Notable deaths of 2016 in DuPage County

January

Larry Keefe, 62

The longtime Chicago radio newscaster from Wheaton joined WTMX, also known as 101.9-FM, in 1978 and stayed for three decades, most recently working on the Eric & Kathy morning show. He was known for his dedication to his job, but also for his willingness to have fun on the air. "He was always able to take off that newsman hat and play along with our goofiness whenever needed," co-host Kathy Hart said.

Daniel Kudrna, 55, and Catherine Lee Kudrna, 54

Authorities said the divorcing Bloomingdale couple died as part of a murder-suicide. Catherine had moved out of the house but returned for some belongings when police said Daniel shot and killed her in the garage. He then returned to the house and shot himself in the head.

Gerry Alger, 56

The longtime Daily Herald employee started her career 30 years ago as a typist and rose to become manager of content and production for a new company enterprise known as Town Square Publications. She died after a battle with pancreatic cancer. "Gerry was the most compassionate person I've ever met," said Scott Ray, director of Town Square. "She was not only extremely committed to her job, but everything she did in life."

Mary Ellingson, 77

A regular performer with the Naperville Municipal Band, she wanted to make a difference in her community and got involved in local politics, serving on the Naperville City Council for a dozen years starting in 1995, even as she was battling breast cancer. As a council member she pushed to plant trees along roads and played a key role in planning Celebration 2000, a three-day bash to welcome the new millennium. She was living with her husband in Indianapolis at the time of her death.

February

Jim Bailey, 74

One of the main figures in a long-running dispute on the Carol Stream Library Board, he was known as a straight-talker who always put family first. A former Carol Stream Citizen of the Year, he successfully fought to prevent the library from selling land it owned and continued to counsel board members even after moving from the village in May 2015 to be closer to his daughter. He was residing in Alabama at the time of his death.

Custodio "Gus" Acuna, 53

The owner of Acuna Pizza in Roselle was working inside his restaurant when the driver of a van lost control and drove into the building, injuring several and killing Acuna. Family members said the married father of three worked in restaurants his whole life and saved his money to open Acuna's just a few years ago.

March

Dr. Richard M. Cronin, 89

The father of DuPage County Board Chairman Dan Cronin was known for his commitment to his patients, friends and, most of all, family. A physician and surgeon, the Elmhurst resident was an early advocate of resisting surgery and hospital stays except when absolutely necessary. He believed in public service, and state and local politicians regularly sought his advice and support.

Albert McCoy, 89

As mayor of Aurora during the 1960s and '70s, he guided his lifelong home through rapidly changing times. Under his guidance, the city established a fair housing ordinance, reinvented its downtown and annexed 6,800 acres, including the land for Fox Valley Mall - all of which helped Aurora ultimately become the second-largest city in Illinois.

Ken Christy, 71

He brought a large personality and boundless dedication to his roles as Aurora Township clerk and president of the Illinois State Association of Letter Carriers. A great public speaker, he loved to tell stories stemming from his political involvement.

May

Michael Adamovich, 38

The Aurora firefighter and paramedic died unexpectedly in his Yorkville home. A six-year veteran of the department, he originally was from Naperville and served as an Elburn firefighter from 2003 to 2010.

Chuck Johnson, 87

He was known as the man who professionalized the DuPage County Forest Preserve District and guided its growth for more than three decades from 1962 to 1994. During his tenure as the district's executive director, it grew from roughly 1,600 acres to more than 20,000. He also helped create the Naperville-based Conservation Foundation.

Don Swanson, 81

In between flights for United Airlines, longtime pilot Don Swanson still managed to do it all. His public career included serving as Carol Stream's mayor, a village trustee, a planning and zoning commissioner and DuPage County Board member. His tenure as mayor ran from 1969 to 1971, and then again from 1975 to 1979, a time when the village was growing by leaps and bounds.

June

LeRoy Pfund, 96

He may have been a professional baseball player for years, but his legacy as a coach and community servant is rooted in the suburbs. The former Brooklyn Dodger gained his greatest fame as a Wheaton College baseball and basketball coach, where he became the winningest coach in both sports in the school's history.

