Late Cubs fan has one last wish: Donate to ‘impoverished’ Ricketts family

Joanne DeVrieze lived to the ripe age of 95, raised five children, enjoyed the company of nine grandkids and was a great-grandmother of 16. She passed away Jan. 19, and the Cubs fan had one final request — aid the pockets of her team’s owners.

“Donations in Joanne’s memory may be directed toward the impoverished Ricketts family of Chicago, Illinois, for purposes of assembling a near-Major League-caliber bullpen,” her obituary reads, “or to be dispersed per family wishes.”

Talk about shots fired from beyond the grave.

DeVrieze was alive for 92 of the 108 championship-less seasons Cubs fans endured from 1908-2016. But the Cubs missed the playoffs for the first time after four consecutive trips to the postseason in 2019 and parted ways with former manager Joe Maddon, replacing him with former backup catcher and front office member David Ross.

One of the team’s issues was a maligned bullpen, which blew the fifth-most saves in MLB and ranked 20th in terms of WAR (1.3).

Furthermore, the Cubs’ payroll was over the league’s luxury tax last year and team president Theo Epstein said in front of fans this month the team does not intend to eclipse the mark in 2020 (the penalty for going over was $7.6 million; the Cubs’ total payroll was $213,643,488 last year, according to Baseball Prospectus).

The Ricketts family has owned the Cubs since October 2009. Per Forbes, their real time net worth is $2.6 billion.

As for DeVrieze, her obituary said she earned the distinction of “funniest old woman on Facebook” in her later years and “reveled in family in friends.”

Read more at usatoday.com