Yehuda Bauer, whose family narrowly escaped the Nazis in their flight to Mandatory Palestine from Czechoslovakia in 1939, and who later drew on that experience in becoming a leading scholar of the Holocaust and antisemitism, died on Oct. 18 at his home in Jerusalem. He was 98.

Fluent in German, English, Yiddish and other languages, Dr. Bauer pored over archives and conducted numerous interviews with survivors, material he used in writing some 40 books and countless journal articles.

“The Holocaust is unprecedented,” he often said. “But it is not unique. If it were unique, we could forget about it, because it could happen only once. But it could happen again. We are here because we want to avoid that.”

Lynda Obst a New York journalist turned Hollywood producer, who promoted women in films like “Sleepless in Seattle” and “Contact” while writing dispatches from Hollywood for The Atlantic and The New York Times, died on Oct. 22 at her home in Los Angeles. She was 74.

As a producer, she excelled at frothy romantic comedies and serious science fiction dramas. She was at times an outspoken critic of the movie industry, especially its treatment of women, and was an advocate for stories focused on women.

In 1993, in need of an escape from the pressure chamber of Hollywood, Ms. Obst bought a ranch in Fredericksburg, Texas, about 80 miles west of Austin. With its awe-inspiring views, it became her happy place. “No special-effects house can beat our own,” she said.

Alan Rachins who became widely recognizable for his roles on “L.A. Law” and “Dharma & Greg,” died on Nov. 2 in Los Angeles. He was 82.

The characters — one an officious lawyer, the other an aging hippie — were eccentric, but extremely popular. “L.A. Law” was so popular that some real-life lawyers worried at the time that the show could affect juries’ behavior. In 1990, one lawyer told The New York Times, “Any lawyer who doesn’t watch ‘L.A. Law’ the night before he’s going to trial is a fool.” In 1998, Mr. Rachins was nominated for an Emmy for outstanding supporting actor in a drama series.

Bernie Marcus, who envisioned a big-box store aimed at do-it-yourselfers and turned it into Home Depot, the world’s largest home-improvement retailer, died on Nov. 4 in Boca Raton FL. He was 95.

Today, Home Depot has more than 2,300 stores across North America, and records more than $150 billion in annual revenue. Home Depot employees were called “associates,” and not only were paid more than minimum wage, but also received stock options. More than 3,000 of the company’s original employees, including former secretaries and sales associates became millionaires as the company’s fortunes soared. The company would eventually employ more than half a million people.

He retired as chairman and chief executive in 2002, and devoted his life to philanthropy, supporting programs for children with brain disorders, children’s health, medical research, Jewish causes, veterans’ initiatives, national security, and political causes from which Home Depot stores distanced itself.

Of his success, Mr. Marcus said, “The key is not to make the sale; the key is to cultivate the customer…Care for them today, and they’ll be back tomorrow.”

Richard A. Fineberg, a political science teacher whose years of scrutinizing the proposal and operation of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System resulted in environmental safety measures, and his reporting of an under-sea detonation of a nuclear bomb spawned the Greenpeace organization, died Sept. 27 in Fairbanks, Alaska. He was 83.

Throughout his life, he was driven to hold oil companies accountable to their promises for environmental protections, according to The New York Times.

Joseph Rykwert, an architectural historian, who challenged Modernism’s embrace of functional architecture with his own theory that architecture should reflect a community’s shared values, died on Oct.7 at his home in London. He was 98.

Born in Warsaw in 1926, his family had become convinced that a German invasion of Poland was imminent. They fled through the Baltics to Sweden and then to London, where Joseph began his architectural training at University College London, later transferring to the Architectural Association, from which he graduated in 1947.

Although he spent most of his career in academia, largely at Cambridge and later at the University of Pennsylvania, his work influenced practicing architects and general readers. He was one of only four writers to receive the Gold Medal from the Royal Institute of British Architects, and in 2014 was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire for service to the field of architecture.