Lange, Maher, Garber, Linaberger, Bowers, Burnett, Wettick, Effort, Gaines, Veale, Rayvid, Blank

Mike Lange, 76
He spent 46 seasons as the play-by-play voice of the Pittsburgh Penguins, creating some of the most memorable sayings in the process. “It’s a hockey night in Pittsburgh!” he would announce during a career that chronicled Mario Lemieux, Sid Crosby and the history of the franchise in Pittsburgh. A Hockey Hall of Famer known for his quirky sense of humor, he covered five Stanley Cup championships and injected every game with phrases that became synonymous with hockey in Pittsburgh. “He’s smiling like a butcher’s dog!” “Slap me silly, Sidney!” and “Ladies and gentlemen, Elvis has just left the building.”

James Maher Jr., 82
The former University of Pittsburgh provost played a pivotal role in the school’s advancement during his 16-year tenure under Chancellor Mark Nordenberg, who called Maher “one of the most important partnerships and closest friendships of my life.” When Maher became provost in 1994, applications stood at 7,709. When he retired in 2010, the number had increased to 22,616. In addition to improving enrollment, Maher raised the standards of the undergraduate program and boosted research, tripling expenditures to $735 million. He first joined Pitt as a professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, later becoming chair and director of the Scaife Nuclear Physics Laboratory. But it was his kindness rather than his brilliance for which he is most remembered.

Richard Garber, 94
He was the creative force behind Mr. Yuk, the acid-green poison prevention symbol that has warned children for half a century. Pediatrician Dr. Richard Moriarity of the Pittsburgh Poison Center asked Garber, then president of the advertising firm Vic Maitland & Assoc., to come up with an awareness campaign. The traditional danger sign of a skull and crossbones wouldn’t work here — it was the Pirates’ logo. After testing alternatives, Garber hit on Mr. Yuk — it was the color and face kids hated the most.

Anne Linaberger, 62
With her beautiful alto voice, Linaberger sang in the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh for many years. But that was her side gig. By day she was a seasoned reporter, news director and television producer. She got her start in radio, working as an anchor and reporter for WAMO and WTAE-AM, among others. Linaberger joined WTAE-TV in 1991, where she reported on one of the deadliest plane crashes in U.S. history when USAir Flight 427 slammed into the ground in Hopewell Township, killing 132 people. She moved to KDKA-TV in 1998 as executive producer of special projects and then news director, a position she held for nearly 10 years.

Gary Bowers, 76
An artist who used fabric as his medium, Bowers was the premier maker of window treatments in the city. His creations hang throughout the Duquesne Club, the Carnegie Museum and in the offices of the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury. A favorite of local interior designers, he spent 40 years crafting beautiful sewn goods for the finest homes. He got his start making clothing for boutiques before moving to New York to do display design — Bloomingdales was a client. He later opened his own shop in Pittsburgh and made costumes for musical groups when he was not traveling down the Amazon or across the Gobi Desert.

Jon Burnett, 71
Whether as the host of KDKA’s “Evening Magazine” and “Pittsburgh 2Day Live” or as a trusted weatherman whose warmth made even severe weather sound comforting, Burnett was a beloved Pittsburgh TV personality for 36 years. His easy charm endeared him to viewers and made him popular with local charities, but in his personal life he set a finer example. The former football player died from suspected CTE, a degenerative brain disorder likely caused by repeated head injuries. Burnett promoted and participated in the National Sports Brain Bank (NSBB) at Pitt, which is dedicated to the research of brain disorders. His family donated his brain to the project for study.

Judge R. Stanton Wettick, 86
Considered the state’s preeminent authority on civil procedure, in part because he wrote the book on it (“Pennsylvania Forms for the Rules of Civil Procedure”), Wettick was widely respected as a smart, fair and especially hard-working judge. A graduate of Amherst and Yale Law School, he was an attorney at K&L Gates before leaving to teach at Pitt’s law school. Then followed a stint as executive director of Neighborhood Legal Services, where he became a champion of the underdog. Appointed to Allegheny County Common Pleas Court, he served for 40 years and was renowned for his Friday “Happy Hours,” where he could issue as many as 150 orders in civil cases. He retired at 78 because state law required it.

Elaine Effort, 74
The daughter of a World War II Tuskegee Airman, Effort became one of the first black journalists at KQV-AM 1410. She remained at the station for 38 years as an award-winning reporter. Armed with a BA in political science and MA in journalism from the University of Michigan, she hosted several television shows and co-founded the Pittsburgh Black Media Federation in 1973, serving in various leadership positions. Effort spent most of her career as part of the city press corps, where she often moderated mayoral debates.

Toby Gaines, 76
When he was 5, Gaines lost his father, the Rev. William Washington Gaines, who founded the Gaines Funeral Home in Homestead in 1919. His mother took over one of the oldest black family-owned businesses in Pittsburgh, relocating it to Larimer, until Gaines became director in 1980. That was after the Vietnam veteran received the National Defense Service Medal, worked as an undercover narcotics agent in South Carolina, earned a master’s degree in counselor education from Pitt, and joined the Pittsburgh Police as assistant chief chaplain. He was also a permanent deacon in the Catholic Church.

Bob Veale, 89
A two-time All-Star who spent the first 11 seasons of his baseball career with the Pittsburgh Pirates, he helped the team capture back-to-back division titles and to win the 1971 World Series. With the Pirates, Veale went 116-91 with a 3.06 ERA, and accumulated 1,652 strikeouts across 1,868⅔ innings pitched. The left-handed pitcher accumulated at least 200 strikeouts in four different seasons, including a National League-leading 250 strikeouts in 1964. Veale finished his career with the Boston Red Sox.

Jay Rayvid, 92
Rayvid was nominated 21 times for an Emmy, winning multiple times as the executive producer for shows such as WQED’s “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” and “Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego.” He also produced “Once Upon a Classic,” “A Tale of Two Cities,” and the long-running series “Tomorrow’s World Today” on the Science Channel and Discovery. Filmed locally at Inventionland in RIDC, Rayvid continued to serve as a consultant for Inventionland after his retirement. He was also involved in producing “The WonderWorks Family Movie,” a series of drama specials and miniseries.

Ed Blank, 81
He loved movies. Some would say he even lived through movies. Blank was a walking film encyclopedia who never became jaded as a critic after seeing the same plot in numerous films. He considered reviewing to be a kind of consumer guide. Always a gentleman, he started with the premise that no one intentionally wanted to make a bad movie. He felt the same way when he reviewed live theater, always remembering that the actors would read his reviews, first in the Pittsburgh Press for two decades and, after it ceased publication in 1992, the Tribune-Review until 2007. A veteran of Vietnam, where he served with the Signal Corps setting up communications, he was active in various veterans groups.