Obituary Examples & Templates

Evelyn Marie Brandt (née Schaefer), 91, of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, passed away peacefully on February 4, 2026, at Landis Homes, surrounded by her daughters.

Born August 16, 1934, in Lititz, Pennsylvania, Evelyn was the eldest daughter of Walter and Mildred (Hess) Schaefer. She graduated from Lititz High School in 1952 and married Richard "Dick" Brandt on October 11, 1954, at St. James Episcopal Church. They shared 58 years of marriage before Richard's death in 2013.

Evelyn worked for 22 years as an administrative secretary at Armstrong World Industries, where she was known for her impeccable typing speed and the tin of homemade pfeffernüsse she kept on her desk every December. After retirement, she threw herself into gardening with an intensity her children described as "competitive." Her dahlias won three blue ribbons at the Ephrata Fair. She displayed them on the refrigerator the way other people display their children's art.

A lifelong member of St. James Episcopal Church, she served on the altar guild for over forty years and never once missed setting up the Easter lilies. She was also a devoted reader — two library books a week, every week, until her eyesight made her switch to audiobooks at age 87.

She is survived by her daughters, Nancy (Harold) Kemper of Lancaster and Susan (the late David) Moyer of Ephrata; five grandchildren, Brian, Katherine, Laura, Mark, and Philip; eight great-grandchildren; and her younger sister, Ruth Ann Fisher of Lititz. In addition to her husband, she was preceded in death by her son, Thomas Brandt, in 1998, and her brother, Robert Schaefer.

A funeral service will be held Saturday, February 8, at 11:00 a.m. at St. James Episcopal Church, 119 N. Duke St., Lancaster. Visitation Friday, 6:00–8:00 p.m., at the Charles F. Snyder Jr. Funeral Home, 414 E. King St. Interment at Greenwood Cemetery.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Lancaster Public Library, 125 N. Duke St., Lancaster, PA 17602.

Raymond Arthur Kowalski Sr., 89, of Hamtramck, Michigan, died on January 29, 2026, at the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System.

Ray was born on May 2, 1936, in Hamtramck, to Stefan and Wanda (Majewski) Kowalski. He attended St. Florian High School, where he played football and worked weekends at his father's bakery on Jos. Campau Avenue.

He enlisted in the United States Army in 1955 and served with the 2nd Infantry Division in South Korea. He earned the rank of Sergeant and received the Army Commendation Medal. He spoke rarely about his time overseas, but kept his service photograph on the mantel for the rest of his life.

After his honorable discharge in 1958, Ray returned to Hamtramck, married Carolyn Nowicki on June 14, 1960, and went to work at the Dodge Main assembly plant. He spent 31 years on the line, never missing a shift except the day each of his four children was born. He was a proud member of UAW Local 3.

Ray was a fixture at American Legion Post 4 and a lifelong parishioner of St. Florian Church. He bowled in the Thursday night league at Garden Bowl for 27 consecutive seasons, an achievement he considered more significant than most of his others. He kept a vegetable garden in the backyard that produced more tomatoes than any family could eat, which he solved by leaving paper bags of them on neighbors' porches without asking.

He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Carolyn; his children, Raymond Jr. (Deborah) of Sterling Heights, Patricia (James) Nowak of Dearborn, Michael (Laura) of Royal Oak, and Donna Kowalski of Ann Arbor; nine grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; and his brother, Stanley Kowalski of Warren. He was preceded in death by his parents and his sister, Irene Szymanski.

Funeral Mass will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, February 1, at St. Florian Church, 2626 Poland St., Hamtramck. Visitation Friday 3:00–8:00 p.m. at Krot Funeral Home, 11951 Conant St. Military honors at Mt. Olivet Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) or the Hamtramck Food Pantry.

Andrea Christine Morales, 48, of San Antonio, Texas, died suddenly on February 1, 2026. We are still trying to make sense of this.

Andie was born on November 19, 1977, in Corpus Christi, Texas, to Frank and Maria Elena (Garza) Morales. She grew up near the water, spent every summer brown as a penny, and never quite forgave San Antonio for being landlocked.

