North Shore Death Notices: July 15 To July 21

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

Esther Andes, 93, Vernon Hills
Service July 22

Edith Singer, 91, Buffalo Grove
Service July 22

William R. Pitzele, 89, Libertyville
Service July 22

Gail Kavka, 74, Northbrook
Service July 22

Anna Becker, 70, Cordova, Tennessee
Services pending

Jacob Lee Novar, 30, Chicago
Services pending

Leonard Kranzler, 81, Chicago
Service July 23

Sam Burnes, 96, Evanston

Lorna Greenspahn, 94, Wilmette

Barbara A. Grahn née Ascher, 90, Chicago

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

Sheyndel Plotkin, 99, Chicago
Service July 22

Max Gassman, 29, Evanston
Service July 22

Marvin Piser, 100, Chicago
Service July 22

Arthur K. Mills, 91, Lincolnshire
Service July 23

Howard I. Goldsmith, 93

Carolyn W. Haas, 90

Emma Blancas née Gilbert, 65

Lisa Fraiberg, 53

Donnellan Funeral Home, 10045 Skokie Blvd. in Skokie

Joan P. McKenna née Pickett, 88, Winnetka
Visitation and service July 24

Harve A. Ferrill, 86, Chicago
Service Sept. 5

Kim Lawrence Kolflat, 66, Glenview

Haben Funeral Home, 8057 Niles Center Road in Skokie

Joan T. Kelly née Barrett, 85, Skokie
Visitation July 25, service July 26

Paula H. Wells née Chernisky, 93, Skokie

Genevieve B. "Gene" Freres née Blameuser, 98, Skokie

Flordeliza Canovas Natividad Delos Reyes, 73, Morton Grove

Simkins Funeral Home, 6251 Dempster St. in Morton Grove

Barbara J. Kwiecinski, 82, Morton Grove
Visitation July 23, service July 24

George Smolinski, 79, Morton Grove
Visitation and service July 25

Joann C. Depenbrok, 95, Morton Grove
Visitation and service Aug. 4

Gino Rocco, 52, Plainfield

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

Constantine Georgoulias, 94, Highland Park

Seguin & Symonds Funeral Home, 858 Sheridan Road in Highwood

David F. O'Leary, 69, Midlothian
Service July 23

Mario Massa, 100, Highland Park

Wenban Funeral Home, 320 Vine Ave. in Lake Forest

Steuart "Stu" E. Tray, 84, Lake Forest
Service July 25

Richard "Dick" Charles Verbeke, 79, Lake Bluff

Donna Marjorie Hartigan, 77, Lake Forest

Featured obituary:

Henry Robert Graham, our beloved and brave father and grandfather, has died at the age of 96. He was a World War II hero, retired lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves, and a Chicago businessman and newspaper columnist. He was a gifted athlete who played a mean game of tennis well into his 80s.

He and his wife, Anne, owned the successful Small Fry children’s clothing store in Chicago’s Lincoln Square neighborhood for 48 years. Though Lincolnwood was their home, they were global travelers and spent part of every year in sunny Longboat Key, Florida.

Born in Vienna in 1923, Henry Graham helped his parents escape Austria in 1939 after Germany annexed their homeland shortly before the start of World War II.

A natural-born athlete who started kicking soccer balls at age 2, Henry’s athletic talents helped him flee Vienna after several close calls with the Nazis. As a teenager, he played soccer for Austria’s National Junior Team. So, Henry arranged visas for himself and for his parents, under the pretext that they were going to watch him play soccer. His parents’ visa came through first, and he sent them to England while he waited alone for his visa to arrive. It finally came two weeks later, and Henry forged his father’s signature on the document and quickly escaped to England.

About a year later, he and his parents emigrated to the United States and settled in Chicago. In the spring of 1941, Henry enlisted in the U.S. Army, and in 1943, he shipped out for Europe. There, he fought in D-Day plus one, the Battle of the Bulge, and other tough battles. Though he never bragged about this, he was awarded numerous medals for courage and leadership, including the Silver Star, two Bronze Stars, two Purple Hearts, the Infantry Combat Badge, and the French Croix de Guerre.

Following the war, he returned home, where he trained at the Radio Institute of Chicago to become an engineer. He met smart, beautiful Anne Russell while applying for a job at NBC in Chicago in 1949. She was working as a receptionist, and Henry told her he would buy her lunch if he got the job – which he did. They married in June 1950, launching a loving partnership that lasted nearly 70 years.

Together, they opened Small Fry, which featured clothes imported from Europe. Henry also wrote a popular and sometimes controversial community newspaper column, called “One Man’s Opinion.” And he was an expert tennis player who played well beyond his 80th birthday – beating many younger, often-surprised opponents.

The “colonel,” as he was known, is survived by his family, who dearly loved and admired him. They include his wife, Anne Russell Graham; sons Timothy John Graham and James Andrew Graham; daughter Linda Graham Caleca; grandchildren Zachary, Claire and Paul Graham; Christian and Nicole Graham; and James and Anne Elizabeth Caleca. He also is survived by daughters-in-law Suzanne and Nancy Graham, son-in-law Victor Caleca, and Nicole Graham’s fiancé, Ross Ragsdale. Survivors also include nephews John Russell and Jeff Russell, niece Julie Hale, a cousin, Robert Graham, and their spouses and children.

Services will be private. To honor Henry’s memory, please consider giving to your favorite charity.

via Seguin & Symonds Funeral Home

Last week: North Shore Death Notices: July 8 to July 14