Roy Wotton: Army chaplain's mission to honour war heroes

ROY WOTTON 1913-2013

Roy Wotton served as an army chaplain in World War II and, in later years, he helped fight for the placement and upkeep of memorials near Australian victories on the beaches in New Guinea.

John Tavener: Divided opinion but left memorable musical legacy

JOHN TAVENER 1944-2013

Sir John Tavener was one of the leading British composers of the day. His predominantly religious and contemplative music - dubbed "holy minimalism" by some critics - was as passionately admired by large numbers of listeners as it was derided by others.

Man of many words who found direction late in life

JOHN KINGSMILL 1920-2013

John Kingsmill retired from advertising in 1981 then continued to develop his writing, and his love of art and music.

Son of Desert Fox forged friendship with son of his nemesis

MANFRED ROMMEL 1928-2013

Manfred Rommel was the only son of the ''Desert Fox'' Erwin Rommel and a witness to the German commander's last moments.

Microbiologist had flair for ingenuity

YAO-TSENG TCHAN 1918-2013

Professor Yao-Tseng Tchan spent his professional life absorbed in the microscopic world, but his personal life was filled with family, gardening, martial arts, and finding all new pre-packaged sugar and preservative-dense treats to give to his great-grandchildren.

Skilled dentist acquired a taste for films and writing

CHRIS KENNEDY 1948-2013

Kennedy was a rare thing: a dentist with a dry sense of humour, a down-to-earth manner and a creative passion for writing and film-making.

Designer's passion for graphic art led to new kind of ad agency

ERIC MAGUIRE 1923-2013

Eric Maguire was an art director, designer, illustrator, calligrapher and photographer but his first love was typography. For 25 years, he threatened to write a book about it but unfortunately never did, taking his extensive knowledge to the grave.

Eternal child puzzled doctors and remained a medical mystery

BROOKE GREENBERG 1993-2013

Brooke Greenberg was the nearest thing in science to a real-life Peter Pan. She stopped growing while still a baby and remained, physically and mentally, at the level of a toddler.

Skilled diplomat made the world his home

PETER CURTIS 1929-2013

Peter Curtis was Australia's ambassador to a dozen countries in his career. He was among the most widely experienced, deeply admired and affectionately regarded of all Australia's corps of career diplomats, and one of a core of founding fathers of independent Australian foreign policy.

Educator raised standing of health sciences

JEFFREY MILLER 1932-2013

For more than two decades, Jeffrey Miller, as founding principal of the Cumberland College of Health Sciences, brought changes to, and pioneered the growth and development of, Australia's allied health sciences training domain.

A man with serious altitude

JAY COCHRANE 1944-2013

Jay Cochrane was a Canadian tightrope walker who set world records as he crossed high above gorges and traversed from skyscraper to skyscraper the world over.

'At Verdi's table' in the shadow of death

EDITH KRAUS 1913-2013

Edith Kraus was one of the most prolific musicians among the thousands of artists and intellectuals who were sent to the Terezin concentration camp during World War II.

Lawyer held fellow Serbs to account over war crimes

SRDJA POPOVIC 1937-2013

Srdja Popovic was a Serbian lawyer and celebrated human rights advocate who pressed for reform and free speech for five decades, first under Communist rule in the former Yugoslavia and later under the strongman Slobodan Milosevic and his successors.

The 'Sherlock Holmes of Yiddish folk music'

CHANA MLOTEK 1922-2013

Chana Mlotek was an impassioned sleuth and archivist of Yiddish music whose song collections allowed thousands to imbibe the mirthful and mournful melodies of the shtetl, ghetto and Yiddish theatre.

Hanging tough at the Hanoi Hilton

J ROBINSON RISNER 1925-2013

The captured fighter pilot had already been through so much at the infamous Hanoi Hilton.

