National Obituaries

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Former state Sen. Frank Niceley, a farmer and longtime conservative lawmaker known for his colorful comments on Tennessee's Capitol Hill, died Thursday. He was 78.

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece is honoring the late clarinetist Petroloukas Chalkias, whose hypnotic, note-bending performances over the course of more than 70 years made him a hero of mountain folk music.

NEW YORK (AP) — TV chef Anne Burrell, who coached culinary fumblers through hundreds of episodes of “Worst Cooks in America,” died Tuesday at her New York home. She was 55.

LONDON (AP) — Alfred Brendel, a pianist and poet renowned for his refined playing of Beethoven over a six-decade career, died Tuesday at his home in London. He was 94. Brendel's death was announced by the public relations agency Bolton & Quinn.

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — Bujar Bukoshi, a former Kosovo independence leader who for years headed a self-proclaimed government-in-exile, died early Tuesday morning after a long illness, his family said. He was 78.

BOSTON (AP) — Nina Kuscsik, who campaigned for women's inclusion in long-distance running and then won the Boston Marathon the first year that they were officially allowed to enter into the race, has died. She was 86. An obituary for the A.L.

NEW YORK (AP) — Dr. Ron Taylor, a World Series champion pitcher with both the St. Louis Cardinals and New York Mets who later became the Toronto Blue Jays' team physician, died Monday. He was 87.

TORONTO — Dr. Ron Taylor, a two-time World Series-winning pitcher and longtime Toronto Blue Jays team physician, has died. He was 87. The Blue Jays confirmed Taylor's death in a statement Monday. A cause of death was not provided.

NEW YORK (AP) — Leonard Lauder, a renowned philanthropist who expanded the family cosmetics business into a worldwide empire, has died at the age of 92. Estee Lauders Cos.

TORONTO — Canada's largest private-sector union says former Canadian Auto Workers president Buzz Hargrove has died.