Father obituary examples for inspiration

Marcus Jackson, 55, of Atlanta, Georgia, died unexpectedly on February 10, 2026. His children are still trying to understand a world without his voice in it. Marcus grew up in the West End neighborhood. He graduated from Booker T. Washington High School in 1989 and earned his associate's degree from Atlanta Technical College while working full-time. He spent 25 years as an HVAC technician, eventually starting his own business, Jackson Climate Solutions, in 2010. He married Denise Williams in 1994. They divorced in 2008 but remained close, co-parenting with more grace than most married couples manage. Marcus was the father who showed up. Every game, every recital, every parent-teacher conference. He took his sons fishing at Lake Lanier every summer and taught his daughter to change a tire when she was 14 because he said she shouldn't have to depend on anyone for the basics. He was a deacon at Ebenezer Baptist Church and volunteered with Habitat for Humanity most Saturdays. He believed you could tell a lot about a person by how they treated people who couldn't do anything for them. Marcus is survived by his children, Marcus Jr. (Keisha) Jackson, Terrence Jackson, and Brianna Jackson; three grandchildren; his mother, Gladys Jackson; his brothers, Derek and Jamal Jackson; and his former wife, Denise Williams. Homegoing celebration will be Saturday at 11 a.m. at Ebenezer Baptist Church. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Habitat for Humanity Metro Atlanta.

Harold Whitfield, 72, of Tulsa, Oklahoma, died at home on March 3, 2026, surrounded by his family. Harold never said much. He wasn't the type to give speeches or write long letters. But if you needed your car fixed at 10 p.m. on a Tuesday, he was already walking to the garage with a flashlight. That was how he loved people. Quietly, and with a wrench. Born in Muskogee to James and Betty Whitfield, Harold graduated from Central High School in 1972 and went straight to work at the Sinclair refinery, where he spent 35 years. He retired in 2007 and spent most of the next two decades in his workshop or watching his grandkids play sports. He married Linda Dawson on June 8, 1975, at First Baptist Church. They were married for 50 years. She was the talker. He was the listener. It worked. Harold coached Little League for 12 seasons, not because he loved baseball (he was more of a football man) but because his kids needed a coach and nobody else volunteered. Three of his former players came to see him in his last week. He is survived by his wife, Linda; his children, James (Michelle) Whitfield, Sarah (Tom) Becker, and David Whitfield; seven grandchildren; and his brother, Roy Whitfield. He was preceded in death by his parents and his sister, Betty Jean. Services will be held Saturday at 11 a.m. at First Baptist Church. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a donation to the Tulsa Boys Home.

Dr. Bernard Wei-Lin Chen, 81, of Palo Alto, California, passed away peacefully on January 28, 2026, at Stanford Medical Center. Born in Taipei, Taiwan, on April 12, 1944, Bernard immigrated to the United States in 1965 to attend graduate school at UC Berkeley, where he earned his Ph.D. in electrical engineering in 1970. He joined Hewlett-Packard in 1971 and spent 30 years contributing to semiconductor research, holding 14 patents by the time he retired in 2001. Bernard married Alice Yang in 1969 at a small ceremony in San Francisco. Together they built a life that bridged two cultures, raising their children with equal fluency in Mandarin and English, dim sum on Sundays and barbecues on the Fourth of July. After retirement, Bernard volunteered with Chinese for Affirmative Action, mentored engineering students at Stanford, and developed an unexpected passion for watercolor painting. His landscapes of the California coast hung in three local galleries. His colleagues knew him as a rigorous thinker who never dismissed a question. His family knew him as the man who drove 40 minutes each way to pick up the specific pork buns his grandchildren liked. Both versions were completely accurate. Bernard is survived by his wife, Alice; his children, Michael (Jennifer) Chen, Lisa (David) Wu, and Emily Chen; six grandchildren; and his sister, Mei-Ling Chang, of Taipei. He was preceded in death by his parents, Wei-Chung and Shu-Fen Chen. A memorial service will be held Saturday, February 8, at 2 p.m. at Unity Church of Palo Alto. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the UC Berkeley Engineering Scholarship Fund.