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Obituaries

  • March 31, 2011 | People
    Charles William Busse, Sr. 1927-2011
    Charles W. Busse, who was born on Oct. 10, 1927, passed away on March 30 in Arlington Heights. Mr. Busse worked for Pretzel Stouffer from 1955 to 1984, and Busse & Busse, P.C. from 1984 until 2006. He was a 1951 graduate of the John Marshall Law School. He was a licensed attorney for over 50 years in Illinois, a member of the Illinois State Bar Association and a past president of the Northwest Suburban Bar Association. Visitation from 3-9 p.m. will be held on Friday, April 1, at the Glueckert Funeral Home, 1520 N. Arlington Heights Rd., Arlington Heights. Funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, April 2, at Glueckert Funeral Home, Ltd. Internment is private. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be given to the Gloria and Bill Busse Memorial Fund c/o Edison Park Lutheran Church, 6626 N. Oliphant Ave., Chicago, 60631, the Anti-Cruelty Societs, 157 N. Grand Ave., Chicago, 60654, or the American Cancer Society, 1114 N. Arlington Heights Rd., Arlington Heights, 60004.
  • March 29, 2011 | People
    George J. Cotsirilos 1920-2011
    [caption id="attachment_18547" align="alignright" width="150" caption="George J. Cotsirilos"][/caption] Longtime Chicago criminal defense attorney George J. Cotsirilos died on Sunday, March 27 at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. Mr. Cotsirilos was a fledgling assistant state’s attorney in 1949, when 19-year-old Ruth Steinhagen — a “6-foot typist brunette” in that era’s hardboiled newspaper parlance — stalked Waitkus and shot the former Cub at the old Edgewater Beach Hotel. Waitkus survived despite being hit in the chest with a bullet from a .22-caliber rifle. Mr. Cotsirilos helped question Steinhagen, who reportedly told investigators: “I just wanted something exciting in my life. . . . I didn’t want to go back to typing.” Click here to read the full obituary in the Chicago Sun-Times
  • March 15, 2011 | People
    John Olivero 1924-2011
    [caption id="attachment_18253" align="alignright" width="150" caption="John Olivero"][/caption] John Olivero, 86, of Peru, IL, a devoted family man, passed away quietly on March 1, 2011 at Illinois Valley Community Hospital, Peru, IL. Mr. Olivero was born on August 18, 1924 and was raised in Dalzell. He graduated from Hall Township High School, Spring Valley and then entered LaSalle-Peru-Oglesby Junior College. While attending college, John was drafted into military service during World War II. He served in General Patton’s 3rd Army during the historic race to Berlin in the 1944/45 Campaigns. He was a Sergeant and Heavy Machine Gun Operator in the 242nd Regiment of the 42nd Rainbow Division of the 3rd Army. His service lasted almost 4 years and included combat in France, Germany, Austria and Italy. He received decorations for his campaigns in France and Germany. His service ended as part of the U.S. occupational force in Austria after the fighting ended. Like most World War II Veterans, he rarely talked about his service but he participated in Veteran’s Day ceremonies with his son, John Paul, who is also a Veteran, at his granddaughter Shana’s grade school and also spoke to her class. After serving our country, John re-entered and graduated from L.P.O. Junior College. John then attended the University of Illinois-Champaign, where he graduated with a law degree on June 18, 1950 and became licensed as an attorney on November 29, 1950. For more than 55 years John was devoted to the practice of law in his offices in Peru and Tonica, where his daughter, Lisa, who is also an attorney, joined him in 1982. He was an active member of the Illinois State Bar Association, the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, the Association of Trial Lawyers of America and the LaSalle County Bar Association. John was honored by the Illinois State Bar Association in 2000 for 50 years of distinguished service as an attorney. John served on the Board of Directors of the Illini State Bank in Tonica, Lostant and Oglesby for 22 years, which he enjoyed immensely.