She graduated from Ray High School in 1996 and earned her BSN from UT Health San Antonio in 2000. She worked as a pediatric nurse at University Hospital for 23 years. She was the kind of nurse who remembered every kid's name and kept a drawer full of stickers for the ones who were scared. Her colleagues knew that if Andie was on shift, the hardest cases were covered.

She married Daniel Ochoa in 2004. They divorced in 2015 but remained close — Andie said he was a better friend than he was a husband, and Daniel agreed. Together they raised two kids who are the reason she did everything.

Andie ran three half-marathons, not because she loved running but because her friend Leticia dared her. She made tamales every Christmas from her grandmother's recipe and refused to write it down, insisting her daughter would "learn by watching, like I did." She sang along to Selena in the car with a conviction that exceeded her talent. She texted too many emojis. She always picked up the phone.

She is survived by her children, Sofia Ochoa, 19, and Marco Ochoa, 16; her parents, Frank and Maria Elena Morales of Corpus Christi; her brother, Luis (Jennifer) Morales of Austin; her former husband, Daniel Ochoa of San Antonio; and more friends than most people make in two lifetimes.

A memorial service will be held Saturday, February 8, at 3:00 p.m. at Community Bible Church, 2477 N. Loop 1604 E., San Antonio. A reception will follow at the family home.

Donations may be made to the Children's Bereavement Center of South Texas in Andie's name.

George P. Hartley, 77, of Boise, Idaho, passed away on February 6, 2026.

George was born in Nampa, Idaho, on September 22, 1948. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1968 to 1972 and worked as an electrician for Idaho Power for 30 years. He married Linda Sorensen in 1974. They were together for 51 years.

He liked fishing the South Fork of the Boise River, fixing things that weren't quite broken, and eating breakfast at Goldy's on Saturday mornings. He was a quiet man who showed up.

He is survived by his wife, Linda; his sons, Scott and Kevin; six grandchildren; and his dog, Buck. He was preceded in death by his parents and his sister, Carol.

No formal service. The family will gather privately.

Janet Louise Pryor, 73, of Knoxville, Tennessee, died on January 31, 2026, at Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center after a year-long fight with pancreatic cancer that she handled with more grace than the disease deserved.

Mom was born on December 5, 1952, in Morristown, Tennessee, the middle child of Harold and Betty (Carson) Webb. She graduated from Morristown-Hamblen High School East in 1971 and received her teaching certificate from East Tennessee State University. She taught second grade at Shannondale Elementary for 28 years. The number of adults in Knoxville who learned to read in her classroom is staggering.

She married our father, Donald Pryor, in 1975. He died in 2019. We think she was ready to see him again.

Mom was not a person who sat still. She ran the PTA when we were kids. She organized the church rummage sale every April. She kept a schedule on the kitchen wall that looked like air traffic control. Even during treatment, she insisted on doing the crossword every morning — in pen, because "pencils are for people who aren't sure."

She made the best chicken and dumplings in East Tennessee. We will fight anyone who disagrees. She also sewed every Halloween costume we ever wore, including the year Kevin wanted to be a "robot dinosaur," which she somehow pulled off with cardboard boxes and aluminum foil.

She is survived by her children, Kevin (Michelle) Pryor of Knoxville, Amy Pryor-Davis (Brian) of Chattanooga, and Stephanie Pryor of Nashville; her grandchildren, Ella, Jackson, Noah, and Lily; her sister, Carol Webb Stanton of Morristown; and her brother, James Webb of Johnson City.

A celebration of life will be held February 4 at 2:00 p.m. at First Baptist Church, 510 W. Main St., Knoxville. In lieu of flowers, donate to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network or buy a book for a kid who needs one.

William "Bill" Francis Dougherty, 81, of Medford, Massachusetts, died on February 9, 2026, at his home on Mystic Avenue, the same house he'd lived in since 1972.

Bill was born on April 17, 1944, in Somerville, Massachusetts, to Francis and Mary (Sullivan) Dougherty. He graduated from Somerville High School in 1962, where he was a middling student and an excellent left fielder. He got his associate's degree from Bunker Hill Community College in 1966 and went to work for the MBTA, where he spent 35 years as a maintenance supervisor. He took the Orange Line to work every day and considered people who drove into Boston to be fundamentally unserious.

