February 17 — Notable Deaths & Obituaries

Gustavo Amador Santiago Fernández

Mexican composer and music arrangerDied on Wednesday February 18th 2026

February 18, 2026

Masahi Furukawa

Japanese politicianDied on Wednesday February 18th 2026

February 18, 2026

João Adolfo Hansen

83Died on Wednesday February 18th 2026

February 18, 2026

Grand Cayman: Secrets in Paradise American actress dead at age 34

Grand Cayman: Secrets in Paradise, an American actress, died on February 17, 2026. Grand Cayman: Secrets in Paradise was an American reality television series that premiered on April 9, 2024,…

February 17, 2026

Jesse Jackson American civil rights activist and politician dead at age 84

Jesse Jackson, an American civil rights activist and politician, died on February 17, 2026, at age 84. Born Jesse Louis Burns in Greenville, South Carolina, he was an ordained Baptist…

February 17, 2026

José van Dam Operatic bass-baritone dead at age 85

José van Dam, the Belgian bass-baritone known internationally for his work in opera, died on February 17, 2026, at the age of 85. Born Joseph Van Damme in Ixelles, part…

February 17, 2026

Mohsen Dalloul Journalist dead at age 92

Mohsen Dalloul, a Lebanese journalist and politician, died on February 17, 2026, at the age of 92. A member of the Progressive Socialist Party, he served as minister of agriculture…

February 17, 2026

Ngari Rinpoche Tulku dead at age 79

Ngari Rinpoche, the Tibetan tulku and politician known as Tenzin Choegyal, died on February 17, 2026, at the age of 79. Born in Lhasa in March 1946, he was the…

February 17, 2026

Joachim Kempin German businessman dead at age 83

Joachim Kempin, a German-born American businessman and former senior vice president of Microsoft, died on February 17, 2026. He ran Microsoft’s division selling operating software to PC manufacturers for 15…

February 17, 2026

Anna dePeyster British-Australian journalist and author dead at age 81

Anna dePeyster, the British-Australian journalist and author known as Anna Maria dePeyster, died on February 17, 2026, at age 81. Born Anna Maria Torv in Glasgow, Scotland, on June 30,…

February 17, 2026

Pravina Deshpande Actress dead at age 60

Pravina Deshpande, an Indian actress, died on February 17, 2026, in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, at the age of 60 from blood cancer. She worked mainly in Marathi and Hindi films…

February 17, 2026

Ray Reach Musician dead at age 77

Ray Reach, an American musician, died on February 17, 2026, at age 77. Born Raymond Everett Reach Jr. in Birmingham, Alabama, he worked as a pianist, vocalist, guitarist, composer, arranger,…

February 17, 2026

Jim Lane Irish Republican and socialist dead at age 88

Jim Lane, an Irish republican and socialist from Cork, died on February 17, 2026. Born James Anthony Lane in 1938, he was a central figure in left-wing politics in Cork…

February 17, 2026

Wolfgang F. Danspeckgruber Austrian-born American academic dead at age 70

Wolfgang F. Danspeckgruber, an Austrian-born American academic and founding director of the Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination at Princeton University, died on February 17, 2026. He taught at Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson…

February 17, 2026

Dmitry Bavilsky Russian writer dead at age 57

Dmitry Bavilsky, a Russian writer, literary critic and journalist, died on February 17, 2026. Born in Chelyabinsk on January 19, 1969, he graduated from Chelyabinsk State University in 1993 and…

February 17, 2026

Miquel Clar Lladó Spanish businessman and politician dead at age 87

Miquel Clar Lladó, a Spanish businessman and politician, died on February 17, 2026. Born in Llucmajor, Mallorca, in 1938, he spent his early career as an entrepreneur and businessman on…

February 17, 2026

Doug Moe American basketball coach dead at age 87

Doug Moe, an American basketball coach who led the Denver Nuggets, died on February 17, 2026, at age 87. Born Douglas Edwin Moe on September 21, 1938, in New York…

February 17, 2026

Shinya Japanese musician dead at age 56

Shinya Yamada, the Japanese musician best known as the drummer of Luna Sea, died on February 17, 2026, at age 56 of cancer. Born in Hadano, Kanagawa, on January 13,…

February 17, 2026

Thomas De Koninck Canadian philosopher dead at age 91

Thomas De Koninck, a Canadian philosopher from Québec, died on February 17, 2026. Born in Leuven in 1934, he studied at Oxford, Université Laval and Freie Universität Berlin. He taught…

February 17, 2026

Susan Sheehan American author dead at age 88

Susan Sheehan, an American writer and author of Is There No Place on Earth for Me?, died on February 17, 2026. Born Susanna Maria Sachsel in Vienna, Austria, on August…

February 17, 2026

Scott Tinsley American football coach

Scott Tinsley, an American football coach, died on February 17, 2026, at the age of 62. He served as head football coach at West Virginia State University in Institute, West…

February 17, 2026

Edward Hoagland Essayist, novelist dead at age 93

Edward Hoagland, the American author best known for his nature and travel writing, died on February 17, 2026, at age 93. Born Edward Morley Hoagland in Manhattan, New York City,…

February 17, 2026

Richard Stika American Roman Catholic prelate dead at age 68

Richard Stika, an American Roman Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Knoxville from 2009 to 2023, died on February 17, 2026. Born Richard Frank Stika on July 4, 1957,…

February 17, 2026

Veikko Virtanen Organ builder dead at age 97

Veikko Virtanen, a Finnish organ builder, died on February 17, 2026, at the age of 97. Born Veikko Armas Virtanen in Helsinki on June 14, 1928, he built organs through…

February 17, 2026

Blue Prize Argentinian Thoroughbred horse dead at age 13

Blue Prize, an Argentinian Thoroughbred racehorse and winner of the 2019 Breeders' Cup Distaff, died on February 17, 2026. Born in 2013, she made her first and only start as…

February 17, 2026

Jim Čert Czech singer and accordionist dead at age 69

Jim Čert, the Czech singer and accordionist born František Horáček, died on February 17, 2026, at the age of 69. Born in Prague on February 25, 1956, he was known…

February 17, 2026

William Milam American diplomat dead at age 89

William Milam, an American diplomat and senior policy scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C., died on February 17, 2026, at age 89. Born in…

February 17, 2026

Kazue Sawai Japanese musician dead at age 85

Kazue Sawai, a Japanese koto player and musician, died on February 17, 2026. Born in Kyoto on January 1, 1941, she began studying the koto at age eight with Michio…

February 17, 2026