Obituaries of note

GEORGE FREESTONE, 104, believed to be the world's oldest Boy Scout, died Saturday in Mesa, Ariz. In 1910 he joined one of the first two Boy Scout troops in the United States, becoming part of a Los Angeles troop at age 12.

TED PERRY, 71, the founder of Hyperion Records, a British classical music label, died Sunday in London. He built Hyperion into the largest independent classical label in Britain, with a catalog of 1,200 titles.

PETER SHAW, 84, a producer and former agent married to actor Angela Lansbury, died Jan. 29 in Los Angeles. He was a co-producer of the long-running television series Murder, She Wrote, which starred his wife.

MARCELLO TRUZZI, 67, a sociologist, skeptic and scholar who investigated the paranormal, died Feb. 2 in Ann Arbor, Mich. A professor and author based at Eastern Michigan University and head of the Center for Scientific Anomalies Research, he often at odds with debunkers and proponents of unexplained phenomena.

MAURY MAVERICK JR., 82, a former Texas legislator and lawyer known for his civil-rights advocacy, died Jan. 28 in San Antonio, Texas. He was perhaps best known outside Texas for an irreverent quip overheard in 1960 when John F. Kennedy, then running for president, asked to exit the Alamo through the back door to avoid a large crowd. "There's no back door at the Alamo," Mr. Maverick reportedly replied. "That's why we had so many dead heroes."

RUBY BRAFF, 75, a noted jazz trumpeter and cornetist, died Sunday in North Chatham, Mass. He defied the odds by rising to fame in the modern era with a resolutely old-fashioned style.

NATALIA DUDINSKAYA, 90, a renowned ballerina and teacher, died Jan. 29 in St. Petersburg, Russia.

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