ASIDE from taxes, nothing is certain in life than death. There are no exemptions. Whether you are a man or a woman, married or single, rich or poor, religious or non-believing, educated or illiterate; certainly, there will come a time that you will bid farewell from this world.
As the 2013 is about to end, let’s look back once again some of the prominent people who passed away this year.
Pepe Pimentel (April 30, 1929 – January 24, 2013)
Pimentel was a Filipino actor and popular host of noontime variety shows “Student Canteen” and “Kwarta o Kahon.”
He was found unconscious by his wife after slipping in the bathroom on January 24, 2013. He was 84.
Venezuela President Hugo Chavez (July 28, 1954 – March 5, 2013)
Hugo Rafael Chavez Frias was the President of Venezuela from 1999 until his death in 2013. Chávez died from a massive heart attack, and his cancer was very advanced when he died, according to Venezuala’s presidential guard. He was 58.
Time magazine included Hugo Chávez among its list of the world's 100 most influential people in 2005 and 2006.
Subas Herrero (April 3, 1949 – March 15, 2013)
A Filipino comedian known for his work on TV series “Champoy,” which aired from 1980 to 1986. He died of double pneumonia at the age of 63 in a hospital in Rochester, New York.
Margaret Thatcher (October 13, 1925 - April 8, 2013)
Margaret Hilda Thatcher was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and the Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was nicknamed as the "Iron Lady," which was associated with her leadership style. Thatcher was the only woman who became the Prime Minister of Britain.
Thatcher died on April 8, 2013 at the age of 87 after suffering a stroke.
Bella Flores (February 27, 1929 – May 13, 2013)
Veteran actress Remedios Papa Dancel, known as Bella Flores, was made famous for his villain roles in Philippine show business.
She died at the age of 84 due complications of a recent hip surgery.
James Gandolfini (September 18, 1961 – June 19, 2013)
Gandolfini was an award-winning American actor best known for his role as Mafia crime boss Tony Soprano in HBO series, The Sopranos.
Gandolfini died of a heart attack on June 19, 2013, during a vacation in Italy. He was 51.
Sammy Lagmay (Died: June 26, 2013)
Lagmay was a Filipino comedian known for his roles in various TV sitcoms such as "Chika Chika Chicks," "Abangan ang Susunod na Kabanata," "Pilya En Da Pilot," "Oki Doki Doc," "Pwedeng-Pwede," and "Aalog-Alog."
Lagmay died at his home in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan from complications from diabetes since 2010. He was 55.
Cory Monteith (May 11, 1982 – July 13, 2013)
Cory Allan Michael Monteith was a Canadian actor best known for his role as Finn Hudson on television series Glee.
Monteith was found dead in his room at the Fairmont Pacific Rim hotel in Vancouver. Autopsy showed that Monteith died from "a mixed drug toxicity" consisting of heroin and alcohol. He was 31.
Behn Cervantes (August 26, 1938 – August 15, 2013)
Benjamin Cervantes is Pinoy stage and movie director and activist.
His work in theater included performances in Broadway musicals such as “Guys and Dolls”, “Pagsambang Bayan” and “Estados Unidos versus Juan Matapang Cruz.”
Cervantes, 74, died due to complications from pneumonia.
Lee Thompson Young (February 1, 1984 – August 19, 2013)
Lee Thompson Young was an American actor known for his teenage role on Disney Channel television series The Famous Jett Jackson and as Chris Comer in the movie Friday Night Lights.
Thompson was found dead at his apartment in Los Angeles. The police said the actor took his own life using a gun. He was 29.
Susan Fuentes (November 1, 1954 – September 7, 2013)
Susan Toyogon, known as Susan Fuentes, is the Queen of Visayan Songs who popularized classic songs as “Usahay,” “Matud Nila,” and “Miss Kita Kung Christmas.”
She died at the age of 58 at the National Kidney and Transplant Institute after her battle to colon cancer.
Ray Dolby (January 18, 1933 – September 12, 2013)
Ray Milton Dolby was an American inventor of the noise reduction system known as Dolby NR. He was the founder of Dolby Laboratories.
Dolby died of leukemia at his house in San Francisco on September 12, 2013, at the age of 80.
Leandro Mendoza (March 24, 1946 – October 7, 2013)
Mendoza is the secretary of the Department of Transportation and Communications from 2002 to 2010 and then the Philippine Executive Secretary for six months in 2010.
He died of a heart attack at age 67.
Sultan Jamalul Kiram III (July 16, 1938 – October 20, 2013)
Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III, whose armed followers invaded a vast Malaysian region that left dozens of people dead earlier this year, died of multiple organ failure on Sunday at the age of 75.
Kiram’s Muslim sultanate, although largely forgotten and dismissed as a vestige from a bygone era, stirred up a security crisis in Malaysia in February this year when his younger brother and about 200 followers, some armed, barged in Lahud Datu, Sabah.
Paul Walker (September 12, 1973 – November 30, 2013)
Paul Walker was an American actor who became famous in his role as Brian O'Conner in “The Fast and the Furious” film series.
Walker died at the age of 38 in a car crash in Santa Clarita, California on November 30, 2013.
Nelson Mandela (July 18, 1918 – December 5, 2013)
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was the President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was South Africa's first black president, and the first elected in a representative democratic election.
Mandela had come to be widely considered "the father of the nation" within South Africa, and "the founding father of democracy"
Mandela died at the age of 95 after suffering from a prolonged respiratory infection at his home in Houghton, Johannesburg.
Eleanor Parker (June 26, 1922 – December 9, 2013)
Eleanor Jean Parker was an American actress who became famous on her role as Baroness Elsa Schrader in The Sound of Music.
Parker died at the age of 91 on December 9, 2013 in Palm Springs, California of complications of pneumonia. (Sunnex)