- Oct 1 Don Edwards, American politician and civil rights champion (Rep-D-CA, 1963-94), dies at 100
- Oct 2 Brian Friel, Irish dramatist sometimes called the "Irish Chekhov" (Dancing at Lughnasa), dies at 86
- Oct 2 Coleridge Goode, Jamaican-British jazz double bassist (Joe Harriot Quintet), dies at 100 [1]
- Oct 2 Lindsay Kline, Australian cricketer (Australian chinaman bowler Hat-trick 1957), dies at 81
- Oct 2 Steve Camacho, West Indian cricket batsman (11 Tests, 4 x 50; British Guiana) and executive (CEO WI Cricket Board), dies at 69
- Oct 3 Dave Pike, American jazz vibraphone and marimba player, dies at 77
- Oct 3 Denis Healey, English politician (Labour Chancellor of the Exchequer), dies at 98
- Oct 5 Chantal Akerman, Belgian feminist filmmaker (Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, Je Tu II Elle), dies at 65
- Oct 5 Grace Lee Boggs (née Grace Chin Lee), American philosopher, author (The Next American Revolution), civil rights activist and feminist, dies at 100
- Oct 5 Henning Mankell, Swedish playwright and author (Wallander novels), dies of cancer at 67
- Oct 6 Árpád Göncz, Hungarian politician, 1st post-communist President (1990-2000), dies at 93
- Oct 6 Billy Joe Royal, American country and pop singer ("Down in the Boondocks"), dies at 73
- Oct 6 Kevin Corcoran, American actor (Swiss Family Robinson, Babes in Toyland), dies at 66
- Oct 6 Sandra Spuzich, American golfer (US Open 1966), dies of leukemia at 78
- Oct 7 Gail Zappa (née Sloatman), American business secretary and wife of musician and composer Frank Zappa, dies of lung cancer at 70
- Oct 8 Hugh Scully, British TV presenter (The Antiques Roadshow), dies at 72
- Oct 8 Jim Diamond, Scottish singer-songwriter (I Should Have Known Better), dies at 64
- Oct 8 Paul Prudhomme, American cajun chef (K-Paul), dies at 75
- Oct 9 Geoffrey Howe, British politician (Chancellor and Foreign Secretary under Thatcher), dies at 88
- Oct 9 Gordon Honeycombe, British broadcaster/author, dies at 79
- Oct 9 N. Ramani, Indian flutist, dies at 80
- Oct 9 Richard F. Heck, American chemist who discovered the Heck Reaction (Nobel Prize 2010), dies at 84
- Oct 10 Hilla Becher (née Wobeser), German artist, worked collaboratively with husband Bernd Becher, dies at 81
- Oct 10 Saša Britvić, Croatian conductor (Croatian Baroque Ensemble, 1999-2015), and pedagogue, dies at 51
- Oct 11 Dean Chance, American baseball pitcher (MLB All-Star 1964, 67; Cy Young Award 1964; no-hitter 1967; LA / California Angels, Minnesota Twins), dies at 74
- Oct 11 John Berg, American art director, 4-time Grammy Award-winner for album art (Columbia Records, 1961-85), dies of pneumonia at 83
- Oct 12 Armin Kircher, Austrian organist, composer, and conductor, dies of heart failure at 48
- Oct 12 Eugene Louw, South African minister of Internal affairs and Defense, dies at 84
- Oct 12 George Mueller, NASA Systems Engineer (managed 1969 Moon landing), dies at 97
- Oct 12 Joan Leslie, American actress (High Sierra, Yankee Doodle Dandy), dies at 90
- Oct 12 Willem Aantjes, Dutch political leader (CDA), had to resign over WWII war record, dies at 92
- Oct 13 Michael Walsh, British Army officer (Operation Musketeer), dies at 88
- Oct 14 Mathieu Kérékou, Dictator and President of Benin (1973-91, 1996-2006), dies at 82
- Oct 16 John Jennings, American guitarist and music producer (Mary Chapin Carpenter; John Gorka). dies of kidney cancer at 61
- Oct 16 Mikhail Burtsev, Soviet sabre fencer (Olympic gold 1976, 1980), dies at 59
- Oct 17 Danièle Delorme [Gabrielle Girard], French actress (Pardon My Affair), dies at 89
- Oct 17 Howard Kendall, English footballer and football manager (Everton), dies at 69
- Oct 20 Cory Wells [Emil Lewandowski], American rock vocalist (3 Dog Night - "Joy to the World"), dies at 74
- Oct 20 Don Rendell, English jazz musician and arranger, dies at 89
- Oct 21 Marty Ingels, American comedian (I'm Dickens He's Fenster), dies at 79
- Oct 23 Bill Keith, American bluegrass, country, and session banjoist, and tuning instrument tuner inventor, dies of cancer at 75
- Oct 23 Jimmy Roberts, Canadian ice hockey defenceman (NHL All Star 1965, 69, 70; Stanley Cup 1965, 66, 73, 76, 77; Montreal Canadiens), dies at 75
Maureen O'Hara (1920-2015)
Oct 24 Irish-American actress (Miracle on 34th Street; The Quiet Man; Only The Lonely), and singer, dies at 95
- Oct 24 Michael Beetham, British Marshall of the RAF (Falklands War), dies at 92
- Oct 25 Basil Williams, West Indian cricket batsman (7 Tests, 2 x 100s; century on debut 1978), dies at 65
- Oct 25 Lisa Jardine, British historian and writer, dies of cancer at 71
- Oct 27 Betsy Drake, French-born American actress and writer (Every Girl Should be Married), dies at 92
- Oct 29 Abe Jan Koldijk, Dutch physician for the Nazi regime (Limburg's family doctor), dies at 94
- Oct 29 Murphy Anderson, American comic artist (DC Comics), dies at 89
- Oct 30 Albert "Al" Molinaro, American actor (The Odd Couple, Happy Days), dies from illness at 96
- Oct 30 Mel Daniels, American professional basketball player (Hall of Fame 2012), dies at 71
- Oct 31 Gregg Palmer [Palmer Edvind Lee], American actor (Scream, To Hell & Back), dies at 88
- Oct 31 Gus Savage, American politician (Rep-D-IL, 1981- 93), dies at 90
Assassination
Drug Overdose
Gunshot Wound
Murder
Plane Crash
Suicide