Hughie Lee-Smith, 83, a painter and former teacher at the Art Students League in New York, died Feb. 23 in Albuquerque, N.M., of cancer. He was known for paintings that frequently included symbolic figurative scenes. His works included settings suggestive of theater stages or bleak urban or seaside landscapes.

H. E. "Herb" Thyen, 86, co-founder of Kimball International Inc. and former mayor of Jasper, Ind., died Sunday in Jasper of respiratory failure. Kimball makes pianos, home and office furniture, television and audio cabinets, electronic assemblies, molded plastics, carbide cutting tools and metal stampings. It also produces lumber, plywood, processed wood materials and veneer.

Xie Bingxin, 99, a prominent children's novelist whose stories have been read by generations of Chinese, died Sunday in Beijing, state media reported. Ms. Xie was known to readers as Bingxin. Her books, widely used in Chinese schools, include "For Small Readers" and "Little Tangerine Lamp."

John Carmody, 74, who created the Washington Post's television column and wrote it for more than 20 years, died Monday in Washington of cancer.

Charles Allan Gerhardt,72, a record producer and conductor who recorded classical performers of the 1950s and 1960s, died Feb. 22 in Redding, Calif., of complications from brain surgery. Mr. Gerhardt's first major project as a producer was "A Festival of Light Classical Music" in 1960. A year later, he produced a Beethoven cycle that has become a collector's item.

Pub Date: 3/03/99