Nancy Baer; Museum Curator of Theater and Dance

Nancy Van Norman Baer, 55, curator of theater and dance for Moscow and San Francisco museums. A native of San Diego, Baer started dancing at age 6 and studied at Mills College and UC Berkeley. After dancing professionally with Northern California companies, she earned a master’s degree in museum management from Lone Mountain College in San Francisco. In the 1970s, Baer curated major exhibitions on dancers Loie Fuller, Anna Pavlova and Bronislava Nijinska for the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco--the California Palace of the Legion of Honor and the M.H. de Young Memorial Museum. She was particularly interested in the Russian avant-garde, spoke Russian and traveled to Russia several times. In 1991, one of her exhibitions, “Theater in Revolution: Russian Avant-Garde Stage Design, 1913-1935,” traveled to Los Angeles’ Armand Hammer Museum of Art. In 1994, she curated the exhibition “Paris Seasons of the Ballets Russes” for the Museum of the Revolution in Moscow. At the time of her death, Baer had been working on a book about the Ballets Russes and an exhibition on Vaslav Nijinsky. On Oct. 27 in San Francisco of cancer.

Rosamund John; British Actress During World War II

Rosamund John, 85, one of Britain’s most popular actresses during World War II. Born Nora Rosamund Jones in London, she made her debut in a 1934 film about the Loch Ness monster, “The Secret of the Loch.” Her films included two of the best of the turbulent 1940s, “Way to the Stars” and “Green for Danger,” and in 1944 she was voted second only to Margaret Lockwood as Britain’s favorite female star. She studied at Tottenham Drapers’ College in London and the Embassy School of Acting, and worked in repertory in Shakespearean roles at Stratford-on-Avon. John’s last film was “Operation Murder” in 1956, but she had largely abandoned her career after marrying John Silkin six years earlier. Always politically inclined, John had talked of running for public office, but instead campaigned for her husband, who became a member of Parliament and confidant of Prime Minister Harold Wilson. John served as equity representative to the Working Party on Film Production Costs in 1949 and on a committee establishing minimum pay for chorus workers. On Oct. 27 in London.

Sherwood ‘Shakey’ Johnson; Co-Founded Shakey’s Pizza

Sherwood “Shakey” Johnson, 73, who co-founded what became the international Shakey’s pizza chain. Johnson and college friend Ed Plummer rented a Sacramento storefront in 1954, selling pies made from a Johnson family recipe and calling it a pizza parlor. Advertised as the world’s first such establishment, the original Shakey’s was sold in 1996 after a fire. The chain now has 375 outlets, most of them overseas. A native of Sacramento educated in law in San Francisco, Johnson earned his nickname in the Navy during World War II when he suffered tremors from chronic malnutrition in the South Pacific. “It was a name given with love and it’s been good to me over the years,” he often said. By 1967, Johnson was successful enough to sell half of his interest in Shakey’s for $4 million and retire to his Yuba County ranch. On Saturday in Sacramento of a heart attack.

Wilhelm Karmann; Car Designer Created Karmann-Ghia

Wilhelm Karmann, 83, who created the 1950s Karmann-Ghia sports car. The automotive innovator specialized in sports cars, particularly convertibles. He designed and built his Karmann-Ghia in 1955 in cooperation with Volkswagen and Porsche, and went on to design the Scirocco coupe and Golf Cabriolet for Volkswagen. He also built cars for Porsche, BMW, Opel, Ford and Mercedes-Benz. Karmann began working in his family’s car factory at 19 and took control of it in 1952. By 1989, the company had 7,000 employees and annual sales of $625 million. On Oct. 25 in Osnabrueck, Germany.

Rudolph Melone; Founded Gilroy Garlic Festival

Rudolph Melone, 73, founder of the Gilroy Garlic Festival. Educated at UC Berkeley, Melone helped create Pima Community College in Tucson, Ariz., and moved to Gilroy in 1975 as president of Gavilan Community College. Four years later, after reading about a garlic celebration in France, he proposed starting the summer festival for Gilroy. He talked to the local Rotary Club and to nearby garlic growers, and, despite early resistance, launched the now-famous festival. The event, serving a variety of foods flavored with garlic--including ice cream--has raised more than $5 million for local charities. Melone headed the festival its first three years. With failing eyesight, he retired from Gavilan and moved to San Francisco in 1985. On Sept. 17 in San Francisco of cancer.

Virginia Reade; Mexican American Activist, Author

Virginia Reade, 68, Mexican American activist, interior designer and author. In the late 1970s and 1980s, Reade was regional director of the Mexican American Political Assn. She led opposition to City Councilman Richard Alatorre and protested that malathion spraying and police action directed by former Los Angeles Police Chief Daryl F. Gates unfairly targeted Mexican Americans. She also opposed adoption of the North American Free Trade Agreement and strongly criticized former Mexican President Carlos Salinas de Gortari. In 1987, Reade wrote a book, “Mexico Barbarro,” about Salinas. Born in Sacramento and reared in Stockton, Reade was educated at the Schaeffer School of Interior Design and worked as an independent interior designer. In recent years, she was married to fellow activist Al Belmontez, former local president of the United Auto Workers. On Oct. 16 in Sacramento after a long illness.

Bob Trow; Was Regular on ‘Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood’

Bob Trow, 72, a 30-year regular on the children’s television program “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.” Trow had portrayed Robert Troll, Bob Dog and himself on the program and last week taped segments for next February about lessons on noise and quiet. Before joining the PBS program, Trow was popular on Pittsburgh radio. Delighting morning commuters, he harassed talk show host Rege Cordic in the guise of such characters as Carmen Monoxide, an incorrigible punster; Omicron, a bureaucrat from Venus; and Louie Adamchevitz, a Slav garbage man. Trow also wrote and produced television and radio commercials and painted oil portraits. On Monday in New Alexandria, Pa., of a heart attack.

Norbert Wollheim; Auschwitz Survivor Sued Germans

Norbert Wollheim, 85, Auschwitz survivor who sued Germans for compensation for his Nazi-era slave labor. Wollheim’s victory in his 1951 lawsuit against German manufacturing firm I.G. Farben paved the way for the company’s $6.4-million settlement fund to compensate other Jewish laborers. Wollheim was among 25,000 Jews who were forced to build a synthetic rubber plant for Farben during World War II. He sought pay for two years of work and recovered about $25 for each week. His pregnant wife and 3-year-old son died at Auschwitz, and about 80 more of Wollheim’s relatives died at Nazi hands. After moving to the United States in the early 1950s, Wollheim became a bookkeeper and then a certified accountant. He was a major organizer of concentration camp survivors and worked to recover claims for them. On Sunday in New York of heart failure.