He married Joan Callahan in 1968. She survives him and would like everyone to know that he never once loaded the dishwasher correctly in 57 years, and she loved him anyway.

Dad was not complicated. He went to work. He came home. He sat in his chair and watched the Red Sox lose, which they did with great regularity for most of his life. When they finally won in 2004, he called each of his children, said "They did it," and hung up. He did not cry, or if he did, he would deny it.

He coached CYO basketball at St. Raphael's for twelve years. He could fix any plumbing problem and refused to call a professional for anything short of structural collapse. He made exactly one recipe — American chop suey — and made it every Tuesday for decades. Nobody in the family liked American chop suey. Everyone ate it.

He is survived by his wife, Joan; his children, Michael (Karen) Dougherty of Arlington, Kathleen (Robert) Ferreira of Quincy, and Patrick Dougherty of Medford; seven grandchildren; his brother, Paul (Barbara) Dougherty of Woburn; and several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents and his sister, Margaret Donahue.

Funeral Mass Saturday, February 15, at 10:00 a.m. at St. Raphael Church, 512 High St., Medford. Calling hours Friday, 4:00–8:00 p.m., at the Dello Russo Funeral Home, 306 Main St. Burial at Oak Grove Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the Jimmy Fund.

Colonel James Robert "Jim" Hargrove, USAF (Ret.), 78, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, died on February 3, 2026, at Memorial Hospital.

Jim was born on January 8, 1948, in Tupelo, Mississippi, to Robert and Frances (Tillman) Hargrove. He graduated from Tupelo High School in 1966 and received his commission through the Air Force ROTC program at the University of Mississippi in 1970.

He served 28 years in the United States Air Force, beginning as a second lieutenant at Keesler Air Force Base and retiring as a full colonel at Peterson Air Force Base in 1998. His career included assignments at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, Osan Air Base in South Korea, and the Pentagon. He completed two deployments during Operation Desert Storm and was awarded the Bronze Star Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters, the Air Force Commendation Medal, and the Southwest Asia Service Medal. He led a communications squadron of 340 personnel and took particular pride in never losing a member under his command.

After retirement, Jim worked as a defense consultant but spent most of his energy volunteering with the Pikes Peak chapter of the Air Force Association and mentoring young ROTC cadets at the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs. He told every one of them the same thing: "The Air Force doesn't care how smart you are. It cares whether people will follow you."

He married Sarah Katherine Billings in 1972 at the Chapel of the Roses in Biloxi, Mississippi. They moved eleven times in 28 years. Sarah made each house a home in under a week, a skill Jim said was more impressive than anything he ever did in uniform.

He is survived by his wife, Sarah; his children, Lt. Col. James R. Hargrove Jr. (Anna) of Fairfax, Virginia, and Elizabeth Hargrove-Wells (Dr. Mark Wells) of Denver; five grandchildren; and his sister, Martha Hargrove Pruitt of Jackson, Mississippi. He was preceded in death by his parents and his brother, Thomas Hargrove.

A memorial service with full military honors will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, February 8, at the Air Force Academy Cemetery Chapel. Interment at the United States Air Force Academy Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the Air Force Aid Society or the Fisher House Foundation.

Aiden Michael Torres, 22, of Portland, Oregon, died on January 27, 2026.

Aiden was born on March 3, 2003, in Portland, to Miguel and Christine (Hanson) Torres. He grew up in the Hawthorne neighborhood, attended Sunnyside Environmental School, and graduated from Cleveland High School in 2021, where he ran cross-country and played bass guitar in a band that changed its name four times. The last version was called "Static Cling," and they played exactly three shows, all at someone's garage.

He was studying environmental science at Portland State University and worked part-time at Powell's Books, in the Gold Room, where he developed strong opinions about science fiction that he shared with anyone who lingered too long near the shelves. He had a talent for noticing when someone was having a bad day and doing something small about it — bringing coffee without being asked, sitting down and just being there.

Aiden hiked the PCT in sections with his dad. He built terrariums. He adopted a three-legged cat named Governor and treated her like royalty. He was 22 years old and already a person people turned to, which makes his absence something his family and friends will carry for a very long time.

