Noteworthy deaths

The History Channel noted that 2012 saw the passing of numerous figures who made history, some of whom are credited with affecting change in our lives:

Helen Gurley Brown, Senator Arlen Specter and Senator George McGovern, Mike Wallace, Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, Federal Judge Robert L. Carter, who helped guide the legal assault on racial segregation in America; Russell C. Means, the charismatic American Indian leader; former Boston Mayor Kevin White, and Rodney King, the troubled victim of police brutality in Los Angeles, died this year.
Sports lost baseball's Gary Carter and Lee McPhail, boxing's Bert Sugar and Angelo Dungee, and football's Alex Karras and Art Modell. Penn State football coach Joe Paterno also passed away, his legacy tarnished by the abuse scandal at State College.
The world of science lost the man who performed the first human organ transplant, Dr. Joseph E. Murray; the creator of the first CT scan, Robert S. Ledley; and a modern founder of the ecology movement, Barry Commoner, as well as Neil Armstrong and Sally Ride. And how could we forget Whitney Houston?
May their lives and passions not only be recognized and remembered, but also celebrated for generations to come. 

Rico says there are a number of important figures here, but he could forget Whitney Houston in a second. (He would've said 'in a heartbeat', but she no longer has one...)