BY DARLENE DONLOE

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Every year the world bids a sad farewell to politicians, community leaders, celebrities and other noteworthy individuals who impacted our lives in some way.

2009 is no different. Some deaths were expected; others, like that of Michael Jackson, shocked the world. A lot of talent has left the building.

JANUARY

OSCAR GRANT, 22 — Jan. 1; killed by a Bay Area Rapid Transit police officer while laying on his stomach, unarmed, on an Oakland subway platform.

IDA B. KINNEY, 104 — Jan. 1; longtime community activist; reportedly oldest living African American in San Fernando Valley.

WILLA MAE DORSEY, 75 —  Jan. 5; gospel singer recorded five albums; nominated for a Grammy.

CHARLES MORGAN JR., 78 — Jan. 8; lawyer, represented Julian Bond and Muhammad Ali; helped redraw political maps in arguing for “one man, one vote” principle.

PEDRO “CUBAN PETE” AGUILAR, 81 — Jan. 13; once named greatest mambo dancer by Life Magazine.

DAVID “FATHEAD” NEWMAN, 75 — Jan. 20; saxophonist played with The Ray Charles band.

VEATRICE RICE, 59 —  Jan. 21; security guard/sidekick on “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”

AVE MONTAGUE, 64 —  Jan. 24; founded San Francisco Black Film Festival.

HANK CRAWFORD, 74 —  Jan. 29; saxophonist played with Ray Charles’ and Jimmy McGriff’s band.

FEBRUARY

ROBERT CHURCHWELL, 91 — Feb. 1; first black journalist to work at a prominent Southern newspaper, beginning at Nashville Banner.

ORLANDO “CACHAITO” LOPEZ, 76 — Feb. 9; was a member of Cuba’s legendary Buena Vista Social Club.

ESTELLE BENNETT, 67 —  Feb. 11; was a member of The Ronettes singing group.

LOUIS BELLSON, 84 —  Feb. 14; jazz drummer, performed with Duke Ellington.

JAMES FLOURNOY, 93 —  Feb. 21; black Republican; first African American nominated for partisan statewide office in 1970 for California secretary of state.

WILBERT TATUM, 76 —  Feb. 26; former publisher and editor of The Amsterdam News in New York.

MARCH

JOAO BERNARDO “NINO” VIEIRA, 69 — March 2; president of Guinea Bissau, assassinated by soldiers.

SUSAN TSVANGIRAI —  March 6; wife of Zimbabwe Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai;  in car accident.

WILLIE KING, 65 —  March 8; Alabama blues singer and guitarist; created the Freedom Creek Festival.

ANNE WIGGINS BROWN, 96 — Mar. 1; soprano, played Bess in George Gershwin’s “Porgy and Bess.”

ALTOVISE DAVIS, 65 —  March 15; widow of Sammy Davis Jr.

DARNELL “KING TUT” BRITTINGHAM, 23 — March 18;  known for his association with hip-hop group Dipset.

URIEL JONES, 74 —  March 24; one of the original members of the Funk Brothers, a Motown group.

JOHN HOPE FRANKLIN, 94 — March 25; scholar of American and African American history.

SONNY BRADSHAW, 83 —  March 28; trumpeter and fixture of the Jamaican music scene beginning in the 1940s.

APRIL

DAVID “POP” WINANS SR., 74 — April 8; nominated for a Grammy in 1999 for his solo CD “Uncensored.” 

RANDY CAIN, 63 — April 9; a founding member of the soul group the Delfonics.

RUTH BOWEN BRYANT, 84 — April 21; first black female booking agent and first black female to establish a theatrical booking agency.

ERNIE BARNES, 70 —  April 27; former professional football player became successful figurative painter.

GREG PAGE, 50 — April 27; former heavyweight boxing champion.

TIMOTHY WRIGHT, 61 —  April 23; Grammy-nominated gospel singer and composer.

MAY

THE REV. VERNON C. KING, 48 — May 1; son of A.D. King Sr., brother of Martin Luther King Jr.

MAYME HATCHER JOHNSON, 95 — May 1; widow of Ellsworth “Bumpy” Johnson, the legendary Harlem gangster depicted in some movies.

WAYMAN TISDALE, 44 —  May 15; former basketball player and best-selling musician.

RODERICK ANTHONY “DOLLA” BURTON II, 21 —  May 18;  Atlanta-based rapper was part of the rap group Da Razkalz Cru; gunned down in Los Angeles. 

LEO JACKSON, 83 — May 24; former mayor of New London, Conn., was credited with being the first black mayor in New England.

EXODUS TYSON, 4 —  May 26; daughter of Mike Tyson; suffocated after becoming tangled in a cord dangling from a treadmill.

RONALD TAKAKI, 70 —  May 26; taught the University of California systems’ first black history course. 

GERARD JEAN-JUSTE, 62 — May 27; the Haitian Roman Catholic priest fought for the rights of Haitians.

JUNE

KOKO TAYLOR, 80 — June 3; born Cora Walton, she was known as The “Queen of the Blues.”

OLA HUDSON, 62 — June 5; mother of rock guitarist Slash (Saul Hudson); was a costume designer.

GERALDINE “GERRI” WARREN, 62 — June 8; was co-publisher and managing editor of the San Diego Voice and Viewpoint newspaper.

OMAR BONGO, 74 — June 8; reportedly the longest-serving president in African history, ruling the country of Gabon for 41 years.

SHERYL FLOWERS, 42 –  June 8; was the producer of “The Tavis Smiley Show” on radio and the director of communications for The Smiley Group.