Career US diplomat resigned over 1979 Tehran policy

WILLIAM H SULLIVAN 1922-2013

William H Sullivan was a career diplomat who spent much of the 1960s and 1970s in volatile parts of the world - notably Laos, where he oversaw a secret bombing campaign, and Iran, where he was the last United States ambassador before militants took embassy employees hostage in November 1979.

Air crash investigator cleared 'conveniently blamed' pilots

JAN BARTELSKI 1922-2013

Jan Bartelski was a Polish-born pilot and airline captain who, as president of the International Federation of Airline Pilots' Association (IFALPA), made an important contribution to safer air travel.

Energetic chef who gave a fresh start to American dining

CHARLIE TROTTER 1959-2013

Charlie Trotter's flagship restaurant, Charlie Trotter's, opened in 1987 and helped to establish Chicago as a serious dining city.

Conductor used his energy to bring music to the people

JOHN HOPKINS 1927-2013

John Hopkins was ambitious to have his own orchestra and, in 1957, he left England to be chief conductor with the New Zealand National Orchestra. In 1963 he left there to work in Australia with the ABC, where he stayed for the rest of his life.

Man of passions was legendary country doctor of the old school

KEVIN KENNEDY 1922-2013

In November 1957, when the Blue Mountains were enduring a bushfire even worse that the recent ones, a picture appeared in newspapers of a man with a hose, fighting a fire that was engulfing half the shops in Leura's main street.

Albie Thomas, champion runner, was one of Australia's best

ALBIE THOMAS 1935-2013

Albie Thomas was one of Australia's greatest distance runners. He broke world records, competed at three Olympic Games, was a dual Commonwealth Games medallist and after his career coached and worked tirelessly for the St George Athletics Club.

Chef gave Sydney the French connection

CLAUDE CORNE 1928-2013

Claude Corne died just four days after the influential Woollahra restaurant that bore his name served its final supper.

Passionate economist who championed freedom of thought

NAOMI MOLDOFSKY UNKNOWN-2013

A plaque on the door of Dr Naomi Moldofsky's office summed up her attitude to life: ''All men are created equal; it's what they're equal to that counts.''

Lawyer shaped copyright protection for performers

COLIN MARKS 1925-2013

Colin Marks was a pioneering intellectual property lawyer who made decisive contributions to the development of Australian copyright law.

First post-Communist PM fought for Polish independence

TADEUSZ MASOWIECKI 1927-2013

In Poland, Tadeusz Mazowiecki became the first non-communist prime minister in Eastern Europe after World War II in August 1989.

Daughter's death led to life fighting for crash victims

HANS EPHRAIMSON-ABT 1922-2013

Hans Ephraimson-Abt became an internationally known advocate for families of air-crash victims after the death of his daughter on Korean Air Lines Flight 007, shot down by Soviet fighter planes in 1983.

Writer, editor helped foster national identity

MYFAWNY HORNE 1933-2013

Myfanwy Horne was a journalist and book editor. To some she might have been known as the wife of author Donald Horne. Those who came in contact with her indomitable spirit knew her as much more.

Mission Impossible - Bart Simpson's teacher

MARCIA WALLACE 1942-2013

Emmy Award-winning actress Marcia Wallace voiced The Simpsons role of Edna Krabappel and played wisecracking receptionist Carol Kester on the classic sitcom The Bob Newhart Show.

There's a glare in there - tough guy actor had 'the look'.

NIGEL DAVENPORT 1928-2013

The actor Nigel Davenport will be best remembered for playing dark, strong, rakish toffs, aggressive heroes, scowling villains - and for what he himself called his “dodgy” eyes.

Stuntman's job was back-breaking work

HAL NEEDHAM 1931-2013

Stuntman and director Hal Needham spoke with a down-home twang but was as Hollywood as air kisses and car chases - and had the scars to prove it.

TV, film producer grappled with the griity

ANTONIA BIRD 1951-2013

Antonia Bird was a leading British television and film director, and was particularly noted for dramas that explored difficult social issues.

