News Obituaries

Lori Healey, CEO of the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, center, and Democratic Sen. Mattie Hunter, 3rd District, right, testify in front of the Senate Executive Committee during a spring session of the Illinois General Assembly at the State Capitol in Springfield on May 29, 2019. (Zbigniew Bzdak/Chicago Tribune)

Lori Healey, senior VP of Obama Presidential Center and former CEO of McPier, dies at 65

By Adriana Pérez

May 5, 2025 at 4:09 p.m.

Healey planned the NATO Summit in Chicago and helped lead the city's failed bid for...

Retired photographer Steve Lasker, 78, at his home in Lincolnwood on Nov. 21, 2008, holding a photo he took during the fire at Our Lady of Angels grade school in Chicago on Dec. 1, 1958. One of the worst tragedies in Chicago’s history, the fire took the lives of 92 children and three nuns. (Bonnie Trafelet/Chicago Tribune)

Steve Lasker, pioneering photojournalist who captured iconic Our Lady of the Angels fire image, dies at 94

By Rick Kogan

May 5, 2025 at 11:32 a.m.

Steve Lasker, a Chicago photojournalist who captured an iconic image from the Our Lady of...

FILE – “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In” co-stars Ruth Buzzi and Gary Owens share a laugh during NBC’s 75th Anniversary Party, in Los Angeles, Jan. 9, 2002. (AP Photo/Rene Macura, File)

Ruth Buzzi, comedy sketch player on groundbreaking series ‘Laugh-In,’ dies at 88

By Beth Harris

May 5, 2025 at 1:05 p.m.

Ruth Buzzi, who rose to fame as the frumpy and bitter Gladys Ormphby on the...

JIm Johnson in an undated photo. (Alexis Del Cid)

Jim Johnson, WLS radio newsman for 45 years, dies at 80

By Bob Goldsborough

April 22, 2025 at 5:41 p.m.

Jim Johnson, a news anchor and reporter at WLS-AM 890 in Chicago for 45 years,...

Faithful gather for a rosary prayer for the late Pope Francis, in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican, Monday April 21, 2025 (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Pope Francis worried about greeting crowd in St. Peter’s Square but was thankful he did, report says

By Nicole Winfield

April 22, 2025 at 4:15 p.m.

Pope Francis will be laid to rest Saturday after lying in state for three days...

President Barack Obama leans over to talk with Pope Francis during a state arrival ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 23, 2015. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP)

Barack Obama, JB Pritzker among Illinois leaders remembering Pope Francis

By Chicago Tribune

April 21, 2025 at 5:48 p.m.

In the hours following Pope Francis' death Monday, leaders from Illinois — including former President...

Pope Francis waves from the Popemobile on his way to attend the Via Crucis on Copacabana Beach during World Youth Day celebrations on July 26, 2013 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Pope Francis has died at age 88. (Buda Mendes/Getty)

Pope Francis’ cause of death revealed by the Vatican

By Associated Press

April 21, 2025 at 1:30 p.m.

The Vatican said the cause of death was a stroke that put him into a...

Pope Francis holds the pastoral staff as he leaves after celebrating a Mass in St. Peter's Basilica, at the Vatican, to mark Epiphany, Jan. 6, 2014. (Andrew Medichini/AP)

Photos: The world reacts to the death of Pope Francis

By Steve Rosenberg

April 21, 2025 at 12:27 p.m.

Pope Francis, history’s first Latin American pontiff who charmed the world with his humble style...

Pope Francis appears on the central lodge of St. Peter’s Basilica to bestow the Urbi et Orbi (Latin for to the city and the world) blessing at the end of the Easter mass presided over by Cardinal Angelo Comastri in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican Sunday, April 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Pope Francis dies at 88

By Nicole Winfield

April 21, 2025 at 1:39 p.m.

Pope Francis, history’s first Latin American pontiff who charmed the world with his humility and...

Malik T. Murray in an undated photo. (Ariel Investments)

Malik Murray, Ariel exec and former St. Ignatius and Blue Demon basketball player, dies at 50

By Bob Goldsborough

April 21, 2025 at 12:48 p.m.

Malik T. Murray, a longtime executive at Ariel Investments and a trustee at DePaul University,...

Louis Sudler Jr. in an undated photo. (Jennifer Ames)

Louis C. Sudler Jr., real estate executive and arts lover, dies at 94

By Bob Goldsborough

April 18, 2025 at 5:09 p.m.

Louis Sudler Jr., who ran a family real estate firm in Chicago for many years,...

FILE – Actress Nora Aunor appears during the photo call for the film ‘”Sinapupunan” (Thy Womb) at the 69th edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, on Sept. 6, 2012. (AP Photo/Joel Ryan, File)

Nora Aunor, an actor among the Philippines’ biggest stars, dies at 71

By Associated Press

April 16, 2025 at 3:30 p.m.

Nora Aunor, who became one of the biggest stars of Philippine cinema during a career...

FILE – Wink Martindale arrives at the International Myeloma Foundation 7th Annual Comedy Celebration at The Wilshire Ebell Theatre, Nov. 9, 2013, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File)

Wink Martindale, the genial game-show host and an early TV interviewer of Elvis Presley, dies at 91

By Beth Harris

April 15, 2025 at 7:35 p.m.

Wink Martindale, the genial host of such hit game shows as “Gambit” and “Tic-Tac-Dough” who...