2021 deaths

Paul William Whear (November 13, 1925 – March 25, 2021) was an American composer, conductor, music educator, and double-bassist.

Frank David Padgett (March 9, 1923 – July 11, 2021) was an American judge and World War II B-24 bomber pilot. Padgett grew up during the Great Depression and earned a scholarship to Harvard College in Massachusetts. Before he could graduate however, he was called to active duty in the U.S. Army Air Force and for the next 13 months, trained as a pilot.

Howard Robert Hammer (March 3, 1930 – December 26, 2021) was an American jazz pianist, composer and arranger.

William Thomas Wiley (October 21, 1937 – April 25, 2021) was an American artist. His work spanned a broad range of media including drawing, painting, sculpture, film, performance, and pinball. At least some of Wiley's work has been referred to as funk art.

Peter J. O'Donnell Jr. (April 21, 1924 – October 10, 2021) was an American businessman, securities investor and philanthropist. From 1962 to 1969, he was the Texas Republican state chair. In 1963, he was also the national chair of the Draft Goldwater Committee.

Franklin M. Pratt (August 27, 1942 – September 21, 2021) was an American politician who served as a Republican member of the Arizona State Senate. He had previously been a member of the Arizona House of Representatives, representing District 8. Pratt served consecutively from January 2009 until January 14, 2013, in the District 23 seat.

Noel Abner Brown (March 21, 1926 - April 11, 2021) was an American tennis player in the mid-20th century. He was born in Stamford, Texas.Brown was captain of the University of California at Los Angeles tennis team in 1946.
He won singles titles at two of the world's oldest and most prestigious tennis events: in 1952 at Cincinnati and in 1956 at Canada. The latter event was held on grass in Vancouver, where he defeated the top two Canadian players, Bob Bédard and Don Fontana in the semifinal and final respectively. He also won the doubles title at Canada in 1956.
Brown was ranked in the U.S. Top Ten three times: in 1952 (No. 9), 1953 (No. 9) and 1959 (No. 8).

Charles Sidney Burrus (October 9, 1934 in Abilene, Texas - April 3, 2021) was an American electrical engineer and the Maxfield and Oshman Professor Emeritus of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Rice University in Houston, Texas. He is widely known for his contributions to digital signal processing, especially FFT algorithms, IIR filter design, and wavelets.

Gino Strada (21 April 1948 – 13 August 2021) was an Italian war surgeon, human rights activist, peace activist, and founder of Emergency, a recognized international non-governmental organization.

Ronald Edward Samford (February 28, 1930 – January 14, 2021) was an American shortstop in Major League Baseball who played from 1954 to 1959 with the New York Giants, Detroit Tigers and Washington Senators.