Notable deaths: People with St. Louis area ties who died in 2024

No list of losses is ever complete. But here are some of the people with connections to the St. Louis area who died in 2024:

January

Richard Rosenfeld: 75, Jan. 8, criminologist and professor at University of Missouri-St. Louis.

Jane Gephardt: 81, Jan. 13, wife of former U.S. Rep. Richard Gephardt.

Joyce Hicks: 80, Jan. 13, fixture at St. Charles City Hall for 31 years as an aide to six mayors.

Daniel O’Brien: 93, Jan. 24, former St. Louis County prosecutor.

Jean Carnahan: 90, Jan. 30, former U.S. senator and wife of the late Gov. Mel Carnahan.

February

Zsolt Rumy: 81, Feb. 3, founder of Zoltek Corp. and former chairman of St. Louis County Economic Council.

Lois Pierce: 78, Feb. 4, founding dean of School of Social Work at University of Missouri-St. Louis.

Luther Boykins: 83, Feb. 5, St. Louis Democratic political figure and former member of city Airport Commission.

Hank Davenport: 80, Feb. 6, former Olivette police chief, city manager and fire chief.

Judith Jones: 83, Feb. 12, co-founder and longtime executive of Jones Pharma, philanthropist.

Terry Briggs: 68, Feb. 14, Bridgeton mayor.

Mary Bartlett Bunge: 92, Feb. 17, pioneer in research on using cell transplants to aid spinal injury patients.

Marilyn Fox: 89, Feb. 18, philanthropist.

Jean-Guy Talbot: 91, Feb. 22, former Blues coach and player.

José DeLeón: 63, Feb. 25, former pitcher for Cardinals and other major league teams.

Bob Heil: 83, Feb. 28, nationally-known inventor of advances in rock music sound systems.

March

Andy Russell: 82, March 1, Mizzou star from St. Louis area who went on to NFL fame.

Tim Ecclestone: 76, March 2, one of the original Blues players.

W. Patrick McGinnis: 76, March 5, retired CEO and chairman of Nestle Purina.

Peggy Vickroy: 91, March 5, former Creve Coeur mayor and alderman; first woman elected to each of those offices.

Dr. Edward Ragsdale: 84, March 10, radiologist and longtime Republican leader in Madison County.

Robert Bagby: 80, March 13, retired chairman and CEO of A.G. Edwards and Sons.

Bill Bryan: 76, March 19, retired longtime police reporter for the Post-Dispatch and the Globe-Democrat.

Philip Needleman: 85, March 25, former chief scientist at Monsanto and head of Washington University pharmacology department, known for developing the arthritis drug Celebrex and other initiatives.

Richard Serra: 85, March 26, New York-based sculptor whose works included a controversial steel structure in downtown St. Louis.

April

Donna “DeDe” Lambert: 84, April 6, member of Cardinals ownership group.

Russell Bliss: 90, April 7, waste oil hauler at the center of the dioxin saga in the 1980s that led to the evacuation and abandonment of Times Beach in southwest St. Louis County.

Ken Holtzman: 78, April 14, longtime major league pitcher from University City.

Whitey Herzog: 92, April 15, former manager of Cardinals and other big league teams.

Bill Tobin: 83, April 18, star Mizzou running back in 1960s who went on to be an NFL player and longtime NFL executive.

Lewis Chartock: 82, April 22, retired CEO of MERS Goodwill.

May

Joe Shipley: 88, May 1, former major league pitcher who lived in St. Charles.

Albert “Hap” Hamel: 95, May 3, former president of Lashly, Baer and Hamel law firm; former assistant U.S. attorney, congressional aide and member of metro Board of Freeholders.

Patty Hagen: 63, May 7, executive director of T-Rex, the incubator and entrepreneurship nonprofit in downtown St. Louis.

Harold “Bud” Schaeffer: 90, May 8, home builder, developer and philanthropist.

David Sanborn: 78, May 12, famed saxophonist who grew up in Kirkwood.

Ric Lessmann: 86, May 12, baseball coach for decades at Meramec Community College and University of Missouri-St. Louis.

Dr. Ken Smith: 91, May 16, longtime head of neurosurgery at St. Louis University.

Judi Roman: 85, May 18, Democratic political activist, public relations consultant.

