Rick Bennewitz; Emmy-Winning Director

Rick Bennewitz, 62, a television director, most recently for NBC’s “Sunset Beach,” who was a three-time Emmy winner. A native of Kansas who was raised in Phoenix, Bennewitz developed his craft as a filmmaker while serving in the Army. He came to Los Angeles after military service and joined KCET-TV Channel 28 as a cameraman. He won his first Emmy for his work on “The Andersonville Trial,” a production of PBS’ Hollywood Television Theatre. He went on to direct several dramas for PBS’ “Visions” series, co-directed Tommy Lee Jones and Jessica Lange in “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” for American Playhouse, and co-directed a television production of “Pippin” with Bob Fosse. He went on to direct top network daytime dramas, including “The Young and the Restless,” “Santa Barbara,” “General Hospital” and “Sunset Beach.” He won two Emmys for his work on “Sunset Beach.” He is survived by his wife, Bettina, a production executive at KCET. A memorial service is scheduled for Saturday from 4 to 7 p.m. at Empire Burbank Studios, 1845 Empire Ave., Burbank. On Jan. 9 in Los Angeles of a heart attack.

Dr. Roy B. Cohn; Kidney Transplant Pioneer

Dr. Roy B. Cohn, 89, who performed the first successful kidney transplant on the West Coast. Although the first such transplant in the United States was done by Harvard surgeons at a Boston-area hospital in 1954, the procedure was not a success in the West until Cohn replaced a kidney in Lenneth Pock with one from her twin brother, Kenneth, in 1960. Cohn, a professor of surgery at Stanford, is credited with developing the kidney transplantation program at the university’s medical center. Among his innovative surgical techniques was the original experimental method of closing holes in the heart. During World War II, he served in the Army medical service, treating survivors at the Dachau death camp after Allied liberation. He helped establish a major hospital in Bombay, India, as a Rockefeller Foundation fellow from 1939 to 1941. Cohn, a native of Portland, Ore., graduated from Stanford with a bachelor’s degree in 1929 and from Stanford Medical School in 1933. He retired from the university in 1989 but remained active for several years as a teacher and consultant. Cohn is survived by his wife, Ruth Wood Cohn, of Atherton, and his five children. On Monday at Stanford University Medical Center.

Dr. Gerald Klooster; Patient in Custody Battle

Dr. Gerald Klooster, 72, an Alzheimer’s patient who became the subject of a custody dispute within his family after his wife was accused of trying to arrange for him to commit suicide with the help of Dr. Jack Kevorkian. Klooster retired as an obstetrician and gynecologist in Castro Valley near San Francisco after he was found to have Alzheimer’s in 1990. In 1995, Klooster’s son, Dr. Gerald Klooster II, took his father to live with him in Petoskey, Mich., and filed for custody after learning that his mother had spoken to Kevorkian. His mother, Ruth Klooster, acknowledged speaking to Kevorkian but denied ever trying to help her husband end his life. The family battled for months in court, with judges in Michigan and California reaching separate decisions. A settlement allowed Klooster to return to California with his wife. However, questions about his care continued and a judge ordered that a nurse live with the family. On Wednesday in Castro Valley of what the Alameda County coroner’s office said was natural causes.

Ryan Nakagawa; MTA’s Chief Ethics Officer

Ryan Nakagawa, 40, chief ethics officer of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. One of Nakagawa’s biggest accomplishments with the MTA, according to a statement from the agency, was in creating an individual code of conduct for board members, employees, contractors and consultants. “Ryan Nakagawa was a gentleman in every sense of the word,” Julian Burke, the MTA’s chief executive, said in a statement. Before joining the MTA in 1992, Nakagawa served as a public policy advisor to then-state Controller Gray Davis. He was appointed a probate referee by Davis, a post he held from 1992 until the time of his death. Born and raised in Hawaii, Nakagawa received his undergraduate degree in history from Pomona College and earned his law degree from Hastings School of Law. He practiced civil law with several firms in the Los Angeles area. He was active in gay rights causes and was a member of the Los Angeles County AIDS Commission. He is survived by his partner, James Ward Litz; a sister, Nora Nakagawa of Torrance; a brother, Dean Nakagawa of Las Vegas; and parents, Hisahi and Joyce Nakagawa, also of Las Vegas. The family has requested that donations be made to the Kahoolawe Rehabilitation Fund, Kahoolawe Island Reserve Commission, 33 S. King, No. 501, Honolulu, Hawaii 96813. On Monday of complications of AIDS.