Free Republic

Three short months ago, I received an encouraging text from my friend Ravi Zacharias. Now, as if in a blink of an eye, he has passed away. Along with countless thousands, I grieve. When he wrote, he was reeling from excruciating back pain but wholly unaware of the cancer diagnosis that would soon follow. Despite his suffering and his onerous schedule, he shared that he was praying for my brother, Rush, who had just been diagnosed with cancer. Ravi was a unique Christian apologist and evangelist -- a giant in his field. No one presented the Gospel more cogently and...

It is with a very, very heavy heart that I inform everyone that Farmer Dean has passed. He fought cancer and then septic infections and pneumonia valiantly for 3 years before succumbing. He loved his farm and his wife Becky and his horses and his incredible gun collection very much. I had the honor of talking to him many, many times and several days before his death. Please take a moment to remember him. He deserves it.

Jean McLeod Craig June 7, 1930 – May 19, 2020 On May 19, 2020 Jean slipped the surly bonds of earth, put out her hand and touched the face of God. A memorial service is planned for 11:00 am, Saturday, May 30, 2020 at Adams Funeral Home. Jean was born on June 7, 1930 on her father’s fishing boat halfway between Ketchikan, Alaska and Prince Edward Island. Jean was the oldest of 13 children and was proud of her Alaska Native Heritage. She was a Haida in the Eagle Frog clan and worked in a cannery as a teenager and...

Roy Uwe Ludwig Horn, whose collaboration with Siegfried Fischbacher created the world-renowned duo Siegfried and Roy, died of COVID-19 complications on Friday at a Las Vegas Hospital, their publicist reports. He was 75. "Today, the world has lost one of the greats of magic, but I have lost my best friend," said Siegfried in a statement. "From the moment we met, I knew Roy and I, together, would change the world. There could be no Siegfried without Roy, and no Roy without Siegfried." "Roy was a fighter his whole life including during these final days. I give my heartfelt appreciation...

I'm very sad to say that The Shrew passed away yesterday. I know there are some oldtimers here that would want to know and possibly share condolences and stories. He was one of the best.

Our FRiend Windflier has passed. I've just gotten the news from his wife. He had been battling cancer for a while now. I'm sure the family would appreciate prayers,. Thanks.

President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence left their rally in New Hampshire and attended the dignified transfer of Sgt. 1st Class Javier Gutierrez and Sgt. 1st Class Antonio Rodriguez, who were killed in Afghanistan while conducting combat operations on February 8, at Dover Air Force Base. Gutierrez, 28, of San Antonio, Texas and Rodriguez, 28, of Las Cruces, New Mexico, died on February 8 as they engaged a gunman in an Afghan Army uniform. Fox News reports six others were wounded during the attack. Gutierrez and Rodriguez were assigned to 3rd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne). Both men...

Following confirmation that the memorial service for Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna, and seven others who lost their lives in a helicopter crash almost two weeks ago will be held at the Staples Center, there has been increased speculation about a private ceremony as well. The New York Times theorized that such a ceremony might take place at Our Lady Queen of Angels Catholic Church in Newport Beach, California, as Kobe, a practicing Catholic, belonged to the church. He had reportedly even gone there with Gianna to "reflect and pray" in the early hours of January 26, following which they...

America has lost a voice that strongly and consistently provided the road map to steer us away from the political and cultural abyss we currently face. That voice belonged to historian Gertrude Himmelfarb, who died Dec. 30 at age 97. Gertrude spoke passionately about how our most important institutions—families, communities, churches, and private enterprise—must be “remoralized,” as it is only through a strong civil society that we can have a strong nation. In her words, people learn to function as “free, responsible, moral adults” in these institutions and apply that responsibility and morality as citizens of a nation. But she...

My Dad passed at around 11:45am at the hospital. We were expecting it, but hearing it still hurts a lot. He got e-coli by eating raw oysters or clams when on vacation in the early 80s, before I was conceived. My parents had been trying to have a kid, but that was preventing it; they eventually found out what it was, but the damage had been done by then. Some years ago, he found out his kidneys were failing. He found out about the PD dialysis which he could do at home, and was optimistic about the future, how he...