  • March 9, 2011 | People
    Benjamin C. Duster III, 1927-2011
    Benjamin C. Duster III, the grandson of legendary anti-lynching crusader Ida B. Wells, carried on his family’s activism by taking on the Chicago Machine, and by steering an education initiative now viewed as a precursor to the massive school reforms of the late 1980s. He was a lawyer, investment banker and venture capitalist — remarkable achievements in an era when a black man had to be many times as good as the next student or worker. Mr. Duster, 83, died last month of heart failure at Advocate Trinity Hospital. He grew up in Bronzeville during the Depression, and had a powerful role model in his mother, Alfreda, the youngest child of Ida B. Wells-Barnett. She had graduated from the University of Chicago in 3½ years. In addition to a top-notch education, Alfreda had a mimeograph machine — and, she could type. People often asked her to help them fill out legal documents. Even ministers sought her guidance. “They would come all hours of the day and night, and Mrs. Duster would help them,’’ said another son, Mr. Duster’s brother, Donald. Mr. Duster attended Wendell Phillips High School and graduated as valedictorian at 16, said his wife, Murrell Duster. He studied electrical engineering in the 1940s at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and joined Alpha Phi Alpha, a black fraternity. It was an important — and safe — place to socialize at a time when African Americans were not welcome at town malt shops and student hangouts. After his father died, he left school to help his mother and his four younger siblings. He worked as a bricklayer and ran an auto garage and a construction firm — while going to night classes at DePaul University to become a lawyer. Mr. Duster also served in the U.S.
  • March 8, 2011 | People
    Gerald P. Rodeen 1947-2011
    [caption id="attachment_18142" align="alignright" width="101" caption="Gerald P. Rodeen"][/caption] Gerald P. "Gerry" Rodeen, 63, a Paxton attorney, died on Thursday, Jan. 27, 2011, at rural Loda. Gerry was born April 14, 1947, in Paxton, the son of Karl Marcus and Mary Louise Kennedy Rodeen. He married Katherine M. Hustedt on July 6, 1975, at St. John's Lutheran Church, Buckley. She survives. Gerry was a graduate of Paxton Community High School and earned his B.S. in accounting in 1969 and his J.D. in 1973, both from Indiana University. Upon graduation from Indiana University in 1969, Gerry was employed by Touche Ross Certified Public Accountants for a year and a half prior to re-enrolling at the university to pursue his law degree. While at the university, he received the American Jurisprudence Award in Tort Law and prepared a revision of the state of Indiana parole law. After receiving his J.D. in 1973, he began practice as Gerald P. Rodeen and Associates, Ltd., in Paxton and later purchased the sole practice of Sidney H. Dilks. He concentrated his practice in personal injury litigation, workers' compensation, criminal defense and family law. He had extensive trial experience, having successfully represented criminal defendants in first-degree murder, armed robbery, aggravated kidnapping, rape and other criminal felony jury trials. He participated in and argued civil and criminal appeals in the Illinois Appellate Court and Supreme Court. He was a member of the American Bar Association, Illinois State Bar Association, Indiana State Bar Association, Ford County Bar Association, American Trial Lawyers Association and Illinois Trial Lawyers Association and served on the board of managers of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association.
  • March 5, 2011 | People
    William Wood McKittrick 1915-2010
    William Wood McKittrick, 95, died Dec. 25, 2010, at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. He is survived by his wife, Carolyn Davis McKittrick; daughter, Lynn McKittrick Pond; son, Bruce Wood McKittrick; son-in-law, Robert A. Pond; and daughter-in-law, Wendy Wilson McKittrick. He was preceded in death by his parents, Lafe Emmerson and Mary Lynn Wood McKittrick. He attended DePauw University from 1932 to 1936, graduated in 1936 with an A.B. in political science, and was a member of 1933 DePauw University Football Team, which went "undefeated, untied and unscored upon." He attended Northwestern University School of Law from 1936 to 1939, graduated in 1939 with a J.D. degree, and was a member and Notes Editor of the Illinois Law Review of Northwestern University School of Law. He joined the Law Firm of Pope and Ballard in Chicago, in 1939. From February 1942 through August 1942, he was on leave from Pope and Ballard for the purpose of performing government service as an attorney in the office of the General Counsel, the Panama Canal Zone. In November 1942, he enlisted and was commissioned as an ensign in the U.S. Naval Reserve and was called to active duty in February 1943. He was subsequently stationed on the escort carrier USS Kalinin Bay, including during the period of that ship's participation in the Battle Off Samar in late October 1944. On December 19, 1942, he married Carolyn Lenne Davis, and they celebrated their 68th wedding anniversary on December 19, 2010.
