Notable passings of 2013
This year saw the passing of many notable people from Newport Beach and Costa Mesa. Whether they were lost to age, illness or tragedy, they are remembered here.
Abdulrahman M. Alyahyan, 17; Nozad al-Hamawendi, 17; Cecilia Zamora, 17; Aurora Cabrera, 16, and Robin Cabrera, 17, May 27: The five Irvine teens died after the car they were riding in struck a tree on Jamboree Road on Memorial Day.
Joseph N. Bell, 92, Nov. 28: A longtime Newport Beach resident known for his extensive publishing record as a freelance writer, journalism educator, author and Daily Pilot columnist.
Giles T. Brown, 97, Dec. 28: A retired Orange Coast College history professor and the college’s last surviving charter faculty member.
Jeff Cook, 58, Dec. 15: A former Costa Mesa High baseball assistant coach and player and an umpire for District 62 Little League.
Paul Crouch, 79, Nov. 30: A pioneering televangelist who founded Costa Mesa-based Trinity Broadcasting Network.
Michael Delgadillo, 57, March 6: A Costa Mesa police detective who died after an off-duty, single-vehicle car crash near Newport Boulevard and Bristol Street.
Shane del Rosario, 30, Dec. 3: A Newport Beach resident and UFC heavyweight fighter.
Earl Fusselman, 96, Nov. 30: A longtime volunteer for the Newport Beach Police Department who logged thousands of hours at the agency.
Roger Gilbert, 80, Feb. 12: A longtime Newport Beach resident known for his decades of service with the Rotary Club of Newport-Balboa.
Dr. Ron Gilbert, 52, Jan. 28: A Huntington Beach resident who was shot to death in his urology office near Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach.
Bob Hailey, 78, Nov. 8: A former Newport Harbor High School track and field coach who had been recently inducted into CIF Southern Section Hall of Fame.
Nancy Hammour, 28, Sept. 2: She was found shot dead under Newport Beach’s Bay Bridge.
Elle Harrow, 72, April 4: A veteran of the culinary business, Harrow co-wrote The Gossiping Gourmet and All About Food features for the Daily Pilot, Coastline Pilot and Huntington Beach Independent.
Ron Hendrickson, 85, Sept. 7: An architect and community activist who planned and designed Irvine Co. projects and had a hand in several ballot measures over the years.
Tina Hoang, 20, March 4: A young woman found dead on the sand near West Oceanfront and Highland Street near lifeguard Tower 71. Her death was deemed a homicide.
Ernie Johnson, 87, Sept. 15: A former Newport Harbor High football coach who was the central figure in the documentary “Touchdown Newport” about the 1970 team that won its first league championship in 28 years.
Lucille Kuehn, 89, Nov. 11: A former Newport Beach city councilwoman who championed libraries and improving senior facilities.
Grant McKee, 21, June 30: A Costa Mesa native and one of 19 firefighters from the Granite Mountain Interagency Hotshot Crew killed while they fought flames that scorched thousands of acres in Arizona.
Lian Murray, 54, Nov. 3: A Newport Beach resident and influential surf clothing designer whose career encompassed such high-end brands as Hurley, Quiksilver and Billabong.
Samantha Nguyen, 11, Sept. 14: A Sonora Elementary School sixth-grader who died when two personal watercraft collided on the Colorado River near Laughlin, Nev.
Monica Quan, 28, and Keith Lawrence, 27, Feb. 3: The recently engaged couple were the first victims of former Los Angeles Police Department officer Christopher Dorner. They were found shot to death in the parking garage of their Irvine condominium complex.
Charles Wade Roberts, 69, Aug. 22: A connoisseur of plants and gardens, Roberts spent his horticultural career serving as the sole director of Sherman Library and Gardens, a botanical refuge in Corona del Mar.
Sue Ross, 53, Oct. 20: A longtime Costa Mesa High School booster.
Chuck Smith, 86, Oct. 3: A longtime pastor of Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa.
Ralph Whitford, 84, Dec. 10: A longtime teacher at Newport Elementary School, from the 1950s into the 1990s.
Ray Williams, 79, Aug. 15: A former Newport Beach city councilman and an early advocate of the Upper Newport Bay ecological preserve.
Robert Wynn, 82, Nov. 28: A former Newport Beach city manager who remained deeply engaged in the community long after he retired in 1991.