An unassuming screenwriter and actor, Mr. Henry thought up quirky characters with Mel Brooks and inhabited many more on “Saturday Night Live.” Buck Henry, a writer and actor who exerted an often overlooked but potent influence on television and movie comedy — creating the loopy prime-time spy spoof “Get Smart” with Mel Brooks, writing the script for Mike Nichols’s landmark social satire “The Graduate” and teaming up with John Belushi in the famous samurai sketches on “Saturday Night Live” — died on Wednesday in Los Angeles. He was 89. A friend, Dianne V. Lawrence, said Mr. Henry’s wife, Irene Ramp,...

Radio shock jock Don Imus, one of the early pioneers of his genre, died Friday less than two years after retiring, according to a family statement given to NBC New York. He was 79. The controversial morning personality’s last day on the radio was on March 29 of last year. He had announced on Jan. 22 that he was retiring, telling fans: “Turn out the lights...the party's over."

Subhradeep Dutta, 28, was walking on a trail on Christmas Eve when the tree fell... He was visiting from Edina, Minnesota. Emergency medical services were called at approximately 4:38 p.m. and first responders found Dutta beneath the tree. Dutta suffered “severe traumatic injuries” and was pronounced dead on the scene at 5:01 p.m., according to the sheriff’s office. A forensic postmortem examination is scheduled for Friday to determine the cause and manner of death.

Dep. Dyson, age 25, was en route to back up a DV call where two fellow deputies were being assaulted by some slime bag. Initial reports say he hit standing water at high speed, went off the road and crashed. He was trapped inside his cruiser while it burned and was declare dead at he scene. He leaves behind a pregnant wife and 2 year old child. His dad is an East Pierce County firefighter.

Two famous actors passed away today. Rene Auberjonois was 79. He played a snooty staffer opposite Robert Guiiaume in the 80's series 'Benson'. He was slightly morer famous for playing the shape-shifting Founder 'Odo' on 'Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'. The other was Carrol Spinney, who was 85. You probably don't know him by face, but you definitely knew him as his characters. He was the first and original 'Big Bird' and 'Oscar the Grouch' on 'Sesame Street' providing both the voices and puppetry for the characters. He only gave up being the characters not that long ago.

The UPS driver who was killed in a hostage situation and shootout was covering another driver's route when he died, his brother has said. Driver Frank Ordonez, a 27-year-old father of two young girls, died in the mayhem along with innocent motorist Richard Cutshaw, a 70-year-old union representative who was two years away from retirement, and the two armed robbers who opened fire on cops. Lamar Alexander, 41, and Ronnie Jerome Hill, 41, both of Miami-Dade County, were identified by the FBI as the perpetrators of Thursday's armed jewelry store robbery, carjacking, kidnapping and shootout with cops that left both...

Dec. 2 (UPI) -- Heisman Trophy winner and former college football coach Pat Sullivan has died at 69 years old, following a long battle with cancer. Sullivan died Sunday. He became Auburn's first Heisman Trophy winner in 1971.

<p>A Florida man who shot and killed his son-in-law who jumped out of a bush to surprise him for his birthday will not face criminal charges, authorities said.</p> <p>Christopher Bergan, 37, had arrived in Florida from Norway on Tuesday night to surprise his wife's father, Richard Dennis, 61, Santa Rosa County Sheriff Bob Johnson said at a news conference Thursday.</p>

Gov. Kay Ivey tweeted that Lowndes County Sheriff John Williams had been “tragically killed” in the line of duty and that she offered her prayers and sympathy to his family and the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Department. Montgomery County Sheriff Derrick Cunningham told news outlets that Williams was shot at a gas station in the community of Hayneville, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) southwest of Montgomery. Details remained sketchy as law enforcement agents converged on the community. Video from WSFA-TV showed a heavy law enforcement presence late Saturday outside a QV gas station. Alabama Law Enforcement Agency spokesman Cpl. Jess Thornton...

I received word from 2ndDivisionVet wife that he passed away. I am not using his real name here out of respect but, will ping his handle and his wife can if she would like. I didn't ask what he died from but, knowing him for better than 10 years, I knew of medical conditions and a few terrible Operations he had. He was a wonderful human being who cared deeply for his fellow Americans and the ideals that make this country so great that people the world over want to come here and be free, live in liberty and be...