'Perennial flirt' embodied Dior's 'New Look'

JEAN WESTON 1930-2013

Jean Weston was better known, in the immediate post-war years, as “Rowlande”, one of the leading models at the House of Worth.

Michael Neuberger: Unravelled the mysteries of human antibodies

MICHAEL NEUBERGER 1953-2013

Professor Michael Neuberger was a brilliant biochemist and immunologist whose work helped to launch a revolution in biomedical research.

Conductor drew depth and passion from his choristers

SANDY NEWMAN 1937-2013

Sandy Newman founded the Taverner Consort of Voices in Sydney in 1975 and was its musical director until ill health forced him to relinquish the role in 2003.

Desperate father's crusade led to medical breakthrough

AUGUSTO ODONE 1933-2013

Augusto Odone became famous, with his wife Michaela, for their efforts to keep their son Lorenzo alive through a devastating progressive degenerative disorder known as adrenoleukodystrophy, or ALD.

TV producer ushered in a new era of journalism

KEN CHOWN 1931-2013

Ken Chown was the first and longest serving producer of the current affairs program This Day Tonight, which first went to air in 1967.

Lessons never stopped in doctor's lifelong medical quest

JOHN BALLA 1934-2013

John Balla's research pursued a theory of diagnostic reasoning and diagnostic error and he never succumbed to complacency about the need to refine and promote ideas he believed would improve the way doctors thought and reflected on their practice.

MP puts his heart and soul into bettering lives

MICHAEL MAHER 1936-2013

Michael Maher was greatly admired across the political spectrum as a diligent, local MP who saw the vocation of politics as serving the people.

Coach inspired Senegal to reach World Cup quarterfinals

BRUNO METSU 1954-2013

Bruno Metsu was a French football coach who led Senegal's national team in an exhilarating and improbable run to the 2002 World Cup quarterfinals.

A life walked on the wild side

LOU REED 1942-2013

Lou Reed, the singer, songwriter and guitarist whose work with the Velvet Underground in the 1960s had an impact on generations of rock musicians, and who remained a powerful if polarising force for the rest of his life, died on Sunday at his home in Southampton on Long Island, New York. He was 71.

Peasant girl who became Tito's wife and society hostess

JOVANKA BROZ 1924-2013

Jovanka Broz was a beautiful peasant girl who captured the heart of Yugoslavia's Marshal Josip Broz Tito.

Jesuit at ease in refuges and at wheel of a Merc

EMMET COSTELLO 1924-2013

'You think I'm off to dine with the rich," said the white-haired priest to a smirking bystander as he took the wheel of a costly car. "You're wrong. I'm going to dine with the filthy rich."

Plantation owner was part of the Witu clan

DICK DOYLE 1939-2013

Dick Doyle spent much of his life living and working on the remote Papua New Guinea island of Witu, 65 kilometres north of New Britain.

From Beverly Hills to 'prison angel' of Tijuana

ANTONIA BRENNER 1926-2013

Sister Antonia Brenner was a Beverly Hills-raised mother of seven who became a Roman Catholic nun and moved into a notorious Tijuana prison. She spent more than three decades there mending broken lives, easing tensions and dispensing everything from toothbrushes to bail money.

'World's poorest Sultan' failed to reclaim lands

JAMALUL KIRAM III 1938-2013

Jamalul Kiram III was a descendant of the sultan of Sulu, and led a quixotic military effort to regain part of the island of Borneo for his family earlier this year.

Vale Anthony Hinds

Producer turned Hammer into house of horror

Anthony Hinds, 1922-2013, was the producer who put the horror in Hammer horror, in the process turning a puny British film studio into a Goliath of cinematic gore.

Brilliant collector or rapacious looter?

GEORGE ORTIZ 1927-2013

George Ortiz was a collector of antiquities endowed with a genius for picking out the best pieces.

Nobel economist predicted post-war boom

LAWRENCE KLEIN 1920-2013

Professor Lawrence R. Klein predicted America's economic boom after World War II and was awarded the 1980 Nobel in economic science for developing statistical models that are used to analyze and predict global economic trends.

