Wife obituary examples for inspiration

Sandra McAllister, 63, of Charlotte, North Carolina, died on February 14, 2026, at Atrium Health after a two-year fight with ovarian cancer. She was, as her husband John puts it, the most stubbornly optimistic person he'd ever met. Even cancer couldn't change that. Sandra was born in Raleigh to Edward and Frances Hampton. She graduated from NC State in 1984 with a degree in education and spent 30 years teaching kindergarten at Myers Park Traditional. She was the teacher who remembered every student's name for the rest of her life. Former students recognized her in grocery stores decades later. Sandra married John McAllister on May 18, 1985. They had two children and what their friends called the kind of marriage where you still catch them holding hands in the parking lot after 40 years. She was a quilter, a gardener, and the unofficial social chair of their neighborhood. She organized the block party for 20 years and nobody has stepped up to replace her because nobody could. Sandra is survived by her husband, John; her children, Emily (Ryan) Foster and Andrew (Chelsea) McAllister; four grandchildren; her mother, Frances Hampton; her brother, Edward Hampton Jr.; and her sister, Lynn (Michael) Baker. A celebration of Sandra's life will be held Saturday at 2 p.m. at Myers Park Presbyterian Church. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance.

Dr. Priya Sharma Patel, 71, of Houston, Texas, passed away on February 7, 2026, at MD Anderson Cancer Center after a courageous battle with breast cancer. Born on June 3, 1954, in Mumbai, India, Priya was the eldest daughter of Vikram and Lakshmi Sharma. She earned her MBBS from Grant Medical College in 1978 and completed her residency in internal medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston in 1983. Priya practiced medicine at Methodist Hospital for 35 years, retiring in 2018. Her patients knew her as the doctor who actually listened, who sat down instead of standing, and who called to check on you after a difficult appointment. On November 10, 1980, Priya married Rajesh Patel in Mumbai. They built their American life together, navigating two cultures with grace and humor. She taught her children to cook dal and to always remove their shoes at the door. She and Rajesh traveled to 40 countries, most recently a river cruise through Rajasthan in 2024. Priya was a patron of the Houston Grand Opera, a board member of the India House Cultural Center, and a dedicated volunteer at the Houston Food Bank. She is survived by her husband, Rajesh; her children, Anand (Meera) Patel and Deepa (James) Morrison; five grandchildren; her mother, Lakshmi Sharma; her sister, Sunita (Arun) Kapoor; and her brother, Amit (Nita) Sharma. A memorial service will be held Saturday at 11 a.m. at the India House Cultural Center. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Jen Murphy, 45, of Denver, Colorado, died on January 18, 2026, after a sudden brain aneurysm. She was 45 and there is nothing fair about that. Jen was born in Chicago, grew up in the suburbs, and moved to Denver after college because she said the mountains were the only thing that could get her to leave the Midwest. She earned her degree in graphic design from DePaul and worked as a creative director at Coors for 15 years. She married Ryan Murphy in 2005 at a courthouse ceremony that cost less than the dinner afterward. They had two kids who she loved in a way that was loud, present, and impossible to miss. Jen ran trail races, collected vinyl records she rarely had time to listen to, and made the best chili in their zip code (she entered it in the contest three times and won twice). She was the friend you called when you needed someone to tell you the truth. Jen is survived by her husband, Ryan; her children, Liam and Nora Murphy; her parents, Stan and Debbie Kowalski; her brother, Matt (Sarah) Kowalski; and her dog, Bowie. A celebration of life will be held February 1 at 4 p.m. at their home. Donations in Jen's memory may be made to the Brain Aneurysm Foundation.