Lessons in their long and complicated lives

As we mourn the dead, we make amends with their flaws and appreciate their talents. We reminisce about their sense of humour, kindness, and generosity. Politician Robert J. Dole, 98, memorialized in pages like fashion editor Grace Mirabella, 92, and children’s book author Beverly Cleary, 104. They all shaped the culture, and their deaths leave us with a longing for something they represent. Dole was a military veteran with political ambitions, whose death reminded Washington that compromise and courtesy, let alone the truth, can not always be accepted. Mirabella, a former Vogue editor-in-chief who recovered from her layoff to launch an admired slick piece bearing her name, believes style is a conversation starter but shouldn’t be. its entire content. And Cleary saw childhood in all its scary, playful, dull reality.