Marathon monk was the prince of pain

YUSAI SAKAI 1926-2013

Yusai Sakai was a Japanese monk and one of only a handful of men to complete the Sennichi Kaihogyo, a seven-year quest for enlightenment that ranks among the toughest known physical challenges. At 61, he became only the third monk ever to complete it for a second time.

Rex's lad a ski champ, crooner, recluse

NOEL HARRISON 1934-2013

Noel Harrison, the son of actor Rex Harrison, starred in the 1960s spy spoof The Girl From U.N.C.L.E and had a Top 10 hit with The Windmills of Your Mind, the ballad from Norman Jewison's 1968 heist movie The Thomas Crown Affair, starring Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway.

Mugabe's henchman brutalised his own people

ENOS NKALA 1932-2013

Enos Nkala helped to mastermind the suppression of the Matabeleland region of Zimbabwe in the 1980s, inflicting torture and terror at the behest of his master, Robert Mugabe.

Wartime pilot who took a flying detour

KEN MEARES- 1918-2013

Ken Meares learnt to fly Empire Class flying boats in Africa in 1943 during an unusual secondment as a war-time RAAF pilot.

Calm in a crisis, ocean was natural home for spirited sailor

TONY HUSSEY 1971-2013

It was just another night in Mallorca, Spain. Australian yachtsman Tony Hussey was riding home on his bicycle with two friends when, on a winding road, a motorcyclist struck the three, killing Hussey.

Altruistic fitness guru focused on health

LES GRONOW 1924-2013

In his 65 years as a health and fitness trainer, Les Gronow conditioned athletes of every description, prepared Australia's top sports people to meet their challenges and worked on the stars of the future.

Unrepentant Nazi organised massacre of 335 Italians

ERICH PRIEBKE 1913-2013

Erich Priebke was an SS captain who was sentenced to life in prison for helping to organise the execution of 335 men and boys at the Ardeatine Caves in Italy in 1944.

Chess prodigy did his own tour of duty

MAX FULLER 1945-2013

Australia's first chess professional, Max Fuller, developed from a gangly teenager who would rarely be seen at Canterbury Boys High School without a chessboard under his arm to Australia's No.1 in a few years.

Children's author who rewrote the rulebook

CAROL ODELL 1921-2013

Carol Odell was born into a family immersed in the arts. Her father, Jack Odell, was a surveyor by profession but also a musician who composed and published a light opera, The Plumber's Opera, in 1929. Her mother, Dorothy Fuller, was an illustrator and the sister of Rosalinde Fuller, a noted actor who starred as Ophelia to John Barrymore's Hamlet on Broadway in 1923.

British race driver showed real talent and determination

SEAN EDWARDS 1986-2013

Sean Edwards was a promising racing car driver and in May became only the second Englishman to win the gruelling 24 Hours Nurburgring endurance event. He also won this year's Dubai 24 Hour race and was leading the 2013 Porsche Supercup, which features identical Porsche 911 GT3 Cup racing cars.

Innocent man spent 40 years in solitary

HERMAN WALLACE 1941-2013

Herman Wallace spent more than 40 years in solitary confinement in the United States for the murder of a prison guard before his conviction was finally overturned this month.

Pulitzer Prize winner told immigrants' stories

OSCAR HIJUELOS 1951-2013

Oscar Hijuelos was a Cuban-American novelist who wrote about the lives of immigrants adapting to a new culture and became the first Latino to win the Pulitzer Prize for fiction for his 1989 book, The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love.

Belgian PM held nation together

WILFRIED MARTENS 1936-2013

Wilfried Martens was a political survivor who, as Belgian prime minister between 1979 and 1992, became one of the world's longest-serving heads of government.

Lebanese singer 'the man with the golden voice'

WADIH EL SAFI 1921-2013

Wadih el Safi was a Lebanese singer and composer whose strong, clear voice propelled him to fame throughout the Arab world.

