National Obituaries

TOKYO (AP) — Genshitsu Sen, a former Kamikaze pilot trainee who later promoted peace as a grand master of the Japanese tea ceremony, has died, officials said Thursday. He was 102.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Danielle Spencer, who played the wisecracking and tattling little sister Dee Thomas on the 1970s sitcom “What's Happening!!” has died at 60.

The Italian sportsman Mattia Debertolis, who competed in foot orienteering, has died after featuring in an event at the World Games in China’s southwest city of Chengdu.

TOKYO (AP) — Kunishige Kamamoto, who scored 75 goals in 76 games for Japan's national team, died Sunday according to the Japan Football Association. He was 81 and the association said he died of pneumonia.

WASHINGTON (AP) — William H. Webster, the former FBI and CIA director whose troubleshooting skills and integrity helped restore public confidence in those federal agencies, has died, his family announced Friday. He was 101.

HOUSTON (AP) — Billy Howton, a former Green Bay Packers star regarded as one of the most productive wide receivers of the pre-Super Bowl era who was a founder and the first president of the NFL Players Association, has died. He was 95.

CHICAGO (AP) — James Lovell, the commander of Apollo 13 who helped turn a failed moon mission into a triumph of on-the-fly can-do engineering, has died. He was 97. Lovell died Thursday in Lake Forest, Illinois, NASA said in a statement on Friday.

NEW YORK (AP) — Brandon Blackstock, Kelly Clarkson’s ex-husband and talent manager, has died of cancer, his family said Thursday. He was 48.

BANGKOK (AP) — Myint Swe, who became Myanmar’s acting president under controversial circumstances after the military seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi more than four years ago, died on Thursday, the military said.

Eddie Palmieri, the avant-garde musician who was one of the most innovative artists of rumba and Latin jazz, has died. He was 88. Fania Records announced Palmieri's death Wednesday evening.