Cliff Preston, 90

A builder and a doer, the longtime Naperville resident was passionate about the city's downtown Riverwalk. One of the founders of the Naperville Jaycees, he was appointed to the Riverwalk Commission in 1987 and served for 17 years, many of them as chairman. He oversaw the path's western expansion through Sindt Woods to Jefferson Avenue and helped navigate complex land ownership issues to extend the park east and south from Washington Street to Hillside Road.

Sami Salaymeh, 27

The Hanover Park resident and Glenbard North grad was shot and killed while sitting at a traffic light on Chicago's South Side. A sound mixer, friends said he liked to dance and easily made friends everywhere he went. "Sami didn't have to try to be funny or have a good time, that's just the way he was," his friend Roger Hakim said. He had a "contagious smile" that would stretch "from ear to ear."

Michael Szot, 23

After being given probation and work release for a Naperville drunken driving crash in 2014 that killed two of his friends, the 2011 Geneva High School graduate was found dead at Waubonsee Community College of an overdose on heroin, fentanyl and diphenhydramine. Szot had spoken a month earlier to students at two high schools about the dangers of bad decisions to drink and use drugs.

July

Vince Persico, 67

First as a state lawmaker and later as a lobbyist representing DuPage County, the Glen Ellyn man built a reputation as a candid and approachable advocate. "He was always one who would explain both sides of an issue," former Illinois House Speaker Lee Daniels said. Persico also taught social studies for 28 years at Hadley Junior High in Glen Ellyn, where he welcomed questions about his public position. "That's what really made him such a phenomenal teacher, not only his personality with the kids, but he had that firsthand knowledge," co-worker Dina Sbarra said.

August

Ramona Feltes, 98

The longtime matriarch of Sonny Acres in West Chicago, she was the driving force behind turning the farm's fall festival into a must-see event. She was remembered as a hardworking, devoted mother who had an entrepreneurial spirit and deep dedication to the family farm.

November

F. Paul Mooring, 95

One of the driving forces behind the Illinois Prairie Path, he is remembered as a physicist and lifelong environmentalist. Along with his wife, Jean, he was a charter member of the Prairie Path nonprofit corporation and served 21 years as its president. The couple devoted years to keeping the portion of the path near their Glen Ellyn home clean.

Charles "Chuck" Vinci, 55

The Bloomingdale man and member of the Glen Ellyn Runners club collapsed and died of natural causes related to cardiovascular disease just after crossing the finish line during the Schaumburg Half Marathon and 5K Turkey Trot through Busse Woods.

Alison Vesely, 59

She co-founded Oak Brook's First Folio Theater in 1996 with her husband, David Rice, and was remembered as a consummate theater artist whose greatest joy was collaborating with fellow artists. She died after a two-year battle with cancer.

December

Ronald Allen, 73

A longtime DuPage resident, he was all about family, playing cards and bringing people together to make the world a better place. He was working closely with suburban police to hep them improve their interaction with minorities when he was shot and killed while driving in Chicago on his way home from playing cards with friends.

Ali Erhaima, 32

The Uber driver from Aurora, who immigrated here from Iraq, was a guard at a hotel in 2005 when he was kidnapped and held for ransom by insurgent fighters. He eventually was shot eight times by a firing squad, but somehow survived and made his way to the United States where he was killed in December by a wrong-way driver on I-88 in Naperville.

Shibah Inampudi, 40

He helped start a cricket team through Naperville Park District and often traveled on business as a software engineer. He was 10 minutes from home returning on a business trip when the car in which he was riding was struck head-on by a wrong-way driver on I-88 in Naperville.

Jean Knoch Wehrli, 88

She left a legacy as a cheerful soul and a lifelong reader, a thoughtful mother and a native of Naperville tied by blood to the city's history. "As a mom, you really couldn't have asked for a more special person," said the youngest of her seven children, state Rep. Grant Wehrli of Naperville. "Whether it was her unbelievable sense of wit, or her strong belief in a good education, she was always just 'Go with the flow and do the best you can.'"