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   Every year, accomplished people come to life's end. Some were known. We list those we knew about. Those under age 86: 

Toby Keith, 62, country music. Alexei Navalny, 47, Russian accuser of Putin. Joe Lieberman, 82, Democrat senator, turned independent. O.J. Simpson, 76, football, actor, accused of murder. Bill Walton, 71, basketball star. Richard Simmons, 76, fitness instructor. Lou Dobbs, cable news. Pete Rose, baseball, a record 4,256 hits in 24 years. 

       How did I outlive a fitness instructor?  ...  Those my age, 86:

Jim Otto, NFL player. Never missed a game in 1960-1974 career. Jerry West, pro basketball. Bobby Allison won three Daytona 500s. 

      Those who lived beyond age 86: 

Bob Graham, 87, Democrat elected twice as Florida governor and three times to the U.S. Senate. Kris Kristofferson, 88, country music singer and songwriter. Chi-Chi Rodriguez, 88, winner of more than 20 golf tournaments, including three PGA events. Phil Donahue, 88, talk show host with nearly 9 million viewers. 

James Inhofe, 89, conservative politician in Oklahoma, the U.S. House and Senate from 1966-2023. Also 89, Tony Campolo, whose sermons we attended three times in the Pittsburgh area. He was a leftist, but we don't criticize his devotion to helping the poor on the East Coast. 

Parnelli Jones, 90, a racer who drove a rear engine car to victory in the 1963 Indianapolis 500. Charles Osgood, 91, radio broadcaster for 46 years and CBS News 1994-2016. Willie Mays, 93, 660 home runs, third all time. Mitzi Gaynor, 93, Hollywood Golden Age actress in South Pacific, and There's No Business Like Show Business. James Earl Jones, 93, actor, stardom as an admiral in The Hunt for Red October.

       And then there were two: 

Beverly Lahaye, 94, a pastor's wife who formed Concerned Women for America in response to feminist groups. Bob Newhart, 94, comedian and TV icon, master of deadpan delivery and one-sided telephone calls. If only he could come back and make us laugh again. 

         Jimmy