Short obituary examples

Fermín Benítez Molina, 81, of Pueblo, Colorado, died September 12, 2026. He was a steelworker for 38 years. He is survived by his wife, Consuelo, and their children, Ramón, Lucía and Teresa. A rosary will be prayed Thursday, September 17, at 7 pm at Sacred Heart Church.

Thelma Irene Hatch, 88, of Bangor, Maine, died October 4, 2026. She ran the lunch counter at Hatch’s Pharmacy for 40 years and remembered everyone’s order. She leaves her son, Wayne, and three grandchildren. Burial will be in the spring in the family plot in Orrington.

Our dad, Kwabena Asare Boateng, died at home in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, on August 30, 2026. He was 73. Dad drove a taxi in this city for 25 years and could name every pothole on Main Street. We will celebrate his life at our church on Saturday, September 12, at 10 am. All are welcome.

Augusta “Gussie” Pettigrew, 79, of Beaufort, South Carolina, died peacefully on June 14, 2026. She sang alto in the choir at St. Barnabas Episcopal Church for 51 years and arranged the altar flowers every Saturday morning. She was preceded in death by her husband, Clyde. She is survived by her daughters, Ellen (Mark) Pinckney and Frances Pettigrew, and four grandchildren. The Burial of the Dead will be celebrated Friday, June 19, at 11 am at St. Barnabas.

Hodan Abdi Warsame, 66, of Minneapolis, Minnesota, returned to Allah on March 21, 2026. She came to Minneapolis in 1996 and worked for 20 years as a home health aide, often for elders who spoke only Somali and trusted no one else to bathe them. She is survived by her husband, Abdirahman; her children, Ayan, Mohamed, Fartun and Liban; and nine grandchildren. Janazah prayer was held on March 22 after Dhuhr prayer, followed by burial.

Howard Mendel Kaplan, 90, of Boca Raton, Florida, formerly of Brooklyn, died May 2, 2026. He owned a hardware store on Flatbush Avenue for 41 years and could cut a key by feel. He is survived by Sondra, his wife of 64 years; his sons, Jeffrey and Michael; and five grandchildren. Graveside services will be held Monday, May 4, at 11 am. The family will sit shiva at the Kaplan home through Thursday.

Brody Thomas Nygaard, 19, of Bozeman, Montana, died unexpectedly on July 4, 2026. Brody was a sophomore studying forestry and had spent the summer on a trail crew in the Bridger Mountains. He played trumpet in his high school pep band, loudly, and never missed a home game. He is survived by his parents, Erik and Shannon Nygaard; his sister, Maddie; and his grandparents, Ron and Judy Pierce. A memorial will be held Saturday, July 18, at 2 pm in the high school gym.

Casimir “Casey” Wisniewski, 97, of Toledo, Ohio, died May 9, 2026. He served in the U.S. Army in Korea from 1951 to 1953 and then spent 35 years on the line at the Jeep plant. He was preceded in death by his wife, Bernadette. He is survived by his daughter, Janet (Rick) Moore; his son, Paul; five grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren. A funeral Mass will be held Thursday, May 14, at 10 am at his parish church, with military honors at the cemetery.

Russell “Russ” Albrecht, 72, of Casper, Wyoming, died January 30, 2026. Russ never married and had no close family left, and for 40 years his people were the Tuesday night bowling league at Eastridge Lanes. He kept the league’s books by hand and drove anyone home who shouldn’t drive. His friends will hold a gathering at the lanes on Tuesday, February 10, at 6 pm. Bring a story about him.

Gordon Wayne Fisk, 70, of Lubbock, Texas, died October 26, 2026. Gordon taught high school auto shop for 31 years, and a good share of the mechanics in town learned to change a clutch in his classroom. He is survived by his wife, Brenda; his sons, Shane and Luke; and four grandchildren. Services are pending with Caprock Funeral Home, which will post the details on its website.

Wen-Li “Winnie” Chou, 84, of Fremont, California, died September 23, 2026. She ran an alterations shop on Mowry Avenue for 28 years and hemmed half the prom dresses in the city. She is survived by her son, David, and her granddaughter, Emily. Services were private. The family thanks the hospice nurses who cared for her at home.

Bonnie Sue Ratliff, 63, of Bend, Oregon, died January 18, 2026, after a long illness. Bonnie guided rafting trips on the Deschutes River for 20 summers and taught hundreds of people to read whitewater. She is survived by her partner, Glen Hadley; her daughter, Kaylee; and her brother, Rick. Her cremation was private. A celebration of her life will be held on the river in June, and details will follow.

Leonard “Len” Hughes, 77, formerly of Altoona, Pennsylvania, died February 9, 2026, in Sarasota, Florida, where he had lived since 2009. Altoona friends will remember him from 30 years behind the counter of Hughes Shoe Repair on Eleventh Avenue. He is survived by his wife, Joyce, and his daughters, Holly and Kristen. A memorial service was held in Sarasota. Burial will take place in Altoona in the spring.

Wendell Harris Pope, 85, of Little Rock, Arkansas, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, August 11, 2026, surrounded by his loving family.

Wendell was born in 1941 in Pine Bluff to Harris and Ora Lee Pope, the third of five children. He graduated from high school in 1959 and earned a degree in accounting from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff in 1963. He worked for the state revenue department for 36 years and retired in 1999 as a district manager. Wendell was a deacon at Mount Pleasant Baptist Church, where he taught the men’s Bible class and counted the Sunday offering for 40 years. He loved fishing, Razorback football and his tomato garden, and he never missed a grandchild’s recital.

He married Ernestine Tate in 1965. He is survived by his wife of 61 years, Ernestine; his children, Wendell Jr. (Tonya) Pope, Angela Pope Reed and Alvin Pope; seven grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; his sister, Odessa Bass; and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins and friends. He was preceded in death by his parents and his brothers, Clifton and Otis.

A homegoing service will be held Saturday, August 15, at 11 am at Mount Pleasant Baptist Church, with burial to follow at Forest Hills Cemetery.

Wendell Harris Pope, 85, of Little Rock, Arkansas, died August 11, 2026. He worked 36 years for the state revenue department and counted the Sunday offering at Mount Pleasant Baptist Church for 40 of them. He leaves Ernestine, his wife of 61 years; his children, Wendell Jr., Angela and Alvin; and seven grandchildren. A homegoing service will be held Saturday, August 15, at 11 am at the church. His full obituary is on the funeral home’s website.