Remembering those we've lost: Notable deaths in the Fox Valley and DuPage County in 2022

As we look forward to the promise of 2023, we remember those we've lost this year in the Fox Valley and DuPage County areas.

Educators, community and business leaders, philanthropists - all helped shape the communities in which we live. They left indelible marks through impressive accomplishments and dedication to their fellow man.

Peter Schwartz

Jan. 19: The Geneva resident is remembered for his dedication to the efforts of the St. Charles Area Chamber of Commerce. Schwartz most recently was chairman of the chamber's industrial committee and had a passion for connecting the community, especially youth, with area employers. The president and CEO of Streng advertising agency in St. Charles died at age 72 after a battle with cancer.

Richard L. Duchossois

Jan. 28: A decorated World War II hero, renowned businessman and noted philanthropist, Duchossois died Jan. 28 at his Barrington Hills home. He was 100. "Mr. D" was best known as the longtime owner of Arlington Park, the suburban jewel that brought the world's best race horses to the Northwest suburbs. After serving under Gen. George Patton during World War II, Duchossois returned to his native Chicago and built a business empire. But among his many holdings, Arlington Park was the crown jewel. After a 1985 fire destroyed the old grandstand, Duchossois rebuilt the facility into one widely acclaimed as the finest on American soil. Duchossois' 100th birthday came 12 days after the final race at the track, which now is being sold the to Chicago Bears.

James and Margaret Ryan

Feb. 1 and 7: More casually known as "Jim and Marge," the longtime Glendale Heights couple shared married life together for 60 years and rarely spent time apart. That proved true right up to the end. Marge died Feb. 1 due to complications from recurring cancer. She was 81.

Less than a week later - the same day of Marge's funeral mass and burial - Jim died from heart failure at the age of 83. The couples' children said he died of a broken heart. The couple married in 1961 and settled in Glendale Heights in 1964 and were dedicated parishioners of St. Matthew Church.

Adam Salerno

Feb. 8: The founder of the popular Salerno's on the Fox restaurant in St. Charles died in February. Salerno emigrated as a child from Italy to the United States. In 1966 his older brothers opened a tavern in Berwyn, which quickly became a restaurant well-known for its pizzas. Adam Salerno opened his own spot at 320 N. Second St. on the west bank of the Fox River in 1975. The restaurant survived a fire in 2011 that caused roughly $450,000 in damage. Salerno was there the next day, figuring out how fast it could reopen, even if just for carryout.

Nancy Smith

Feb. 9: West Chicago's City Clerk for the past three decades died at 78. First elected in 1991, Smith was West Chicago's longest-serving city clerk. She was also the city's ethics officer and the local election official. A U.S. Army veteran, Smith was the first woman elected as commander of American Legion Post 300 in 2000. Smith also was an auxiliary member of VFW Post 6791, both based in West Chicago.

Ron Singer

March 10: The former Geneva alderman died at age 89. Singer was the city's 4th Ward alderman from 1997 to 2017, and also served on the Central Kane County TRIAD, was vice chairman of the Ride-in-Kane Program as well as serving as vice chairman of Tri-City Ambulance. The Korean War veteran was also a proud member and senior vice commander of American Legion Geneva Post 75.

Jim Sunagel

April 28: Roselle's first full-time fire chief who was remembered for helping build the village's fire department into what it is today, Sunagel died in April at age 83. He started his career as a firefighter with the Elk Grove Village Fire Department, retiring as deputy fire chief after 22 years. He joined the Roselle Fire Department in 1989 as its first full-time fire chief. Under Sunagel's leadership, Roselle transitioned from a volunteer to a full-time department. He also helped negotiate a merger between the village and the rural Roselle Fire Protection District.

J.R. Bishop

June 21: Bishop, who coached football and taught English at Naperville Central High School and then coached at Wheaton College, died in St. Charles at age 84. He coached at Naperville Central from 1979 to 1981, then took over the Wheaton College football program in 1982, turning the program around and going 84-43-1 as head coach. He is in Wheaton's Athletic Hall of Honor as well as the Indiana Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

Frank Hogan

June 27: The former headmaster of Elgin Academy is remembered by colleagues as a visionary leader who helped steer the independent school during a challenging time in its history. Hogan died at 85 in Point Loma, California, where he had retired five years ago. Hogan served as headmaster of Elgin Academy from 1975 to 1985. He later held the same position at the nationally renowned Ransom Everglades School in Miami, Florida, and the Latin School of Chicago.

Clyde Slocum

July 3: The former longtime superintendent of Barrington Community Unit School District 220, Slocum was remembered for combining a zest for life with a mastery of school administration. As the district's top administrator from 1979 to 1992, he oversaw substantial growth in enrollment and facilities. After retiring, he worked for international and defense department school accrediting agencies, taking trips to Pakistan, Africa and the Middle East. He was 92.

Sam Hill

July 5: Remembered for his love and dedication to all things Geneva, Hill died at age 86. He was a Geneva Park District commissioner for eight years and was considered instrumental in the development of Peck Farm Park. A baseball field at the park is named after Hill, who was named 2009 William Wood Community Service Award winner. Hill also served for a decade on the city's plan commission and spent 12 years representing the city's 1st Ward as an alderman.

John Kennedy

July 14: The North Aurora resident and longtime city of Batavia employee died in a tree-trimming accident at his home. Kennedy started working for Batavia in 1996 as a public works maintenance worker, in the streets and engineering departments. He was promoted to senior engineering assistant in 2006. He was 53.

