2021 deaths

Joseph Maraite (11 September 1949 – 25 April 2021) was a Belgian politician of the German-speaking Community.

Jerry Douglas (November 15, 1935 – January 9, 2021) was an American film director and screenwriter, notably of gay pornographic films, as well as a novelist, playwright, and theatre director. He wrote and directed the play Tubstrip, which appeared on Broadway in 1974, starring Casey Donovan. His cinematic work won numerous adult film industry awards, and he was inducted into the Grabby Awards Hall of Fame and the GayVN Awards Hall of Fame.

James Allen Bertelsen (February 26, 1950 – May 7, 2021) was an American professional football player who was a running back for five seasons in the National Football League (NFL) with the Los Angeles Rams. He played college football for the Texas Longhorns and was a highly regarded high school football player in Wisconsin out of Hudson.
As a sophomore at the University of Texas at Austin in 1969, he helped lead the Longhorns to a national championship in the wishbone option offense, alongside James Street, Steve Worster, and Ted Koy. As a senior in 1971, Bertlesen was the team's lead ground gainer. In his career at Texas (1969–1971), he rushed for 2,510 yards, averaging 6.1 yards a carry and 33 touchdowns, and also had nine 100-yard rushing games.
Bertelsen was selected in the second round of the 1972 NFL Draft by the Los Angeles Rams with the 30th overall pick. He averaged four yards per carry as a pro, and rushed for 854 yards in 1973. After his NFL career, Bertelsen returned to the Austin area.
He died on May 7, 2021. He was divorced at the time of his death. He had a son, a daughter and a granddaughter.

Luisa Revilla (12 October 1971 – 15 April 2021) was a Peruvian politician and LGBT activist. A member of the Movimiento Regional para el Desarrollo con Seguridad y Honradez (MDSH) party, she served as Provincial Mayor of Trujillo from 2015 to 2018.

Éric Raoult (19 June 1955 – 16 April 2021) was a French politician, affiliated to The Republicans.

Julie Pomagalski (10 October 1980 – 23 March 2021) was a French snowboarder.
She was born in La Tronche, and was the granddaughter of Jean Pomagalski, founder of the Poma ski lift manufacturing company. She competed at the 2002 Winter Olympics and the 2006 Winter Olympics, where she placed sixth in both parallel giant slalom events. She won a gold medal in snowboard cross at the FIS Snowboarding World Championships 1999, and a silver medal in parallel giant slalom at the FIS Snowboarding World Championships 2003.Subsequent to her competitive career, Pomagalski operated a ski school and a sports shop in Méribel.Pomagalski died in an avalanche in Switzerland on 23 March 2021, at age 40.

Leon Hale (May 30, 1921 – March 27, 2021) was an American journalist and author. He worked as a columnist for the Houston Chronicle from 1984 until his retirement in 2014. Before that, he had a column in the Houston Post for 32 years. He was also the author of twelve books.

L. Dennis Smith (January 18, 1938 – March 29, 2021) was an American scientist and academic administrator who served as the president of the University of Nebraska system from March 1, 1994, to June 2004.

Jose Miguel Mena Rodriguez (November 6, 1986 – October 31, 2021) was a Peruvian-born American jockey in Thoroughbred horse racing who had been competing in the United States from 2003 until his death. He won his 2,000th race in 2020. He was from a Peruvian family involved in horse racing. His father Jose is a retired jockey.
Mena's first horse racing related memory was of Grozny winning the Derby Nacional.Mena won two Grade 1 races in his career, and in 2015 he swept the major three-year-old stakes races at the Fair Grounds aboard International Star.Mena was killed on October 31, 2021, when he was struck by the driver of a vehicle as a pedestrian on Interstate 64 in Louisville, Kentucky.

Mary Rawlinson Creason (November 20, 1924 – March 26, 2021) was an American aviator. She was the first woman pilot to work for the Government of Michigan. She was recognized by the federal government for her aviation curriculum for school and for her work as an aviator. Well into her 90s, she continued to fly, despite having a pacemaker.