Another great one gone

Seems Rico missed another one: Sir Edmund Hillary died in January. The first European (because he never said whether he or Tenzing Norgay was actually first to the top) to the top of Everest in 1953, Hillary went on to serve the Sherpas of Nepal, building schools and hospitals. (In April of 2003, his son Peter and Tenzing's son Jamling climbed Everest as part of the 50th anniversary.) In tribute, Claire Harvey wrote in the 12 January 2008 New Zealand Herald "for New Zealanders, Sir Ed was everything a good bastard ought to be - modest and humorous, brave and compassionate, and just grouchy enough to remind us he never sought, nor particularly enjoyed, adulation."

Rico says he'd like someone to say that about him when he's gone...

(As a historical note, in 1995 Hillary Clinton said her mother had named her after Sir Edmund Hillary, with Sherpa Tenzing the first mountaineer to scale Mount Everest, and that was the reason for the unusual "two Ls" spelling of her name. However, the Everest climb did not take place until 1953, more than five years after Clinton was born. In October 2006, a Clinton spokeswoman said she was not in fact named after the mountain climber; rather, this account of her name's origin "was a sweet family story her mother shared to inspire greatness in her daughter." Rico says obviously her inability to handle the truth is congenital...)