Teflon man 'never thought' of non-stick frypans

MALCOLM RENFREW 1910-2013

Chemist Malcolm Renfrew never imagined that his work would one day become synonymous with the nonstick frying pan. As a young man in the 1930s he dreamed of acting and joined a traveling tent show.

Polish diplomat falied to end Vietnam War

JANUSZ LEWANDOWSKI 1931-2013

Janusz Lewandowski was a former diplomat who, in 1966, launched an effort to bring Hanoi and Washington to the negotiating table and end the conflict in Vietnam - an undertaking code-named “Project Marigold".

Showman the last of the medicine men

TOMMY SCOTT 1917-2013

Tommy Scott was a country singer and songwriter who began his career in the 1930s as a member of one of the last traveling medicine shows and later became its leader, keeping it alive for more than five decades of one-night stands long after its dubious comedy and digestive cures became cultural relics.

Jim Bradford: Bookish 'butterball' did the heavy lifting

JIM BRADFORD 1928-2013

Jim Bradford spent much of his life in quiet obscurity at the Library of Congress as an assistant bookbinder and a researcher. But he was a most unusual library employee - a 182cm, 170kg weightlifter and two-time Olympian. He could easily have been mistaken for a National Football League tackle, sportswriter Shirley Povich once said of him.

Athlete competed at Hitler's Olympics

BASIL DICKINSON 1915-2013

When he died, Basil Dickinson was Australia's oldest Olympian and one of the last of the 1936 Australian Olympics team that went to Berlin.

Correspondent blazed trail for reporters in volatile region

DAVID BALDERSTONE 1946-2013

In 1977, David Balderstone was the first Australian to become a Middle East correspondent for Fairfax. He had a lifelong interest in the Holy Land sparked by an illustrated Bible given to him as a child by his godmother.

Astronaut had troubled space flight

SCOTT CARPENTER 1925-2013

Scott Carpenter was the second American to orbit Earth, in a 1962 flight marred by technical glitches and ending with the nation waiting anxiously to see if he had survived a splashdown far from the target site. His death leaves John Glenn, now 92, who flew the first orbital mission earlier that year, as the last survivor of the Mercury 7 group of astronauts.

A key figure in protection of blood supplies

GORDON ARCHER 1926-2013

The most important period of Gordon Archer's career in blood transfusions was the unravelling and management of what became known as the AIDS epidemic.

Art lover imbued with ethical passion

ROGER PIETRI 1921-2013

Roger Pietri was fascinated by Asian art and although few people knew the true reasons for his passion, many will benefit from his vision.

Influential punk rocker responsible for classic Irish ballad

PHIL CHEVRON 1957-2013

Phil Chevron was one of Ireland's best-loved and most influential punk rockers, and wrote the Pogues' anthemic, enduringly popular ballad Thousands Are Sailing.

Obituary

Born salesman found his feet in air freight

Warwick Stanley Sid Ward, who grew up to start Wards Air Cargo and become one of the biggest freight haulers in Australia, was a salesman in the making.

Wash'n'wear chemist 'gave cotton a boost'

RUTH BENERITO 1916-2013

Ruth Benerito was an American chemist and inventor. Among her 55 patents was a process for treating cotton that led to the creation of wash-and-wear fabrics, effectively revitalising America's cotton industry.

Bayreuth bad boy revived the Ring

PATRICE CHEREAU 1944-2013

Patrice Chereau was a theatre and film director whose centenary production of Wagner's Ring Cycle conducted by Pierre Boulez was controversial, but proved to be instrumental in revitalising the reputation of Bayreuth.

'The Black Hornet' - Caribbean's greatest WWII pilot

ULRIC CROSS, 1917-2013

Ulric Cross is thought to have been the most decorated Caribbean airman of World War II, he went on to enjoy a distinguished career in Trinidad as a judge and diplomat.