  • March 4, 2011 | People
    Caleb H. Canby III 1922-2010
    Caleb H. Canby III, J.D. Attorney at law, age 88, passed on December 31, 2010 at home. He was born in Chicago and was a lifelong resident of Barrington. He is survived by his wife Bonnie S. (Kunsky) Canby. He is also survived by his three children, Ellen C. Lynch, Sarah C. Jackson, and Caleb L. Canby, six grandchildren, Samuel H. Lynch, Jane E. Lynch, Rachel C. Jackson, Max C. Jackson, Beata M. Canby and Grace M. Canby and two great-grandchildren, Olivia J. Lynch and Chloe W. Lynch. He is survived by loving nieces, Heather (Clem) Schulte and Dawn (Drew) Gentsch and numerous great nieces, nephews and cousins. His parents Caleb Harlan Canby Jr. and Ruth Cudney Canby preceded him in death. He was Corporal in the Marine Corps and a WWII Veteran serving in the Pacific. He was a volunteer firefighter for Barrington Fire Department for 36 years. He was issued a Commission As A Justice Of The Piece on April 26, 1957 which expired in April of 1961. He was also a Special Prosecutor for the Village of Barrington in 1970. He was a 55 year member of the Illinois State Bar Ass. and served as the attorney for the Incorporation of the Village of Barrington Hills. For many years he was the attorney for the Barrington Countryside Fire Protection District. He was also the attorney for 1st Federal Savings and Loan of Barrington until it's merger with Bank One (Chase).
  • March 1, 2011 | People
    Melvin O. Moehle 1922-2011
    [caption id="attachment_18020" align="alignright" width="87" caption="Melvin O. Moehle"][/caption] Melvin Otto Moehle, 88, of Washington, Ill., passed away on Friday, Feb. 18, at Washington Christian Village. Melvin was born Sept. 17, 1922, in Okawville, Ill., to Walter A. and Minna Miche Moehle. He married Loraine Niermann on May 5, 1945, in Nashville, Ill. She preceded him in death on Dec. 9, 2007. Mel graduated from Washington University in 1944, where he was a member and served as president of the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity. He was a World War II Navy veteran, serving aboard the aircraft carrier, USS Solomons, achieving the rank of lieutenant. After serving in active duty, he graduated from the University of Missouri School of Law in 1948. In 1950, he and Loraine moved to Washington, where he worked for the law firm Heyl, Royster & Voelker in Peoria.
  • February 16, 2011 | People
    Gregory A. Adamski 1948-2011
    Gregory A. Adamski, 62, a Chicago civil and criminal defense attorney who was co-host of the WGN-AM talk show "Legally Speaking," died of an apparent heart attack Monday, Feb. 14, in his Chicago home, according to his wife and law partner, Karen Conti. Mr. Adamski and Conti had hosted "Legally Speaking" on Sunday nights since 2006, discussing and debating court cases and controversial legal issues. They were also managing partners of the litigation law firm Adamski & Conti and taught at the University of Illinois College of Law. During nearly 40 years as an attorney, Mr. Adamski tried hundreds of civil and criminal trials and argued more than 60 appeals. In 2001, he received the prestigious Elmer Gertz Award from the Illinois State Bar Association for representing the poor and advocating civil rights. The Gertz Award is presented by the ISBA's Human Rights Section Council. Read the full obituary in the Chicago Tribune
  • February 7, 2011 | People
    ISBA Laureate James J. Ahern Sr. 1930-2011
    ISBA Laureate James J. Ahern, Sr., 80, has passed away. From Ahern's 2001 induction into the Academy of Illinois Lawyers: To anyone who practices traffic law in Illinois, it is well known that the "dean" of the traffic bar is James J. Ahern, senior. His law firm – Ahern, Maloney, and Moran with primary offices in Skokie –concentrates in the defense of DUI and representation in other traffic matters. His reputation in the law has several dimensions. He is, first and foremost, an outstanding lawyer. He has appeared frequently in the Appellate and Supreme courts. He represents his clients' interests fully, professionally, and with compassion. He also is known far and wide as an unselfish teacher. For over twenty years, he has been a member of the Executive Committee of the Illinois Traffic Court Conference. His development of scenarios faced by traffic law attorneys and the panel discussion of these fact situations is a highlight of the annual conference. That part of the seminar is now referred to as "The Ahern Panel." Services have been held. In lieu of flowers, contributions to Rainbow Hospice would be appreciated.