Dr. Robert Wilmott: 75, May 19, longtime chair of pediatrics at SSM Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital, dean of St. Louis University’s School of Medicine and contributor to a Post-Dispatch medical advice column.

Robert Osborn: 91, May 19, St. Louis legislative lobbyist and city official for decades.

Dr. Virginia Weldon: 88, May 23, former executive at Washington University School of Medicine and Monsanto Co.

Tony Scott: 72, May 26, outfielder for Cardinals and other big league teams.

Robert Donnelly: 87, May 31, retired executive with Suburban Newspapers of Greater St. Louis.

June

Jane Vickrey: 85, June 2, former St. Louis County director of human resources and founder of county Older Resident Program.

Fred Steffen: 88, June 11, longtime chief clerk of St. Louis Board of Aldermen; St. Louis firefighter.

Allan Mueller: 81, June 11, former state senator, state representative and member of state Public Service Commission.

Thomas Barklage: 73, June 12, former state representative and member of state Highways and Transportation Commission.

Ruth Siteman: 92, June 13, philanthropist.

Charles Schmitz: 78, June 14, retired dean of College of Education at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

Dave Williams: 78, June 19, wide receiver for football Cardinals and other NFL teams.

Orlando Cepeda: 86, June 28, slugging first baseman for Cardinals and other big-league teams.

William Crandall: 84, June 30, longtime Missouri appellate judge and St. Louis County circuit judge and magistrate.

July

Charles Fleming: 86, July 8, founder and CEO of first Black-owned full-service architecture firm in Missouri.

Jerry Walker: 85, July 14, major league pitcher who later was an executive with the Cardinals and other teams.

Carol Stroker: 79, July 15, former state representative, Hazelwood city councilwoman, Hazelwood School Board member.

Bob Chlupsa: 78, July 17, former Cardinals pitcher.

Robert LaRouche: 90, July 18, Post-Dispatch photographer and editor for 44 years, member of Missouri Photojournalism Hall of Fame.

Tammie Holland: 53, July 20, longtime St. Louis radio personality.

Tom Connelly: 81, July 21, former St. Louis alderman and city counselor.

Eric Seider: 57, July 25, former Francis Howell School Board president, longtime Post-Dispatch IT and telecommunications official.

Gene McArtor: 83, July 28, former Mizzou baseball coach, player and athletic department administrator from Webster Groves.

Tom Engelhardt: 93, July 28, longtime Post-Dispatch editorial cartoonist.

August

Thomas Young: 88, Aug. 1, longtime IT employee at the Post-Dispatch.

Daniel Harbaugh: 64, Aug. 11, president and CEO of Ronald McDonald House Charities of St. Louis.

Joseph DeGregorio: 77, Aug. 12, retired U.S. Defense Security Service agent and executive; gave guided tours of The Hill neighborhood.

Sharon Harvey Davis: 68, Aug. 12, retired Ameren vice president.

Victor Volland: 89, Aug. 17, retired Post-Dispatch reporter and editor for 43 years.

Landon Jones: 80, Aug. 17, former editor of People and Money magazines who grew up in the St. Louis area.

W. Raymond Barrett: 91, Aug. 19, founder of Biomedical Systems Corp. and the Landshire packaged foods firm; former Florissant councilman and candidate for mayor of Des Peres.

Kathie Conway: 69, Aug. 24, former state representative, member of state Ethics Commission.

Ted Drewes Jr.: 96, Aug. 26, well-known face of the famed family-owned frozen custard stands in south St. Louis.

Vernon Sullivan: 79, Aug. 29, longtime member of Arnold City Council and Fox School Board.

September

Bob Blaylock: 89, Sept. 1, former Cardinals pitcher.

Sharon Rohrbach: 81, Sept. 3, co-founder of Nurses for Newborns.

Charley Johnson: 85, Sept. 3, football Cardinals’ starting quarterback for several years in the 1960s.

Steve Frank: 76, Sept. 8, soccer star at St. Louis University who later played for the St. Louis Stars pro team; lawyer and business executive.

Gene Kornblum: 89, Sept. 17, retired president of St. Louis Music Inc., which made and sold a broad range of musical instruments and equipment internationally.

John Gianoulakis: 85, Sept. 18, lawyer, former president of University City School Board, former member of Washington University trustees.

