Final Chapters for Dec. 17, 2017: Pat DiNizio, Tommy Nobis, Ed Lee

Pat DiNizio was lead singer and songwriter for the New Jersey rock band the Smithereens. He died Dec. 12 in Summit, N.J. The cause of death was not announced. He was 62. The Smithereens, who peaked in the late 1980s-early 1990s, blended pop, rock and New Wave music for such hits as “Blood and Roses” and “A Girl Like You.” Their more recent albums included “2011” and “The Smithereens Play Tommy,” a tribute to the Who’s rock opera.

Tommy Nobis was a former star linebacker for the Atlanta Falcons. He died Dec. 13 at his suburban Atlanta home after an extended illness. He was 74. Nobis won the Maxwell Award as the best all-around player in college football and the Outland Trophy as the top lineman in his senior season at the University of Texas. He was the first overall pick by Atlanta in the 1966 NFL Draft. He played 11 seasons with the Falcons and was chosen for five Pro Bowls.

Ed Lee was the first Asian-American mayor of San Francisco. He died Dec. 12 at a hospital in San Francisco after he collapsed while grocery shopping Monday night. The cause was not immediately announced by his office. He was 65. Lee, the child of immigrants from China, was appointed interim mayor by the Board of Supervisors in 2011 after professing no interest in taking on the job permanently. He changed his mind and won a four-year term in 2011. He was re-elected in 2015. He was a staunch supporter of many of the liberal policies most associated with San Francisco, including higher minimum wages, marriage equality and sanctuary status for those living in the country illegally.

Simeon Booker was a trail-blazing African-American journalist and the first full-time black reporter at The Washington Post. He died Dec. 10 in Solomons, Md. He was 99. Booker joined the Post in 1952, but he moved on two years later to found the Washington bureau for Johnson Publishing, the parent company for the iconic African-American publications Jet and Ebony. He served for decades as the Washington bureau chief for the magazines. He is credited with bringing to national prominence the 1955 death of Emmett Till, the 14-year old African-American boy whose brutal murder in Mississippi became a galvanizing point for the civil rights movement.

Bruce Brown was a filmmaker whose 1966 surfing documentary “The Endless Summer” transformed the sport. He died Dec. 10 in Santa Barbara, Calif. He was 80. Brown, who took up surfing in the early 1950s, had made five other documentaries about the sport before “The Endless Summer,” including 1958’s “Slippery When Wet” and 1960’s “Barefoot Adventure.” He went on to make many other documentaries, most notably the 1971 film “On Any Sunday,” which gave the same treatment to motorcycle riding as “The Endless Summer” did to surfing.

Zarley Zalapski was a defenseman who played 12 seasons in the NHL. His death was announced Dec. 12 by the Calgary Flames, one of the teams he played for. No cause of death was given. He was 49. Zalapski played for Pittsburgh, Hartford, Montreal and Philadelphia in addition to Calgary from 1987 to 2000. He was chosen to the NHL’s all-rookie team in 1989 and participated in the All-Star Game in 1993.

Kevin “K-Rob” Robinson was a former professional BMX rider who set a world record for the longest power-assisted bicycle backflip. He died Dec. 9. His wife told The Providence (R.I.) Journal he suffered an apparent stroke. He was 45. Robinson earned gold medals in the X Games and was famous for his high-flying jumps. He jumped 84 feet from one ramp to another in downtown Providence last year, setting a world record. He set a BMX high-air world record in New York City’s Central Park in 2008.

Macon Brock was a retailer who co-founded the Dollar Tree chain of discount stores that grew into a Fortune 500 company. He died Dec. 9 at his home in Virginia Beach, Va. His wife said he died of complications from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a lung disease. He was 75. Brock and two others opened five stores called “Only $1.00” in 1986 after having success in the retail toy business. The Chesapeake-based company changed its name to Dollar Tree in 1993.

This story was originally published December 16, 2017 at 6:08 PM with the headline "Final Chapters for Dec. 17, 2017: Pat DiNizio, Tommy Nobis, Ed Lee."