Obituaries
Memorializing notable Chicagoans and people from around the world who have recently died.
Known as baseball’s “Man of Steal,” Henderson had a lengthy list of accolades and accomplishments over his nomadic 25-year career — an MVP, 10 All-Star selections, two World Series titles and a Gold Glove award.
Mrs. Porter was one of a handful of people with direct ties to Thomas A. Dorsey, the father of gospel music. She and her sisters used to listen to him at Chicago’s Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church.
Fabian was a talent spotter and programming expert who smoothed the transition from Wally Phillips in morning drive-time to Bob Collins and maintained WGN’s No. 1 rating. Mr. Fabian was inducted into the WGN Radio Walk of Fame in 2016.
Nikki Giovanni was called “the princess of Black poetry.” She spent decades as a literary celebrity, writing books for children and adults and sharing blunt and conversational takes on everything from racism and love to space travel and mortality.
Mr. Perry was the director of the Great Cities Institute at the University of Illinois Chicago for nearly 12 years. He was also an urban planning and policy professor at UIC and served as associate chancellor for the Great Cities Commitment.
Mr. Kirschner died Nov. 27 at 80. He portrayed Bulls mascot Benny the Bull between 1975 and 1984. He also owned Sam and Hy’s Delicatessen in Skokie in the 1980s.
Melton, who was 79, played 10 seasons in the majors and served as a pregame and postgame analyst on White Sox broadcasts.
Nelson’s fraught relationship with her son, whose real name is Marshall Mathers III, has been no secret since the Detroit rapper became a star.
Dimel was an All-America offensive tackle for Kansas State and later became the head coach at Wyoming, Houston and UTEP.
The boxer nicknamed “El Magnifico” revealed on Nov. 10 he had sarcoma.
“I never scored a basket,” he said at his Hall of Fame induction. “The players did everything. Without players, you can’t have a game.”
As her star status began to cross borders, Pinal cemented her international acclaim with a trilogy of films by surrealist filmmaker Luis Buñuel.
McGee had an accomplished racing resume, first in auto racing and later in motorcycle racing. She became the first person — man or woman — to complete the grueling Baja 500 off-road race in Mexico solo, which she did in 1975.
Barbara Taylor Bowman was a co-founder of the Erikson Institute, which trains teachers in early childhood education. Her father led the CHA in the 1940s, and her daughter was a senior adviser to President Barack Obama.
Carty had his best year in 1970, batting .366 with 25 homers and a career-best 101 RBI. He started the All-Star Game after he was elected as a write-in candidate, joining Willie Mays and Hank Aaron in the NL outfield.
Woolery, with his matinee idol looks, coiffed hair and ease with witty banter, was inducted into the American TV Game Show Hall of Fame in 2007 and earned a daytime Emmy nomination in 1978.
With husband Mick Levine, she ran Ninety Ninth Floor on North Halsted Street, which drew devoted shoppers from a broad cross-section of Chicago, from sheepish cross-dressers to punks and club kids as well as a few famous people, among them Jimmy Page and Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin, Slash from Guns N’ Roses and the Bulls’ Dennis Rodman.
“Advocating for storefront and independent theaters, that’s his legacy, it’s what got him out of bed in the morning,” said his longtime friend and colleague, Christopher Piatt.
Love set an attitude for the Bulls in his nine seasons with the team and was an elite offensive and defensive force.
Bela Karolyi and his wife, Martha, defected to the U.S. in 1981 and trained multiple Olympic gold medalists and world champions in the U.S. and Romania, including Nadia Comaneci and Mary Lou Retton.
Mr. Lawless came to America as a second act in his life, and found a calling in immigration reform.
Fue parte de una unidad de tanques conocida como “Patton’s Spearheaders” que estaba bajo el mando del general George S. Patton.