List of Famous people who died in 2017

John Fitzgerald Thierry was a professional American football player who was selected by the Chicago Bears in the 1st round of the 1994 NFL Draft. A 6' 4", 263 lb linebacker from Alcorn State University, Thierry was moved to defensive end and played in nine NFL seasons from 1994 to 2002.

Tania Mary Dalton was a New Zealand international netball player. After retiring from playing professionally, she worked as a netball commentator on SKY Sports for international tests, the ANZ Championship and National Championships, alongside former internationals Anna Stanley, Natalie Avellino, Kathryn Harby-Williams and Bernice Mene. Dalton was also a part owner of the franchise food outlet chain, Pita Pit New Zealand Limited.

Brent Briscoe was an American actor and screenwriter.

Tommy Keene was an American singer-songwriter, best known for releasing critically acclaimed rock & roll/power pop songs in the 1980s. He has a longtime cult following among fans of the musical genre of power pop.

Franz Jarnach, also known by his stage name Mr. Piggi, was a German actor and musician. He was best known for his role as Schildkröte in the improvisation comedy series Dittsche. He appeared in the series 217 times between 2004 and 2016. He was a pianist for the 1960s British beat group Lee Curtis and the All-Stars. He appeared on the music program Beat-Club with the group twice. He was also a member of the rock band The Rattles during the early 1990s.

Sione Tuitupu Lauaki was a Tongan-born New Zealand rugby union footballer who played for Bayonne. He previously played for the New Zealand national team, the All Blacks. His brother, Epalahame Lauaki, is a 2nd row rugby league footballer previously playing for Hull F.C. in the Super League competition. He died on 12 February 2017.

John Albert Kundla was an American college and professional basketball coach. He was the first head coach for the Minneapolis Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and its predecessors, the Basketball Association of America (BAA) and the National Basketball League (NBL), serving 12 seasons, from 1947 to 1959. His teams won six league championships, one in the NBL, one in the BAA, and four in the NBA. Kundla was the head basketball coach at the University of St. Thomas in Saint Paul for one season in 1946–47, and at the University of Minnesota for ten seasons, from 1959 to 1968. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1995 and the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006.

Robert Wyatt McDaniel Webb was an American professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago White Sox from 2013 through 2016.

Hartmut Neugebauer was a German actor, voice actor and dialogue director.

Joan Elise Sledge was an American singer–songwriter, actress and producer. Sledge was best known as a founding member of the American family vocal group Sister Sledge, who were best known for their hits during the mid–1970s through the mid–1990s; most notably 1979's "We Are Family" and "He's the Greatest Dancer". Sledge died from natural causes on March 10, 2017 at age 60.