In the last week, many notable Americans have passed away. This week saw the passing of the mayor of a major city, a notable Hollywood producer, several star athletes in their respective sports and a trailblazing journalist. These amazing people came from various walks of life, helping to shape American culture in some way. May they be put in memoriam forever.

Politics

Ed Lee (1952-2017) was the first Asian American mayor of San Francisco, a city he spent most of his life working for in some capacity.

From 1979 until 1989, he served as the San Francisco Asian Law Caucus's managing attorney. He then spent two years as the deputy director of Employment Relations and as a whistleblower ordinance investigator.

Lee then spent 1991-96 as director of the Human Rights Commission before serving as director of the City Purchasing Department until 2000 when he was appointed the director of public works. In 2005, he was appointed to be a city administrator and got a second term five-year term in 2010.

In January 2011, Lee was appointed mayor after Gavin Newsom left to become Lieutenant Governor of California.

That November he was elected to serve a full-term as mayor and was re-elected in 2015. Lee died on December 12 at age 65 after suffering cardiac arrest the previous day.

Entertainment

Charles Marvin Green Jr. (1950-2017) was an internet personality, who gained fame through his YouTube channel “TheAngryGrandpaShow” and became known as Angry Grandpa. His channel, which started in June 2010, grew to have 3.6 million subscribers and just over 920 million total views. In July 2011, he opened a second more-personal channel called “GrandpasCorner”, which has over 770,000 subscribers and almost 100 million total views. Green died on December 10 at age 67 from cirrhosis of the liver.

Martin Ransohoff (1927-2017) was a film and television producer.

In 1952, he co-founded Filmways Inc. and found success in the early 1960s with sitcoms like “Mister Ed” and “The Beverly Hillbillies.” His company continued to produce hit shows, during the decade, like “Green Acres”, “Petticoat Junction,” and “The Addams Family,” but then Ransohoff himself started to work on films.

Ransohoff worked to produce films like “The Americanization of Emily”, “The Cincinnati Kid”, “The Sandpiper”, “Catch-22”, “See No Evil” and “Save the Tiger.” In 1972, he left Filmways Inc. to become an independent producer, working on films like “Silver Streak”, “Nightwing” and “Hanky Panky.” Ransohoff died on December 13 at age 90.

Sports

Tommy Nobis (1943-2017) was an NFL linebacker who spent his entire 11-year career (1966-76) with the Atlanta Falcons.

He was the first player drafted by the franchise, being taken fifth in the 1966 draft after an outstanding college career for the Texas Longhorns. In his rookie season, Nobis would be credited, by the Falcons, with an unofficial total of 296 tackles and was named Defensive Rookie of the Year by Sporting News.

When his career ended, Nobis was a five-time Pro Bowler and was named the AP First and Second Team All-Pro at one point. He was later added to the NFL's 1960s All-Decade Team. Since retirement, Nobis has been inducted into the Texas Longhorn Hall of Fame and the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame, among others. He is also in the College Football Hall of Fame and had his number retired by both the Longhorns and Falcons.

Nobis died on December 13 at age 74 following an extended illness.

Frank Lary (1930-2017) was a major league baseball pitcher, who played from (1954-65). He spent most of that time with the Detroit Tigers, where he earned the nickname “Yankee Killer” for his 27-10 record against the team from 1955-61. Lary was a three-time All-Star, one-time Gold Glove winner and lead the AL in wins in 1956. He retired with a career record of 128-116, with an ERA of 3.49 and 1,099 strikeouts. Lary died on December 13 at age 87 from pneumonia.

Lones Wigger (1937-2017) was a competitive rifle shooter, often regarded as the best to ever represent the United States. He qualified for five consecutive Olympics between 1964 and 1980, winning two gold medals and one silver.

Starting in 1963 he also won 58 National Championships and would hold, or co-hold, 27 world records (14 team and 13 individual).

Counting the Olympics, he was a member of 16 major American international teams and would win a total of 108 medals at these events. Wigger also served as a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army and ran the 23rd Infantry Division Sniper School in Vietnam in 1971. He was inducted into the Army Shooting Hall of Fame in 1988 and the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame in 2008. Wigger died on December 14 at age 80 from complications due to pancreatic cancer.

Others

Simeon Booker (1918-2017) was an award-winning journalist who worked for leading news outlets for more than 50 years. He became best known for his coverage of the civil rights movement, often putting himself at great risk to do so.

He was best known for his work on the 1955 murder trial of Emmett Till. He started his career working for the “Afro American” and later the “Cleveland Call and Post” before being the recipient of a Nieman Fellowship from Harvard in 1951.

One year later he became the first black reporter at “The Washington Post” before going on to write for “Ebony” and “Jet” magazines. In 1956, he became the chief of "Jet" magazine's Washington Bureau, a position he held until his retirement in 2007. During his career, Booker won numerous awards like the Newspaper Guild Award and a Wilkie Award.

In 1982, he became the first black journalist to win the National Press Club's Fourth Estate Award for his lifetime contributions to journalism.

In 2013, he was inducted into the National Association of Black Journalists Hall of Fame and two years later was award the George Polk Career Award. Booker died on December 10 at age 99 from pneumonia.