News Obituaries

Cassie Hanson and her husband Michael of Demotte hold a photo of their daughter, Rylee Hanson, who was killed by a wrong way driver in a Feb. 21 crash on Interstate 65. They are pictured on Monday, March 23, 2026. (John Smierciak/for the Post-Tribune)

‘She was a firework’: EMT remembered for her compassion, leadership

By Vivian Richey

March 26, 2026 at 2:39 p.m.

At just 20 years old, Rylee Hanson had already begun building the life she always...

FILE – Author Tracy Kidder stands in his cottage in South Bristol, Maine, on Sept. 26, 2005. (AP Photo/Pat Wellenbach, File)

Tracy Kidder, Pulitzer-winning author who turned unlikely subjects into bestsellers, dies at 80

By R.J. Rico

March 25, 2026 at 5:54 p.m.

Tracy Kidder, an award-winning narrative nonfiction writer who turned everything from computer engineering to life...

Reg Weaver waves to a crowd of educators after being elected president of the National Education Association, July 3, 2002, in Dallas. (Dawn Dietrich/AP)

Reginald ‘Reg’ Weaver, first Black president of the state’s largest teachers union, dies at 86

By Rick Pearson

March 25, 2026 at 3:25 p.m.

Reginald “Reg” Weaver, who taught in Harvey’s public schools, became the first Black president of...

President Donald Trump speaks with Secretary of State Marco Rubio during a roundtable discussion on college sports in the East Room of the White House on Friday, March 6, 2026, in Washington. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP)

Donald Trump says ‘whole educational system’ could go out of business without fixes to college sports

By Eddie Pells

March 6, 2026 at 8:22 p.m.

President Donald Trump has predicted the destruction not just of college sports but the entire...

Rev. Bernard Lafayette, national coordinator of the Poor People's campaign, holds a news conference where he expressed that he expects no less than a million people to converge on Washington May 30 for the largest demonstration in history. (UPI)

Bernard LaFayette, Selma voting rights organizer and leader with the Chicago Freedom Movement, dies at 85

By Travis Loller

March 5, 2026 at 5:48 p.m.

Bernard LaFayette, a leader with the Chicago Freedom Movement and the Selma voting rights organizer...

Bob Power, a musician and engineer who worked closely with some of the top hip-hop and R&B acts of the 1990s and 2000s, died Sunday at age 73. (Andrew H. Walker/Getty)

Bob Power, Chicago-born hip-hop engineer and A Tribe Called Quest collaborator, dies at 73

By The New York Times News Service Syndicate

March 5, 2026 at 11:20 a.m.

Bob Power, a Grammy-nominated producer, mixer and recording engineer best known for his genre-bending collaborations...

Michael Caga-anan Aguhar was program director of the Chicago-based Crossroads Fund. (Alexis Sanchez Boyzo)

Michael Caga-anan Aguhar, Crossroads Fund program director and Filipino organizer, dies at 42

By Bob Goldsborough

March 5, 2026 at 10:45 a.m.

The lawyer played a key role in the passage of the Illinois Domestic Workers Bill...

Former Notre Dame coach Lou Holtz, pictured in November 1996. (Joe Raymond/AP)

Lou Holtz, the college football legend who coached Notre Dame to its last national title, dies at 89

By Eric Olson

March 4, 2026 at 6:01 p.m.

Lou Holtz won 249 games as both one of the most lovable and unlikable characters...

‘Deadliest Catch’ crewman Todd Meadows dies after falling overboard, Coast Guard says

By Becky Bohrer

March 3, 2026 at 4:31 p.m.

A deckhand on the reality television show “Deadliest Catch,” which documents the lives of crab...

An expert equestrian, Jorie Butler Kent oversaw operations in the 1960s and '70s at the Oak Brook Polo Club, which had been formed by her father, Paul Butler, who incorporated the village of Oak Brook. (Reute Butler)

Jorie Butler Kent, daughter of the founder of Oak Brook, dies at 95

By Bob Goldsborough

February 26, 2026 at 2:46 p.m.

A businesswoman and philanthropist, Jorie Butler Kent ran the Oak Brook Polo Club and befriended...

Jackie Jackson hugs each visitor paying their respects at the casket of her father, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, on the first day of public visitation at Rainbow PUSH Coalition headquarters on Feb. 26, 2026. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)

The Rev. Jesse Jackson advocated for the people. They came in droves to visit him one last time.

By Andrew Carter

February 27, 2026 at 10:00 p.m.

More than a week of services and funerals in memory of the Rev. Jesse Jackson...

John R. Lazzara, here in the lobby of the Drury Lane-Martinique in Evergreen Park on Sept. 15, 2000. Some of his recent improvements to the theater include adding a wedding chapel and a gazebo out front. (Gerald West/Chicago Tribune)

Column: At the Drury Lane-Martinique in Evergreen Park, John R. Lazzara owned the spotlight

By Chris Jones

February 25, 2026 at 12:16 p.m.

The larger-than-life theater owner died recently at the age of 76. Though he came into...

FILE – In this May 15, 2013, file photo, “King of the Nerds” co-hosts Robert Carradine attends the TNT and TBS 2013 Upfront at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)

Robert Carradine, ‘Revenge of the Nerds’ and ‘Lizzie McGuire’ star, dies at 71

By Lindsey Bahr

February 24, 2026 at 7:54 a.m.

Robert Carradine, the youngest of his prolific Hollywood family and whose biggest hit was the...