Obituaries

Former Bears coach Mike Ditka, who also was a player on the 1963 Bears NFL championship team, on Aug. 29, 2013, at Mike Ditka's Restaurant in Chicago. (Michael Tercha/baiduhai)

Mike Ditka, Chicago Bears Hall of Famer and Super Bowl-winning coach, dies at 86

By Don Pierson

October 9, 2026 at 3:53 p.m.

Nobody embodied Bears football more than Mike Ditka, who became the face of the franchise...

A young Mike Ditka, circa 1960s. (Laughead Photographers)

Mike Ditka through the years: From humble beginnings in Pennsylvania to legendary football career in Chicago

By Kori Rumore

October 9, 2026 at 10:29 a.m.

Here's a look back at Mike Ditka's extraordinary life, from his humble beginnings in Pennsylvania...

David Collins, former chairman of Johnson & Johnson's McNeil Consumer Products. (Pat Collins)

David E. Collins, chairman of Johnson & Johnson’s McNeil Consumer Products during the Tylenol murders, dies

By Bob Goldsborough

October 8, 2026 at 4:55 p.m.

David E. Collins was the chairman of Johnson & Johnson’s McNeil Consumer Products unit, the...

An attendee asks Pearl Harbor survivor Ira "Ike" Schab, then 103, to sign an U.S. flag during the 82nd Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day ceremony on Dec. 7, 2023, at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Mengshin Lin, File)

WWII Navy veteran Ira ‘Ike’ Schab, one of last remaining Pearl Harbor survivors, dies at 105

By Jennifer Peltz

December 21, 2025 at 3:18 p.m.

World War II Navy veteran Ira “Ike” Schab, one of the dwindling number of survivors...

Edmund Ewoldt was a Wheaton Community High School teacher and athletic director. (Ewoldt family photo)

Edmund Ewoldt, Wheaton high school teacher, coach and wrestling expert, dies at 97

By Bob Goldsborough

December 19, 2025 at 4:33 p.m.

Ewoldt had an encyclopedic knowledge of state high school wrestling and a spirit that led...

Greg Biffle speaks during the season-ending NASCAR awards ceremony while accepting the award for his fifth-place finish in the NASCAR Sprint Cup title race Nov. 30, 2012 in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

NASCAR’s Greg Biffle remembered for humanitarian efforts: ‘His tireless work saved lives’

By Jenna Fryer

December 19, 2025 at 6:00 a.m.

For all the races and some memorable wins, Greg Biffle is perhaps best remembered for...

Millie Hefner Gunn, left, with daughter Christie Hefner, the former CEO of Playboy Enterprises. (Provided by Christie Hefner)

Millie Hefner Gunn, first wife of Hugh Hefner and mother to Christie, dies at 99

By Rick Kogan

December 19, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

She helped support and shape the magazine that would become Playboy Enterprises, but never tried...

FILE – Actor Gil Gerard poses in Los Angeles, Ca. on July 16, 1990. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon, File)

‘Buck Rogers’ star Gil Gerard dies at 82

By Associated Press

December 17, 2025 at 4:24 p.m.

Gil Gerard, who played television’s hunky sci-fi hero William “Buck” Rogers soon after the Star...

Western Springs resident and longtime Tribune Media Services executive Walter Mahoney, who died in November, took great pride in promoting and encouraging both the talent that his agency managed, as well as working to mentor employees of his organization, his family said. (Mahoney family photo)

Tribune syndicator Walter Mahoney helped launch creatives’ careers

By Bob Goldsborough

December 16, 2025 at 2:48 p.m.

Walter Mahoney, of Western Springs, helped writers and cartoonists place their work nationwide through Tribune...

Joel Zemans, head of Mid Town Bank, on Feb. 16, 1978. (James Mayo/baiduhai)

Joel Zemans, real estate developer and Mid Town Bank CEO who helped struggling groups secure loans, dies at 84

By Bob Goldsborough

December 16, 2025 at 1:28 p.m.

The South Side native and community banker was also a two-time men’s basketball All-American at...

Judge William J. Bauer, circa 1964. (baiduhai archive)

William J. Bauer, ‘sage’ Chicago-based 7th Circuit judge and US attorney, dies at 99

By Bob Goldsborough

December 15, 2025 at 9:24 p.m.

Colleagues said Bauer transformed the U.S. attorney’s office in Chicago, minimizing the impact of politics...

Actor Anthony Geary, left, and actress Genie Francis attend The Paley Center for Media Presents “General Hospital: Celebrating 50 years and Looking Forward” at The Paley Center for Media on April 12, 2013 in Beverly Hills, California.
Geary’s death was announced Monday, Dec. 15, 2025. (File: Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

‘General Hospital’ star Anthony Geary dies at 78

By Joseph Wilkinson

December 15, 2025 at 3:23 p.m.

Anthony Geary, the actor who defined soap opera stardom as Luke Spencer on “General Hospital,”...

Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner arrive on the red carpet at the State Department for the Kennedy Center Honors gala dinner, Dec. 2, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)

Michele Singer Reiner, photographer who influenced 1980s rom-com’s happy end, dies

By Associated Press

December 15, 2025 at 2:06 p.m.

Michele Singer Reiner, a photographer and producer who inspired the happy conclusion in the 1980s...

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