Our annual farewell to some of those who had an impact during their lives here:
? William R. “Wild Bill” Kohnke, former Oak Park police chief
? Morris Buske, 92, longtime OPRF High School teacher, Hemingway scholar, playwright and bridge aficionado.
? Roy Gummerson, 90, legendary cross-country and track coach at OPRF.
? Lawrence Hunt, 90, former River Forest school board member
? Kyla Guyton, 14, lunch pal, angel with broken wings.
? Agnes Thompson, 96, mother of former Illinois governor Jim Thompson
? Richard Walsh, 74, former state senator and state rep. from River Forest
? William Langreder, 88, delivered mail in Oak Park for four decades
? Mollie Teinowitz, 81, real estate agent for almost 50 years
? Rory Brennan Zuba, 13, artistic, sweet soul
? Cliff Johnson, 89, radio pioneer, travel agent, storyteller nonpareil
? Leonard Eagle, 100, played violin with Franklyn MacCormack Orchestra on WGN’s All Night Showcase
? Edward Rossow, 92, owned Rossow’s Auto Service
? Susan Helfer, 69, former Oak Park village trustee, Harrison Street activist
? Florence Kettlestrings Hall, 95, great-granddaughter of Oak Park’s first European settlers
? Edward Buckney, 76, Oak Park’s first black police commander and deputy chief
? Robert Gardner, 91, public relations pioneer, community volunteer
? Dr. Douglas Passaro, 43, UIC infectious disease expert
? Henry Kochman, 87, owned Columbia Artcraft lamp store on North Boulevard
? Raymond Kinzie, 74, LaSalle Bank executive, Ravenswood Hospital board member, avid letter writer
? Francesco Ribaudo, 74, painter, art historian, expert restorer
? Peter D’Agostino, 42, UIC professor of history and Catholic studies
? John Walsh Jr., 83, head of family real estate firm
? Thomas Callahan Sr., 70, owned Callahan & Sons Plumbing
? Phyllis Stern, 75, founder of Guide Dog Users, Inc.
? Edith Birdsall Slayton, 79, former president, League of Women Voters, helped prepare Oak Park’s successful All-America City application in 1976
? Lucy Reum, 91, chair of the Illinois Racing Board, horse racing reformer
? Elenore Sullivan, 81, fashion model who became a teacher
? Lora Aborn Busck, 98, composer, Unity Temple organist Steven Meyer, 49, Oak Park Republican committeeman
? Willa Schaffer, 50, dean counselor, teacher at OPRF High School
? Wesley McCoy, 19, former OPRF student
? Rev. Robert Festle, 77, pastor emeritus, St. Edmund Parish
? Philip A. Hickman, 61, former director of Oak Park Housing Authority and Residence Corporation in the 1970s
? Esther Parada, 67, artist
? Michael Riley, 61, founder of the Oak Park Parade, 1984-86
? Ira Sherman, 91, radio writer, movie lover, boyhood pal of John Garfield
? Sidney Kuflick, 82, owner of Wagner’s Shoe Corral in River Forest
? Robert Ragalie, 89, owner of Ragalie Shoes in Oak Park
? Jack Levering, poet, friend of squirrels.
?#34;Compiled by Ken Trainor
