North Shore Death Notices: May 1 - May 7

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.

Donnellan Funeral Home, 10045 Skokie Boulevard in Skokie

Mary Jane Kane, 75, Chicago
Service May 12

Mary R. Zanoni née Orgiangios, 94, Glenview
Mass May 26

John P. “Jack” Glunz, 82, Wilmette

Haben Funeral Home, 8057 Niles Center Road in Skokie

Cecilia C. Sieben née Wehrheim, 100, Skokie
Service May 8

Fred C. Holdmann, 64, Skokie

Mary Corby Empfield, 77, Chicago

John D. Egan, Jr., 81, Morton Grove

Juan L. Vega, 85, Evanston

Simkins Funeral Home, 6251 Dempster Street in Morton Grove

Carmelita "Mely" Balmadrid, 77, Morton Grove
Visitation May 6, Funeral May 7

Edgar Chiquini, 43, Morton Grove
Visitation May 11, Service May 12

Frances Yoshiko Lau née Ebisu, 81, Skokie

Weinstein & Piser Funeral Home, 111 Skokie Boulevard in Wilmette

Elaine M. Shapiro, 91, Northbrook
Service May 8

Lena Gilbert, 100, Skokie
Service May 11

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

Floyd Arnold "Arnie" Bock, 84, Highland Park
Service May 17

Howard C. Schalk, 92, Vernon Hills
Visitation and Service May 19

Wenben Funeral Home, 320 Vine Avenue in Lake Forest

Marjorie Lindsay Reed, 96, Lake Forest

Charles Earl Kelley, 75, Green Oaks

Chicago Jewish Funerals, 8851 Skokie Boulevard in Skokie

Adam Charles Nelson, 52, Barrington
Service May 7

Kenneth S. Klein, 71, Chicago
Service May 7

Samuel D. Shainwald, 86, Tampa, Florida
Service May 7

Bertha A. Rothman, 90, Glenview
Service May 7

Charlene Fay Sherman Skora née Weller, 85, Chicago
Service May 8

Sheldon Grad, 69, Evanston
Service May 9

Bernard M. Walchak, 94, Evanston
Service May 9

Fred E. Kasner, 94, Wilmette

Marshall Yovits, 94, Deerfield

Florence "Flo" "Flaurie" Berman, 92, Lincolnwood

Rochelle Lee Kaplan, 91, Teaneck, New Jersey

Norman Chorpash, 90, Buffalo Grove

Joe Weichselbaum, 90, Buffalo Grove

Seymour J. Kurtz, 88, Phoenix, Arizona

Dr. David Grossmann, 72, Highland Park

Barbara Bressler Garson, 67, Glenview

Robyn Victoria Payton, 47, Libertyville

Bernard Silberman

Featured obituary:

Gaida Zigrida Aulis née Dimza, of Evanston, passed Saturday April 29, 2018 surrounded by family at Evanston Hospital at the age of 91.

Gaida was born on the family farm “Pukukalns” (Flower Hill) in Auri, Latvia on November 22, 1926, the youngest child of Kristaps and Alide (nee Blumbergs) Dimza. Along with her parents and sister Skaidrite, she fled Latvia in late 1944 to escape Soviet oppression near the end of World War II, and not long after her parents lost their son and her brother Arturs, who was killed in the call of duty defending his homeland at the age of 19 in early 1945. Upon escaping Latvia the family first went to Tuttlingen, Germany, and then resided in the U.S. occupation zone at the Displaced Persons camp in Memmingen.

In 1949, the family immigrated to the United States where Kristaps and Alide first lived on a farm in Minot, North Dakota, and a year later moved to Des Moines, Iowa to re-unite with their daughters. In July 1951 Gaida was wed to her lifelong partner, Guntis (“Gus”) Aulis, to whom she was married for 63 years until Gus’ passing in February 2015. Gaida worked at Meredith Publishing Company until 1958 when their son and only child, Erwin, was born.

After moving to Cedar Rapids, Iowa in 1961, the family relocated to the Milwaukee suburb of Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin in 1963, where Gus and Gaida resided for over 46 years. Gaida became actively involved in the Milwaukee Latvian community, becoming well known for contributing her culinary and artistic talents at Latvian gatherings, whether on behalf of the Milwaukee Latvian Ev. Lutheran Church or the Latvian House of Milwaukee, among others.

In the early 1990s, Gaida joined Gus in the musical group he founded, Akords, singing lead vocals for a trio that toured the Midwest performing at Latvian functions in the major cities in the region. A woman of many talents, she made countless friends who honored her energy, enthusiasm and drive to get things done the right way. Gaida was a true patriot, who loved both her original and adopted homelands, the latter for which she was eternally grateful having given her family a new life that others in her extended family left behind in Latvia were not as fortunate to have. Yet, she never forgot them, and shared in their joy when in 1991 her beloved Latvia was lifted out of the Soviet oppression she escaped 47 years before, visiting them several times before age caught up with her. She was also an avid sports fan, being well known to less-than-subtly express her views while watching and listening to her favorite Wisconsin-based teams.

Predeceased by her husband, parents, sister, brother, sister’s husband Edvards Lavins and nephew Egils Lavins, Gaida is survived by her son, daughter-in-law Nancy (nee Campbell), grandchildren Caroline, Katherine and Gus, sister-in-law Laima Veidis, nieces Sandy Brill (Gary), Linda Apinis (Elmars), and Ingrida Veidis (Skip), nephews Andris Zmuidins (Nora), Roberts Zmuidins and Janis Veidis (Mara), numerous cousins and their children, as well as grandnieces and grandnephews in Latvia and the United States. The family also wishes to acknowledge the exceptional care and attention afforded to Gaida and her husband Gus by Stephen Bundra, M.D. of Wilmette, his staff, the staff at Evanston Hospital, and the incredible team at The Mather Evanston where the couple resided after leaving Wisconsin in October 2009 to be closer to their son and his family.

Last week: North Shore Death Notices: April 24 - April 30