2000 deaths

David Cushman (November 15, 1939 – August 14, 2000) was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. He was the son of Wayne B. and Mildred M. and married to Linda L. Kranch. They have two children together named Michael and Laura Cushman. Dr. Cushman was an American chemist who co-invented captopril, the first of the ACE inhibitors used in the treatment of cardiovascular disease. With Miguel A. Ondetti, he won the 1999 Lasker Award for: "developing an innovative approach to drug design based on protein structure and using it to create the ACE inhibitors, powerful oral agents for the treatment of high blood pressure, heart failure, and diabetic kidney disease."

Edward Kilenyi Jr. (1910 – 2000) was a classical pianist. He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on May 7, 1910. Kilenyi studied in Hungary with the composer/pianist Ernő Dohnányi at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music, earning a diploma in 1930. He later became a Professor of Music at Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida in 1953, four years after Dohnanyi began teaching there. He died on January 6, 2000. A collection of recordings of his concerts is located at the International Piano Archives at the University of Maryland (IPAM).
His father, Edward Kilenyi Sr. (1884 – 1968), also a noted musician, arrived in the United States from Hungary in 1908. Kilenyi Sr. taught music to George Gershwin for five years and wrote music for the Sam Fox Publishing Company and over 40 movies from the 1910s-1940s.

Carmen Romano de López Portillo (born Carmen Romano Nolk; 10 February 1926 – 9 May 2000) was the First Lady of Mexico from 1976 to 1982. She was the first wife of Mexican president José López Portillo.

James Willis Hensley (April 12, 1920 – June 21, 2000) was an American businessman in the beer industry.
Hensley was born in Texas and moved to Arizona during his youth. He was a bombardier on B-17 Flying Fortresses during World War II and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. After the war he was convicted of illegal distribution of liquor and was also involved in a racetrack operation that was investigated by authorities.
He founded Hensley & Co. in 1955. Headquartered in Phoenix, it grew to become one of the largest Anheuser-Busch beer distributorships in the nation. One of Arizona's richest men at the time of his death, Hensley was the father of Cindy Hensley McCain and the father-in-law of United States Senator and 2000 and 2008 presidential candidate John McCain.

Ventura Martínez Alonzo (December 30, 1904 – December 14, 2000) was a Mexican-born American musician. She was known as the "Queen of the Accordion".She was born Ventura Martínez in Matamoros and moved to Brownsville, Texas with her family in 1909. Her father taught her to play the piano. The family lived in Kingsville for several years before moving to Houston in 1917. Alonzo married a man named Gallegos. Together, they had 3 sons. The couple later divorced and she married Frank Alonzo in 1931. The couple formed a group known as Alonzo y Sus Rancheros; she played accordion and piano and was lead vocalist. They recorded for Falcon Records and a number of other record labels. After World War II, the group changed its name to Alonzo y su Orquesta; they performed throughout Texas. In 1956, the couple opened the La Terraza ballroom in Houston, catering to customers of Mexican descent. They retired from performing in 1969.In 2002, she was inducted into the Tejano R.O.O.T.S. Hall of Fame.

James Harry Taylor (May 20, 1919 – November 5, 2000) was an American professional baseball player. He was a right-handed pitcher who appeared in 90 games, 44 as a starter, in Major League Baseball for the Brooklyn Dodgers (1946–48) and Boston Red Sox (1950–52). The native of East Glenn, Indiana, stood 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m) tall and weighed 175 pounds (79 kg).
Taylor's professional career lasted from 1938 through 1955, with five seasons (1941–45) missed due to United States Army service in World War II and another two (1953–54) out of organized baseball in the semipro ranks. He spent the entire 1947 campaign on the Dodgers' big-league roster, winning ten of 15 decisions with 20 starting assignments and two shutouts. It was an eventful season for Brooklyn that saw Jackie Robinson break the baseball color line in the Major Leagues, manager Leo Durocher's season-long suspension for "conduct detrimental to baseball", and the Dodgers win their seventh overall National League pennant.
Taylor was the Dodgers' starting pitcher in Game 4 of the 1947 World Series on October 3 at Ebbets Field. Matched against the New York Yankees' Bill Bevens, Taylor failed to record an out, facing four batters in the first inning and allowing two singles, a base on balls, a fielder's choice (the batter reaching on an error) and an unearned run before being relieved by Hal Gregg, who got out of the inning without further scoring. Bevens, meanwhile, threw 82⁄3 innings of no-hit baseball. But the Yankee hurler allowed ten bases on balls, and his no-hitter and game were ruined by pinch hitter Cookie Lavagetto's ninth-inning double, scoring the decisive two runs and enabling the Dodgers to win, 3–2.
Taylor returned to the minor leagues during the 1948 season, and spent almost all of the following two years at Triple-A. But in September 1950, his contract was purchased by the Red Sox, who were chasing the Yankees and Detroit Tigers in the American League pennant race. After one game in relief, he threw two complete game victories, September 25 against the Philadelphia Athletics (a two-hit shutout) and October 1 against the Yankees. But Boston fell short in the standings, finishing in third place, four games behind the Yankees.
In his 90 MLB games, Taylor worked 3572⁄3 innings pitched, and allowed 344 hits and 201 bases on balls. He recorded 127 strikeouts, 16 complete games and four saves.
He posted a .161 batting average (20-for-124) in his career. He fielded his position well, recording a .990 fielding percentage with only one error in 105 total chances.

Ray H. French (May 16, 1919 – April 21, 2000) was an American printmaker, painter, sculptor and artistic innovator. He attended the John Herron School of Art and received his Bachelors and Masters of Fine Arts at the University of Iowa under professor and artist Mauricio Lasansky. While French studied, traveled, and exhibited nationally and internationally, he remained dedicated to his home state of Indiana, which served as a strong artistic inspiration to him. In addition to his artistic career, French was also on the faculty of DePauw University from 1948 to 1984. Following his retirement from university service, French continued to create artwork in his private studio until his death in Greencastle, Indiana.

Marcia Yockey (6 November 1922 - 28 September 2000) was an American meteorologist who was best known for her 35-year on-air career in Evansville, Indiana. She made her television debut on WFIE Channel 14 in 1953, after 10 years of working for the U.S. Weather Bureau (1943–1953).

Clarence Campbell, better known as Soup Campbell (after Campbell's Soup) (March 7, 1915 – February 16, 2000) was a backup outfielder in Major League Baseball who played from 1940 through 1941 for the Cleveland Indians. Listed at 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m), 188 lb., Campbell batted left-handed and threw right-handed. He was born in Sparta, Virginia. In a two-season career, Campbell was a .246 hitter (96-for-432) with three home runs and 37 runs batted in in 139 games, including 10 doubles, four triples, one stolen base, and a .315 on-base percentage.
Campbell began his professional career with the Tarboro Serpents of the Coastal Plain League, playing for them in 1937 and 1938. He then spent the 1939 season with the New Orleans Pelicans, batting .321 in 155 games. He was promoted to the Indians major league roster in 1940 and made his debut on April 21. In 25 games, he had a .226 batting average, serving as a backup outfielder. In 1941, Campbell saw more playing time, and had a .250 batting average in 104 games.He enlisted in the U.S. Army during World War II, missing the 1942-1945 seasons. He returned to baseball action with the Baltimore Orioles of the International League in 1946 after failing to make the Indians roster out of spring training; he had requested the demotion in order to be an everyday player. He compiled a .298 average and 23 homers in 579 minor league games in a span of five years (1937–39, 1946–47). He later managed for the 1952 Lexington team of the North Carolina State League. Campbell died in Sparta at the age of 84.

Mabel Bernice Scott (April 30, 1915 – July 20, 2000) was an American gospel music and R&B vocalist. She lived in New York and Cleveland before arriving on the West Coast blues scene in 1942. Mabel is probably remembered more for her 1948 hits "Elevator Boogie" and "Boogie Woogie Santa Claus" than for her 1949–1951 marriage to the featured piano player of "Elevator Boogie", Charles Brown of Johnny Moore's Three Blazers.