• David Straight, Parma school administrator, teacher - Obituary
Parma- David Straight, 81, a retired teacher and administrator in the Parma city schools and past president of the Parma Chamber of Commerce, died Saturday, July 19, at Southwest General Health Center.

• Gay Kitson, 67, was sociology professor at University of Akron
Shaker Heights- Gay Kitson, 67, who died Monday, was a retired professor of sociology at the University of Akron, and a former Case Western Reserve University teacher and researcher.

• Victor A. McKusick, medical genetics pioneer
Baltimore- Dr. Victor A. McKusick, a cardiologist who went on to become a founder of medical genetics and helped make the discipline a central part of medicine, died Tuesday at his home in Baltimore. He was 86.

• Charles Z. Wick, Cleveland native, Reagan's Information Agency chief
Charles Z. Wick, a Hollywood agent and entrepreneur who became the longest-serving director of the U.S. Information Agency and an original member of the "kitchen cabinet" that financed Ronald Reagan's first run for the California governor's office in 1966, died July 20 of cardiopulmonary failure at his home in Los Angeles. He was 90.

• Ralph Gibbon, specialized in public-projects work at Squire Sanders & Dempsey -- Obituary
Moreland Hills -- As a member of Squire Sanders & Dempsey's municipal-finance group from the late 1940s to the mid-1960s, Ralph H. Gibbon handled legal work related to the development and financing of the Ohio Turnpike.

• Robert M. DeHaven, 86, WWII ace, later test pilot
Los Angeles - Robert M. DeHaven, a World War II fighter ace who downed 14 enemy planes in the Pacific and later became a test pilot and executive with Hughes Aircraft, died July 10 at a hospital near his home in the suburban San Fernando Valley, northwest of downtown, after a long illness. He was 86.

• Carmelo Bartuccio
Brook Park- Carmelo Bartuccio, who was born four years before the Titanic sank and told stories about the fanfare planned for its arrival, died July 14 at Hospice of Medina County of acute congestive heart failure.

• Clown used jokes, balloons to lift peoples' spirits
Middleburg Heights - Rich Cendrowski, a.k.a. Skeeder the Clown, twisted balloons into hats, animals and fantasy creatures while delivering corny one-liners that often floated over younger audience members' heads.

• Dell Bethel, 78, taught actors to play baseball
Dell Bethel, a former North Ridgeville High School baseball coach and Lake Ridge Academy athletic director, taught actors Robert DeNiro and Michael Moriarty how to play baseball like Major Leaguers for the movie "Bang the Drum Slowly."

• Les Crane, 74, was TV talk show pioneer
Greenbrae, Calif.- Les Crane, a talk-radio innovator and Grammy winner remembered as the first television host to take on Johnny Carson, died Sunday. He was 74.

• Jo Stafford, singer, favorite of WWII GIs
Los Angeles -- Jo Stafford, a singer who was a favorite of soldiers during World War II and whose recordings made the pop music charts dozens of times in the 1950s, died Sunday of congestive heart failure at her home here. She was 90.

• Raymond R. Laureno, outgoing founder of Academy Blueprinting - Obituary
Beachwood- Raymond R. Laureno, founder of Academy Blueprinting & Supply Co., died Thursday at Menorah Park Center for Senior Living in Beachwood at age 91.