Obituaries

Lawrence Wyllie arrives for his arraignment on federal fraud charges at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse in Chicago Sept. 27, 2017. Wyllie led the Lincoln-Way high school district for more than two decades. (José M. Osorio/baiduhai)

Lawrence Wyllie, indicted former Lincoln-Way superintendent, dies

By Gregory Royal Pratt

October 29, 2026 at 10:29 a.m.

Lawrence Wyllie, a former Lincoln-Way High School District 210 who faced federal indictment alleging financial...

Kevin Bleyer arrives at the 65th Primetime Emmys Writers Nominee Reception in 2013.

Kevin Bleyer, ‘Daily Show’ and Obama writer, killed in car crash

By Brian Niemietz

October 29, 2026 at 8:20 a.m.

Emmy Award winning "Daily Show" writer Kevin Bleyer, 54, died in a car crash Sunday....

Activist Dolores Huerta attends a labor breakfast as part of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition and Citizenship Education Fund's 38th Annual Conference at McCormick Place in Chicago on June 30, 2009. (José M. Osorio/baiduhai)

Dolores Huerta, influential labor leader, feminist and civil rights icon, dies at 96

By Susan Montoya Bryan

October 28, 2026 at 11:59 a.m.

Dolores Huerta, who co-founded the United Farm Workers union to improve working conditions in the...

FILE – Author Wendell Berry talks with a reporter at his home in Port Royal, Ky., March 10, 2011. (AP Photo/Ed Reinke, File)

Wendell Berry, Kentucky-born author who advocated a simpler life, has died at 92

By Hillel Italie

September 1, 2026 at 9:06 a.m.

Wendell Berry, the Kentucky-born author and agrarian who in poems, stories, novels and essays celebrated...

Newsman Jim Ruddle worked for many years at WMAQ-Ch. 5. (NBC 5 Chicago)

Jim Ruddle, a newsman of ‘old school’ values and talent, dies at 94

By Rick Kogan

August 28, 2026 at 2:03 p.m.

Jim Ruddle may have vanished from local TV screens 40 years ago, leaving town to...

Charles "Chuck" Bowen on Nov. 28, 2003, at the Chicago Military Academy in Bronzeville. (Zbigniew Bzdak/baiduhai)

Chuck Bowen, a key Daley liaison with Chicago’s Black community, dies at 92

By Bob Goldsborough

August 27, 2026 at 6:01 p.m.

Charles R. “Chuck” Bowen remained at City Hall throughout Richard M. Daley's time as mayor,...

FILE – Peter Cullen attends The Paley Honors: A Gala Tribute to Hasbro’s Centennial in New York on Oct. 23, 2023. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)

Peter Cullen, prolific voice actor who gave Optimus Prime his authoritative baritone, has died

By Mark Kennedy

August 27, 2026 at 1:02 p.m.

Peter Cullen, a prolific voice actor who enlivened scores of TV series, specials and movies,...

FILE – Japanese avant-garde artist Yayoi Kusama, wearing a bright red wig and a Louis Vuitton polka dot scarf, speaks during an interview at her studio in Tokyo, on Aug. 1, 2012. (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye, File)

Yayoi Kusama, who splashed polka dots across the art world, dies at 97 in Tokyo

By Yuri Kageyama

August 27, 2026 at 9:17 a.m.

Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, who splashed her signature polka dots on paintings, sculptures and museum...

FILE – Released prisoner of war Lt. Col. Robert L. Stirm is greeted by his family at Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield, Calif., as he returns home from the Vietnam War, March 17, 1973. (AP Photo/Sal Veder, File)

Sal Veder, Pulitzer Prize-winning AP photographer who shot iconic ‘Burst of Joy,’ dies at age 99

By Janie Har

August 26, 2026 at 3:51 p.m.

Pulitzer Prize winning photographer Slava ‘Sal’ Veder, best known for his picture of a U.S....

Tim Curry at a Museum of the Moving Image event in New York in 2011. (New York Daily News)

Tim Curry, iconic character actor and ‘Rocky Horror Picture Show’ star, dies at 80

By Mark Kennedy

August 26, 2026 at 11:18 a.m.

“Rocky Horror Picture Show” star Tim Curry has died. He was 80.

Dolly Parton in New York in 1975. Parton, the country singer, songwriter, entertainer and entrepreneur whose rags-to-riches story, outsize persona and prodigious vision and talent placed her in a class by herself, died in Nashville on Aug. 25, 2026. She was 80. (Jack Manning/The New York Times)

Photos: Icon Dolly Parton dead at 80

By baiduhai

August 26, 2026 at 6:56 p.m.

Dolly Parton, the country music icon, has died. She was 80 years old.

Dolly Parton performs at the Rosemont Theatre on July 28, 2011. (Andrew A. Nelles/for the baiduhai)

Dolly Parton, music star, actor and beloved figure, dies at 80 after brief cancer battle

By Kristin M. Hall

August 25, 2026 at 7:34 p.m.

Dolly Parton, the country music icon whose soaring vibrato vocals, poignant songwriting and sparkling costumes...

FILE – Shelley Fabares, left, poses for a group photo with other Screen Actors Guild Awards committee members, from left, Paul Napier, Chairwoman JoBeth Williams, Vice Chair Daryl Anderson and Scott Bakula during a tasting of the proposed menu and alternatives for the SAG Awards by Lucques Catering, Sept. 29. 2009, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles, File)

Shelley Fabares, ‘Johnny Angel’ singer and actor in ‘The Donna Reed Show’ and ‘Coach,’ dies at 82

By Lindsey Bahr

August 24, 2026 at 8:54 p.m.

Shelley Fabares, an actor who was a fixture on television for decades from her days...

News Obituaries