Joe 'Jellybean' Bryant, father of Kobe and former NBA player, dead at 69
The former international basketball star, once estranged from his Hall of Famer son, last coached in a Japanese pro league in 2015.
Obituary
Orlando 'Baby Bull' Cepeda, Hall of Fame MLB slugger, dead at 86
The Catholic-raised Puerto Rican starred for the San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals and overcame struggles to lead a productive front-office career.
Sr Teresita Weind, first Black superior of a global women's religious order, dead at 81
The Ohio-born Black Catholic nun and activist was infamously ousted from a pastoral role in a parish in the 1990s, only to be rehabilitated decades later.
Sr Mary Roger Thibodeaux, noted 'Black power' nun, dead at 86
The veteran Sister of the Blessed Sacrament wrote a 1972 book on Black Power and spent many years as an educator, national organizer, and evangelist.
Edgar 'Dooky' Chase III, New Orleans patriarch, dead at 74
Head of the Chase Family since 2019, the seasoned businessman and educator died on Wednesday, according to his family's foundation.
Maurice Hines, Tony-nominated tap dancer and Broadway star, dead at 80
The New York native found fame as a duo with his brother Gregory, later going solo and developing into a playwright and director.
Jean Knight, 'Mr. Big Stuff' songstress, dead at 80
The New Orleans native saw brief but soaring national success in the 1970s, with a later revival of her #2 hit bringing her music to a new generation.
Larry Payne, Houston activist and churchman, dead at 73
Payne first envisioned the creation of the National Black Catholic Congress and was the first lay or Black vicar in the U.S. Catholic Church.
Hughes Van Ellis, Catholic Tulsa massacre survivor, dead at 102
The Denver resident was an infant refugee of the 1921 White mob attack in Oklahoma and was party to a lawsuit against the government at the time of his death.
Kenneth C. Stewart, former accused Capuchin, dead at 83
The 45-year Franciscan priest was accused of child sex abuse dating to the 1970s and removed from ministry in 2004. He was laicized after leaving the order.
Msgr Paul Jervis, promoter of anti-racist's sainthood cause, dead at 69
The Guyanese-born priest came to the U.S. at 19, serving the Diocese of Brooklyn for 40+ years and championing the now-Servant of God Bernard Quinn.
Fr Paschal Salisbury, first African-American Dominican priest, dead at 95
The barrier-breaking Black Catholic was the grandson of a formerly enslaved man and was turned away from other orders due to his race.
Renault Robinson, activist policeman in Chicago, dead at 80
The noted Black Catholic organizer co-founded the Afro-American Patrolmen’s League to empower Black Chicago police and also opposed racism in the Church.
Fr Clarence Williams, CPpS, Black Catholic media pioneer, dead at 73
The 73-year-old Precious Blood priest, the first African American ordained in the city of Cleveland, had for years been in failing health.
Grayson Warren Brown, Gospel Mass pioneer, dead at 75
The internationally known liturgist, author, and speaker was an integral cog in the Black Catholic Movement and quickly gained broad popularity.
Msgr Patrick Wells, former Texas Southern dean, dead at 92
The former permanent deacon and pharmacologist, retired from parish work since 2017, had been in poor health since last year.