Obituaries
North Shore Death Notices: Nov. 18 To Nov. 24
Recent obituaries and upcoming services on Chicago's North Shore.

The following death notices were added to funeral homes serving the North Shore area in the past week. Those homes have provided obituaries for some of those that have passed away recently. Patch offers condolences to their loved ones, links to their obituaries and notices of upcoming services below.
Kelley & Spalding Funeral Home, 1787 Deerfield Road in Highland Park
John P. Picchietti, 92, Deerfield
Service Nov. 25
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Mary Beth "Mairzy" Minorini, 67, Vernon Hills
Service Nov. 30
Kenneth "Dick" Knackstadt, 79, Lindenhurst
Service Dec. 7
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Marshall E. LeSueur, 96, Deerfield
Services pending
Seguin & Symonds Funeral Home, 858 Sheridan Road in Highwood
Kathy Wolfe Pannier, 63, Lake Forest
Chicago Jewish Funerals, 8851 Skokie Blvd. in Skokie
Stanley Prelutsky, 91, Glenview
Service Nov. 25
Jerome "Jerry" Maller, 83, Niles
Service Nov. 25
Jewell Schaps, 90, Highland Park
Services pending
Beatrissa Vildaver, 67, Long Grove
Services pending
James J. Bergen, 81, Chicago
Services pending
Shirley Berliner, 94, Skokie
Service Nov. 26
Lawrence E. "Larry" Gilford, 96, Wilmette
Maria Gimelfarb, 91, Chicago
Corinne "Corky" Paul, 91, Lincolnshire
Jerry Konopken, 90, Highland Park
Lee Yates, 89, Wilmette
Arnold K. "Arny" Leavitt, 87, Glenview
Benjamin Shandalov, 86, Chicago
Henry Abraham, 82, Chicago
Sandra P. Schaeffer, 78, Delray Beach, Florida
Ian Michael Swibel, 64, La Grange Park
Adam Joshua Kohn, 23, Chicago
Hilda Swanson née Facklam, 93, Evanston
Service Nov. 25
Louis "Lou" Ragusi, 88, Winnetka
Service Nov. 25
Jeanne M. McDonagh née Flanagan, 96, Wilmette
Service Nov. 26
Niko Karvunidis, 79, Skokie
Service Nov. 26
Earl H. Peters, 90, Evanston
Visitation Dec. 5, service Dec. 6
Ernest Werner Kirchheimer, 94, Highland Park
Service Dec. 8
Carol Ann Kane, 89, Vernon Hills
Service Dec. 14
Emaline Kaneshiro, 83, Chicago
Service Dec. 15
Leonie Medard née Aristide, 91, Evanston
John Edward "Jack" Hollender, 78, Chicago
George Eric Siegfried, 78, Evanston
John Gerard "Johnny" Skehen, 63, Wilmette
Julie Marie Harrington, 60, Chicago
Haben Funeral Home, 8057 Niles Center Road in Skokie
Eileen P. Carnow née Ronan, 78, Skokie
Services pending
Theresa J. Carpio née Juinio, 74, Skokie
Services pending
Thompson Funeral & Cremation Services, 1917 Asbury Ave. in Evanston
James Hunter, 82, Evanston
Evanston Funeral & Cremation, 1726 Central St. in Evanston
Paul Joseph Grgurich, 55, Skokie
Weinstein & Piser Funeral Home, 111 Skokie Blvd. in Wilmette
Shulim Frumker, 97, Chicago
Service Nov. 25
Hope Abels née Brown, 77, Northfield
Service Nov. 25
Doris Baer née Servos, 97, Chicago
Service Nov. 26
Edwin C. Stoller, 87, Northbrook
Service Nov. 26
Donald James Ruhman, 92, Chicago
Service Nov. 27
Pauline Greenspan Zelden, 93, Chicago
Reta Cohen, 88, Highland Park
Warren Michael Minsky, 63, Buffalo Grove
Donna Ferrill née Stewart, 67, Glenview
Service Nov. 30
Adeline Rog née Wnek, 94, Chicago
N. H. Scott & Hanekamp Funeral Home, 1240 Waukegan Road in Glenview
Irene Lizak, 80, Chicago
Service Nov. 27
Rose A. Sapitro née Platskey, 78, Chicago
Visitation Nov. 29, service Nov. 30
Thomas S. Dworzak, 78, Northbrook
Featured Obituary:
Ernest Werner Kirchheimer, 94, died peacefully at home on November 21, 2019 in Highland Park, IL. A loving husband, father, grandfather and uncle, he was deeply cherished by those who knew him.
Ernest, the son of Eugene and Bertha (nee Thalheimer) Kirchheimer, was born in Heilbronn, Germany. A Holocaust survivor, he left Germany with his parents when he was 12 to begin a new life in Houston, Texas. His new home was nothing like the Wild West he had expected from stories he had read in Germany, but he quickly adapted, shedding his lederhosen for long pants and learning English quickly. As a teen, he worked to help support his family as a paper boy, an usher in his uncle’s movie theater, and as a furniture upholsterer.
A member of the ROTC at San Jacinto High School, Ernest enlisted in the US Army in 1943, where he was assigned to active infantry duty in the 100th Infantry Division. He proudly served his country during World War II, receiving the Purple Heart, Bronze Star and the French Legion of Honor for his service.
In what he later referred to as “the most amazing coincidence of my life,” in April 1945, nearly seven years after he had left Germany for the US, Ernest was wounded in combat in Heilbronn, the town of his birth. In a field hospital, he was treated by a German physician who was surprised by his local accent and checked the name on his dog tags. As it turned out, the doctor treating him on the battlefield had been a close family friend, neighbor and Ernest’s childhood pediatrician in Germany.
Following his recovery and honorable discharge, Ernest enrolled in Texas A&M University, where he graduated in three years in 1949 with a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering. In 1958, after taking evening courses while working days, he received a master’s degree in philosophy from the University of Houston.
Ernest worked most of his career as an engineer and manager within the petrochemicals industry, most recently at Mobil Corp., from which he retired in 1990. In 1959, while working for Texas Butadiene and Chemical Corporation, he was transferred from Houston to the company’s New York City office, where he met the love of his life, Carol McNeill, in 1960. They navigated different religious backgrounds and political affinities to find a common joy in the urban life and family they forged together. In their 58 years of marriage, they took advantage of opportunities to travel and enjoyed the many cultural attractions of the city, exploring museums, theater, concerts and restaurants weekly.
More from Donnellan Family Funeral Services »
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