Died

Died: Ellis L. Marsalis Sr., 96, patriarch of the famous Marsalis family who was the father of prominent New Orleans pianist Ellis Marsalis Jr. and the grandfather of jazz musicians Wynton, Branford, Delfeayo and Jason Marsalis, in New Orleans ... Roquel Billy Davis, 72, a Detroit singer-songwriter who developed some of the most memorable TV ad campaigns like "I'd Like To Buy The World A Coke," "It's The Real Thing" for Coke and "If You've Got The Time" and "Miller Time" for Miller Beer and who co-wrote the classic songs Lonely Teardrops and To Be Loved for his cousin Jackie Wilson, after a long illness at his home in New Rochelle, NY ...

Joe Thomas Mills, 82, father of famed singer Stephanie Mills, of natural causes at Presbyterian Hospital in Charlotte, NC ... Kenneth Wilson, 85, a businessman, developer and former Afro-American Newspapers executive who once worked in advertising at Johnson Publishing Company, after abdominal surgery ... Mildred L. Hastings, 86, the mother of U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings, after a lengthy illness and complications from heart disease at the Westside Regional Hospital in Plantation, FL ... Laura Cooper Davis, 105, mother of legendary actor-playwright, Ossie Davis, in Mount Vernon, NY ... Alva Temple, 86, one of the famed Tuskegee Airmen who became the nation's first Black military pilots, at his home in Columbus, MS.