Obituaries
Memorializing notable Chicagoans and people from around the world who have recently died.
Tom Rezek’s legacy at St. Laurence High School in Burbank will endure long after his passing, says a former student and current school administrator.
He is credited with helping develop the English take on urban, Chicago-style R&B that played an important role in the blues revival of the late 1960s.
Mr. Lee, who was born in rural South Korea, for decades operated a successful auto repair shop in Forest Park and owned other businesses in the area.
Fakir was the last surviving member of the beloved Motown act, preceded in death by his teen friends and groupmates Lawrence Payton, Obie Benson and Levi Stubbs.
She helped lead federal efforts to protect women from domestic violence and recognize Juneteenth as a national holiday. Her son Jason Lee is a top adviser to Mayor Brandon Johnson.
Cheng, who had been diagnosed with a rare illness with symptoms similar to Parkinson’s disease, passed away Wednesday at home surrounded by her loved ones, her family wrote on Facebook.
The star of two long-running sitcoms bearing his name, he grew up in Austin, attended St. Ignatius College Prep and Loyola University Chicago and was an accountant before becoming an overnight comedy success.
Mr. Woo, who became a Chicago cop in 1969, is remembered as one of the department’s first Chinese American officers, and co-founder of the Asian American Law Enforcement Association.
The longtime NBA executive, who was the Bulls’ general manager from 1969 to 1973, also helped found the Orlando Magic.
On the acclaimed NBC police drama, Sikking played Lt. Howard Hunter, uptight head of the Emergency Action Team.
Her illness was publicly revealed in a lawsuit filed in 2015 against her former business managers, in which she alleged they mismanaged her money and allowed her health insurance to lapse. She later shared intimate details of her treatment following a single mastectomy.
Simmons used TV shows, videos and books to get his message out, even as he eventually became the butt of jokes for his outfits and flamboyant flair.
Her giggly, German-accented voice, coupled with her 4-foot-7 frame, made her an unlikely looking — and sounding — outlet for “sexual literacy.”
Duvall, gaunt and gawky, was no conventional Hollywood starlet. But she had a beguiling frank manner and exuded a singular naturalism. The film critic Pauline Kael called her the “female Buster Keaton.”
For 50 years, Mrs. Duncan ran Sue Duncan Children’s Center, an after-school program serving kids on the South Side. ‘She really felt that education was a way to ameliorate the injustices in society,’ her daughter said.
She had a 37-year run at Mother McAuley Liberal Arts High School in Mount Greenwood, where she led the theater program, eventually going on to create the 99th Street Summer Theatre Festival, a children’s summer camp and other programming.
Born Judy Jacklin, she met John Belushi at Wheaton High School, where they began dating. They married in 1976.
One of the first Puerto Rican stars in the majors but limited by knee issues, he became Boston’s first designated hitter and credits his time as a DH for getting him enshrined into the Hall of Fame in 1999 as selected by the Veteran’s Committee.
Mull came to national fame with a recurring role on the Norman Lear-created satirical soap opera “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman,” and the starring role in its spinoff, “Fernwood Tonight,” on which he played Barth Gimble, the host of a satirical talk show.
Born in Chicago, the singer-songwriter led the alt-country band Texas Jewboys, toured with Bob Dylan and sang with Willie Nelson.
His acclaimed novel was published when he was 30, and he’d been guiding young writers ever since. He collapsed during a softball game and died.
In Chicago, Cobbs starred in 1988-89 production of ‘Driving Miss Daisy.’