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Obituaries

  • March 8, 2012 | People
    Richard R. Cross 1922-2012

    Richard R. Cross, 89, Rockford, formerly of Woodstock, died Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2012.

    He was born Nov. 29, 1922, to Nelson and Mildred Cross in Canton, Ohio. He was educated in Rockford public schools, a member of the first graduating class of the new West High School. He attended the University of Illinois and then served in the United States Army as a member of the 103rd Cactus Division in World War II. After his Army service he returned to the University of Illinois and received his law degree and was a member of Phi Alpha Delta Fraternity. He was associated with a law firm in Woodstock.

    He married Glenna Comly in 1949. He then was recalled into the Army during the Korean conflict and served in the Judge Advocate Corps. When he returned to Woodstock, he opened his own law office, where he practiced for 50 years. During that time he served as village attorney for Algonquin and was appointed a special assistant attorney general. He served as city attorney in Woodstock until he was elected state’s attorney for McHenry County from 1960 to1968. He then returned to his private practice until his retirement. He was a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Woodstock for more than 50 years, serving as an elder and a trustee of Presbytery.

  • March 8, 2012 | People
    Francis E. Youssi 1923-2012

    Francis E. Youssi, 88, of Batavia, Ill., passed away into the loving arms of his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on Thursday, Feb. 16, at Delnor Hospital in Geneva. He was born on July 11, 1923, in Menomonie, Wis., the son of Edward G. Youssi and Wanda (Hendrickson) Youssi.

    His family moved to Batavia in 1925, where he resided until his death. Francis graduated from Batavia High School in 1941 and attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign until he was drafted in January 1943. He served in the U.S. ArmyAir Corps as a gunner, bombardier and navigator in the 441st and 442nd squadron of the 320th Bomb Group in the 12th Air Force and later in the 1st tactical division stationed in Sardinia, Corsica and France, during World War II. He flew 63 missions in total and earned the rank of Technical Sergeant.

    After the war ended, he attended Aurora College and earned his bachelor of science degree. He then attended law school at DePaul University College of Law in Chicago, where he graduated first in his class in 1950. His love of Batavia brought him back to the community, and he opened his solo law practice at the First National Bank Building in downtown Batavia. He also opened a branch office in Aurora at the Law Office of Beamisch, Edwards and Brunnemeyer. He met the love of his life, Frances Gittleson of DeKalb, in 1950, and they were married in 1952 in Creston. They were inseparable until her death in 1997.

  • March 8, 2012 | People
    Harold T. Berc 1914-2012

    Harold T. Berc, a Chicago attorney for more than 60 years, served in the South Pacific during World War II and, as national commander of AMVETS, helped secure funding to complete the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor.

    Mr. Berc, 97, died Sunday, Feb. 26, at The Grove at Lincoln Park senior community, said his stepson, Jamey Fadim. His health had declined after he fractured his hip, Fadim said.

    Mr. Berc was born in Chicago and was a lifelong resident. He got his law degree from DePaul University in 1937. For much of the 1930s, he worked in the news business, including in the editorial department of the International News Service.

    After getting his law degree he opened a practice, handling business litigation, wills and trusts, and real estate.

    Shortly after Pearl Harbor was attacked, he joined the Navy, serving in the reserves until 1953. During the war he served aboard the USS Washington battleship and the USS Reno, an anti-aircraft cruiser.

    He received a Bronze Star for being fighter director officer aboard the USS Reno when the USS Princeton was bombed and set afire by Japanese forces in the Philippines on Oct. 24, 1944.

    He also received 10 battle stars for participating in 10 major naval engagements. From Feb. 1, 1945 to the end of World War II he taught at an officers tactical radar school in Hollywood, Fla.

    Mr. Berc returned to his law practice after the war and worked until he retired in 2003.

  • March 6, 2012 | People
    ISBA Past President Lyle W. Allen passes away

    Illinois State Bar Association Past President Lyle W. Allen, 87, of Peoria, passed away Saturday, March 3 at his home. He served as the ISBA's 96th President from 1972-73.

    Born June 17, 1924, in Chillicothe, to Donald M. and Mary Ellen McEvoy Allen, he married Helen M. Kolar Aug. 16, 1947 in Fox River Grove. 

    A 1942 graduate of Chillicothe High School, he received his preparatory education at Northwestern University (B.S. 1947). He received his legal education at Columbia University and the University of Wisconsin (J.D. 1950). In 1943, he enlisted in the U.S. Army. As member of the 87th Infantry Division in the European Theater of World War II, he earned a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star.  

