It's fair to say that death loomed large in 2020, thanks to COVID-19. As of December 31, nearly 2,000 people in Dallas died of the virus, nearly 28,000 in Texas, and more than 341,000 in the U.S.
But the virus was not the cause of death for most of the celebrities, performers, and activists on this list of notable Dallasites who passed on in 2020.
Here's a last farewell, in chronological order:
Tony Edwards, music enthusiast and Deep Ellum dynamo, died in April. A Deep Ellum regular who'd worked in Dallas' music industry for many years, he was found dead in his apartment. A coroner determined he died of natural causes. He was 46.
Steven Wollard, a Dallas political activist, died at 55 of an apparent heart attack on May 4. Wollard co-founded a Facebook page called Reform Dallas, which brought together political leaders and constituents interested in accountability in Dallas city government.
Donald Fowler, artistic tastemaker and Dallas playwright, passed away on May 3 after being struck by a DART streetcar while jogging. He was 58. He was director of retail at the Nasher Sculpture Center, as well as an actor, playwright, and composer, appearing in productions at Uptown Players and other theaters around DFW.
Gerald Dean "Jerry" Rogers passed away on May 26 after a battle with cancer. He founded Cyrix, a semiconductor company that became a competitor of Intel, and also owned this cool house on Park Lane.
Wick Allison, founder of D Magazine, died on September 1 after a prolonged battle with bladder cancer. He was 72.
500+ migrating birds. Hundreds of birds died while migrating across Dallas during October. Disoriented by the city's bright lights, the birds flew straight into buildings to their deaths. Former First Lady Laura Bush spoke out in support of a campaign to dim lights during the birds' migration period.
Eddie Hassell, an actor who had a recurring role on the NBC show Surface and appeared as the skateboarding punk in the movie The Kids Are All Right, died on November 1 after being shot outside his girlfriend’s apartment in Grand Prairie during a robbery. Hassell lived in Waco; he was 30 when he died.
Melvin Noble, the 28-year-old Dallas rapper who performed under the name Mo3, died on November 11 after being gunned down on I-35. Mo3 was best known for a 2019 remix of the song "Errybody," with rapper Boosie Badazz. His manager said that the cause of the shootings was "jealousy."
Markus Paul, a strength and conditioning coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys, died on November 24. The 54-year-old suffered a cardiac arrest at the Cowboys' headquarters and passed away at a nearby hospital. Prior to Dallas, he worked for the New York Giants.
John Ashley Bellamy, artist and founder of an East Dallas artists' collective, died on December 8 due to complications from Alzheimer's. Bellamy was owner of Moon Mansion, a former church at 2200 N. Haskell Ave. that functioned as a rooming house for many artists and was home to a legendary annual party on Christmas Eve.
Mary Malouf, executive editor of Salt Lake Magazine and a native of Dallas, died on December 7 after being swept into the ocean off the California coast. She was 66. Before moving to Utah, Malouf worked as a writer, editor, and food stylist at the Dallas Morning News, Dallas Observer, and D magazine.
Charley Pride, country music's first Black superstar and the first Black member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, died on December 12 died of complications from COVID-19; he was 86.
Ty Jordan, a star freshman running back for the University of Utah who grew up in Mesquite, died on December 25 in a Denton hospital. His cause of death was listed as an accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound to the abdomen.
