sport’s first fatality. Died Jan. 31, one week after crashing at the Winter X Games in Aspen, Colorado. February Edward |. Koch, 88. As New York mayor from 1978 to 1989, he led the city back from the brink of bankruptcy, turning a $1 billion budget deficit into a $500 million surplus in five years. Died Feb. 1 of heart failure. Edith Lauterbach, 91. Last survivor of a quintet of U.S. women, who in 1945 founded the Air Line Stewardesses Association, the world’s first union for flight attendants. Died Feb. 4. George Frazer, 86. Chairman of Toronto-based Leon Frazer & Associates, who invested in companies with high dividends during his seven decades as a fund manager. Died Feb. 6. Rem Vyakhirev, 78. He was CEO of OAO Gazprom, the world’s biggest natural-gas producer, from 1993 to 2001. Died Feb. 11. Stokley Towles, 77. He spent his career at the Boston office of New York-based Brown Brothers Harriman & Co., creating the firm’s global custody service, which now accounts for more than 70 percent of the bank’s employees. Died Feb. 14. Mindy McCready, 37. A U.S. country music singer whose hits included “Guys Do It All the Time.” Died Feb. 17 of apparent suicide. Otto Beisheim, 89. German billionaire, who in 1964 co-founded Metro AG, now Germany’s biggest retailer. Died Feb. 18 of suicide after suffering from an incurable illness. Jerry Buss, 80. After buying the Los Angeles Lakers in 1979, he added marquee stars including Magic Johnson and Kobe Bryant, winning 10 National Basketball Association championships between 1980 and 2010. Died Feb. 18 of kidney failure related to cancer treatment. HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_013278