Roselle mourns Trustee Ron Sass

Colleagues say Ron Sass never lost hope.

He served on the Roselle village board for 24 years and just recently filed nominating petitions to run for another term in April.

But within days of joining the village board race, Sass, 67, lost a long battle with cancer and died late Monday night.

“Ron loved this community and he loved serving,” Village President Gayle Smolinski said. “I just think he was hopeful that he was going to beat this and just continue.”

Sass was the senior trustee on the Roselle board. A member of the zoning board of appeals from 1985-87, he also served as a Roselle delegate to the referendum advisory committee for the DuPage Water Commission in 1985 and was appointed to several committees, including the Northern DuPage Cable Television Agency and Roselle Sister City Commission, which once sent him to Bochnia, Poland.

He also served as mayor pro tem several times during his tenure as trustee.

Sass always served as the investigative voice on the board who wanted all doubts addressed before he would vote on an issue. Smolinski said his inquisitive nature was complimented by his wisdom.

“He was somebody who did have a questioning mind, who loved knowing how things worked and why they worked the way they did,” Smolinski said. “He had the institutional memory of why we did some things we did and how they came about, so we didn't have to reinvent the wheel, and he would bring that knowledge forward. We're going to really miss that.”

When not at village hall, Sass was involved with American Legion Post 1084. He was a veteran of the U.S. Air Force, and was stationed in Thailand during his service.

Sass leaves behind his wife, Christine, and son Rick.

Visitation will be from 3 to 9 p.m. Monday, Dec. 27, at Salerno's Rosedale Chapels, 450 W. Lake St., Roselle. Funeral services will be at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 28, at Trinity Lutheran Church, 405 Rush St., Roselle, with Sass lying in repose from 9 to 10 a.m.

Burial will follow at Trinity Lutheran Cemetery on Irving Park Road, west of Roselle Road.