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Obituaries

This Month

Economist Geoff Carmody has passed away.

Vale ‘one of a kind’ economist Geoff Carmody

Access Economics co-founder Geoff Carmody worked on economic policies for John Hewson, John Howard, Kim Beazley, Mark Latham, Tony Abbott and Steve Bracks.

  • John Kehoe

October

Percy Allan.

Leading financial reformer Percy Allan dies aged 78

Allan worked under some of the most prominent political figures in NSW, including Labor premiers Neville Wran and Bob Carr, and as a key reformist under Liberal premier Nick Greiner.

  • Andrew Clark
Sen. Robert Kennedy poses with his wife Ethel outside the Senate Chamber on Oct. 13, 1965, in Washington.

Ethel Kennedy, passionate supporter of the family legacy, dies at 96

The widow of Senator Robert F. Kennedy and a popular and vital force in the Kennedy political dynasty, died from after suffering a stroke last week.

  • Douglas Martin

September

Maggie Smith as the Dowager Countess Grantham in a scene from the Downton Abbey TV show.

‘Harry Potter’ and ‘Downton Abbey’ star Maggie Smith dies

The 89-year-old actress was a shining star in a generation that included Judi Dench and Vanessa Redgrave.

Giving a eulogy doesn’t have to be a nerve-racking experience –  just speak from the heart.

What giving four eulogies in four years has taught me

If you’re called upon to praise the departed, resist the temptation to deliver an obituary. Recount your own memories, and you’ll say what many are feeling.

  • Matthew Gibbs
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Rob Ferguson, the former CEO of BT Australia.

Corporate Australia mourns former BT boss Rob Ferguson

His Bankers Trust colleague Chris Corrigan remembered him as “an individual thinker with an inquiring mind, who never lost his curiosity about how the world works”.

  • Updated
  • Joshua Peach
Alberto Fujimori, centre, is driven out of prison by one of his lawyers, accompanied by his son Kenji, left, after his release in December last year.

Peru’s Fujimori, divisive head of a political dynasty, dies age 86

During his decade in power, he revived the economy and crushed two leftist insurgencies. But he was forced out in a corruption scandal and later imprisoned.

  • Marco Aquino
James Earl Jones arrives at the Tony Awards on June 12, 2016 in New York.

Man with the most recognisable voice in movies dies

James Earl Jones gave life to characters such as Darth Vader in “Star Wars” and Mufasa in “The Lion King”. He went on to earn Emmys and an honorary Oscar.

  • Mark Kennedy

August

Terry Snow grew up in Canberra and took pride in developing the national capital.

Vale Terry Snow, legendary property developer with a generous heart

The hard-headed businessman, responsible for much of modern Canberra, was also a soft-hearted philanthropist who loved equestrian horses and the arts.

  • Michael Bailey
Terry Snow at Canberra Airport in 2019.

Canberra Airport developer Terry Snow dies

His biggest legacy was in property development and philanthropy, but his family also praised him as “a family man and a man who sought adventures”.

  • Ronald Mizen
Sir Rod in the gardens of his home at Woodend in 2010.

Leaders remember Rod Carnegie, the man who shaped Australia

Leaders from mining, business, politics and science gathered at St John’s Anglican Church in Toorak for the memorial service for business giant Sir Rod Carnegie.

  • Andrew Clark

July

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Martin Indyk, Australian diplomat who pursued Middle East peace, dies at 73

Raised in Sydney’s Castlecrag, the diplomat who helped steer Middle East policy under two US presidents, has died. “He’ll be remembered for his commitment to the cause of Israeli-Palestinian peace, which in the end broke his heart.”

  • William Branigin

Vale Terry Ingram, and a life observing in the Saleroom

Saleroom’s founding columnist spent 44 years reporting stories the industry wanted to keep quiet, including the art sale story of the century on Blue Poles.

  • Elizabeth Fortescue
Kevan Gosper.

‘True giant’ Kevan Gosper, Olympic veteran and businessman, dies

The Olympic silver medallist, who was planning to go to next week’s Paris Games, gave Australia’s fledgling Olympic movement business-like governance.

  • Michael Bleby
Sir Rod in 1998 when he chaired Adacel Technologies.

Rod Carnegie: corporate giant felled at the final hurdle

Sir Rod Carnegie soared across the corporate sky in the ’70s and ’80s but was thwarted in his attempt to secure full Australian local control of mining giant CRA.

  • Andrew Clark
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Carnegie is flanked by Ron Walker (left) and Lloyd Williams after a Hudson Conway annual general meeting.

Tributes for Rod Carnegie, driving force for corporate nationalism

Sir Rod Carnegie, who had a major influence over Australian mining, business and national economic policy in the 1980s, has died at the age of 91.

  • Andrew Clark

June

FILE - Actor Donald Sutherland

Donald Sutherland, shape-shifting movie star, dies at 88

Sutherland’s chameleonlike ability to be endearing in one role, menacing in another and just plain odd in yet a third appealed to directors.

  • Clyde Haberman

The man who made economic rationalism popular

Working out how to lower his household water bill set Professor Tom Parry on the road to lowering prices for electricity, water and transport in NSW.

  • Michael Easson

May

Morgan Spurlock gained 11 kilograms making Super Size Me, a documentary about eating only McDonald’s food for a month.

Morgan Spurlock, ‘Super Size Me’ documentary director, dies at 53

The filmmaker’s career imploded after he acknowledged past incidents of sexual assault and harassment. The cause of his death was cancer.

  • Brian Murphy
Ivan Boesky in 1989.

Ivan Boesky, convicted of 1980s insider trading scandals, dies

The rogue trader was believed to have inspired the character of Gordon Gekko, the rapacious villain played by Michael Douglas in the 1987 film Wall Street.

  • Updated
  • Greg Farrell