Henry Geller, 96, widely known for his stints at the FCC and NTIA, died Tuesday at around midnight. He had bladder cancer and died at home hospice, according to his wife Judy. They have a son, daughter and a grandson. Geller was the first NTIA director, and under then-Chairman Newt Minow was FCC general counsel. Even in retirement, Geller continued pushing for government and industry to be a force for good, recalled those who knew him. In that capacity, he helped represent Action for Children’s Television and gained passage of the 1990 Children’s Television Act, his wife recalled. "Henry was disappointed that his main goal never came to fruition," she emailed. "Instead of requiring commercial stations to act in the public interest, he wanted to excuse them and alternatively, allocate 1% of their advertising revenues to public TV for the funding of children’s programming." Before he resigned from all boards in 2006, he was a director of Neustar and of organizations including the now-defunct Media Access Project. Per his instructions, there's no funeral or other service planned.

Diane Cornell, who has advised FCC members including then-Chairman Tom Wheeler, died. That's according to agency and other officials who didn't have further details. Cornell was special counsel to Wheeler, where her initiatives included advising him on commission process revisions. Before Wheeler, she was a legal adviser to three commissioners. She also worked in the Wireless and other bureaus, at CTIA and was an FCBA president.

FCC lawyer Grey Pash, who spent his entire career at the commission, died Friday at age 73 after being hospitalized for a few months, according to those who knew him including colleague Susan Launer, deputy chief of the Trial and Enforcement Division where Pash worked. The appellate litigation lawyer spent his career at the Office of General Counsel and worked for the commission since law school, close to 50 years. Cases he appeared in court on in recent years included on video relay service and telco intercarrier compensation.

Mark Hurd, 62, Oracle co-CEO, died Friday, according to founder Larry Ellison. He had taken medical leave in September. Survivors include his wife and two daughters. The company declined to disclose further details. "He understood broadband’s power to change lives," said USTelecom CEO Jonathan Spalter.

Ed O’Neill, a longtime communications lawyer, died Tuesday in Laytonsville, Maryland, at age 86, his son Kevin told us. He said his father died surrounded by his five children, at an assisted living facility. O'Neill had worked for Fletcher Heald before 2007 retirement (see page 13) and also had been a Bryan Cave senior partner. He was elected FCBA president in 1983. Other survivors include a brother and some 20 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren. Contributions can be made to St. Jude’s children's hospital of Memphis. Services are Tuesday at St. Raphael Catholic Church, 1513 Dunster Road, Rockville. Wake is 10:30 a.m. and at 11:30 a.m. is the rite of Christian burial Mass. Reception is at Lahinch Irish Tavern & Grill, 7747 Tuckerman Lane, Potomac.

Giovanni Buttarelli, the European data protection supervisor, died Tuesday in Italy. He was "surrounded by his family," his office announced Wednesday, without providing other biographical details or responding to a query. Before European's Parliament and its Council named him in December 2014 to a five-year term, the Italian national had been an assistant European data protection supervisor and previously was Italian Data Protection Authority secretary-general. Buttarelli's funeral is Saturday in Italy.

John Paul Stevens, 99, retired Supreme Court justice who wrote the majority opinion in the landmark 5-4 Sony Betamax decision that established fair-use precedents for consumer video recording devices, died Tuesday in Fort Lauderdale of complications from a stroke he suffered Monday. Stevens authored the finding in 1984 that the Betamax VCR was capable of “commercially significant noninfringing uses,” and that “even the unauthorized home time-shifting” of broadcast TV programs was “legitimate” fair use. In the opinion he wrote, Stevens singled out the lower-court trial testimony of Fred Rogers, creator and star of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. Rogers “testified that he had absolutely no objection to home taping for noncommercial use and expressed the opinion that it is a real service to families to be able to record children’s programs and to show them at appropriate times,” said the opinion. “RIP Justice Stevens,” tweeted CTA President Gary Shapiro Tuesday evening. “Your majority opinion in the 1984 Sony-Betamax case was the Magna Carta for innovation and spurred investment, exploration and creativity, leading the US to be a global leader in the internet and technology.” Stevens served nearly 35 years on the court before retiring in 2010. Two daughters and nine grandchildren survive.

Bill Oliver, 71, former president of BellSouth Louisiana and later AT&T Louisiana, died Monday in Lebanon, Tennessee. He reportedly fell from a boat he was towing as he stopped in a school parking lot to adjust it. Starting as an engineer, highlights of his 36-year phone career include coordinating BellSouth's activities at the 1988 Republican National Convention in New Orleans. He's survived by his wife, a son, two daughters, a brother, a sister and four grandchildren. Funeral arrangements are pending.

AT&T Vice President-Associate General Counsel Jack Zinman, 50, died May 5, the company announced Friday. He also previously worked at NTIA, and most recently led the telco's same FCC regulatory group that he joined as a young lawyer. Executive Vice President-Regulatory & State External Affairs Joan Marsh recalled her unsuccessful “Don’t take our Jack” campaign to try to get Zinman not to move to the company's Atlanta office, where he went to work on additional issues and where he lived at the time of his death. Zinman is survived by his wife and three kids, his mother and stepfather, and four siblings. There is a Zinman Children Educational Fund in his memory.

Former journalist, congressional aide and telecom public relations executive Bill Brobst, 72, of Odenton, Maryland, died Sunday after battling Parkinson’s for seven years. He reported for The New York Times and worked in PR for then-Sen. Birch Bayh, D-Ind., who himself recently died, and for now-deceased Rep. Allen Ertel, D-Pa. Later, Brobst joined Comsat, GTE and Scientific Atlanta in PR. In retirement, Brobst was a copy editor for Warren Communications News. He's survived by his wife, son, daughter and two brothers. A memorial service is planned in Odenton April 13.