Joan Beck; Child Care Author, Columnist

Joan Beck, 75, author and columnist on issues of child care and medical research. She had worked for the Chicago Tribune since 1950, and in the 1960s wrote its syndicated “You and Your Child” column. She later penned a commentary column and became the first woman on the newspaper’s board of directors. Her 1967 book, “How to Raise a Brighter Child,” was translated into eight languages and is now in its 18th edition. She also wrote several other books on medical issues and child care. On Dec. 10 in Chicago of pneumonia.

William Denson; Nazi War Criminal Prosecutor

William D. Denson, 85, chief American prosecutor during the Nazi war crimes trials after World War II. Denson represented the United States against Nazi officials for atrocities committed in four German concentration camps: Dachau, Mauthausen, Flossenberg and Buchenwald. Ninety-seven of the 177 people who were tried under his counsel were sentenced to be hanged, and the rest were sent to prison, many for life. Among those he prosecuted during the 1945-47 trials were Ilse Koch, known as the “Beast of Buchenwald,” and August Eigruber, who governed upper Austria. Born in Birmingham, Ala., Denson was educated at West Point and Harvard Law School. In the late 1940s, he was chief of litigation for the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission in Washington. He represented the commission in the trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, who were convicted and executed for passing atomic secrets to the Soviets. In 1952 Denson became a private lawyer in New York, specializing in patents, trademarks and copyrights. He served as mayor of Lawrence, N.Y. On Sunday in Lawrence.

Levi Dillon; Gunner on ‘Memphis Belle’ Bomber

Levi Dillon, 79, the first flight engineer and top turret gunner on the famous bomber “Memphis Belle.” Dillon flew on four of the first five of the plane’s missions to bomb German-occupied France during World War II. The storied plane completed 25 raids without losing a crew member and was the subject of two motion pictures. The B-17 is on display in a pavilion in Memphis, Tenn. On Friday in Memphis of pneumonia.

Buddy Feyne; ‘Tuxedo Junction’ Lyricist

Buddy Feyne, 86, lyricist for the big band standards “Tuxedo Junction” and “Jersey Bounce.” Born Bernard Feinstein in New York, Feyne began singing, dancing and performing in Yiddish and English plays as a teenager. During the Depression, he got a job promoting songs and worked his way into writing lyrics. He wrote the two hits in 1940 and 1941, and remembered that the orchestra was playing “Jersey Bounce” as he boarded a troop ship for the Philippines during World War II. He earned a Bronze Star, and when not in military action wrote songs for one of the Army’s bands and entertained on Armed Forces Radio. With Bill Harrington, Feyne co-wrote a daily radio show called “Nursery Crime Detective.” Feyne wrote song lyrics into the 1990s, and heard his work performed by such singers as Ella Fitzgerald, Frankie Avalon, Nat “King” Cole, the Andrews Sisters and Aretha Franklin. On Dec. 10 in Canoga Park of Parkinson’s disease.

Kenneth Houseman; Wildlife Cinematographer

Kenneth “Chip” Houseman, 42, a wildlife cinematographer who made films on all seven continents. Born in Great Falls, Mont., and a resident of Jackson, Wyo., Houseman filmed polar bears in the Arctic, grizzly bears in Russia, tigers in India, chimpanzees in Africa and wolves in Alaska. His clients included PBS and National Geographic. Houseman was working on an ABC documentary on gibbons at the time of his death. On Friday near Bangkok, Thailand, in the crash of a Thai Airways jet.

Althea C. Reynolds; Promoted Italian Culture

Althea Caravacci Reynolds, 82, language educator who promoted Italian art and culture. A native of San Francisco, Reynolds studied literature at UCLA and began her career teaching Spanish and French in Los Angeles high schools. In 1956, she joined the faculty of UCLA, where she taught Italian for four decades. She wrote an Italian textbook, “Theater, Prose and Poetry,” in 1982. Active in the Red Cross during World War II and the Los Angeles Philharmonic Committee, Reynolds devoted most of her time to supporting Italian culture, particularly art. She was knighted by the Italian government in 1975 and earned a bronze medal from the Italian Ministry of Culture. She also received a gold medal from Italy’s minister of fine arts for her work in recovering lost art treasures. Reynolds promoted an exhibit of art by Mostra Macchiaioli at the Wright Gallery and the Harvard Museum and another in Cremona, Italy. In the United States, she received an award from the Patrons of Italian Culture, in which she was active, and the Rudolph Valentino award in education. On Dec. 13 in Los Angeles.

A. Strauss; Dallas’ 1st Elected Woman Mayor

Annette Strauss, 74, the first woman to be elected mayor of Dallas and a leader in civil rights and the arts. Strauss was a member of the Dallas City Council for four years before she was elected mayor in 1987 for a four-year term. She led the city through a trying period of economic problems, including falling prices in real estate and oil. Strauss supervised the building of the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, which opened in 1989. She was also credited with giving blacks and Latinos greater representation in city government. Because of her work with the arts throughout her life, the city recently renamed a downtown performance area Annette Strauss Artist Square. She was a native of Houston but spent most of her life in Dallas. On Monday in Dallas of cancer.

The Rev. Wade Watts; Civil Rights Panelist

The Rev. Wade Watts, 79, who served on the U.S. Civil Rights Commission. Watts, who marched with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., was pastor of several churches, including the Jerusalem Baptist Church in McAlester, Okla., which was burned down by members of the Ku Klux Klan. In addition to serving on the federal commission under President Lyndon B. Johnson, Watts spent 16 years as president of the Oklahoma chapter of the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People and four years on the Oklahoma Crime Commission. He had been a labor inspector for the Oklahoma State Labor Commission. On Sunday in McAlester.

Richard C. Welsch; Led Construction at NBC

Richard C. Welsch, 83, executive who guided design and construction of the NBC studios in Burbank. A Southern California native, Welsch retired in 1979 as vice president for production and business affairs for the National Broadcasting Co. He spent much of his career at the network, beginning in the early development of color television. As head of operations and technical services, he oversaw the development of the vast studio complex in Burbank. On Dec. 10 in Van Nuys of pneumonia.

William Gimbel; Former Head of Reliance Steel

William Thomas Gimbel, 80, former president, chief executive officer and board chairman of Reliance Steel and Aluminum Co. The nephew of the company founder, Gimbel joined Reliance in 1947 as a shipping clerk; he retired this year. He designed a number of methods for handling and processing metals that helped Reliance broaden its business. Gimbel became president when his uncle died in 1957, and built the company from making steel reinforcing bars with annual sales of less than $1 million into one of the largest metals service operations in the country. He took the company public in 1994. Gimbel also served as president of the Steel Service Center Institute and the National Assn. of Aluminum Distributors. A native of San Francisco, he earned his engineering degree at UC Berkeley and an MBA at Pepperdine University. He served as a Navy radar intercept officer during World War II. On Dec. 9 in Los Angeles.