Richard "Dick" Truitt

July 18: Former West Chicago mayor, who died at 97, is remembered as a man who served his country in multiple ways. The World War II veteran was elected to several West Chicago government positions in the 1960s and '70s. Truitt also was a driving force behind the creation of the West Chicago Prairie Forest Preserve. Truitt served as a tank driver during the 1944 Allied invasion of Normandy and later fought in the Battle of the Bulge. Following the war, Truitt returned home to West Chicago, where he taught for the Waterman and Wheaton school districts. Truitt served as an alderman and the city clerk before becoming mayor from 1971 to 1977.

Edward Regole

Aug. 15: A generous benefactor at Marmion Academy whose family owned much of the farmland on St. Charles' east side, Regole died at 90 in August. A 1950 Marmion Academy graduate, he served in the U.S. Navy from 1955 to 1958. He founded Regole's Harvest Shoppe on Kirk Road in St. Charles in 1963. The business bore the family name until it became Trellis Farm and Garden in 2009. Regole and his sister, Vi, donated farmland to help underwrite various projects at Marmion Academy and three facilities at the school bear the Regole name: the field house, natatorium and science building.

James T. Schuldt

Aug. 21: The longtime Carpentersville resident, former village trustee and counselor at Dundee-Crown High School died at his home at age 92. An inaugural member of the Dundee-Crown Athletic Hall of Fame, Schuldt was part of the University of Illinois basketball team that made two Final Fours during his college career. He was a member of the Illinois Basketball Hall of Fame and the University of Illinois Hall of Fame. Schuldt retired as a counselor from Dundee-Crown High School after working in the district for 24 years. He served as a Carpentersville village trustee from 1997 to 2003.

Robert James O'Connor

Sept. 15: A longtime alderman who served as Aurora's 58th mayor, O'Connor died at his home at age 78. The dedicated public servant was first elected as an alderman-at-large in 1985 and served eight terms on the Aurora City Council. He served 36 years on the finance committee and was the chairman of the same committee for 32 years. O'Connor served as mayor for six months starting in October 2016 filling out the remainder of then-Mayor Tom Weisner's term, who had stepped down to focus on his health. Last year, the city named the council office after O'Connor.

Walter E. Smithe

Oct. 9: The patriarch of the family behind the namesake furniture store, Smithe helped turn a small family business on the Northwest Side of Chicago into a successful chain of stores with locations across the suburbs, as well as Indiana and Florida. Credited with pioneering the concept of custom-upholstered furniture in the Chicago area, Smithe recognized the suburbs as a growth area for the business and helped create its famous slogan "You dream it, we build it!" Smithe died Oct. 9. He was 86.

Robert "Bob" H. Polston

Nov. 13: The former Fox River Grove police chief steered the small village through its greatest tragedy. Polston was 75. He started with the department in 1975, was promoted to chief in 1981 and retired in 2007. On the morning of Oct. 25, 1995, Polston was showing state engineers the intersection of Algonquin Road, Route 14 and the Union Pacific railroad tracks when a Metra train going 60 mph smashed into the back of a school bus carrying students to Cary-Grove High School. Five students died at the scene, two later succumbed to their injuries and 21 others were injured. Polston witnessed the crash, reported it on his police radio and was the first to help the survivors.

William J. Kunkle Jr.

Nov. 18: As the prosecutor who secured the conviction and death penalty for serial killer John Wayne Gacy, William J. Kunkle Jr. could have coasted on the celebrity of the case for the rest of his career. Instead, he used the experience to travel the country and teach others about the trial and its legal peculiarities. Kunkle, who died Nov. 18 at 81 years old, also served as special prosecutor in the case of the "DuPage 7," the seven law officers accused and later acquitted of falsifying evidence to convict Rolando Cruz in the 1983 kidnapping, rape and murder of 10-year-old Jeanine Nicarico in Naperville Township.

Marge Fox

Dec. 8: The longtime educator is remembered by friends and colleagues for never losing her sense of wonder about the world. She taught elementary school in Hoffman Estates for 38 years, then after retiring she taught programs at the Elgin Public Museum and Lords Park Zoo for 27 years until her death at age 89. The West Dundee resident had a love for travel and was proud to have visited all seven continents, including going on an African safari at age 75.

Floyd Brown

Dec. 9: Chicago broadcaster Floyd Brown was a trailblazer whose 54-year career encompassed radio and television. He was 92. Smart and personable with "the gift of gab," Brown spent from 1971 to 1999 at WGN-TV and WGN radio. On TV, he served as newscaster, sports anchor and host of a show called "Nightbeat." On the radio, he hosted the long-running, jazz-centered "Floyd Brown Show," during which he interviewed such legends as Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington and Lionel Hampton, among others. He was a longtime civic leader, and in recognition for his public service, Floyd received the D. Ray Wilson Volunteer Service Award from Judson University, the Trailblazer Award from the Quad County Urban League in suburban Chicago and the Friend of Education Award from Elgin Community College. He was also inducted into the Fox Valley Arts Hall of Fame.

Edward Wolowiec

Dec. 10: The longtime owner and founder of Port Edward Restaurant in Algonquin was a musician, artist, and world traveler affectionately referred to as "The Renaissance man." Wolowiec was 92. Port Edward Restaurant began as the Anchor Lounge, a small tavern on Algonquin Road near a boat launch serving burgers and pizzas. In 1960, Wolowiec was a professional musician and teacher when he was asked to become a part owner by the parents of one of his students. He accepted and had intended to own it for a year or two. But he ended up buying out his partners, changing the name of the restaurant and building the landmark it is today.