Peter Gent - Author

Peter Gent wrote a book about the seamier side of football which became the movie, "North Dallas Forty"died at the age of 69 on September 30, 20011 from a pulmonary illness. He was living at his boyhood home in Bangor, Michigan.

Gent was a basketball star at Michigan State University in the 1960's. He was drafted by the NBA Baltimore Bullets, but decided to tryout for the Dallas Cowboys in spite of not having played college football. He made the team as a receiver and spent five seasons with them.

He penned his novel in 1973 dealing with the drugs, sex and greed in professional football. The book was made into the 1979 movie starring Nick Nolte.

He wrote sevral other books including a sequel, "North Dallas After Forty".

Willie Susan Smith Stewart - Reagan Classmate

Willie Susan Smith Stewart was the last member of the class of 1932 of Eureka College that included future President Ronald Reagan. Ms Stewart died on August 17, 2011 at the age of 101 at a hospital in Tyler, Texas.

She spent her entire life in Texas after graduating from Eureka and receiving a master's degree in education from Texas A&M. Her career included decades as a grammar school teacher.

Arthur "Kit" Murray - Test Pilot

Arthur "Kit" Murray was one of the US Air Force test pilots immortalized in Tom Wolfe's 1979 book, "The Right Stuff". In 1954, he became the first person to fly 90,440 feet over the earth, subsequently seeing its curvature. He was considered America's first space pilot.

He died on July 25, 2011 at the age of 92 in a Texas nursing home. Many of his test flights, along with those of Chuck Yeager, laid the foundation for the American space program.

From 1958-1960, he was the flight manager of the X-15 program. One of his pilots, Neil Armstrong, flew the advanced rocket plane at an altitude of 100 kilometers, meeting the international definition of space flight. Armstrong would later become the first to walk on the moon.

Murray flew 50 combat missions during World War II before becoming a P-47 flight instructor. After becoming a test pilot, he was the first to be assigned to the base in California that would later be known as Edwards.

Alan Haberman - Father of the Bar Code

Alan Haberman lead a team of researchers who developed the bar code system seen on products throughout the world today. Back in 1971 when he was an chief executive with First National stores, he was given the assignment of developing a system to keep better track of inventory.

The team met for two years before deciding on the system in use today involving a series of vertical lines and numbers. The original technology, developed in 1949, involved bull's-eye design.

Mt Haberman died on June 12, 2011 in Newton, Mass at the age of 81.

For many years, he served on the Uniform Code Council which administers the universal product code.

George Ballas - Invented the Weed Wacker

George Ballas changed the way people take care of their lawns by designing a product he first called the Weed Eater. His device was initially a tin can with strands of fishing line attached to the rotary of a lawn edger. It performed very well and sales flourished during the 1970's. He later sold his product to Emerson Electric who re-named it the Weed Wacker.

Ballas died on June 25, 2011 ate the age of 85 in Houston,TX of natural causes.

He was also a very accomplished dancer. After serving in the military, he worked for Arthur Murray and Fred Astaire dance studios. He later opened his own studio, Dance City USA, which covered 43,000 square feet and employed 120 instructors. He sold it in 1964. Both of his sons were very accomplished dancers and were featured on "Dancing With the Stars".

He also developed a Houston hotel and was and adjunct professor at Rice University, teaching a course in entrepreneurship.

Mietek Pemper - "Schindler" Typist

Mietek Pemper was the man who typed the names that were on Oskar Schinder's list of Jews trying to evade Nazi persecution during the Holocaust. Schindler was able to save over 1,000 from eventual death in the Nazi Concentration Camps.

Pemper died on June 7, 2011 in Augsburg, Germany at the age of 91

Director Steven Spielberg adapted the book "Schindler's List" into the 1993 film which won seven Oscars. Pemper served as an advisor for the movie.

David Mason - Trumpeter

David Mason spent his career as a classical musician, but was best known for his piccolo trumpet solo on the Beatles recording of "Penny Lane". Mason died at the age of 85 on April 29, 2011 after a short bout with leukemia.

Paul McCartney of the Beatles was looking to enhance "Penny Lane" when he saw Mason on television playing a piece by Bach. The next day he was contacted by the George Martin, the Beatles producer.

He showed up at the 1967 recording session with seven trumpets before settling on the B-flat piccolo trumpet for the high-pitched solo.

McCartney did not write any of the music ahead of time. Instead, he sang the melody and Martin wrote the notes down. The result was the iconic trumpet solo that is a huge part of the song.

Jim Mandich - Played on 1972 Miami Dolphins

Jim Mandich played tight end on the Miami Dolphins from 1970- 1977. He was a member of the 1972 undefeated Super Bowl team and also won another championship with them. He later became the team's radio announcer who was known for being extremely biased for the home team.

He died on April 26, 2011 from bile-duct cancer at the age of 62. He had been diagnosed in early 2010, but continued to work on broadcasts last season.

He spend nine seasons in the NFL, wrapping up his career with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1978. He finished his career with 121 career receptions, including 23 for touchdowns.

Walter Breuning - World's Oldest Man

Walter Breuning held the title of the world's oldest man and was the second oldest person. He died on April 14, 2011at the age of 114 after being hospitalized for the last month. He had spent the last thirty years at a retirement home in Great Falls, Montana.

He spent 50 years as a clerk with the Great Northern Railway, first in Minnesota before he moved to Montana.

He signed up for the military during World War I, but was never called up for duty.

After he retired at the age of 67 in 1963, he became the secretary for the local chapter of the Shriners. He served in that post until he was 99.

Nikolai Andrianov - Russian Olympic Gymnast

Russian gymnast Nikolai Andrianov was the second most decorated athlete in Olympic history with 15 medals. He was the leader until he was passed by Michael Phelps of the USA who won 16 in swimming.

Andrianov died at the age of 59 on March 21, 2010 in his hometown of Vladimar. According to Russian news sources, Andrianov had suffered from a degenerative neurological disorder for many years.

He won seven Olympic gold medal for the Soviet Union, including four at the 1976 games in Montreal. His 15 medals included Moscow in 1980 and Los Angeles in 1984.