In passing

Herbert Sasaki, veteran and historian

Herbert Sasaki, who dedicated himself to preserving the legacy of the famed Japanese-American military unit he fought with during World War II, has died. He was 84.

Sasaki died during heart surgery May 13 at the Texas Heart Institute in Houston, his daughter said.

He served with the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, which fought in Italy and France from 1944 to 1945 and became the most decorated military unit during World War II. Sasaki would later help spearhead efforts to erect monuments to the regiment in Hawaii, Washington, D.C., and at Camp Shelby, Miss., where the unit was formed.

Julian K. Fite, Cherokee advocate

Cherokee general counsel and former U.S. attorney Julian K. Fite died after collapsing during a conference on tribal issues.

A cause of death had not been determined, hospital officials said. He was 60.

Fite, who died Thursday, was known for his strong defense of tribal sovereignty.

Among his contributions to the Cherokees, Fite was effective in preserving and promoting Cherokee Nation sovereignty through gaming and other compacts with the state.

An Army veteran, he also served in leadership positions on many boards and commissions.

Oscar Brown Jr., musician and activist

Oscar Brown Jr., a singer and songwriter whose work reflected the humor and hard truths of the black experience in America, has died. He was 78.

Brown died last Sunday of respiratory failure at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Chicago, according to his daughter.

Brown was a poet, actor, activist and musician. Brown worked as an actor on such television shows as “Brewster Place” and “Roc.” He hosted two programs on music: “Jazz Scene USA” in 1962 and “From Jumpstreet: The Story of Black Music” on PBS in the 1980s.

Dale ‘The Hawk’ Velzy, surfboard pioneer

Dale “The Hawk” Velzy, pioneering master shaper of surfboards who helped popularize the Hawaiian sport of surfing along the California coast, has died. He was 77.

Velzy, a longtime smoker, died Thursday at a hospital in Mission Viejo, Calif., of lung cancer.

Velzy was the first to put a brand on his surfboards, establishing him as surfing’s first commercial surfboard shaper or builder. His most famous board, The Pig, hit the waves in 1955 and is now a collectible.

Margaret Russell, had set age record

Margaret “Madge” Russell, who held the record for oldest living person in California for nearly a year, died at a nursing home in Eagle Rock, officials said. She was 112.

Russell was the seventh-oldest living American and the 14th-oldest in the world, said L. Stephen Coles, co-founder of the Los Angeles Gerontology Research Group at UCLA, which verifies claims of extreme longevity.

With her death, the oldest living person in California now is Marion Higgins of Long Beach, who will be 112 June 26.

James Butler, thalidomide attorney

James Butler, a trial lawyer who won the first jury verdict in a civil thalidomide case, died of cancer May 26 at his home, family members said. He was 84.

Butler rose to fame in 1971 when he went up against Richardson- Merrell, a drug company that tested thalidomide in the United States in 1960 and 1961. Marketed as a sleeping aid, it was banned worldwide after causing 12,000 babies to be born with serious birth defects, including flipper-like arms.