Sandy D’Alemberte Former Florida State University president Talbot “Sandy” D’Alemberte died on May 20th at the age of 85. D’Alemberte served as the 12th president of FSU from 1994 to 2003 and as dean of the College of Law from 1984 to 1989. He is credited with establishing the College of Medicine to FSU, which welcomed its first class in 2001, and bringing the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory to the university. Services were held on June 5th at FSU’s Ruby Diamond Auditorium.
Bert Harris Bert Jerome Harris, Jr. died May 19th at the age of 99. A former member of the Florida House of Representatives, Harris was a steadfast supporter of property rights. The Bert J. Harris, Jr. Private Property Rights Protection Act passed the Florida Legislature in 1995. Prior to his legislative service, Harris was a citrus grower and rancher. He was inducted into the Florida Agricultural Hall of Fame in 1999.
John Paul Stevens Retired Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens died at the age of 99 on July 16th. Stevens was appointed to the Court by President Gerald Ford in 1975 and was the third longest serving justice, retiring in 2010.
Ross Perot Henry Ross Perot, the Texas billionaire who twice ran for United States president, died July 9th at his home in Dallas after battling leukemia. Perot’s first run was in 1992 as an independent against Bill Clinton and President George H.W. Bush. He ran again in 1996 as a Reform Party candidate against President Clinton and U.S. Senator Bob Dole. Perot was 89.