Remembering Jim Sheeler, obit writer extraordinaire

"Focusing on local people whose stories have never been told is one of the few things we have left," he argued. "It's something that absolutely should be expanded, and something that readers would pick up the paper for. It's not something you can do in a three-inch brief on the web."

Corliss Gilchrist, 91; happy to know Trump impeachment looms

Corliss Gilchrist was born May 7, 1925, in Ayrshire, Iowa, one of sixteen children born to James and Arrah Gilchrist. He passed away May 3, 2017, at his home in Altoona, IA. We told him the process to impeach Trump had begun — so that he could rest in peace. (H/T Sally Wisdom)

Janet 'Nebbie' Polinsky, sampled the entire Häagen-Dazs collection

Having served over two decades in public service, she retired to Florida, embracing the life of an enthusiastic agoraphobe, busying herself with power napping, sampling the entire Hagaan-Das collection, watching MMA and conveniently allowing her hearing aid batteries to run out before venturing into any necessary public events. Her last few years were spent in Redmond, Wash., where she moved to devote herself to training her grandchildren how to fight and swear like sailors.

Wayne Neal, 74, ornery ole bastard

Wayne Neal has exited his rickety old body, having lived twice as long as he expected and way longer than he deserved. He passed on September 11, 2016, at 74 years old. He often wished in his later years that he had not treated his body like a Tavern. (H/T Peter Elikann)

William Ziegler, 69; this time it's for real

William Ziegler escaped this mortal realm on Friday, July 29, 2016 at the age of 69. We think he did it on purpose to avoid having to make a decision in the pending presidential election. (H/T to Lisa Sayers)

Angus B. MacDonald, 67, 'Pretty nice guy'

So, the world doesn't have Angus MacDonald to kick around anymore. I'm gone! The devil finally called my name. The grim reaper came for me on Friday March 25,2016. I bought the farm. I bit the dust. So I guess I'm off to the promised land eh? The promised land! Imagine!

Douglas White, 68, left his mark on a city

Dougie, guardian and protector of this fair city, loved his job whether it was haunting his driveway in full Halloween regalia in July, running the roads on his souped-up bike (aka the Ghost Rider), singing the oldies at the car show, collecting bottles, playing ball with the neighborhood kids, discussing the latest (and by latest I mean rerun) of Leave It to Beaver or Green Acres, or visiting with his beloved "constituents" and partaking in their food. (H/T Peter Elikann)

William Fink, 46, migrated to the Cloud

William Ralph "Bill" Fink, 46, of Belleville, Ill., born July 28, 1969, in Belleville, Ill., encountered an unhandled exception in his core operating system, which prematurely triggered a critical "STOP" condition on Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2015. ... Diagnostics indicated multiple cascading hardware failures as the root problem. Though his hardware has been decommissioned, Bill's application has been migrated to the Cloud and has been repurposed to run in a virtual machine on an infinite loop.

Richard Buckman, 75, feisty to the end

In lieu of flowers, please do not vote for Hillary. (H/T Jeanie DeSantis)

Elaine Fydrych, 63, asks that in lieu of flowers ...

Elaine requests, "In lieu of flowers, please do not vote for Hillary Clinton". Family and friends may share memories at www.GardnerFuneralHome.com. Gardner Funeral Home 126 S. Black Horse Pike Runnemede, NJ 08078 856-939-2095 (H/T TPM)

Jesus Christ, son of God, king of the Jews

CHRIST Jesus Jesus Christ, Son of... God, died at mid-day on Friday after hours of long suffering. It was not a peaceful death. He was born to the late Mary and Joseph (with the help of the Holy Spirit). Jesus worked most of His life under His father Joseph... until He was around 30 years of age, when He began performing miracles, healing the sick, raising the dead, and claiming to be both the Son of God and King of the Jews. (H/T Terri Lukačko)

Aaron Joseph Purmort, 35, protected Minneapolis for many years

He is survived by his parents Bill and Kim Kuhlmeyer, father Mark Purmort (Patricia, Autumn, Aly), sisters Erika and Nicole, first wife Gwen Stefani, current wife Nora and their son Ralph, who will grow up to avenge his father's untimely death. (H/T Lisa Sayers)

Stig Kernell, 92, writes short, sweet obit

A Swedish man elected to keep the news of his death short and sweet, instructing a funeral agency to publish an obituary containing only the words 'I am dead', grabbing national headlines in the process. (H/T to Tanya Irwin

Juliette J. Aeschlimann, 62, wants no 'artificial respect'

There will be no services of any kind except for her best friend, grandson and great-granddaughter. No one cared to see her when she was alive; thus you sure the hell are not going to give your artificial respect now that she has passed on after 20 years of illness. (H/T to Jonathan Kellogg)

John J. Ruby, Jr., 62, passed away reluctantly

RUBY, John J., Jr. Passed away October 30, 2013, at the age of 62, reluctantly. Fiercely loyal and infinitely generous, he made one hell of an impact on the world. ... For anyone watching, it was clear that John was the tenth man at Fenway last night as his Red Sox clinched game six of the World Series at home for the first time in nearly a century. (H/T to Peter Elikann)

Peter Kaplan, 59, 'chronicled every move and shake' in Manhattan

Though he went on to help carry The Observer across the digital threshold, overseeing the creation of its website, Mr. Kaplan was regarded by those who knew him as a throwback to an earlier age — to the New York of the Stork Club, the Automat and the Algonquin. He revered the stuff of that era, from classic black-and-white films that portrayed the city at its noirish finest (he knew the credits of nearly all of them by heart) to newspapers as they were originally conceived: damp, sweet-smelling and black and white, or, in his case, black and pink.

Pomp Lentini, 97; not the best obit but ... my dad

He was a man of many interests, alternately rehabilitating the family’s 1846 original Moss family home (a point of pride), raising farm animals, mastering the art of photography, acting in local theater, becoming an award-winning winemaker with his own Chateau Lentini label, riding motorcycles, learning to embroider and working with computers. Many articles about him have been written in the Waterbury, New Haven and Meriden newspapers. His photographs have been displayed at the Cheshire Public Library. And check out my FB page, https://www.facebook.com/ninalentini, where Peter Elikann has written a wonderful eulogy about my dad. Thanks.

Virginia M. Hicks, 90, reprimands friends from beyond the grave

There will be no viewing, no funeral services. You should have all visited me with kind attention when I needed you to put a smile on my face and love in my heart. (H/T Jim Romenesko)

Marianne Theresa Johnson-Reddick, vicious mother

I think some of you may wonder why I'm not posting this viral obit. For one thing, the photographic evidence of it that I saw listed her death date as Sept. 30, 2013. And for another ... I've read that the obit has since been taken off the Reno paper's site until further investigation. I am awaiting the results of that investigation. Be well. Update: In the Reno Gazette Journal, an article elaborates on the situation, which seems to have been filled with undiagnosed mental conditions at best.

William G. Wood, 93; email his daughter for details

"If you want to know more about my WW II father, email me @ bwtomasino@gmail.com because he would have rolled over in his grave over the exorbitant price of this obituary." I have emailed her and will post his obit here, for free, if she send it to me. What do you think of the price newspapers charge to print obits?