Former Island Lake Trustee Don Verciglio dies
Former Island Lake village Trustee Don Verciglio is being remembered as a friend and a caring public servant.
Verciglio died Thursday at home, longtime friend and ex-Trustee Connie Mascillino said. He had been suffering from health issues, she said.
Verciglio, 75, served on the board from 2007 to 2011. His tenure had a brief break in 2009 when he lost a re-election bid, but he was appointed to fill a vacancy a short time later.
While in office, Verciglio was among the organizers of the public produce garden at Veterans Park. He was a U.S. Army veteran.
Mark Beeson, now a trustee, worked on that project with Verciglio. Even though they butted heads politically, Beeson praised Verciglio for his work on the garden and his efforts for the local senior center.
Beeson called Verciglio "a colorful character" who will be missed.
Verciglio's tenure coincided with a particularly volatile political period in the village.
Trustees regularly argued with each other during board meetings over a variety of municipal and personal issues.
In 2011, while Debbie Herrmann was mayor, four trustees teamed in an attempt to strip some of her executive powers. It led to a costly lawsuit that was settled after a few months.
Verciglio had left office by the time the case was settled.
"We weathered the storm together when all the headline-grabbing infighting was going on with the village board," Mascillino said.
She and Verciglio remained close friends after leaving the board.
"The joke among those who knew was he was my 'other husband,'" Mascillino said.
Other friends and acquaintances shared their memories of Verciglio on Facebook.
"He had a heart as big as an elephant and would do whatever he could to help someone in need," Herrmann wrote.
"He was a wonderful man who cared deeply for his community," former Trustee Shannon Fox wrote.
Visitation will be 4 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at Kisselburg-Wauconda Funeral Home, 235 N. Main St., Wauconda. Prayers will be said there at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, too.
A funeral Mass is set for 11 a.m. Wednesday at Transfiguration Catholic Church, 316 W. Mill St., Wauconda.
Verciglio will be entombed at the Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Elwood.
He is survived by children and grandchildren.
Memorial donations can be sent to: American Legion Post No. 911, P.O. Box 146, Wauconda, IL, 60084.