Damon Harris, former member of the Motown group The Temptations, died at age 62 on February 18. Harris, center on the stool, poses for a portrait with fellow members of The Temptations circa 1974.
Lou Myers, a stage, film and TV actor who memorably portrayed Mr. Gaines on the comedy "A Different World," died on February 19 at the age of 75.
Los Angeles Laker owner Jerry Buss died February 18 at age 80. Buss, who had owned the Lakers since 1979, was credited with procuring the likes of Earvin "Magic" Johnson, James Worthy, Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant. The Lakers won 10 NBA championships and 16 Western Conference titles under Buss' ownership.
Country singer Mindy McCready was found dead on February 17 of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, authorities said. She was 37. During her career, McCready landed 14 songs and six albums on the Billboard country charts.
Ed Koch, the brash former New York mayor, died February 1 of congestive heart failure at 88, his spokesman said.
Patty Andrews, center, the last surviving member of the Andrews Sisters, died at her Northridge, California, home on January 30, her publicist Alan Eichler said. She was 94. Patty is seen in this 1948 photograph with her sisters Maxene, left, and Laverne.
Baseball Hall of Famer and St. Louis Cardinals great Stan Musial died on January 19, according to his former team. He was 92.
Baseball Hall of Fame manager Earl Sidney Weaver, who led the Baltimore Orioles to four pennants and a World Series title with a pugnacity toward umpires, died January 19 of an apparent heart attack at age 82, Major League Baseball said.
Pauline Phillips, better known to millions of newspaper readers as the original Dear Abby advice columnist, has died after a long battle with Alzheimer's Disease. She died January 16 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, at age 94.
Aaron Swartz, the Internet activist who co-wrote the initial specification for RSS, committed suicide, a relative told CNN on January 12. He was 26. Swartz also co-founded Demand Progress, a political action group that campaigns against Internet censorship.
Claude Nobs, the founder of the Montreux Jazz Festival, died aged 76 following a skiing accident.
Richard Ben Cramer, the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer whose 1992 book "What It Takes" remains one of the most detailed and passionate of all presidential campaign chronicles, died January 7, according to his longtime agent. He was 62.
Director and stuntman David R. Ellis died on January 7. He directed "Snakes on a Plane."
Tony Lip, who played mob figures in the hit cable show "The Sopranos" and several critically acclaimed movies, died January 4, a funeral home official said. Lip, whose real name was Frank Vallelonga, was 82.
Character actor Ned Wertimer, known to fans of "The Jeffersons" as the doorman Ralph Hart, died on January 2. He was 89.
Pop-country singer Patti Page died on January 1 in Encinitas, California. She was 85. Born Clara Ann Fowler, Page was the best-selling female artist of the 1950s and had 19 gold and 14 platinum singles.
- Damon Harris, a former member of The Temptations, was battling prostate cancer
- He was best known for singing tenor on "Papa was a Rolling Stone"
- Harris also had a solo album
(CNN) -- Damon Harris, a former member of the Motown group The Temptations, has died at age 62, his family reported.
His eldest daughter, Erica Harris Outlaw, told CNN her father had been battling prostate cancer for the last 14 years.
"He was in great pain for the last several months," she said.
Harris died Monday, February 18, at Joseph Richey Hospice in Baltimore.
"He was the kind of dad where you wanted the best for him. We're going to really miss him," Outlaw said. "We miss him already."
Harris joined the Temptations at age 20 in 1971 and replaced Eddie Kendricks, one of the group's original lead singers, Billboard.com reported. Harris was with the group until 1975, and he was best known for singing tenor on the band's hit, "Papa was a Rolling Stone."
Harris also released a solo album, "Damon Harris: Silk" in the 1970s.
"I am saddened to hear about Damon," said Dennis Edwards, who was in the band with him. "He will be missed."
Obituaries 2013: The lives they've lived
CNN's Lauren Russell, Denise Quan and Nischelle Turner contributed to this report.
