Source: Jim Preston / Getty
Trailblazer Dianne Durham, the first Black senior national gymnastics champion, has died at age 52. The Gary, IN native’s husband, Tom Drahozal, confirmed she passed away at a Chicago hospital after a short illness.
List Of Celebrities + Public Figures Who Died in 2021
Drahozal told ESPN:
“She passed peacefully. She was the love of my life and everything I could have asked for. She was as beautiful a person away from gymnastics as she was within the sport.”
Dianne Durham spoke to the Gymnastics Insider after receiving her Hall of Fame honor in 2017:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sanf0_9cFos
List Of Celebrities + Public Figures Who Died in 2021
List Of Celebrities + Public Figures Who Died in 2021
1. Barack Obama’s Grandmother Sarah Obama Passes Away At 99
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2. R&B Singer Reggie Warren Of Troop Passes Away At 52
2 of 223. “Marvelous” Marvin Hagler, a legendary boxing middleweight champion, dies March 13 at the age of 66
3 of 22"Sport has the power to change the world."
— Boxing on BT Sport 🥊 (@BTSportBoxing) March 13, 2021
Rest in Peace Marvelous Marvin Hagler 🙏 pic.twitter.com/NKGpRo4GWo
4. NABJ Founding Executive Director Paul H. Brock
4 of 22Today we are mourning the passing of @NABJ Founding Executive Director Paul H. Brock. “Founder Brock played such an integral role in the success of NABJ,” said @Dorothy4NABJ. Read more about Founder Brock and his legacy by clicking here: https://t.co/NFYmKLa9nc pic.twitter.com/BxluBXKPGy
— NABJ Headquarters (@NABJ) March 14, 2021
5. Singer Jo Thompson died in 2021 at 92 years old.
5 of 22Jo Thompson broke racial barriers during the decades she played the piano and sang to audiences from Detroit’s top supper clubs to ones in Cuba, New York, London and Paris during the 1950s. https://t.co/GhaZlic4EB
— The Detroit News (@detroitnews) March 10, 2021
6. Motown Legend Mary Wilson Of The Supremes Dead At 76
6 of 22Mary Wilson, Co-Founder Of “The Supremes” Dead At 76 https://t.co/TRUt8aPWmh pic.twitter.com/WFGaqtBUvi
— 93.1 WZAK (@931wzak) February 9, 2021
7. Conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh Dead At 70
7 of 22Conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh Dead At 70 https://t.co/7MzGDnhnTl
— NewsTalk 1490 WERE (@newstalk1490) February 17, 2021
8. Civil Rights Trailblazer Vernon Jordan Dies At 85
8 of 22#Breaking
— NewsOne (@newsone) March 2, 2021
Civil rights trailblazer and Vernon Jordan has died. The influential former president of the National Urban League was 85 years old.
NewsOne's report: https://t.co/NIYPjFP74a
9. Antoine Hodge
9 of 22“My brother had opera singers’ lungs, and Covid destroyed them.”
— The New York Times (@nytimes) February 27, 2021
Antoine Hodge, a bass-baritone who performed at the Metropolitan Opera, has died at 38 from complications of Covid-19. https://t.co/FEA2YOS9rV
10. Legendary NFL Coach Marty Schottenheimer dies at 77 in Charlotte
10 of 22Legendary NFL Coach Marty Schottenheimer dies at 77 in Charlotte https://t.co/5VaiG8C1em
— NewsTalk 1490 WERE (@newstalk1490) February 9, 2021
11. Dustin Diamond Dead At 44
11 of 2212. Former Temple Owls Coach John Chaney Has Died At 89 Years Old
12 of 22Report: Former Temple Owls Coach John Chaney Dies At 89 https://t.co/rsK1ysFz2X
— Sports Radio WFNZ (@wfnz) January 29, 2021
13. Cicely Tyson, Hollywood Trailblazer For Black Actresses, Has Died At 96 Years Old
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14. Cloris Leachman Has Died At 94 Years Old
14 of 22We're sad to report actress/comedian Cloris Leachman has passed away.
— 107.9 THE LINK! (@1079thelink) January 27, 2021
Here's what we know: https://t.co/J83amvhncT pic.twitter.com/yEubSixXNO
16. Gregory Sierra of ‘Sanford and Son’ and ‘Barney Miller’ Dies at Age 83
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17. Magician Siegfried Fischbacher (L)died of cancer at 81 years old
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18. Deezer D (Dearon Thompson)
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19. Hall of Fame Manager Tommy Lasorda
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20. Tanya Roberts
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21. Football Hall of Fame Running Back Floyd Little
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22. Basketball Hall of Famer Paul Westphal
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Continue reading List Of Celebrities + Public Figures Who Died in 2021
List Of Celebrities + Public Figures Who Died in 2021
As we begin 2021, we have already begun to lose celebs and public figures that have impacted us over the years. Sports legends like Denver Broncos great Floyd Little and Basketball Hall of Famer Paul Westphal are among the legendary figures who have passed away in 2021. On Monday, March 29th, Sarah Ogwel Onyango Obama, the matriarch of the Obama family and step-grandmother to former United States President Barack Obama, passed away. Read more below. List Of Celebrities + Public Figures Who Died in 2021 As we deal with the looming threat of the Coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic along with the facts of life, we know that death is inevitable. However, the memories of these amazing people will always live on. Check out the list below. RELATED: We Remember: Celebrities Who Died In 2020 RELATED: Public Figures And Celebs Who Tested Positive For Or Died Due To COVID-19 (Updated December 2020)
Dianne Durham, first Black national gymnastics champion, dead at 52 was originally published on wzakcleveland.com
