List of Famous people who died at 79

Jerónimo José Podestá was an Argentine Catholic priest and bishop.

Robert W. Funk was an American biblical scholar, founder of the Jesus Seminar and the nonprofit Westar Institute in Santa Rosa, California. Funk sought to promote research and education on what he called biblical literacy. His approach to hermeneutics was historical-critical, with a strongly skeptical view of orthodox Christian belief, particularly concerning the historical Jesus. He and his associates described Jesus' parables as containing shocking messages that contradicted established religious attitudes.

William Alwyn, , was an English composer, conductor, and music teacher.

Carl Alvar Wirtanen was an American astronomer and discoverer of comets and minor planets who worked at Lick Observatory. He was of Finnish ancestry.

Beatrice Winde was an American actress.

Stephen Daily Susman was an American commercial plaintiffs attorney and founding and name partner of Susman Godfrey LLP. He won more than $2 billion in damages and settlements in just three cases, including a $1.1 billion settlement on behalf of Texas Instruments in Samsung Electronics v. Texas Instruments, and a $536 million jury verdict in El Paso Natural Gas Co. v. GHR Energy Corp.

Patriarch Pimen, was the 14th Patriarch of Moscow and the head of the Russian Orthodox Church from 1970 to 1990.