North Shore Death Notices: April 28 To May 4

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.

Chicago Jewish Funerals, 8851 Skokie Blvd. in Skokie

Ethel Buckman, 102, Chicago

Lila Ruth Irwin née Soboroff, 99, Skokie

Frieda Reifer née Grytz, 98, Skokie

Ethel Long née Cohen, 97, Buffalo Grove

Sara Lee Kanter, 89, Chicago

Celia Leib née Frimer, 88, Glenview

June Kessler née Bromberg, 85, Chicago

Alan Berman, 82, Deerfield

Arthur J. Lasin, 80, Highland Park

Ronald Glickman, 79, Newport Beach, California

Robert "Skip" Engert, 78, Deerfield

Beverle Bloch née Swift, 72, Chicago

Fred Nagel, 67, Deerfield

Robert S. Vihon, 67, Wilmette

Sandra "Sandy" Tarrson, 65, Des Plaines

Stephen S. Beitler, 63, Highland Park

Adam Jason Silver, 41, Chicago

Donnellan Funeral Home, 10045 Skokie Blvd. in Skokie

John Graham Conley, 96, Chicago

Friedrich Johann Maria Weinkopf, 90, Kenilworth

James F. "Jim" Marran, 89, Wilmette

Edward Ross, 49, Wilmette

Haben Funeral Home, 8057 Niles Center Road in Skokie

Ingrid Gordon, 89, Skokie

Thomas J. Hester, 82, Skokie

Elpidio Ferrer Tomenbang, 74, Des Plaines

Jean R. Metellus, 66, Skokie

Thompson Funeral & Cremation Services, 1917 Asbury Ave. in Evanston

John Abner Mayes, 82, Evanston

Evanston Funeral & Cremation, 1726 Central St. in Evanston

Joan Meier, 88, Chicago

Weinstein & Piser Funeral Home, 111 Skokie Blvd. in Wilmette

Frank W. Glaser, 97, Wilmette

Walija "Wally" Kowalsky, 96, Chicago

Mildred E Stein, 95, Morton Grove,

Kenneth Keith Goldberg, 91, Glenview

Irina Bodnya, 90, Des Plaines

Melvin R. Bramsom, 90, Boyton Beach, Florida

Joanne K. Friedlander, 89, Highland Park

Marjorie Barron nee Shapira, 89, Northbrook

Hershel Fuksman, 87, Boca Raton, Florida

Sandra Pines née Loewy, 86, Winnetka

Ira Yelina, 85, Chicago

Ilya Rudiak, 81, Northbrook

Beth A. Siegel née Marks, 74, Highland Park

Montana Rio Brown, 24, Gurnee

N. H. Scott & Hanekamp Funeral Home, 1240 Waukegan Road in Glenview

Mae "Bee" Roberts née Christensen, 106, Northbrook

Carolyn Standish Pieters, 90, Northbrook

Patricia Ann Scherer née Albright, 89, Northbrook

Carolla Josephine Jung Schmid, 83, Glenview

Emilio Yzaguirre, 76, Carol Stream

Paul Vincent Quinn, 74, Chicago

Kelley & Spalding Funeral Home, 1787 Deerfield Road in Highland Park

Louise S. Hart, 99, Glencoe

Lois R. Nannetti, 88, Buffalo Grove

Nu Huynh, 76, Chicago

Elizabeth Ann Limoges, 70, Highland Park

Wenben Funeral Home, 320 Vine Ave. in Lake Forest

Mary Ellen Muskat, 91, Lake Forest

Reuland & Turnbough Funeral Home, 1407 N. Western Ave. in Lake Forest

Dorothy Tiffany Whalley, 87, Lake Forest

Featured Obituary:

James F. (Jim) Marran, a long-time Wilmette resident, recently of Winnetka, died April 26, 2020 at his home after a brief illness. He was 89.

Jim was born July 25, 1930 in Wilmington, Del., to Francis and Grace (Healy) Marran. He graduated from College of the Holy Cross, then earned his Master’s degree at the University of Maryland, where he first glimpsed Barbara Hammond giving a tour in the campus library; shortly after they officially met at the university’s Newman Club. James and Barbara were wed August 25, 1956 in New Haven, Conn.

The couple moved to Evanston as Jim began his long and storied tenure at New Trier High School, an association that would continue for the rest of his days. Jim’s life represented the best of the New Trier motto: “To commit minds to inquiry, hearts to compassion, and lives to the service of humanity.”

His New Trier career spanned five decades from 1956-93. In addition to teaching liberal arts courses including world regional geography, social studies, and history, Jim also served as social studies department chairman at both New Trier East and West. Jim was part of the faculty at West for the life of the school (1965-81).

He played a role in the creation of a second school as well as the West-East merger. When the schools combined in 1982, retaining the Winnetka campus, Jim’s trademark diplomacy and mastery of history and geography came into play, according to a memory penned by a former student upon hearing of his passing.

As hundreds of people with conflicting opinions on the new colors and mascots spoke before a transition committee, a resolution seemed impossible. Jim spoke on the final day of the public hearing, weaving a solution that involved the Roman ruins featured on the New Trier seal depicting the gate to Trier, Germany, the Roman soldiers at the outpost, and the Latin name for its citizens.

He also told of how Germans who emigrated to Chicago were reminded of their homeland by the blue lake and the green fauna. The presentation resulted in a landslide vote; the Trevians’ Roman soldier mascot and blue and green school colors were born.

This is just one example of the outpouring of stories from students, advisees, and colleagues about Jim’s peaceful demeanor, expansive knowledge, and deep connection to the New Trier community.

He retired from New Trier in 1993, leaving the building but not the school. He was a loyal supporter of the Trevian Association of Retired Personnel and served on a committee for the New Trier Archives. With TARP, Jim sent beautiful notes that kept retirees in touch with each other and with New Trier. He played a vital role in the establishment of the New Trier Educational Foundation, serving on the board from 2005-14. NTEF’s James F. Marran Endowment Fund for Professional Development was launched in 2017. All four of Jim and Barbara’s children and three of their grandchildren graduated from New Trier.

Beyond New Trier, Jim worked on geography education on a national level. He served as a contributing author of Geography for Life: National Geography Standards and was especially committed to promoting standards-based geography instruction and improved assessment models that measure student achievement through multiple strategies. Jim helped to pilot and implement the High School Geography Project in the late 1960s and was the first project coordinator for the Geography Education National Implementation Project (GENIP), a key writer on the National Geography Standards project, and was the driving force behind AP Human Geography, uniting support from multiple national geography associations to bring it to fruition. Jim received the 2003 Gilbert Grosvenor Honors Award for Geography Education from the Association of American Geographers for his contributions to promoting geography instruction in the nation’s K-12 schools. His final project in recent years was creating questions for The National Geography Challenge for grades 1-12.

A member of the Holy Cross Class of 1952, Jim cherished his ties to his alma mater throughout his life. He attended his 50-year reunion in 2002, where he was honored as a member of the Purple Knights for his half-century of alumni involvement. He fostered communication between classmates until his last days.

Among Jim’s countless volunteer endeavors was his service as both a curriculum writer and educator for Cristo Rey High School in Chicago. Jim also served at Camp Gordon in Georgia during the Korean War as a Communication Center Specialist and as an Instructor.

Send obituaries and images to your Patch to be included in future editions: Deerfield, Evanston, Glenview, Highland Park, Lake Bluff-Lake Forest, Niles-Morton Grove, Northbrook, Skokie, Winnetka-Glencoe-Northbrook, Wilmette-Kenilworth

Last week: North Shore Death Notices: April 21 to April 27