Mattie Carrey Butler, who helped found the Woodlawn East Community and Neighbors (WECAN) organization after a 1980 fire killed 13 children in the neighborhood, died on Nov. 3. She was 79.
Martha Modena Vertreace-Doody, age 76, of Chicago, passed away on Nov. 12, 2022. Born to Walter Charles Vertreace and Martha (nee Modena) on Nov. 24, 1945, in Washington, D.C.
Estrella Ravelo Alamar, a dedicated archivist and cataloguer of Filipino American history and well-loved member of the Hyde Park community, died on Oct. 23 at the age of 86.
Richard Arthur Lathrop, a longtime resident of Hyde Park, passed away on September 14th, 2022. He was 95 years old. The only explanation for this longevity was copious lifelong consumption of coffee and frequent naps.
Ruth Louise Patterson, 96 of Chicago, IL passed away Friday, Sept. 30, 2022. Ruth was born Oct. 18, 1925 to the late Charles and Clara Schultz in Buffalo, NY. She was a longtime member of Augustana Lutheran Church of Hyde Park. She worked at the University of Chicago as a secretary for the R…
Virginia A. “Nan” McDivit passed away on Oct. 10, 2022. A dear daughter of the late Joseph and Virginia (nee Guy), fond sister of the late Mary “Mimi” (the late John) Hess, the late Joseph “Rick” (the late Swannie) and the late Michael (Carleen) McDivit. A loving aunt, cousin, and friend of …
Sergio Mims, a film critic, journalist, historian and raconteur who made a career out of written and audio commentary on cinema, and who put his love and encyclopedic knowledge of classical music and opera to use on a longtime WHPK radio show, died on Oct. 4 at the age of 67.
In the early morning hours of September 23, 2022, Joan Kroll Novick suffered a catastrophic stroke from which she was unable to recover. She died on Sunday, September 25 in the late afternoon just as Rosh Hashanah was beginning. Joan’s friends and caregivers were with her during her transition.
Charles (Chuck) Gilbert Staples was born to Harold and Margaret (Smith) Staples in Providence, Rhode Island, on October 6, 1929, and passed away peacefully in his home in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago on August 16, 2022. He was educated at the Moses Brown School in Providence, The Pu…
William (Bill) Shepard Woodfolk IV passed on Sunday, September 11 after a brief illness.
Irving Charles "Irv" Carrig, a longtime Hyde Parker, academic, civil servant and father of five with a multitude of hobbies, died on Aug. 31 at the age of 89.
Lester G. Telser, a University of Chicago-educated and -employed economist who lived nearly his entire life in Hyde Park, died on Sept. 3. He was 91.
Marisa Ferrari (1942-2022) was born and raised in Udine, Italy, where she lived until meeting her husband, Virginio. They were both in their early twenties when they moved to Hyde Park, where Virginio worked as a sculptor and Marisa raised their three boys, Alberto, Fabio and Marco. Marisa w…
Michael A. McGuire of Hinsdale, 77, predeceased by his wife, Frae McGuire and his son, Matthew McGuire. He is survived by his daughter Reagan Pittman, his partner, Deborah Davis, and many loving friends and family members, including his brothers and sisters Margaret Burns (James), Martin McG…
Jennette Schermerhorn Rader died peacefully in her sleep on June 4, 2022 in Seattle, Washington.
Evelyn Liliane Marsh was born in Kansas City, Missouri on November 4, 1943 to Hans and Eva (Rosenthal) Ekstein, refugees from Hitler’s Germany. The middle of three girls, Evelyn grew up in Hyde Park on Chicago’s South Side, which remained her lifelong home. She attended the University of Chi…
Editor's note: This piece was originally published by In These Times and titled "Rest in Power, David Moberg (1943-2022)."
Hannah (Anne) Hayes, daughter of the South Side, writer, teacher, activist, beloved Hyde Parker, sibling, wife and mother was killed by a hit-and-run driver in Hyde Park, Monday evening, July 11.
Maude Brooks, a longtime parishioner at St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church (STA) and singer, died on July 7. She was 100.
Jesse Williams Jr., an arts businessman who owned the Third World Imports shop in Harper Court, and had a lifelong passion for jazz, died on Dec. 24, 2021, of cancer. His family had his memorial service last weekend.
Wayne Walter Whalen was born in Savanna, Illinois on August 22, 1939 to Leo and Esther (Yackley) Whalen. The oldest of five, Wayne grew up in Hanover, Illinois on his family's mallard duck farm, Whistling Wings. Wayne's early jobs, beginning at the age of nine, included detasseling corn and …
Joseph J. Foley died peacefully on May 17, 2022, at the age of 87 surrounded by his family.
Kyoko Inoue was born on January 1, 1935 In Tokyo. Her father was interested in working abroad, so in 1939, her family moved to Shanghai where they lived during WWII. At the end of the war, having lost everything, they were sent back to Japan, where they rebuilt their lives in Tokyo. After gr…
Erl Dordal, age 94, passed away on May 11, 2022 with members of his family at his side. He was born in the Lutheran parsonage in Larimore, North Dakota on September 22, 1927. His father was Rev. Dr. Lars Andreas Dordal (born in Telemark, Norway in 1884). His mother was Clara Wegge Dordal (bo…
Paula Christine Johnson, a Hyde Park fixture and the longtime owner of Divine Creators Beauty Salon along 55th Street, died on April 18 at the age of 68.
