Friends fondly recall Naperville man found on banks of river

Friends of a Naperville man who died early Saturday after being found Friday on the bank of the DuPage River were heartbroken by his death.

They recalled David Aleman, 57, as a joker who was good with kids and was a loyal friend.

"He would do anything for anybody," said Grace Cherry, of Yorkville, who'd known Aleman for about 14 years.

Aleman was found about 4:30 p.m. Friday on the river bank near the 1800 block of South Washington Street. He had been spotted by kayakers, who initially thought he was dead. He was alive when police pulled him to dry land.

He was transported to Edward Hospital in Naperville, where he died overnight.

About 10 friends held a vigil at the hospital Friday night, hoping for good news that never came, Cherry said.

"He had a whole group of people out there who loved him," she said.

Police aren't sure whether Aleman accidentally fell into the river, which was swollen by Thursday's rains, or if he jumped in. They didn't know how long he'd been in the water, either. The circumstances leading to Aleman's death are under investigation.

An autopsy was scheduled to be conducted Saturday.

Aleman served in the U.S. Army in Vietnam and was decorated for his service, Cherry said. After the military he worked as a barber and hair stylist, she said, most recently in Naperville.

He was passionate about cutting hair, said another friend, Danielle Franklin of Plainfield. Aleman had been childhood friends with her husband, Jeffrey, in Aurora.

"He was just a very caring man with a big heart," Franklin said.

Aleman used to live with Cherry and her husband, Daniel. Daniel Cherry and Aleman had been friends for decades, she said.

Aleman moved to Naperville about a month ago from Yorkville, said Rosalyn Morris, who owns the Studio 10 Naperville hair salon where Aleman had worked for the past year or so.

They'd cut hair together, on and off, for about eight years.

"He was a great guy," she said.

Like Aleman's other friends, Morris was puzzled by his death.

"It just doesn't make any sense," she said.