Fred Hale, the oldest man in the world, died in his sleep on Friday at a home in Syracuse, New York. Two weeks later and he would have been 114. Born in Maine in 1890, the year the Sioux were massacred at Wounded Knee, Hale was a teenager before he saw a car. (When he turned 104, he became the oldest registered driver.) He already had two children at the outbreak of WWI. He retired from his job as a railroad postal carrier 51 years ago. His son, Fred Jr, is 82. His youngest grandchild is 51. He has 11 great-great-grandchildren. He was still shoveling snow off his roof at 103. He might be the only person to have seen the Boston Red Sox win both their 1918 and 2004 pennants. A huge fan of the Sox, Hale probably thought, “Now that I’ve seen that, I can die happy.” We’re just saying. (signonsandiego / latimes, sub. req.)

(Photo: Li-Hua Lan. Father and son watch the Sox)

Doris Day’s son, Terry Melcher, died of cancer on Friday at home in Beverly Hills. He was 62. Melcher was in part responsible for the mellow California folk-rock and surf music of the ’60s. He produced the Byrds’ now-classic versions of Bob Dylan’s “Mr. Tambourine Man” and Pete Seeger’s “Turn, Turn, Turn,” as well as later albums of theirs. He also cowrote songs with the Beach Boys and produced such acts as Bobby Darin and the Mama and the Papas. He played piano, sang backup, composed music and lyrics, produced records and shows, including the Monterey Pop Festival, and wrote the title song for his mother’s film, Move Over, Darling. It was believed that Melcher was the intended victim of the Sharon Tate slayings in 1969, having refused to produce cult leader Charles Manson’s music. Manson was supposed to have sought revenge by sending his “family” to the Benedict Canyon house that Melcher and his then-girlfriend, Candice Bergen, had once rented. But after Manson was arrested, investigators determined that he was aware that Melcher had moved to Malibu. (latimes, sub. req.)