Notable deaths in the Fox Valley during 2015
In 2015, Fox Valley residents said final goodbyes to several notable residents.
Lee Barrett
Lee Barrett, a former Kane County Board member and owner of Barrett Engineering in East Dundee, died at age 77 in April. Barrett was a Vietnam War-era Army veteran. His service fueled a passion for helping fellow veterans and honoring their service. He helped establish two veterans memorials, including the one at the Kane County Government Center in Geneva. He often drove local veterans to Hines VA Hospital for services.
<h3 class="leadin">Robert Bohler
Sugar Grove officials and residents mourned the death of longtime Trustee Robert Bohler, who died from cancer in May. In July, he was posthumously named the Citizen of the Year. Bohler had served on the board for 18 years. He was passionate about making sure developers adhered to architectural standards, even when it meant using more expensive materials. He also organized the fireworks show for the annual Corn Boil, and was well-known for his love of baking and cooking.
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Bob Fraser Jr.
Bob Fraser Jr. died at age 39. But he had accumulated a lifetime worth of memories and good deeds via missionary work, in addition to his time spent as a teacher and administrator at Haines Middle School in St. Charles Unit District 303. Fraser was remembered at his memorial as a man with infectious kindness, energy and enthusiasm for life and helping others. An online fundraiser raised nearly $60,000 for the wife and four children he left behind.
<h3 class="leadin">Bob Fuchs
Robert J. “Bob” Fuchs, 85, an Army veteran and former Cary president and village trustee, died Jan. 2 in Lisle. His vision and leadership helped guide the McHenry County village toward becoming a robust suburban community, while preserving its small-town charm. He moved with his family from Chicago to Cary in 1961. He served as a village trustee from 1965 to 1969, when he was elected mayor - a part-time post he held until 1976.
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Robert Gilliam
At the end of 2014, Elgin lost Robert Gilliam, 69, who had served on the Elgin City Council for 40 years. “Politicians come and go in a lifetime, but statesmen come along once in a lifetime,” Elgin Mayor Dave Kaptain said. “He was a statesman. For a city like ours, I think that's all you get - a statesman in a lifetime.”
<h3 class="leadin">Joseph Groom
Aurora Police Lt. Joseph Groom, 53, died unexpectedly in early December after suddenly falling ill at his home. Colleagues and law enforcement leaders recalled Groom, who served in many capacities, including commander of the investigations division, as being a “cop's cop” and “fiercely loyal” to his Aurora hometown.
<h3 class="leadin">Ted Hsieh
Ted Hsieh, a longtime Judson University psychology professor, died July 13 after being diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer barely a month before. Hsieh, 75, of Elgin, taught 44 years at Judson, where he served as an assistant professor in psychology from 1969 to 1974 and associate professor in psychology from 1974 until his retirement in 2013. He and his wife, Jeannette, served as house parents in Wilson Hall for 10 years. He also served as the director of student housing at Judson's Elgin campus.
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Weldon Johnson
If you saw a man in a Viking costume in Geneva's Swedish Days parade for years, you saw Weldon Johnson's love of the city. Johnson, owner of Viking Office Supply, died in January at age 75. He was a former alderman; a former deputy county circuit court clerk; an organizer of the St. Peter Catholic Church Barn Sale; and one of the first “Dancing With the Geneva Stars” charity fundraiser contestants. “I always looked forward to going to work, and I loved seeing people and helping people,” Johnson said in a 2007 interview with Daily Herald columnist Dave Heun. “It's been a blast being part of Swedish Days and the Christmas Walk; it's just all been good memories.”
<h3 class="leadin">Jim Klinkhamer
Jim Klinkhamer, a former 18-year Carpentersville police chief, was the third police officer to join the department in 1957. When he later became chief, he always made himself available to the public, his family recalls. Klinkhamer died in July at the age of 86 after years of heart complications.
<h3 class="leadin">James P. Liautaud
Aside from being the father of the founder of Jimmy John's sandwich shop, James P. Liautaud was a successful businessman, an entrepreneur and an educator. He had close ties to the suburbs, particularly Elgin, where he worked at Capsonic Group and founded American Antenna and K40 Electronics. Liautaud, 79, died from pancreatic cancer in October.
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Dwight W. Maness
McHenry County Sheriff Deputy Dwight W. Maness died in early September from a blood clot during a rehabilitation session for a leg injury sustained in October 2014 when he and another deputy were ambushed while conducting a well-being check in Holiday Hills. Earlier in the year, Maness testified against Scott Peters, 53, who was convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to 135 years in prison for wounding Maness, 47, and shooting at two other deputies. Authorities ruled Maness' death was a homicide caused by Peters' actions, but declined to press new charges, citing Peters' lengthy prison term already in place.
<h3 class="leadin">Sara A. Medina
Marine Cpl. Sara A. Medina of Aurora loved everything about being a Marine. “She loved the brotherhood, the PT (physical training), the rank structure, the uniform, everything,” said her fiance, Marine Sgt. Devon Henderson. “ … She was most passionate Marine I know.” Medina, 23, died in May in a helicopter crash in Nepal. She was a combat photographer on a humanitarian mission to the country in the wake of several earthquakes.
<h3 class="leadin">Cameron Pepera
Cameron Pepera, a seventh-grader at Thompson Middle School in St. Charles, died from an undetected, pre-existing medical condition after falling ill during a cross-country meet in September. Fellow students decorated his locker with sticky notes and cards with messages about how much they missed him.
<h3 class="leadin">Sam Rotolo
“There's a saying that says, 'Kids don't care how much you know, they want to know how much you care.' It's so true at the middle school level,” retired Batavia Junior High School Principal Sam Rotolo said in a 2001 Daily Herald interview, about why children should be treated with dignity, even when they are being disciplined. “They're testing their independence, starting to mature, but they're still kids. And they need to be kids.” Rotolo, for whom Rotolo Middle School is named, died in March at age 89. He was the school's principal for 23 years.
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Jeff Ruhl
Jeff Ruhl died doing what he was best known for - helping others. Ruhl, 56, of St. Charles, died during a weekend-long biking event that raises money for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society in June. Friends and family remembered him for his handiwork and athletic feats. He died just prior to the wedding of his stepdaughter, Meg. She described him as the “best dad in the world, better than anyone could ask for.”
<h3 class="leadin">T.J. Sportsman
T.J. Sportsman, a gym teacher at Munhall Elementary and basketball coach at Haines Middle School, died in a highway accident while returning from a fishing tournament he won in Wisconsin. An online campaign raised tens of thousands of dollars to assist the wife and two children he left behind. More than 500 donations were made. Sportsman was remembered for his love of square dancing, magic tricks and music that he used to bring enthusiasm to his classes.
<h3 class="leadin">Jesse Vazquez
Jesse Vazquez, one of the first Hispanic Kane County Board members, died in January of a heart attack. Vazquez was a former Marine and very active in public service in the Montgomery area. The board appointed his wife, Maria, to serve out the remainder of his term.
<h3 class="leadin">Sister Mary Joseph Weigand
Sister Mary Joseph Weigand, the founding principal of Rosary High School in Aurora, died in August. She was principal from 1962 to 1970 and returned to the school in various capacities in the 1980s and 1990s.
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John Wredling
Former St. Charles schools superintendent John Wredling died in October at age 101. He retired in 1972, but continued to stay involved with the schools up until his death. He would visit students, celebrating his birthday or greeting them on the first day of school, at the middle school named after him. He was also active in the Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Legion and Rotary Club. “He stood for all that is good about education in St. Charles. He continued to support education any way he could,” St. Charles Mayor Ray Rogina said.