Deaths in December 1988

The following is a list of notable deaths in December 1988.

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.

December 1988

1 Martin Hinds, 47, British scholar of the Middle East, historiographer of early Islamic history.Martin Hinds 1941-1988. Jstor. Retrieved 13 Jun 2024. Włodzimierz Mazur, 34, Polish international footballer (Zagłębie Sosnowiec, Poland).Mazur, Włodzimierz. National Football Teams. Retrieved 22 Jun 2024. J. Vernon McGee, 84, American Presbyterian minister and radio minister, heart failure.Rev. J. Vernon McGee, 84; Pioneer Radio Evangelist. L.A. Times. Retrieved 22 Jun 2024.

2 Karl-Heinz Bürger, 84, Nazi German member of the SS. Tata Giacobetti, 66, Italian singer and jazz musician (Quartetto Cetra).2 dicembre 1988 Muore a Roma Tata Giacobetti, uno dei componenti del Quartetto Cetra (2 December 1988 Tata Giacobetti, one of the members of the Cetra Quartet, dies in Rome). Il Messaggero (in Italian). Retrieved 11 Jun 2024. Paul Lindemark Jørgensen, 72, Danish Olympic sailor (1960, 1968). Armand Niccolai, 77, American NFL player (Pittsburgh Pirates/Steelers). Lloyd Rees, 93, Australian landscape painter.Artist Lloyd Rees dies at 93 in Hobart. Trove (The Canberra Times). Retrieved 3 Jul 2024.

3 Panos Gavalas, 62, Greek singer.Πάνος Γαβαλάς: Ο τσαγκάρης που έγραψε ιστορία στο λαϊκό τραγούδι – Από τις χαβάγιες στο μπουζούκι (Panos Gavalas: The cobbler who wrote history in folk song – From Hawaiian songs to bouzouki). pontosnews.gr (in Greek). Retrieved 11 Jun 2024. John Maher, 48, American former child alcoholic and heroin addict, founded Delancey Street Foundation, pneumonia.John Maher, 48, Dies; Helped Drug Addicts. New York Times. Retrieved 21 Jun 2024. Johnny Paychek, 74, American boxer.Johnny Paychek, Boxer, 74. New York Times. Retrieved 30 Jun 2024. Erwin Sick, 79, German inventor and entrepreneur, heart attack.75 years of Pioneering Superpowers. Sick Sensor Intelligence. Retrieved 7 Jul 2024. Thawan Thamrongnawasawat, 87, Thai politician, Prime Minister of Thailand.

4 Osman Achmatowicz, 89, Polish chemist.Osman Achmatowicz. WorldCat. Retrieved 27 Oct 2024. Gerd Arntz, 87, German artist (woodcuts).Gerd Arntz. Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. Retrieved 26 May 2024. Rafi Muhammad Chaudhry, 85, Pakistani nuclear physicist. Fernand Mourlot, 93, French director of Mourlot Studios.Fernand Mourlot. WorldCat. Retrieved 27 Oct 2024. Kola Onadipe, 66, Nigerian author of children's books (Sugar Girl), stroke.Kola Onadipe. Zaccheus Onumba Dibiaezue Memorial Libraries. Retrieved 30 Jun 2024. Göran von Otter, 81, Swedish diplomat. Jangal Santhal, 62–63, Indian political activist. Sir David Trench, 73, British Army officer, Governor of Hong Kong and the Solomon Islands. Alberto Uría, 64, Uruguayan racing driver. Natale Vecchi, 71, Italian Olympic wrestler (1952).

5 Winfield S. Harpe, 51, American pilot, general in the U.S. Air Force, air crash.U.S. General Dies in Jet Crash. New York Times. Retrieved 12 Jun 2024. August Lenz, 78, German international footballer (Borussia Dortmund, Germany) and Olympian.August Lenz. Olympedia.com. Retrieved 20 Jun 2024. Erik Lundin, 84, Swedish chess master.Erik Lundin. WorldCat. Retrieved 27 Oct 2024. Teodor Parnicki, 79–80, Polish writer of historical novels.Teodor Parnicki. Britannica. Retrieved 30 Jun 2024. William Everett Potter, 83, American engineer and military officer, governor of the Panama Canal Zone, heart failure.W. E. Potter, 83, Army Engineer. New York Times. Retrieved 2 Jul 2024. Dave Ryan, 65, American NFL player (Detroit Lions, Boston Yanks).

