Obituary examples

Margaret Ann Walsh, 94, of Scranton, Pennsylvania, died October 12, 2026. She was a nurse for 40 years and a grandmother of nine. A funeral Mass will be held Saturday at 10 am at St. Paul’s Church.

Thomas Reyes, 56, of San Antonio, died October 20, 2026, after a short illness. He coached Little League for twenty springs and never missed a game. He is survived by his wife, Ana, and their three children. Services are private.

Walter Lindqvist, 89, of Duluth, Minnesota, died September 30, 2026. A retired ore-boat engineer, he spent fifty winters ice fishing the same stretch of Lake Superior. He is survived by his daughters, Karin and Ingrid, and six grandchildren. Visitation is Friday, October 2, from 4 to 7 pm at Harbor View Chapel. His Lutheran funeral service follows on Saturday, October 3, at 11 am.

Eleanor Mae Brooks, 88, of Dayton, Ohio, died peacefully on October 21, 2026. Born in Springfield to Walter and Ruth Kessler, she married Harold Brooks in 1959 and raised four children in the same yellow house on Elm Street. Her kitchen was never closed, her garden was never tidy, and her advice came whether you asked or not. She is survived by her children, Daniel, Grace, Peter and Joan, and eleven grandchildren.

Linda Kay Haskins, 71, of Knoxville, Tennessee, died August 14, 2026. She raised her two sons on her own while working nights as a 911 dispatcher for 26 years, and still made every school play. She is survived by her sons, Corey and Dustin, their wives, and four grandchildren who knew her as Mimi. Her graveside service will be private.

Robert James Okafor, 75, of Columbus, Ohio, died at home on October 19, 2026, with his family beside him. A mail carrier for 31 years, he knew every dog on his route by name and kept treats in his bag to prove it. He served in the Army from 1970 to 1972, sang bass in the church choir and fixed anything with a motor. He leaves his wife of 49 years, Patricia, his sons Michael and Andrew, and five grandchildren.

Hassan Ali Farouk, 62, of Dearborn, Michigan, died September 3, 2026. He came to Dearborn from Lebanon in 1988 with one suitcase and opened his own auto repair shop three years later. He coached his daughters’ soccer team for six seasons and learned the rules in the first one. He is survived by his wife, Mariam, and his daughters, Layla, Nour and Sara. Janazah prayers were held on September 4, followed by burial.

Samuel Lee Jacobs, 77, my husband of 52 years, died on October 15, 2026. Sam was a high school shop teacher who could not walk past a broken chair. He made our children’s cribs, our kitchen table and, last spring, a birdhouse for every neighbor on our street. A celebration of his life will be held at the Riverside Community Hall on November 8.

Anjali Mehta Desai, 63, of Edison, New Jersey, my wife of 36 years, died on July 22, 2026, after a long illness she faced with more patience than the rest of us.

Anjali was born in Ahmedabad, India, and came to New Jersey in 1987 to study pharmacy. We met in a chemistry lab that winter, when she corrected my notes without being asked, and we married in 1990. For 28 years she was the pharmacist at the same neighborhood drugstore, where customers asked for her by name and she remembered their grandchildren’s birthdays.

At home she grew tomatoes and chilies on a balcony far too small for them and cooked for anyone who stopped by. She never let a Diwali pass without lighting every lamp we owned, and she read three newspapers a day and argued with all of them.

She is survived by me, Vikram; our son, Rohan, and his wife, Priya; our daughter, Kavya; her brother, Nikhil, in Ahmedabad; and a granddaughter, Asha, who is four and already bosses everyone the way her grandmother did. Her cremation was private. Family and friends are welcome at a prayer gathering on Saturday, August 1, at 4 pm at the Raritan Community Center.

Joan Patricia Whitaker, 58, of Portland, Maine, died September 19, 2026. Joan taught middle school science for 30 years and kept a tank of hermit crabs in her classroom that outlived three principals. She and Denise Moreau were together for 31 years and married in January 2013, in the first weeks it was legal in Maine. She is survived by Denise, her brother Michael, and the nieces and nephews she took camping every August.

Maria Elena Ruiz, 80, our Abuela, died on October 9, 2026, in El Paso, Texas. She taught all of us to make tamales, to dance badly at weddings, and to call our mothers every Sunday. She leaves three children, eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren who already know her songs.

Chester Dubois, 91, of Lafayette, Louisiana, died June 2, 2026. Known to everyone as Pawpaw, he taught every grandchild to bait a hook, and nobody touched his gumbo until grace was said. He was married to Yvonne for 64 years until her death in 2021. He is survived by his three children, fourteen grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. A rosary will be prayed at 6 pm the evening before his funeral Mass at the church where he was baptized.

Barbara Jean Holloway, 76, of Tulsa, Oklahoma, died May 17, 2026. When she married Dale Holloway in 1994, they each brought two children, and she never once used the word “step.” She is survived by Dale; her children, Kim and Jason; Dale’s children, Tara and Wes, whom she called her own; and twelve grandchildren, who each got the same birthday card with five dollars inside, every year.

Frank Delvecchio, 84, of Providence, Rhode Island, died April 11, 2026, still convinced the Red Sox owed him an apology for 1986. He sold insurance for 40 years and told the same six jokes at every party. By his own count, he never lost a game of bocce. He leaves his wife of 60 years, Rosemary, who would like it known she was right about the boat, and their children, Anthony, Gina and Paul.

Dorothy Fairbanks, 79, of Asheville, North Carolina, died March 28, 2026. Dot joined her first Christmas bird count at 38 and never missed one after that, adding 312 species to a life list she kept in pencil. She is survived by her husband, Glenn, her son, Matthew, and a birding club that has promised to keep her feeders full. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you hang a feeder of your own.

Evelyn Rose Tanaka, 86, of Honolulu, Hawaii, died September 8, 2026. She never married and had no children, and she was Auntie Ev to half the neighborhood anyway. A bookkeeper for 45 years, she balanced the books for the temple she attended for six decades and taught a generation of nieces and nephews to play hanafuda. She is survived by her sister, Ruth, and eleven nieces and nephews. A Buddhist memorial service will be held at the temple on Saturday, November 14, at 10 am.

Marcus Dwayne Bell, 34, of Atlanta, Georgia, died unexpectedly on May 30, 2026. He repaired computers for a living and played drums in three bands at once, and he was early to every gig. He is survived by his parents, Darnell and Yvette Bell; his sister, Simone; and his partner, Jasmine Ortiz. A homegoing service will be held at his family’s church, with a repast to follow.