Buddy Castrogiovanni, 95, Retired maintenance worker
North Riverside resident Buddy Castrogiovanni, 95, died May 18, 2007 at his home.
One of 14 children, Mr. Castrogiovanni worked for many years as a maintenance worker at the Valspar Paint and Varnish Company in Lyons prior to his retirement. He was preceded in death by his wife, Mary (nee Comini) and by 10 brothers and three sisters.
Mr. Castrogiovanni is survived by his daughters, Mary Lou (the late James) Marchetti and Shirley Ann (Nick) Hoving; his grandchildren, Kimberly Driessens, Michael (Stephanie) Marchetti, Karla (David) Doherty and Lisa (Chuck) Anagnostopoulos; his great grandchildren, Morgan, Jessica, Michael, Ethan, Mallory, Joseph, Nicholas, Jacob and Kai; and many nieces and nephews.
A funeral Mass was celebrated May 22 at Mater Christi Church, North Riverside, followed by entombment in Christ the King Garden Mausoleum at Queen of Heaven Cemetery in Hillside.
Kuratko-Nosek Funeral Home, North Riverside, handled arrangements.
Linda D. Dwyer, 63, Waitress, bartender
Linda Dietrich Dwyer, 63, a former North Riverside resident, died May 18, 2007 at Good Samaritan Hospital in her hometown of Downers Grove.
A waitress, bartender at The Foundry Off-Track Betting parlor in Aurora, she is survived by her children, Lisa (Andrew) Weintraub, Michael (Jessica) Weintraub and Amy Dwyer; her grandchildren, Hannah Dwyer, Alexandra Dwyer and Elizabeth Weintraub; her sisters, Arlene (James) Grosser and Nancy (Thomas) Nedved; and her nephew, Thomas Nedved. She was preceded in death by her parents, Harold and Betty Dietrich.
Funeral services were private.
Kuratko-Nosek Funeral Home, North Riverside, handled arrangements.
James Ksiazek, 60, Pharmacist
Brookfield resident James Ksiazek, 60, a former resident of Chicago, died May 20, 2007 at Fairview Baptist Home in Downers Grove.
Born in Chicago on April 14, 1947 to Alexander and Emily (nee Pesak) Ksiazek, Mr. Ksiazek was employed as a pharmacist.
He is survived by his daughter, Lena Rae Ksiazek; his son, Alex John Ksiazek; and his brothers, Robert (Barbara) Ksiazek and Thomas (Jean) Ksiazek.
Funeral services and interment are private.
Hitzeman Funeral Home, Brookfield, handled arrangements.
Helen F. Sequens, 88, Mother of Brookfield president
Helen F. Sequens (nee Roman), 88, a resident of Homer Glen and a former resident of Brookfield, died May 18, 2007 at Palos Community Hospital in Palos Heights.
Born in Chicago on Nov. 2, 1918, she married Edward D. Sequens and raised two children. She was preceded in death by her husband and by her son, Thomas A. Sequens, who served as Brookfield’s village president from 1993 until his death in June 1999.
She is survived by her daughter, Janet (David) Emerson.
A funeral service, officiated by the Rev. Fred Tomzik, will be held Wednesday, May 23 at 11 a.m. at Hitzeman Funeral Home, 9445 31st St., Brookfield, followed by interment at Resurrection Cemetery, Justice.
Memorial contributions are appreciated to the American Heart Association, 208 S. LaSalle St., Suite 900, Chicago, Ill. 60604.
Caroline E. Smith, 96, Teacher in Riverside, Lyons
Caroline Elizabeth Smith, formerly of Riverside, died at the age of 96 on April 10, 2007, in Medford, Ore.
Born Dec. 2, 1910, in Duluth, Minn., she was the daughter of William Earl and Mary Hoxsie Sheffer Wright. After graduating from Monmouth College in 1933, and obtaining her master’s degree, she was a social worker in New York City and Chicago.
She married Kenny P. Smith, who preceded his wife in death in 1996.
In 1943, the couple moved to Riverside, where they lived on Bartram Road for 51 years. In 1999, she moved to Oregon to be closer to her son and his family. At the time of her death she resided in a foster care home where she was lovingly cared for by Claire and Michael McPhee.
A woman with many talents, her special interests included gardening, reading, writing poems, animals and antiques. Ms. Smith taught school in Riverside and Lyons for many years, was a member of the Riverside Methodist Church, the Riverside Branch of the AAUW. and PEO. She was very active in Riverside community affairs, volunteering at Brookfield Zoo and the Riverside Public Library.
Family, friends, her home, church and community were always important to her. Her son, Stephen, stated that Ms. Smith had a kind word for all she knew, and made everyone with whom she came in contact feel special.
Survivors include her sons, Stephen S. (Elizabeth) Smith and Samuel W. Smith; six grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by a son, Peter K. Smith, in 1992; her brother, William M. Wright; and her sister, Dorothy Colburn.
A family gathering to honor Ms. Smith’s life will be held in Jacksonville, Ore., on May 26. Family, friends, her home, church and community were always important to her. A kind word for all she knew, she made everyone with whom she came in contact feel special.
Memorial contributions may be made to PEO Chapter CH, Riverside; Monmouth college, Monmouth, Ill.; or the Illinois Unit of Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic.