Deaths: Shot Famous JFK, Jr. Photo

STAN STEARNS, 76.

Died March 2, 2012. UPI Photographer who on Nov. 25, 1963, was standing outside Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington, DC, squeezed into a roped-off area with 70 other photographers.

The flag-draped casket on a horse-drawn caisson bearing the body of President John F. Kennedy was coming by. He saw Jacqueline Kennedy lean down and whisper something to her son, who was turning three that day. John, Jr. stepped forward and saluted his father. All this happened in less than five seconds. Mr. Stearns caught the moment while all the other photographers missed it, focusing on the coffin or Mrs. Kennedy.

The others walked with the procession, but Mr. Stearns hurried back to his office where his angry boss demanded to know why he wasn't with the procession. He replied that he had the picture of the day.

He did.

Mr. Stearns was born May 11, 1935, in Annapolis, Md.. He didn't get rich off the picture, but did once win $25 for it in a picture contest. He always said, "The picture told the whole damn story." It Sure Did.