    He was admitted to the Illinois and Wisconsin bars in 1950. In 1951, he joined the Peoria law firm of Heyl, Royster, & Voelker. He was admitted to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in 1954, and to the United States Supreme Court in 1960. In 1962 the firm’s name was changed to Heyl, Royster, Voelker, & Allen.

    Mr. Allen was a member of the ISBA Committee on Forms from 1962-64; a member of the Council of the Civil Practice and Procedure Section from 1955-61, of which he was secretary from 1956-61 and editor of Trial Briefs, the Section’s Newsletter, from 1961-63; secretary of the Council of the Insurance Law Section from 1963-64. He became a member of the ISBA Board of Governors in 1964.

  • February 23, 2012 | People
    Hon. Don A. Foster 1932-2012

    The Honorable Don A. Foster, 79, of Ridgway passed away Sunday, Jan. 15, 2012, at Harrisburg Medical Center, after a lengthy struggle with cancer.

    Judge Foster was born March 2, 1932, west of Ridgway on the family farm, to Joseph and Lottie (Baker) Foster. He graduated from Ridgway High School in 1949.

    Don served his country from 1952 to 54 in the U.S. Army in Korea; he was awarded the Korean Service Medal. In 1957 he graduated from Southern Illinois University with a degree in zoology. He received his Doctor of Jurisprudence from Vanderbilt University School of Law in 1960. While in Nashville he met and married Fay Smith on Sept. 2, 1959. Upon graduation, he returned to Ridgway and practiced law.

    In 1962 he was elected Gallatin County Judge. Two years later he was appointed Associate Circuit Judge, and he became a Circuit Judge in 1970. He served the citizens of Gallatin County and the Second Circuit for over 46 years until his retirement in 2008.

    He is survived by his wife, Fay, and four daughters, Kelly Foster of Marion, Tracy Kimbro of Apex, N.C., Meridith (Steve) Carder of Champaign and Mariah (Jason) Knight of Thompsonville. He was grandfather to seven grandchildren: Mary and Jeff Kimbro, Jolie and Savannah Knight, and Ella, Ava and Liza Carder. His eldest brother, Bertis J. Foster of Metropolis, also survives. Judge Foster was preceded in death by his parents; brother, Gene Foster; and sister, Wilma Wathen.

  • February 23, 2012 | People
    Wallace Feldman 1927-2012

    Wallace Feldman, 84, of Sterling Illinois, died January 15, 2012 at his home.

    He was born April 21st, 1927 to Emil and Ida (Andich) Feldman in Rock Island, Illinois and moved to Sterling in 1933.

    He was owner and operator of Emil’s Toy Store, which was an icon in the Sterling area for over fifty years, and of the Sterling-Rock Falls News Agency, which is still operating today. He spent his youth helping out with the family businesses.

    Wally graduated from Sterling High School in 1945 and was a Sergeant in the 2nd Infantry Division just prior to the end of World War II. He received his law degree from the University of Illinois, Champaign, having started his studies at the Galesburg campus which was set up to accommodate the overflow of G.I.’s going to school on the G.I. Bill after the war.

    He practiced law in Sterling for over fifty years, was a member of the Sterling Police & Fire Commission for over two decades, sat on the board of directors of Self Help Enterprises, was a lifelong member of Lions Club and was active in the local Jewish community as a member and former president of Temple Sholom.

    He married Shirley (Leibovitz) in 1953 in Rock Island and is survived by her as well as by three children, Randy Feldman, Mpls; Kenny (Amy) Feldman, Sterling; Amy (Todd) Cytron, Mpls; nine grandchildren (Ethan & Toby Feldman; Libby, Rina, Miriam, & Ronit Feldman; Hanah, Dara & Mia Cytron), and a brother, Robert (Joy), Torrance, CA.

  • February 23, 2012 | People
    E.C. “Chris” Eberspacher III 1941-2012

    E.C. “Chris” Eberspacher III of Shelbyville died at 1 p.m. Friday, Feb. 10, 2012, from injuries received as a pedestrian in a crosswalk in Fort Myers, Fla.

    He was born on Sept. 28, 1949, in Shelbyville to the late Judge Edward C. Eberspacher Jr. and Josephine Yantis Eberspacher. He married Jacqueline Dunaway on July 1, 1972, in Shelbyville. He graduated from Shelbyville High School and Culver Summer Naval School in 1967. 

    He received a Bachelor of Arts in liberal arts and science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1971, with high honors, where he was a member of Beta Theta Pi social fraternity and Phi Beta Kappa academic fraternity.