GAY IRIS PARKER, 60 —  June 24; worked for main stage productions at the Pasadena Playhouse.

MICHAEL JOSEPH JACKSON, 50 — June 25; music legend known by many as the King of Pop;  died before his comeback concerts in London.

JULY

STEVE MCNAIR, 36 —  July 4; the football player led his team to their first Super Bowl in 2000.

JUDI ANN MASON, 54 — July 8; a playwright and a television/film writer. 

E. LYNN HARRIS, 54 —  July 24; famous for his novels, which often depicted gay African American men.

VERNON FOREST, 38 — July 25; a two-division world champion boxer.

FREDERICK J. “REV. IKE” EIKERENKOETTER II, 74 — July 28; known for preaching prosperity and first opened a church in Ridgeland, S.C.

AUGUST

NAOMI SIMS, 61 — Aug. 1; first black supermodel on the cover of Ladies Home Journal in 1968.

MARGARET BUSH WILSON, 90 — Aug. 10; a pioneering civil rights lawyer and former national chair of the NAACP.

TONYA ALSTON BURNS, 48 — Aug.12; first African American female firefighter for the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

RASHIED ALI, 76 — Aug. 12; jazz drummer played with John Coltrane, Archie Shepp, Pharoah Sanders and others.

MARY B. HENRY, 82 — Aug. 14; civil rights activist was instrumental in helping establish national Head Start program.

BURL TOLER, 81 — Aug. 16; before becoming the first African American official in the National Football League, became a star player at the University of San Francisco.

ROBERT DECATUR, 88 — Aug. 19; former Tuskegee Airman went on to become a judge and civil rights lawyer.

VERNON HOPSON, 84 — Aug. 28; Tuskegee Airman entered military service in July 1943 and applied for Aviation Cadet Flight Training in Biloxi, Miss.

EDWARD MOORE “TED” KENNEDY, 77 — Aug. 25; elected to the senate nine times, Kennedy, who represented Massachusetts, was first elected in November 1962.

SEPTEMBER

SKIP MILLER, 62 — Sept. 4; became president of Motown Records; managed singer Lionel Richie.

ROBERT SEARCY, 88 — Sept. 7; former Tuskegee Airman was a longtime Los Angeles businessman and Republican who campaigned for Barack Obama and attended his inauguration.

GERTRUDE BAINES, 115 — Sept. 11; took over the title of world’s oldest woman in January and celebrated her birthday April 6.

ZAKES MOKAE, 75 — Sept. 11; Tony-winning South African actor appeared in numerous feature films and television shows and plays.

TREVOR RHONE, 69 — Sept. 15; award-winning Jamaican playwright, director and actor.

MARGUERITE JUSTICE, 88 — Sept. 17; member of the Los Angeles Police Commission; first black woman to serve in that capacity in the United States.

DERRION ALBERT, 16 — Sept. 24; murder of the Chicago student during an after-school brawl was caught on video and relayed around the world.

OCTOBER

TONY FEIN, 27 — Oct. 6; former linebacker for Baltimore Ravens and Iraq War veteran.

MAHABOOB BEN ALI, 82 — Oct. 7; opened well-known Ben’s Chili Bowl in the District of Columbia in 1958.

CULLEN BRYANT, 58 — Oct. 13; played with the Los Angeles Rams for 11 of his 13 seasons in the NFL.

HANK SPANN — Oct. 14; known as the “Soul Server;” legendary radio disc jockey in New York.

ROY DECARAVA, 89 — Oct. 27; famed photographer known for having recorded Harlem; taught advanced photography at Hunter College. 

NOVEMBER

TOMMY JACQUETTE HALIFU, 64 — Nov. 16; longtime executive director of the Watts Summer Festival.

MARVIN JACKSON, 64 — Nov. 21; member of Black Panther Party’s Los Angeles chapter; longtime educator.

AVERY CLAYTON, 62 — Nov. 26; established Mayme Clayton Museum based on his mother’s collection of African American books and artifacts.

DECEMBER

NELLE BECKER SLATON, 88 — Dec. 1; founded groups to encourage black youth to study science and aim for higher education.

MARIE HARRIS, 87 — Dec. 2; known as the honorary “Mayor of Pacoima;” helped organize 1998 secession movement of the San Fernando Valley.

EDWARD “UMAGA” FATU, 36 — Dec. 4; WWE wrestler and cousin of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

NAPOLEON JONES, 69 — Dec. 12; one of the few black federal judges in San Diego.

DALE R. WRIGHT, 86 — Dec. 13; award-winning journalist; first black reporter to integrate the New York World-Telegram and Sun newspaper.

MANTO TSHABALALA-MSIMANG, 69 — Dec. 16; former South African minister of health; claimed garlic and other natural things helped combat AIDS.

ALAINA REED HALL-AMINI, 63 — Dec. 17; “227” actress/singer; played Olivia on “Sesame Street.”

CHRIS HENRY, 26 — Dec. 17; wide receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals for the past five seasons. 

ANN NIXON COOPER, 107 — Dec. 21; longtime community activist in Atlanta; Barack Obama mentioned her in his victory speech the night of his election.

PERCY SUTTON, 89 — Dec. 26; media mogul and founder of the Inner City Broadcasting Corp., political power broker; civil rights attorney represented Malcolm X.

DENNIS BRUTUS, 85 — Dec. 26; South African poet and activist; helped  encourage boycotts on South Africa’s all-white sports teams.