Died. Carson McCullers, 50, vibrant voice of love and loneliness in the Southern novel; of a stroke, following 45 days in a coma; in Nyack, N.Y. In five gothic novels, she probed soul-deep into a misbegotten Dixie brood and found both depravity and innocence. Her characters ranged from Frankie Addams, tremulous near womanhood in The Member of the Wedding, to brutish Amelia Evans in The Ballad of the Sad Cafe. After reaching overnight success in 1940 with her first novel, The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter, she was beset by gradual paralysis, but kept writing--until, as it did for the dying pharmacist in her last novel, her own "clock without hands" ran down.

Died. Robert Hans van Gulik, 57, Dutch creator of the Judge Dee Chinese mystery tales (The Willow Pattern, Murder in Canton); of cancer; in The Hague. An Orientalist by training and an ambassador by trade (to Japan, Malaysia), van Gulik was studying ancient Asian prose when he found the classic magistrate-detectives of Chinese literature. Supplying Occidental motives but preserving the delicate puzzle plots of the 7th century Tang dynasty, he pitted his wise and wily Dee against tyrants, palace power-seekers and assorted hatchetmen in 17 thrillers.

Died. Charles W. Morton, 68, humorist and editor; of a heart attack; in London. Creator of the Atlantic's "Accent" column, Morton specialized for 26 years in the slow, cerebral burn with which he seared pampered child stars, jargon-jawed sociologists, and the fractional fantasies of statisticians.

Died. Prince Felix Youssoupoff, 80, gentlemanly assassin of Czarist Russia's "Mad Monk," Rasputin; of a stroke; in Paris. Heir to one of his nation's greatest fortunes (an estimated $350 million), Youssoupoff plotted with other noblemen in 1916 to murder Rasputin because of his hypnotic hold on the Czarina. As the Prince told it, he lured the holy man to his palace, where it took a combination of cyanide, five bullets and a bludgeoning to accomplish the deed. A refugee in France after the Revolution, Youssoupoff fought several court battles over its dramatization. Most recently he lost an invasion-of-pri-vacy suit a gainst CBS.

Died. Hannah Milhous Nixon, 82, mother of Richard; of a heart attack; in Whittier, Calif. Son Dick's career benefited repeatedly from her Quaker faith and stout support. When rumors of a secret fund threatened his vice-presidency bid in 1952, Hannah wired his running mate to be "guided aright" and stand up for her son's integrity. Dwight Eisenhower read the telegram over nationwide radio and obeyed her orders.

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