Jerry Mueller: 80, Sept. 20, soccer star who was on the 1968 Olympic team and played for the St. Louis Stars pro team; St. Louis firefighter.

David Lee: 44, Sept. 22, St. Louis police officer fatally injured when he was hit by a car while assisting at an accident scene on Interstate 70.

Ken Page: 70, Sept. 30, well-known Broadway actor who grew up in St. Louis.

Melvyn Wiesman: 85, Sept. 30, retired 42-year St. Louis County circuit judge and magistrate.

October

Pat Fischer: 84, Oct. 8, cornerback for the old St. Louis Football Cardinals and Washington Redskins.

Ronald Pfeiffer: 82, Oct. 11, retired Richmond Heights police chief.

Thelma Mothershed Wair: 83, Oct. 19, one of the Little Rock Nine who integrated an Arkansas high school in 1957 amid angry mobs; later was a teacher and guidance counselor in East St. Louis schools for many years.

Anthony Leisure: 78, Oct. 20, prison inmate convicted of a 1980 car bombing that arguably was the most infamous mob hit in St. Louis history.

Oval Miller: 78, Oct. 20, acclaimed co-founder of drug and alcohol treatment center aimed at Black residents.

Allan Ellis: 83, Oct. 21, retired Bayless and Windsor school superintendent.

Jill Evans Petzall: 82, Oct. 23, documentary filmmaker.

Douglas Ries: 77, Oct. 23, retired longtime president of Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital.

Jennifer Farmer: 49, Oct. 24, former longtime radio host at KYKY-FM.

Kenneth Bader: 90, Oct. 26, former CEO of American Soybean Association.

Dennis Long: 89, Oct. 28, former Anheuser-Busch executive and key booster of soccer locally and nationally.

Robert Duesenberg: 93, Oct. 29, former General Dynamics and Pet executive and chairman of Missouri Coordinating Board for Higher Education.

Earl Davis: 88, Oct. 30, former mayor of Bridgeton.

November

Don Ferrarese: 95, Nov. 4, former pitcher with Cardinals and other major league teams.

Robert Miller: 85, Nov. 4, retired business manager of area electrical workers union.

Gary Krosch: 76, Nov. 7, former banking and retail executive, former president of Forest Park Forever.

James Keleher: 93, Nov. 9, former bishop of Belleville Diocese.

Esther Haywood: 84, Nov. 16, former state representative and Normandy School Board member, longtime St. Louis County NAACP leader, teacher.

Rudy Martzke: 82, Nov. 20, former St. Louis sportswriter and sports publicist who became nationally-known sports media columnist for USA Today.

Thomas Hullverson: 89, Nov. 23, lawyer, founder of internship program for St. Louis city youth at law firms and other companies.

Ernie McMillan: 86, Nov. 25, tackle for football Cardinals in 1960s and 1970s.

Linn Perkins: 99, Nov. 27, former president of St. Louis Children’s Hospital.

December

Sam Fox: 95, Dec. 2, philanthropist, prominent business executive, Republican megadonor, former U.S. ambassador to Belgium.

Vivian Eveloff: 83, Dec. 5, founder and former director of Sue Shear Institute for Women in Public Life at University of Missouri-St. Louis, longtime Democratic activist.

Edward “Tee” Baur: 78, Dec. 9, retired commercial developer, civic leader.

Donald Bitzer: 90, Dec. 10, Collinsville native whose invention of the plasma screen in the 1960s made possible the ultra-thin TVs used today.

Pat McBride: 81, Dec. 11, St. Louis soccer legend from his days at St. Louis University, in pro soccer and on the U.S. national team.

Ken Elkins: 87, Dec. 11, former president and CEO of Pulitzer Broadcasting Co. and general manager of KSDK, Channel 5.

Bill Greenblatt: 70, Dec. 15, well-known local news, sports photographer.

Alexandra Zaharias: 95, Dec. 15, founder and owner of renowned ballet school for 73 years.

Mike Brewer: 80, Dec. 17, part of Brewer and Shipley, a Missouri-based folk-rock duo which became nationally known and performed often in the St. Louis area over the years.

Clarence Barksdale: 92, Dec. 25, retired banking executive, civic leader and philanthropist.