Wilbur Ball; Cal State Fresno Professor, Historian, Author

Wilbur Ball, 75, former Cal State Fresno professor and historian who wrote 18 books about prairie life. Born in Briggsdale, Colo., Ball received a master’s degree in agricultural education from Colorado State University and a doctorate in agricultural education and engineering from Iowa State University. He taught in the Philippines and the Sudan before settling at Fresno, where he was a professor for 25 years. Among his books were “Stories of the West,” “Buggy Trails” and “Life on the Homestead.” He also became known as a historian and tour guide for the Pawnee National Grasslands near Greeley, Colo. After retiring from teaching, Ball hiked more than 5,000 miles across the prairies, befriending farmers and ranchers. On Sunday in Eaton, Colo., of pancreatic cancer.

Luiz Jose Costa; Brazilian Country Music Star

Luiz Jose Costa, 36, a Brazilian tomato picker who with his brother formed the leading country music duo Leandro and Leandro. Costa and his brother, Emival Eterno, became one of the top three acts in Brazil’s thriving country music scene, selling more than 20 million albums since 1991. Known as Sertaneja, Brazilian country music makes extensive use of two-part harmony and is usually sung in duet. Costa sang harmonies while his brother sang lead. Among their hits were “Think of Me,” “Excuse Me but I’m Going to Cry” and “Between Smacks and Kisses.” As tomato pickers in the state of Goias, the brothers began performing at agricultural fairs and dances. Their smooth harmonies and matinee idol looks propelled them to stardom. On Tuesday in Sao Paulo, Brazil, of lung cancer.

Maurice Sorrell; Photographer Chronicled Civil Rights Movement

Maurice Sorrell, 84, professional photographer who captured the history of the civil rights movement on film. He was the first black person to gain admission to the White House Photographers Assn. and last year won a lifetime achievement award from the African American Photographers Assn. He began photographing weddings and anniversaries in 1946 and went to Washington in 1955 as a Pentagon photographer. Relegated to the darkroom because of his race, he quit to become a freelancer. His career spanned nine presidencies and more than two dozen countries and took him through the South during the height of the civil rights era. Among his assignments was photographing the legendary march from Montgomery to Selma, Ala., led by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Sorrell worked as a news photographer for the Johnson Publishing Co., and was publisher of the black magazines Jet and Ebony at its Washington bureau from 1962 until his retirement in 1993. On June 22 in Washington.

Susan Yoachum; Political Editor of San Francisco Chronicle

Susan Yoachum, 43, political editor of the San Francisco Chronicle. A native of Texas, Yoachum was a reporter for the Dallas Morning News, the Marin Independent Journal and the San Jose Mercury News. At San Jose, she was part of a team that won a Pulitzer Prize for breaking news coverage of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake that devastated the San Francisco Bay Area. She joined the Chronicle in 1990 and was promoted to political editor in 1994. Last year, Yoachum was named journalist of the year by the Northern California chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. Her last Chronicle story was an analysis of the gubernatorial debate last month. On Monday in San Francisco of breast cancer.