Warner Clock White died peacefully at home surrounded by family on Saturday, April 16. He was born in Hampton, Iowa, on October 25, 1926, to Evelyn Laura (Clock) and Russell Peregrine White.
Dr. Kambiz Dowlatshahi died on March 17, 2022, in Chicago. He was 84.
Walter Emil Kaegi Jr., a University of Chicago and Oriental Institute historian known for his scholarship on the the Byzantine Empire as well as the Ancient Romans and early Islam, died on Feb. 24 of natural causes in Chicago. He was 84.
Dr. Alfred L. Baker passed away peacefully in his home on March 1, 2022. He was born Feb. 17, 1940. His father, Smoot A Baker, was a minister and his mother, Ara Brueck, a director of church music.
Diego Damis, an immigrant who became a beloved bartender at The Cove Lounge after years of frequenting the bar, was robbed and killed on Friday morning at the intersection of 49th Street and Greenwood Avenue.
Dr. André LaCocque, Emeritus Professor of Hebrew Bible at Chicago Theological Seminary died on Jan. 28, 2022. He was 94. A revered teacher and a groundbreaking biblical scholar, he reconceived faithful study of a shared scripture, undergirded by interfaith dialogue and deep understanding bet…
Michele Makinen, 76, of Hyde Park, died from complications of ovarian cancer on Feb. 14, 2022, at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
Kwesi Preston Lee Hopkins, 72, a lifelong resident of Chicago, passed away Wednesday, January 19, 2022. Kwesi was the third child born April 6, 1949 to the union of Lester B. Hopkins Sr. and Alice M. Hopkins (nee Rogers). Kwesi’s marriage to Rosetta Hopkins (nee Ledbetter) brought forth thre…
Walter “Wally” Jonas, son of William Wolf Jonas and Mina (Frank), passed away October 5, 2021. Wally was born and raised on Chicago’s South Side.
The Very Reverend John Robert (Bob) Orpen, Jr. died peacefully at his home in Chicago on Dec. 16, 2021.
Helen Louise Speight Pearson was born on July 1, 1930 in Farnwood, Arkansas, to Walter Speight Sr. and Arilla Bean Speight. She departed this world on Dec. 17, 2021.
Susan Nohlgren (née Parry) died of natural causes in her home in Lake Katrine, New York, on Dec. 14 at the age of 79.
Helen K. Bailey died on Dec. 7 at the age of 96. Helen K. Niemeier was born in Centralia, Illinois, in 1925 and graduated from Centralia High School in 1943. Helen excelled in singing, spelling, typing and bookkeeping, all skills she applied later in life. Helen married George E. Yoos in 194…
Longtime Hyde Park resident and retired University of Chicago faculty member Dr. Bernard M. Bergmann III passed away on the morning of Friday, Nov. 5, after a long struggle with early-onset Parkinson’s disease.
Edgar Martin Krentz, beloved professor, pastor, and poet, died in Chicago on Oct. 31, 2021, at the age of 93. Author of the influential “The Historical-Critical Method” as well as numerous articles about biblical interpretation, Ed experienced the split in the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod …
Rosemary Snow, 91, died peacefully Oct. 31, with family at her side. She was born September 2, 1930, at the Mescalero Apache Reservation, in New Mexico, daughter of Rosalie and John Mixon, who were pioneering social workers. A life-long Hyde Parker, she was educated at Ray School, Francis Pa…
Linda S. Rothstein (née Smith), 82, died on Oct. 31 in Hyde Park after a brief illness.
Alma Kuby died at home on Friday, Oct. 22, of pancreatic cancer.
The community of Hyde Park mourns the tragic loss of Takintayo “Tayo” Akinbiyi, a recent PhD graduate in statistics from the University of Chicago and a gifted improvisational actor who frequently performed at the historic Revival theater. Tayo was not only a talented young researcher, but a…
Eve Ewing has predicted his legacy will last at least another 100 years
Ella D. Slaughter, who worked as a mental health and opioid counselor for the Brass Foundation in Chicago, died on Friday, Oct. 1, at the age of 83. She was also a loving wife, mother, sister, grandma, great-grandma and friend.
The South East Chicago Commission said he made "Downtown Hyde Park" into a destination, much more than just a brand.
Marilyn Coopersmith, who worked for decades at the University of Chicago’s Department of Economics and performed valuable research for a Nobel laureate, died on May 19, 2021, at the age of 88.
Patricia L. Wilcoxen died peacefully with her family on August 6, 2021, ending an 87-year life dedicated to helping others.
James “Jim” Samuel Stricklin was born on March 27, 1933 in Pontiac, Illinois to Phillip and Harriet (Barnes) Stricklin. The family moved to Bronzeville on the South Side of Chicago when Jim was young, where he attended and graduated from DuSable High School.
"Keith was able to communicate with all of us. He understood people. He cared about people."
Reform of undergraduate education was the hallmark of Sonnenschein’s administration.
Martha Morrow-Vojacek, a longtime resident of the Chicago area, died peacefully at home on June 20, 2021, on her 85th birthday, surrounded by her loving family.
