokesman for Gamal Nasser and Anwar Sadat. Regīna Ezera, 71, Polish-Latvian author. Bertrand Goldschmidt, 89, French chemist, nuclear physicist and diplomat. Margaret E. Lynn, 78, American theater director. Jürgen Kraft, 50, German racing cyclist. Robert Roswell Palmer, 93, American historian and writer. Horace Roye, 96, British photographer, stabbed.Garbo photographer stabbed to death (body discovered on this date)
12 Bill Blass, 79, American fashion designer, esophageal cancer. Jean de Beaumont, 98, French IOC sports administrator and Olympic sport shooter (1924). Henry Boney, 98, American baseball player (New York Giants). John Tileston Edsall, 99, American biochemist. José Serra Gil, 78, Spanish racing cyclist. Richard A. Henson, 91–92, American test pilot and flight school operator, founder of Henson Airlines.Richard A. Henson Jeong Seung-hwa, 73, South Korean officer.
13 Guilford Dudley, 94, American businessman and diplomat (U.S. Ambassador to Denmark). Vincent Fago, 87, American comic-book artist and writer, stomach cancer. Rubén González, 74, Chilean Olympic footballer (1952). Stanley L. Greigg, 71, American Watergate break-in victim and politician, member of the United States House of Representatives (1965-1967). John Hope, 83, American meteorologist, complications of an open heart surgery. R. W. B. Lewis, 84, American literary scholar and critic and winner of the Pulitzer Prize. Ante Mladinić, 72, Croatian football manager. Hideo Murata, 73, Japanese rōkyoku and enka singer. Naftaly Parrales, 63, Nicaraguan Olympic weightlifter (1976). Ralph Shapey, 81, American composer and conductor. Maia Wojciechowska, 74, Polish-American writer of children's books (Shadow of a Bull).
14 Veikko Asikainen, 84, Finnish footballer and Olympian (1952). Albert Band, 78, American film director and film producer, frequently collaborated with John Huston. Rino Benedetti, 73, Italian road bicycle racer. José Bonilla, 34, Venezuelan boxer, asthma attack. Lily Carlstedt, 76, Danish Olympic javelin thrower (1948, 1952). George William Coventry, 11th Earl of Coventry, 68, British peer and politician. William Fajardo, 72, Mexican fencer and Olympian (1960, 1968). W. Nelson Francis, 91, American author, linguist and university professor, scholar of the English language. Alex Givvons, 88, Welsh rugby footballer. June Jordan, 65, Caribbean-American poet, essayist and activist, breast cancer.
15 Said Belqola, 45, Moroccan referee of the 1998 FIFA World Cup final, cancer. Silas Bissell, 60, American activist and member of The Weatherman, brain cancer. Mutal Burhonov, 86, Soviet/Uzbek composer. Choi Hong-hi, 83, South Korean Army general and martial artist, purported "father of Taekwon-Do", cancer. Béla Juhász, 81, Hungarian Olympic long-distance runner (1952). Big Mello, 33, American rapper from Houston, Texas, traffic collision. Hideo Murota, 64, Japanese actor. Dick White, 70, English football player. Robert Whitehead, 86, Canadian theatre producer, winner of four Tony Awards.
16 Louis Giguère, 90, Canadian politician."L'ex-sénateur Louis Giguère est décédé dimanche à Montréal, à l'âge de 90 ans", Canadian Press, June 19, 2002 Barbara Goalen, 81, British model. Kiço Ngjela, 82, Albanian politician. Harry Oakman, 96, Australian horticulturalist and writer.
17 Bill Adair, 89, American baseball manager and coach (Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves, Chicago White Sox, Montreal Expos). Louis George Alexander, 70, British teacher and author (New Concept English), a prolific writer of English-language text books. Stein Ove Berg, 53, Norwegian singer, songwriter, and journalist. J. Carter Brown, 67, American director of the National Gallery of Art from 1969 to 1992, multiple myeloma. Willie Davenport, 59, American Olympic hurdler and bobsledder (1964, 1968, 1972, 1976, 1980), heart attack. John C. Davies II, 82, American politician (U.S. Representative for New York's 35th congressional district). Dobri Dzhurov, 86, Bulgarian politician and military leader. Francisco Escudero, 89, Basque composer. Zora Kolínska, 60, Slovak actress, singer, and presenter. Yuri Korneev, 65, Soviet/Russian basketball player and Olympian (1960, 1964). Roger Mackay, 46, Australian golfer, lymphoma. John Oladipo Oladitan, 71, Nigerian athlete and Olympian (1960). Antony C. Sutton, 77, British-American writer, economist, and academic. Fritz Walter, 81, German football player, captain of 1954 World Cup winners.
18 Nancy Addison, 54, American soap actress, cancer. Naseem Banu, 85, Indian actress. Jack Buck, 77, American sportscaster, best known for announcing MLB games of the St. Louis Cardinals, Parkinson's disease. Nilima Ibrahim, 81, Bangladeshi writer. Jack Jenkins, 59, American baseball player (Washington Senators, Los Angeles Dodgers). Pentti Siltaloppi, 84, Finnish runner and Olympian (1948). Walter Villa, 58, Italian four-time Grand Prix motorcycle road racing world champion, heart attack.
19 Ross Carter, 88, American gridiron football player (University of Oregon, Chicago Cardinals). Cavin Councilor, 38, American stock car racing driver, plane crash. Margaret Johnston, 87, Australian-British actress. Robert W. Lenski, 76, American screenwriter. Don Luft, 72, American football player (Philadelphia Eagles). Pascal Mazzotti, 78, French actor (The King and the Mockingbird). Dmitry Oboznenko, 71, Soviet Russian painter and graphic artist. Count Flemming of Rosenborg, 80, Danish prince. Johnny Strzykalski, 80, American gridiron football player (San Francisco 49ers). N. F. Varghese, 53, Indian actor.
20 Carlos Badion, 66, Filipino basketball player and Olympian (1956, 1960), heart attack. Heinz Bigler, 76, Swiss football player. Erwin Chargaff, 96, Austro-Hungarian biochemist. Cecil Cole, 82, American baseball player. Salvador Correa, 86, Argentine Olympic bobsledder (1948). Fred Drake, 44, American musician, lung cancer. Timothy Findley, 71, Canadian author (The Wars, Headhunter, Pilgrim, Elizabeth Rex). Irene MacDonald, 68, Canadian athlete, sports executive, broadcaster, and Olympian (1956, 1960). Ross MacKenzie, 55, Canadian sprinter and Olympian (1968). Tinus Osendarp, 86, Dutch sprinter and Olympian (1936).