DuPage County's Notable Deaths of 2017

There is a sadness and an emptiness in looking back on some of those we lost over the past year. The world, after all, is surely a lesser place without them.

But there is a sense of hope, too, as we reflect on all the good so many of these people did. Mixed with our tears are the memories they gave us, the things they accomplished, the way they made DuPage County a better place.

They built businesses, they taught our children, they entertained us, they served on our behalf.

Most lived full and rewarding lives. Some were taken far too soon. Their deaths moved us, but, in the end, their lives meant so much more.

Notable deaths of 2017? Yes. But far more importantly, this is a celebration of notable lives.

January

Stan Zielinski, 64

A major league baseball scout for 38 years, he worked for the Cubs since 2001 and recommended drafting Kyle Schwarber. The Winfield resident's career spanned two baseball regimes in Chicago, starting with one headed by Andy MacPhail and Jim Hendry, and ending with the current front office of Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer.

Brenda Barnes, 63

The Naperville woman served as CEO of Sara Lee from 2005 to 2010 when it was headquartered in Downers Grove. She made headlines in 1997 when she left her job as CEO of PepsiCo to stay home and raise her three children. She returned to work for Sara Lee and became one of three women leading businesses listed among Chicago's Top 50 largest publicly traded companies.

Raymond Murrell, 27

The Bloomingdale police officer was responding to a retail theft report on a wet night when he lost control of his police SUV and struck a light standard and utility box. Family members and fellow officers remembered him as someone with a ready smile and a desire to help others. He was the first police officer in Bloomingdale history to die in the line of duty.

February

Stuart Stone, 74

Glen Ellyn Village President Alex Demos called the longtime fire chief and newspaper editor "as close to royalty as Glen Ellyn ever had." Stone became a firefighter in 1963 and was elected chief of the volunteer department in 1978. He continued in that role until 2001.

March

Larry Oldfield, 73

E. Lawrence "Larry" Oldfield lived a life every bit as colorful as one might expect from a lawyer who litigated cases involving cattle rustling and stolen livestock. The former Glen Ellyn village board and District 41 school board member "just was an adventurer," said his wife, Kaaren, with whom he moved to Glen Ellyn in 1977.

April

Louise Beem, 93

One of the co-founders of the DuPage Children's Museum, she was remembered as the "intellectual force" behind the institution that grew from a wood-paneled station wagon to a permanent facility near downtown Naperville. As professor emeritus at the College of DuPage, she was honored when the Glen Ellyn school's Early Childhood Center was named the Louise M. Beem Early Childhood Center. But she was best known for working with Dorothy Carpenter to create the children's museum.

Joseph Winkler, 81

The longtime Elmhurst resident and former police officer was known for his work on the city's traffic enforcement unit where he kept an eye peeled for speeders and drunken drivers while riding his three-wheel motorcycle. He joined the department in 1958 and served until 1992 when he began an 11-year stint as a city code enforcement officer.

Ethan Roser, 19

The freshman at Wheaton College died in a freak accident when he was struck in the head during warmups for the hammer throw event at a track meet where he was volunteering. A transfer student from Cincinnati who was studying theology, he was remembered as a deeply religious man who always went out of his way to help others.

June

Jimmy Piersall, 87

The former major league baseball player, coach and broadcaster was remembered as a family man, a mentor to young ballplayers and someone who, fearing death, reconnected with his faith in the last years of his life. Piersall, whose battles with mental illness were well-chronicled, was celebrated on the 54th anniversary of his 100th major league home run - an event he marked by running the bases backward.

August

Dick Locher, 88

The longtime Naperville resident created characters and critiqued politicians for decades as he drew the popular Dick Tracy comic strip and won a Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartooning. In his hometown, you can find his art along the Riverwalk, at the new Hotel Indigo and in a park that honors the city's founder. But he also ran his own advertising business in Oak Brook, did fine art and water colors, served as a tour guide for trips to Alaska, Ireland and Switzerland, and even served as a trustee at Benedictine University in Lisle.

Michael Miele, 70

The longtime teacher from Glen Ellyn left a lasting impression on his students at Hadley Junior High, where he spent more than 30 years teaching social studies until he retired.

November

Henry Tews, 83

He created a halfway house during the mid-1980s in Addison for those struggling with addiction to alcohol and drugs - despite countless naysayers who said such a facility wasn't needed in DuPage County. Serenity House grew through the years to serve more and more people, although at the time of his death Tews was said to be heartbroken by the ongoing opioid crisis gripping the area and the country.

Albert Weber, 87

A beloved coach, principal and family man, he played integral roles at both Glenbard East and Glenbard North high schools. He'll be most remembered as the Glenbard East basketball coach who led the team to the state tournament in 1964 and the man who had the longest tenure as principal of Glenbard North High School in Carol Stream, from 1971 to 1989. "I lost a hero of mine a few days ago," said Tim Weiss, who played center on that 1964 team. "Coach Weber taught me everything I know about basketball and life and respecting people."

William Hood, 63

The longtime owner of Jack Straw's restaurant in downtown Wheaton - he opened the fast-food eatery in 1982 - died just months into his retirement. A Naperville resident since 1986, he also owned Rosati's Pizza in Woodridge. Named after a Grateful Dead hit, Jack Straw's was viewed as a downtown landmark.

December

Joe Newton, 88

The former cross-country and track coach at York High School earned a spot at the head of the coaching class in Illinois high school sports filling the York trophy cases with 29 pieces of state title hardware - 28 in boys cross-country and another in boys track and field - during his 60-plus years of coaching. From the time he arrived at York as a teacher in 1956 - and then took over the cross-country and track and field programs in 1960 - his brilliance was his ability to get kids of all shapes and sizes to push themselves to heights they may not have believed they could reach.

Ruth and Bob Kretschmer, 90 and 92

The Medinah couple died within minutes of each other five days after celebrating their 71st wedding anniversary. Ruth was a onetime Republican politician who chaired the DuPage County Board's zoning committee and served 20 years on the Illinois Commerce Commission. Bob was a carpenter who later served as a DuPage County sheriff's deputy.