Inspiring longtime Elk Grove teacher and administrator

Around the halls of Grove Junior High School in Elk Grove Village, John L. DiGiovanni was known simply as, "Mr. D."

He was a fixture at the school, making a lasting impression on eighth-grade students for 28 years, and serving in Elk Grove Township Elementary District 59 for 35 years overall.

Former students and family members now are mourning his passing. Mr. DiGiovanni, a 51-year Elk Grove resident, passed away Dec. 6, just three weeks after his wife, Frances. He was 85.

Cindy Pullen works in the administrative offices of District 59, after having attended its schools since third grade. Of all of her teachers, Mr. DiGiovanni, she says, was her favorite.

"He was wonderful and so inspiring," Pullen says. "I still remember how we all had to read the newspaper every day and cut out articles to bring into class and discuss. We also had to come up with new words we found in the dictionary and use them in speeches in class."

Other former students remember his penchant for singing, playing Harry Belafonte records and closing out the school year with an annual pizza party.

Mary Lee Hritsuk, one of Mr. DiGiovanni's colleagues at Grove, recalls his popularity -- and his effectiveness with difficult students.

"He was tremendous with the kids, particularly the hardest discipline cases," Hritsuk says. "It was amazing the way he could get through to them."

Occasionally, he connected with his students, at the expense of the curriculum, Hritsuk adds.

"I can remember at times the administration wasn't too happy with him, because he wasn't following the curriculum," she says. "But I think that was how he got through to the more difficult students, by talking about issues of the day."

Mr. DiGiovanni grew up in Chicago and began his teaching career there. But soon after District 59 opened its first building, Higgins School, he came out to the Northwest suburbs in 1956 to accept a position as a sixth-grade language arts teacher.

Midway during the 1960 school year, Mr. DiGiovanni moved to the new Ridge School to become its principal. However, he returned to the classroom, teaching fifth grade at Herzog School, now Einstein School, before moving to Grove Junior High in 1963.

He remained at Grove until he retired in 1991, but he remained active in the community, and in the teachers union.

Mr. DiGiovanni is survived by two sons, John (Kaye) and Joseph (Fran), and three grandchildren.

Funeral services will take place at 10 a.m. Saturday at Grove Memorial Chapel, 1199 S. Arlington Heights Road in Elk Grove Village.