Richard Dennerline; Former Occupational Health Official

Richard Dennerline, 73, former Los Angeles County occupational health official. A native of Indiana, Dennerline attended Purdue University and served in Army intelligence in Germany at the end of World War II. He later graduated from Cal State L.A. in microbiology and earned a master’s degree in public health from UC Berkeley. Dennerline spent his entire career with the Los Angeles County Health Department, retiring in 1987 as chief of occupational health and hazardous materials. He was a nationally recognized expert on occupational conditions and health problems caused by hazardous materials, particularly asbestos. In addition to crusading for improved working conditions in the garment district, Dennerline dealt with spills and containment of hazardous materials such as mercury and lead in industrial and residential properties. On Saturday in Verdugo Hills.

Fred Hopkins; East Coast Jazz Bassist

Fred Hopkins, 51, influential East Coast jazz bassist. Trained in his native Chicago by Walter Dyett and Joseph Guastafeste, Hopkins played in the Chicago Civic Orchestra and began to work with members of the jazz-oriented Assn. for the Advancement of Creative Musicians. Hopkins made his name in New York, where he worked from 1975 to 1996, with the trio Air and bands led by David Murray, Henry Threadgill, Muhal Richard Abrams, Arthur Blythe and Oliver Lake. Hopkins also had a long musical partnership with cellist Deidre Murray. Among the albums that showcase the bassist’s powerful improvisational style are “Ballads,” “Just the Facts and Pass the Bucket” and “Black Bone.” On Jan. 7 in Chicago of heart disease.