2007 deaths

Asa G. Hilliard III (August 22, 1933 – August 13, 2007), also known as Nana Baffour Amankwatia II, was an African-American professor of educational psychology who worked on indigenous ancient African history (ancient Egyptian), culture, education and society. He was the Fuller E. Callaway Professor of Urban Education at Georgia State University, with joint appointments in the Department of Education Policy Studies and the Department of Educational Psychology and Special Education. Prior to his position at Georgia State, Hilliard served as the Dean of the School of Education at San Francisco State University in San Francisco, California.

George Frederick Senner Jr. (November 24, 1921 – October 6, 2007) was an American Democratic politician from Arizona.

Emiliano Mercado del Toro (August 21, 1891 – January 24, 2007) was a Puerto Rican supercentenarian and military veteran who was, at age 115, the world's oldest person following the death of 116-year-old Elizabeth Bolden on December 11, 2006, and the world's oldest man from November 19, 2004 (death of Fred H. Hale, Sr.) until his own death on January 24, 2007.At the time of his death in January 2007, aged 115 years and 156 days, Mercado was the second oldest fully validated male ever, behind Danish-American Christian Mortensen's record of 115 years 252 days. (Although Shigechiyo Izumi was still believed to be older at the time of his death. Izumi's record was withdrawn by Guinness World Records in 2010.)

Willis Ireland (April 29, 1927 – July 31, 2007) was an American college football and baseball coach in Nevada. He was the first head coach of the UNLV Rebels football team, UNLV athletic director and founder of the Battle for the Fremont Cannon. Additionally, he was head baseball coach at the University of Nevada, Reno.
Ireland was born in remote McGill, Nevada, 330 miles (530 km) east of Reno, Nevada. As the coach of the 1966 Wolf Pack baseball team, he managed Fred Dallimore, who later coached the UNLV baseball team, and is the father of former San Francisco Giants player Brian Dallimore. In 1967 Chub Drakulich hired Ireland to start the UNLV football program. During their inaugural 1968 season, the Rebels were undefeated until the last game of the season. The Rebels lost their first match against their in-state rival, the Nevada Wolf Pack. Ireland, wanting an award to symbolize the rivalry, obtained a replica of the Howitzer John C. Fremont had brought with him in his expedition to Nevada. The first Battle for the Cannon, with UNLV avenging their loss and evening the series. After a disappointing 1–10 record in 1972, Ireland resigned his coaching position.
In 1973, Ireland became the athletic director of UNLV. In this position he hired Jerry Tarkanian as the UNLV basketball coach. He was also instrumental in the construction of both the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas and the Lawlor Events Center in Reno. In 1990, his wife Jeanne Ireland was the Democratic Party's candidate for lieutenant governor; she lost by 15%.Ireland was a member of both the UNLV and the University of Nevada, Reno Halls of Fame. On October 8, 2012, Governor Brian Sandoval announced that one student-athlete a year from the University of Nevada, Reno will receive the "Bill Ireland Award."

Leona Ford Washington (1928 – August 5, 2007) was a community activist in Texas and founder of the McCall Neighborhood Center in El Paso. She taught for 39 years in the El Paso Independent School District. Washington composed the song, "The City of El Paso," which was adopted as the city's official song in the 1980s.

Herbert Hal Reynolds (March 20, 1930 – May 25, 2007) was an American academic administrator who worked as the president of Baylor University from 1981 to 1995.

Joseph Evans Attwell (March 25, 1931 – October 27, 2007) was the youngest managing partner of Vinson & Elkins, the largest law firm in Texas and the largest single law office in the world, from 1981 to 1991.
He lived in Houston, Texas all his life, and was an owner of the Houston Rockets from 1986 to 1995 and Houston Astros from 1978 to 1994. He was the Chairman of the Board of the Welch Foundation from 2005 until his death. Mr. Attwell also served on the board of American General Corporation for 40 years (now AIG), the board of Ocean Energy (now Devon Energy) and many other Fortune 500 and charitable boards. He was a two time Chairman of the Harris County Hospital District Board, the second largest county hospital district in the world. Attwell served as a Trustee of Rice University where the J. Evans Attwell-Welch postdoctoral fellowships honor his name at the University's Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology. He was awarded Rice's Gold Medal for extraordinary service to the University in 1997.He married Mary Petersen in March 1956. They had five children and six grandchildren, one of whom is named after him.

Joe Paul Ethridge (April 15, 1928 – December 16, 2007) was a player in the National Football League (NFL).

James Martin Moran (August 8, 1918 – April 24, 2007) was an American car dealer and philanthropist whose net worth of $2.4 billion ranked him 390th on the Forbes 400 at the time of his death.

Mac Morgan (June 25, 1917 – June 12, 2007) was an American bass-baritone who had an active performance career in concerts and operas from the early 1940s until the mid-1970s. The Boston Globe described him as a singer "known for his rich tone and enviable diction". After retiring from the stage, he embarked on a second successful career as a voice teacher.