Obituaries
Memorializing notable Chicagoans and people from around the world who have recently died.
Buffett passed away at his home in Sag Harbor, Long Island, after battling Merkel Cell Skin Cancer for four years.
Before his election in 2002 as governor, Richardson was the U.S. envoy to the United Nations and energy secretary under President Bill Clinton and served 14 years as a congressman representing northern New Mexico.
As a regular at the Belmont Avenue folk club Quiet Knight, Buffett became a friend and collaborator with Chicago favorite Steve Goodman.
The history-making sailor who grew up on the South Side was the first Black man inducted into the Sailing Hall of Fame.
He rose from barking at passers-by on Michigan Avenue to take a boat ride, first to deckhand and ultimately a long career piloting sightseeing and architecture cruises.
He helped develop the first robotic prosthetic arm that gave realistic touch feedback, enabling a man, paralyzed from the chest down, to distinguish between touches on individual fingers and the palm of a robotic hand.
He was Chicago’s first Latino police superintendent but was forced to resign in 1997 after coming under scrutiny for his friendship with a convicted felon.
Samuel Wurzelbacher, whose middle name was Joseph, became a media sensation in 2008 when he asked candidate Barack Obama about his tax plan. GOP Sen. John McCain referred to him in a presidential debate.
He rocked hard with the Effigies, oversaw grand juries for the state attorney general’s office and survived the Highland Park Fourth of July parade massacre with a graze wound.
Barker, also a longtime animal rights activist who retired in 2007, died Saturday morning.
Ms. Rayner comforted thousands of families as funeral director and co-owner of A.A. Rayner and Sons Funeral Home on the South Side.
If you sat at the card table with Mr. Lewis, it was war — doesn’t matter that you are in short pants, he’d tell his kids.
‘My whole life has been the stage,’ said the actor who performed on Broadway and at Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre.
Willie “DJ Casper” Perry Jr. died Aug. 7 at South Suburban Hospital after a long battle with cancer.
The co-founder of Classic Cinemas was a lifelong Downers Grove resident. Mr. Johnson spent his life finding historic, pushed aside buildings and turning them into downtown movie theaters and community hubs.
With Herb Alpert, Moss co-founded A&M Records and released blockbuster albums by Carole King, the Carpenters and the Police.
Scotto made her U.S. debut at Lyric Opera of Chicago in 1960, followed by 314 appearances at the Metropolitan Opera in New York from her debut in 1965 to her finale in 1987.
Avant, inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2021, died Sunday at his home in Los Angeles, according to a family statement.
Tabuchi, hailed as the “King of Branson,” had been a popular draw in the live music and family vacation spot for more than 30 years.
Mr. Louchios was a behind-the-scenes giant in the Greek community and a staple in city, county and state politics for more than two decades.
Sixto Rodriguez released two albums that didn’t do well in the United States. He then worked construction and raised a family, not realizing that his songs were inspiring the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa.
Steele, who grew up and remained in the neighborhood, fought to keep its row houses and residents in place amid the redevelopment of the area.
Musician played behind Ronnie Hawkins and Bob Dylan before launch of the group behind “The Weight,” “Up on Cripple Creek” and “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down”
Mark Krueger, a fixture on the local high school and college broadcasting scene for several decades, has died unexpectedly.
A larger, public goodbye is planned for Blackhawks owner Rocky Wirtz on Wednesday at the United Center. But on Tuesday, it was a love fest of the city’s movers and shakers, remembering their friend with laughter and a few tears.
Casper was known to music and dance fans around the globe for the hugely popular line dance/song.
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