He is survived by his parents, Miguel and Christine Torres; his sister, Camila Torres, 19; his grandparents, Richard and Donna Hanson of Bend and Gloria Torres of Gresham; and more friends than his parents knew he had, many of whom have shown up this week in ways that would have made him proud.

A celebration of Aiden's life will be held Saturday, February 1, at 2:00 p.m. at Oaks Pioneer Church, 4515 SE Sellwood Blvd., Portland. Bring a memory. Bring a plant if you want — he would have liked that.

Donations in Aiden's name may be made to the Oregon chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention or the Powell's Books Literacy Fund.

Barbara Jean "Barb" Winkler, 79, of Madison, Wisconsin, has died, and she wants you to know she's irritated about it.

Barb was born on July 21, 1946, in Janesville, Wisconsin, to Earl and Phyllis (Scharmer) Lundy. She graduated from Janesville High School in 1964, married Tom Winkler in 1966, and spent the next 60 years telling him to slow down, turn that off, and put on a jacket.

She worked as a dental hygienist for 33 years at Dr. Mortensen's office in Middleton. If you grew up in Middleton in the '80s or '90s, Barb cleaned your teeth, and you probably still feel slightly guilty about not flossing enough. She retired in 2003 and immediately got bored, so she started volunteering at the Dane County Humane Society, where she became the person the cats liked, which she considered a high compliment.

Barb was a ferocious Scrabble player. She kept a running tally of her wins against Tom on a notepad in the kitchen drawer. The final count was 1,847 to 1,212. She wanted this published. Tom disputes several of the early results but has agreed not to contest them at this time.

She loved the Packers the way some people love oxygen. She made a brandy Old Fashioned that could strip paint. She read every Agatha Christie novel at least twice. She once told a telemarketer that she'd died and he should remove her from the list, and when he called back a week later, she said, "I told you, I'm dead." That was vintage Barb.

She is survived by her husband, Tom; her children, Greg (Lisa) Winkler of Sun Prairie and Julie (Steve) Ahlgren of Waunakee; her grandchildren, Emma, Jake, and Sophie; her sister, Linda Marquardt of Janesville; and a great deal of leftover holiday candy that she bought on clearance and never distributed.

A service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, February 15, at Cress Funeral Home, 3610 Speedway Rd., Madison. Barb requested no visitation because, in her words, "nobody needs to see me like that."

In lieu of flowers, adopt a cat. Or floss. She'd accept either.

Priya Anand Chakraborty, 67, of Asheville, North Carolina, died peacefully at home on February 7, 2026, with her garden visible through the window and Van Morrison playing on the speaker.

Priya was born on April 9, 1958, in Kolkata, India, and came to the United States in 1982 with two suitcases and an acceptance letter to the MFA program at the Rhode Island School of Design. She never intended to stay permanently, but she met a lanky potter named Tom Chakraborty at a gallery opening in Providence, and plans changed. They married in 1985 — her parents flew in from Kolkata; his drove down from Vermont — and they spent the next four decades building a life that looked like no one else's.

Priya was a textile artist whose work hung in galleries in New York, Chicago, Atlanta, and — her personal favorite — the lobby of a dentist's office in Black Mountain that she said had "the best light in Western North Carolina." She taught weaving at UNC Asheville for fifteen years and was the kind of professor who students came back to visit ten years after graduating. Her studio, a converted chicken coop behind the house, contained more looms than the house had chairs.

She cooked elaborate meals for anyone who walked through the door. She grew turmeric and holy basil in raised beds. She read poetry out loud, sometimes to her plants. She believed that beauty was not optional, and she built her days around making and finding it — in cloth, in food, in the way November light hit the Blue Ridge in late afternoon.

She is survived by her husband, Tom Chakraborty; her daughter, Maya Chakraborty-Lin (James) of Brooklyn, New York; her son, Ravi Chakraborty of Asheville; her mother, Sujata Anand of Kolkata; her brother, Deepak Anand of Mumbai; and a community of artists, students, and neighbors who felt her house was a second home.

There will be no formal service. Instead, friends and family will gather at the house on Sunday, February 16, for food, music, and conversation, which is how Priya spent her best days and how she wanted to be remembered. Wear color.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Asheville Area Arts Council or Doctors Without Borders.