These notable figures from Dallas passed away in 2020 These notable figures from Dallas passed away in 2020 Writer and editor Mary Malouf was a larger-than-life character. Photo courtesy of Stuart Graves It's fair to say that death loomed large in 2020, thanks to COVID-19. As of December 31, nearly 2,000 people in Dallas died of the virus, nearly 28,000 in Texas, and more than 341,000 in the U.S. But the virus was not the cause of death for most of the celebrities, performers, and activists on this list of notable Dallasites who passed on in 2020. Here's a last farewell, in chronological order: Tony Edwards, music enthusiast and Deep Ellum dynamo, died in April. A Deep Ellum regular who'd worked in Dallas' music industry for many years, he was found dead in his apartment. A coroner determined he died of natural causes. He was 46.