• Christian “Hitch” Albin, executive chef of The Four Seasons restaurant in New York for decades, died June 13 at the age of 62. He had been diagnosed with cancer.
• Norman Brinker, the casual-dining pioneer who created such groundbreaking concepts as Steak & Ale and Bennigan’s and developed Chili’s Grill & Bar, died June 9 of pneumonia complications at the age of 78. He also is responsible for inspiring and mentoring many of the top executives in the foodservice industry.
• Donald W. Callender, founder of the Marie Callender’s Restaurant & Bakery chain, died Jan. 7 at the age of 81. Callender transformed his parents’ pie bakery into the hybrid bakery-cafe/family-dining concept, which grew into a 115-unit chain.
• Archie A. Casbarian, who was responsible for reviving the down-at-the-heels Arnaud’s in New Orleans, died Jan. 10 of esophageal cancer at the age of 72.
• David Friedman, the chairman of Paramount Restaurant Supply Corp and Monarch Industries Inc., died April 13 at the age of 87. He was pivotal in establishing the Johnson & Wales’ School of Culinary Arts in Providence, R.I.
• Ralph Edward “Reg” Garner, president of TW Garner Food Co. in Winston-Salem, N.C., died July 9 after a long illness. He was 56.
• Blanche Frisch Maier, the daughter of the founder of Frisch’s Restaurants, widow of its former chairman and president, mother of its current chief executive and longtime board member, died Sept. 1 at the age of 82.
• Ciro “Mario” Marino, a celebrated member of the Los Angeles Italian dining scene, died March 25 after battling lung cancer. He was 76. He opened Martoni’s, which became popular with the music industry in 1960.
• Matt Martinez Jr., the owner of such Tex-Mex restaurants as Matt’s Rancho Martinez and Matt’s No Place, died March 13 from complications from cancer at the age of 63.
• Michael Ronis, founding chef for the New York-based Alicart Restaurant Group, which operates Carmine’s and Virgil’s BBQ, died Oct. 29 after a bout with cancer. He was 60.
• Troy N. Smith Sr., founder of the Sonic Drive-In chain, died Oct. 26 at the age of 87. In 1953 Smith opened the Top Hat root beer stand, which later became the Sonic chain.
• Jordan R. Uttal, founder and past president of the International Dairy-Deli-Bakery Association, died Nov. 15 at the age of 94.
• Ron Wrigley, vice president of national accounts for Ventura Foods in Brea, Calif., died Sept. 27 at the age of 55.