6 Bill Harris, 63, American guitarist, pancreatic cancer.Jazz Guitarist and Singer Bill Harris Dies at age 63. Washington Post. Retrieved 12 Jun 2024. Richard Lippi, 40, French Olympic rower (1968). Timothy Patrick Murphy, 29, American actor (Dallas), AIDS.Timothy Patrick Murphy. WorldCat. Retrieved 27 Oct 2024. Roy Orbison, 52, American singer and songwriter (Pretty Woman, Only the Lonely, Crying), heart attack.Roy Orbison, 52, a Singer Famed For Plaintive Pop Anthems, Dies. New York Times. Retrieved 9 Jul 2024. Charles Saxon, 68, American cartoonist (The New Yorker), heart failure.Charles Saxon, 68, a Cartoonist For 92 Covers of The New Yorker. New York Times. Retrieved 6 Jul 2024. George Shaw, 57, American Olympic triple jumper (1952, 1956). Veerendra, 40, Indian film actor and director.. Times of India. Retrieved 14 Jul 2024.

7 Christopher Connelly, 47, American actor (Peyton Place), lung cancer. Jacqueline Ficini, French researcher, professor of chemistry. Josephine Groves Holloway, 90, American scouting leader.Josephine Groves Holloway. Tennessee Encyclopedia. Retrieved 13 Jun 2024. Dorothy Jordan, 82, American actress, heart failure.Dorothy Jordan, 82; Entered Movies in '29. New York Times. Retrieved 15 Jun 2024. William George Juergens, 84, American district judge (United States District Court for the Eastern District of Illinois). Mitsu Yashima, 80, Japanese-born American artist and children's book author.Mitsu Yashima: Artist, Activist, and “Voice of the People”. CIA. Retrieved 17 Jul 2024.

8 Ivan Bonar, 64, American actor (General Hospital). John Joe McGirl, 67, Irish republican, Sinn Féin politician and Chief of Staff of the Irish Republican Army.McGirl, John Joe. Dictionary of Irish Biography. Retrieved 22 Jun 2024. James Hargrove Meredith, 74, American district judge (United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri). Gene Quill, 60, American jazz alto saxophonist.Gene Quill. WorldCat. Retrieved 27 Oct 2024. Hellmuth Reymann, 96, Nazi German army officer, defender of Berlin.Hellmuth Reymann. Nuremberg Trials Project, Harvard Law. Retrieved 3 Jul 2024. Anne Seymour, 79, American film and television actress, heart failure. Ludovico Silva, 50–51, Venezuelan poet and philosopher.Ludovico Silva. WorldCat. Retrieved 27 Oct 2024. Ulanhu, 80, Chinese chairman of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, vice president of People's Republic of China.

9 Luke Archer, 89, American Negro Leagues baseball player. Wally Borrevik, 67, American basketball player. Rafael Luis Calvo, 76, Spanish actor (Miracle of Marcelino).Rafael Calvo. WorldCat. Retrieved 27 Oct 2024. Kainikkara Kumara Pillai, 88, Indian actor, short story writer and playwright. Ludmila Polesná, 54, Czech Olympic slalom canoeist (1972).

10 Dennis Arundell, 90, British actor, director and composer of incidental music.Dennis Arundell. Opera Scotland. Retrieved 26 May 2024. Richard S. Castellano, 55, American actor (Lovers and Other Strangers, The Godfather), heart attack.Richard Castellano Is Dead at 55; An Actor of Stage, Screen and TV. New York Times. Retrieved 9 Jul 2024. Hans ten Houten, 72, Dutch Olympic rower (1936). Scott Johnson, 27, American student killed in Australia in a gay-hate attack.Man responsible for death of Scott Johnson at Manly gay beat sentenced to nine years in jail. The Guardian. Retrieved 15 Jun 2024. (body found on this date) Johnny Lawrence, 77, English cricketer (Somerset, Lincolnshire).John Lawrence. ESPNcricinfo.com. Retrieved 19 Jun 2024. Elizabeth Rawson, 54, British classical scholar (biography of Cicero).Elizabeth Donata Rawson. Cambridge University. Retrieved 3 Jul 2024. Dorothy de Rothschild, 93, English philanthropist and activist for Jewish affairs.Dorothy de Rothschild, 93, Supporter of Israel. New York Times. Retrieved 3 Jul 2024. John Baker White, 86, English politician and amateur spy, Member of Parliament.John Baker White. WorldCat. Retrieved 27 Oct 2024. Lawrence Wien, 83, American lawyer and real estate investor, prostate cancer.Lawrence A. Wien, 83, Is Dead; Lawyer Gave Millions to Charity. New York Times. Retrieved 16 Jul 2024.

11 Kari Kairamo, 55, Finnish chairman and CEO of Nokia, suicide.Risk Inherited at Finnish Concern. New York Times. Retrieved 30 Jun 2024. Wilhelm Petersén, 82, Swedish Olympic ice hockey player (1928, 1936). Nagendra Singh, 74, Indian lawyer, President of the International Court of Justice, heart attack.

12 Bill Bertani, 69, American Olympic soccer player (1948). K. K. Chen, 90, Chinese-born American scientist, pharmacological researcher at Eli Lilly and Company (ephedrine).Ko Kuei Chen: A Pioneer of Modern Pharmacological Research in China. ResearchGate (death year only). Retrieved 1 June 2024. Dick Clair, 57, American television producer, actor and writer (It's a Living, The Facts of Life, Mama's Family), AIDS. Bruce Alan Davis, 40, American serial killer, suicide. June Tarpé Mills, 76, American comic book creator (Miss Fury).Miss Fury might be the most famous superhero you've never heard of. ABC News Australia. Retrieved 25 Jun 2024. Henri Peyre, 87, French-born American linguist, heart failure.Henri Peyre of Yale Is Dead at 87; Was Sterling Professor of French. New York Times. Retrieved 1 Jul 2024. Anthony Provenzano, 71, American mobster of the Genovese crime family, heart attack. Joe Reichler, 73, American sports writer (Associated Press), cancer.Joseph Reichler, 73, Authority on Baseball. New York Times. Retrieved 3 Jul 2024. Rudolf Schündler, 82, German actor and director (The Exorcist), heart attack.Rudolf Schündler. WorldCat. Retrieved 27 Oct 2024. Stjepan Vrbančić, 88, Yugoslavian Olympic footballer (1924). Loudon Wainwright Jr., 63, American writer and columnist (The View from Here), colon cancer.Loudon S. Wainwright, Columnist, Dead at 63. New York Times. Retrieved 14 Jul 2024.

13 Hans Fischer, 27, Brazilian cyclist and Olympian (1980, 1984), cardiac arrest.Hans Fischer. Olympedia.com. Retrieved 9 Jun 2024. Brynmor John, 54, British politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Defence, heart attack.Brynmor John, Legislator, 54. New York Times. Retrieved 15 Jun 2024. María Teresa León, 85, Spanish writer.León, Maria Teresa (1903–1988). Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 20 Jun 2024. Muhammad Mangundiprojo, 83, Indonesian soldier, revolutionary and civil servant. Bill Nichols, 70, American politician, member of U.S. House of Representatives (1973-), heart attack. Fyodor Reshetnikov, 82, Soviet painter.Решетников, Федор Павлович (Reshetnikov, Fedor Pavlovich). Krugosvet encyclopedia (in Russian). Retrieved 3 Jul 2024. Brian Sinclair, 73, British veterinary surgeon and novelist, heart attack. Betty Snowball, 80, English women's test cricketer, international squash and lacrosse player for Scotland.Betty Snowball. Wisden. Retrieved 8 Jul 2024. Roy Urquhart, 87, British army general.Major-General Robert Elliot Urquhart. The Pegasus Archive. Retrieved 13 Jul 2024.

14 Dolf Benz, 80, Dutch Olympic sprinter (1928). Charlie T. Black, 87, American college basketballer. Narciso Busquets, 58, Mexican actor of theatre, film, television and radio.Narciso Busquets. WorldCat. Retrieved 27 Oct 2024. Evald Schorm, 56, Czech film and stage director, screenwriter and actor.All is vanity – Evald Schorm (II). Filmový přehled. Retrieved 6 Jul 2024. Jean Schramme, 59, Belgian planter, mercenary in Belgian Congo. Stuart Symington, 87, American businessman and politician, U.S. Secretary of the Air Force, heart failure. Win Oo, 53, Burmese actor, singer and director, colorectal cancer.

15 Leonid Andrussow, 92, German chemical engineer (hydrogen cyanide).Leonid Andrussow. WorldCat. Retrieved 27 Oct 2024. Andrew James Wray Geddes, 82, Indian-born British Royal Air Force officer, led planning for Operation Manna.Obituary: Andrew Geddes. Newspapers.com (The Guardian). Retrieved 11 Jun 2024. Aksel Madsen, 89, Danish Olympic long-distance runner (1928). Muriel Martin-Harvey, 97, English stage actress. Ben Mayes, 43, American AFL player (Houston Oilers).

16 Anna Jean Ayres, 68, American occupational therapist and educational psychologist, breast cancer.Anna Jean Ayres. Britannica. Retrieved 26 May 2024.