    He was a recipient of a Rotary International Scholarship and studied at the University of Tel Aviv, Remat Aviv, Israel, for more than a year before entering law school. He received his Juris Doctorate from the University of Illinois College of Law in 1974 and was admitted to practice before the Illinois Supreme Court in 1974. He joined the firm of Dove & Dove, Attorneys at Law, as an associate that fall. 

    He was admitted to the bar of the U. S. Supreme Court in 1981 and was admitted to practice before the Central and Southern Districts of the U. S. District Court in Illinois. In 1976, he was elected State’s Attorney for Shelby County, a position in which he served until 1980, when he became a partner with the firm of Dove & Dove. 

  • February 23, 2012 | People
    Jay M. Hanson 1940-2012

    Jay McCartney Hanson, 71, of Geneseo, passed away at home Jan. 30, 2012, after a courageous battle of several months duration.

    Jay was born on Sept. 27, 1940, in rural Hillsdale, the son of J. McCartney "Pete" Hanson and Eleanor Dailey Hanson. He was raised in rural Hillsdale and attended Hillsdale schools. Jay graduated from Geneseo High School in 1958. He attended Lawrence College in Appleton, Wis., and Mexico City College and graduated from the University of Idaho in 1962 and the University of Idaho College Law in 1965. Jay was united in marriage to Judy Bond in 1963.

    He began his law career in Geneseo and, in 1969, he was appointed as the youngest circuit magistrate in the state of Illinois; less than a year later, Jay was appointed associate judge of the circuit court. In 1976, he ran for and was elected to a full circuit judgeship in the 14th Judicial Circuit; he left in 1982 to practice law in Thompson Falls, Mont. Jay returned to Illinois in 1986 and ran again for circuit judge, serving until his retirement in 2000.

    Survivors include his wife, Judy; four daughters, Jennifer (David) Squire, Baraboo, Wis., Mari Hanson, Fountain Hills, Ariz., Sarah (David) Humphreys, Pensacola, Fla., Kristina (Eric) Misfeldt, Geneseo; grandchildren, Sarah Grant, Tuesday Grant, Paige Squire, Sophia Squire, Signe Anna Squire, Brittany Frus, Kristina Humphreys, Zach Humphreys, Drake Misfeldt, Eleanor Misfeldt, Zane Misfeldt; sisters, Kathleen Hanson, Cottonwood, Ariz., and Priscilla Middleton, Sarasota, Fla.

  • February 17, 2012 | People
    Jean Allard 1924-2012

    Jean Allard was the first female partner at the law firm of Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal and, along with former University of Chicago President Hanna Holborn Gray, was among the first women to become members of the exclusive Chicago Club.

    In 1979, Ms. Allard helped start and became the first chairwoman of the Chicago Network, an organization of influential local women. Her motivation in launching the group was to foster the idea of women helping women, said MarySue Barrett, a member of the Chicago Network who succeeded Ms. Allard as president of the Metropolitan Planning Council in 1996.

    Read the full obituary in the Chicago Tribune

  • February 6, 2012 | People
    Jack W. Rosen 1930-2012

    Eighty-one year old Jack W. Rosen of Highland Park, Illinois died peacefully in the loving arms of his loving family Saturday, January 7, 2012.

    He is survived by his wife of 39 years Beverly Rosen and children and grandchildren and a sister and brother.

    He was born May 15th 1930 in New York City, moving to Chicago at the age of three with his parents Sam and Ella Rosen, both immigrants from Europe. He grew up in the Humboldt Park neighborhood and spent much of his free time playing basketball and pool at the Deborah Boys' Club on Division Street. When not playing at the boys club, he played stick ball in nearby parks. His parents founded Sam's Wine on North Avenue.

    He was a product of Chicago public schools attending Lafayette Elementary School, P.S. 299 in Chicago's Humboldt Park neighborhood and graduated from Tuley High School. He graduated from University of Illinois with a B.S. in management and marketing in 1952. He earned his Law Degree (J.D.) from DePaul University in 1955 and was admitted to the Supreme Court of the United States of America in 1963. He enjoyed lifelong friendships with many of his DePaul classmates, many of them attorneys who helped build Chicago's legal system. He served in the U.S. Army as a military police officer for two years before heading back to Chicago to start his career.

    Professionally, Jack practiced law for 56 years, most of it as a sole practitioner on La Salle Street. He took great pride in defending those less fortunate and those who felt they did not have a voice in the system. Generations of family members engaged his services. He spent hours fighting for the rights of his clients, often against large businesses. He considered himself a small town lawyer in the big city.