Category: Tributes

Rev. Richard J. Kozak, a retired archdiocesan priest who served as pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Homewood, now St. John Neumann Parish, died April 15, 2026. He was 85.

Milena Jovanovic, a longtime Hickory Hills resident known for her warmth and kindness, died April 19, 2026. She was 78.

Michael A. “Mike” Galgano, a retired Illinois Department of Transportation employee and United States Army veteran, died April 15, 2026, in Countryside, Illinois, following a heart attack. He was 70.

Armandina Ruiz De Zamora, a devoted mother and grandmother known for her warm hospitality and homemade flour tortillas, died April 15, 2026. She was 93.

Alex J. Aceves, a security professional who worked for more than 10 years at the Goose Island Mars campus, died April 11, 2026, in Illinois. He was 34.

Sandra “Sandy” Ramona Velesovsky, who managed Stan’s Drive-In, a family restaurant known for its soups and burgers in Chicago’s Bridgeport neighborhood, died April 6, 2026, in Chicago with her family at her side. She was 83.

Anne Lavern Jachim, a culinary arts professor at Moraine Valley Community College, died March 4, 2026, in Palos Hills, Illinois, surrounded by family. She was 80.

Julia “Jay” A. Wojciechowicz, known as Aunti Jay, a lifelong Argo resident and athlete who worked at Ace Hardware for more than 50 years, died April 23, 2026, at her home. She was 102.

Bronislawa Komperda, a devoted mother and grandmother who immigrated from Poland to build a better life for her family, died April 24, 2026. She was 93.

Surapol “Paul” Tantayakom, a physicist who immigrated from Thailand and worked as a technician at the University of Illinois-Chicago, died April 20, 2026, at his home in Tinley Park, Illinois, surrounded by his wife and daughter. He was 78. The cause was a long illness.