Bounty mutiny expert a pioneer of oral history

TREVOR LUMMIS 1930-2013

Trevor Lummis was a social historian who supplemented traditional written sources with oral history, or life stories related by word of mouth. He was also an authority on the history of Pitcairn Island, where the Bounty mutineers settled in the late 18th century.

Braille visionary brought maths to the blind

ABRAHAM NEMETH 1918-2013

Abraham Nemeth's frustrations in pursuing an academic career in math prompted him to develop the Nemeth Code, a form of Braille that greatly improved the ability of visually impaired people to study complex mathematics.

New Republic critic's fifty years of film

STANLEY KAUFFMANN, 1916-2013

Stanley Kauffmann's literate, tightly constructed movie reviews appeared in the New Republic for more than half a century and set a standard for critical ease and erudition. He continued to write for the magazine until his last months.

Tibetan lama brogught Buddhism to Scotland

STANLEY KAUFFMANN, 1916-2013

Choje Akong Rinpoche was a Tibetan Buddhist lama who made his home in Britain and co-founded Samye Ling in the Scottish lowlands, the first Tibetan Buddhist monastery in the West.

Crime figure turned legend

MARK CHOPPER READ 1954-2013

He was Australia's best-known crime figure turned author, turned legend. The man with one name, "Chopper". Yet, contrary to popular opinion, Mark Read was no underworld mastermind and his criminal history was littered with blunders.

Engineer paved way for alternative energies

KEN INALL 1921-2013

Ken Inall was a leader in research for alternative energies decades before they became fashionable. In the 1970s and '80s, Canberra and the Australian National University were home to him and the distinguished group of scientists working in the university's nuclear physics department.

Jewish spiritual leader proved a dynamic political force

OVADIA YOSEF 1920-2013

Rabbi Ovadia Yosef became a fiery figure in Israeli politics as the spiritual leader of the ultra-Orthodox Shas Party, championing the interests of Jews of Middle Eastern and north African origin. He was both a dynamic politician and a highly regarded arbiter of Jewish law.

A 'pretty good storyteller' who made millions

TOM CLANCY 1947-2013

The author of gung-ho techno-military thrillers which generated many millions of dollars, a number of successful films, and a franchise of equally popular - and profitable - video games.

Academic had a love of law and language

PENELOPE PETHER 1957-2013

Penelope Pether was a distinguished legal scholar, a prolific writer, a passionate educator and a dedicated mentor, and she never stopped working.

Pioneer chemist's protest over award made her a pariah

CANDACE PERT 1946 - 2013

Candace Pert identified the first opiate receptor in 1973, a finding that opened a new field of studying the brain's biochemistry.

Talented tenor gave seniors golden days

ROY WATTERSON 1935 - 2013

Roy Watterson was a star of the Australian entertainment industry, a champion of the seniors, a Balmain identity, a father and family man, a loyal friend, a man of honour, and an honest bloke.

Academic looked to the Asian Century

MARJORIE JACOBS 1915-2013

Emeritus professor of history at the University of Sydney, Marjorie Jacobs inspired generations of her students to pursue intellectual excellence, and offered them a new Asian perspective.

Scientist who discovered Lyme disease

STEPHEN MALAWISTA 1934-2013

Stephen Malawista led the team of scientists which in 1976 identified the tick-borne infection Lyme disease, a crippling ailment affecting an estimated two to three thousand people a year in Britain and 300,000 or so a year in the United States.

A key contributor to America's national security

ALBERT WHEELON 1929-2013

Albert "Bud" Wheelon was one of America's central figures in the development of the first spy satellite and later the commercial communications satellite industry. He became one of California's most important technological innovators in aerospace, leaving behind a multbillion-dollar enterprise and making key contributions to national security.

'Without music, life would be a mistake'

HANS LANDESMANN 1932-2013

Hans Landesmann was the Austrian impresario who helped to steady the Salzburg Festival after the death of Herbert von Karajan. He also introduced large-scale thematic programming to the Barbican and co-founded the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra with Claudio Abbado.