Family-placed obituaries

Read family-placed obituaries and online guestbooks from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Obituaries

Credit: special

Howard Halpern, restaurateur and philanthropist, dies at 85

Halpern had a towering reputation as a processor and distributor of meat and seafood. He was a tough businessman but also a generous philanthropist and employer.

Credit: Epps Family

Pat Epps, pioneering force in aviation, dies at 91

Aviation pioneer Pat Epps founded what became Epps Aviation at DeKalb-Peachtree Airport in the 1960s and later helped recover a WWII fighter jet under ice in Greenland.

Credit: Ryon Horne

OBITUARY

Dave Hayward, who chronicled Atlanta’s LGBTQ history, dead at 76

When it comes to Atlanta LGBTQ history, few people knew as much as Dave Hayward, who died at the age of 76.

Credit: Olmstead Family

George Olmstead, successful executive search firm founder, dies at 81

He wasn’t just a businessman, daughter says. Olmstead was a great dancer with a sharp wit.

OBITUARY

Tom Coffin, activist and former head Atlanta arborist, dies at 82

Among his many talents, he photographed life in the city for years.

Credit: TNS

Bob Roarty, visionary co-founder of Atlanta Vintage Books, dies

Bob Roarty died Sept. 30 at his Atlanta home from a rare neurodegenerative disease. He is remembered for his kindness and making his rare book store a haven for booklovers.

Credit: SPECIAL

Judge Ronald Ramsey helped create city of Stonecrest and believed in second chances

Judge Ronald Ramsey, who helped create the city of Stonecrest and mentored many in Georgia law and politics, died Sept. 25 at 66 after a long cancer battle.

Credit: Jason Getz / AJC

‘He was a dreamer’: Atlanta and national leaders remember Tom Cousins

Warren Buffett, Sam Nunn and other major figures shared remembrances of Tom Cousins.

Credit: ANDY SHARP / AJC FILE

Tom Cousins, joyful developer who shaped lives and Atlanta’s skyline, dies

Tom Cousins, who reshaped Atlanta's skyline and brought pro basketball and hockey to the city, dies at 93. He was also a legendary philanthropist and political influencer.

Credit: Thomas Kennedy Sampson & Tompkins LLP

Mayor Andre Dickens praises deceased Thomas G. Sampson Sr. as ‘legal giant’

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, in a statement on the death of Thomas G. Sampson Sr., praised Sampson as "a legal giant" and "civic trailblazer."

Credit: Contributed by Lie-Nielsen family

John Lie-Nielsen, founder of Atlanta apartment management giant, dies

Entrepreneur John Lie-Nielsen, who died at age 90, founded Atlanta's Johnstown Properties, one of the country’s largest apartment management companies in the 1980s.

Credit: AJC

Worth Long made history, then recorded it

Worth Long was a prize-winning documentarian and musicologist and worked in the Civil Rights Movement.

Credit: Courtesy of Wilkinson Family

Jack Wilkinson, celebrated chronicler of Georgia sports, dies at 74

Jack Wilkinson, celebrated chronicler of Georgia sports and longtime Atlanta Journal-Constitution storyteller, dies at 74.

Credit: T. Levette Bagwell

Duane Jackson, Morehouse insect expert, dies at 77

Duane Jackson's love of insects made him an expert in his field.

Credit: Bob Andres/AJC

Former lawmaker Susan Holmes was a force in Republican politics

Former state Rep. Susan Holmes, died on April 30. She was also Monticello's first woman mayor and a six-term member of the Georgia House.

Credit: Courtesy

Harry DeMille, used-record impresario, raconteur, dies at 74

Harry DeMille's Wax 'N' Facts record store survived from age of hippies to the present

Credit: Rodney Ho

Cadillac Jack, longtime Atlanta country radio host, has died

William "Cadillac Jack" Choate, a long-time country radio deejay in Atlanta, died at age 51 of a heart attack April 17, 2025.

OBITUARY

Thom Bornemann championed mental health for U.S. and world

Thom Bornemann improved mental health services to people in the U.S. and around the world serving in federal health positions and for the Carter Center.