Notable Deaths In Illinois: Remembering Those We Lost In 2022

ILLINOIS — With just a few days left in 2022, we prepare for what the future will bring next year. Unfortunately, not everyone that was with us this year will be around for 2023. Sadly, we lost many important people that helped shape Illinois and beyond during their lifetimes.

As we prepare to begin a new chapter with the start of 2023, Patch remembers some of the people we lost.

JANUARY

• Les Grobstein was there. He was always there. That’s how columnist Chris Emma will remember his colleague at Chicago's 670 The Score a day after the longtime sports talk radio host was found dead in his Elk Grove Village residence. He was 69. Read more: Longtime Chicago Radio 'Icon' Les Grobstein Dies At Age 69
• Dr. John "Jack" Picchietti, who delivered thousands of Elmhurst-area babies in his more than 60-year career, died. He was 93. Read more: Elmhurst Doc Delivered Thousands Of Babies
• Richard "Dick" Duchossois, who was affectionately known as “Mr. D” and who was the longtime owner of Arlington Park International Racecourse, died at age 100. Read more: Longtime Arlington Park Owner Duchossois Dies 'Peacefully' At 100
• Charles "Hank" Salemi, the park president at Six Flags Great America, died unexpectedly earlier this month at the age of 57. Read more: Six Flags Park President Dies At Age 57

APRIL

• Cynthia "Plaster Caster" Albritton, one of the most flamboyant figures of the backstage rock world in the 1960s and 1970s, who gained fame for her plaster casts of famous musicians' penises, died after a long illness. Albritton was born on the South Side of Chicago. Read more: Cynthia Plaster Caster, Who Memorialized Rock Star Penises, Dies At 74
• Bruce Aronson, longtime owner of one of Joliet's favorite bakeries, Donut Den, located on Theodore Street, died. He was 63. Read more: Donut Den Owner Bruce Aronson Dies At 63
• The Village of Antioch said they are mourning the death of retired Antioch Fire Department Chief Dennis Volling, who served more than 55 years on the department. Read more: Former Fire Chief, Who Spent 55 Years With Antioch Fire Department, Has Died

MAY

• Natally Brookson, the University of Illinois-Chicago student whose body was pulled from Lake Michigan, is being remembered by friends as a caring, ambitious friend who was an independent and adventurous person with a bright future. Read more: Friends Remember UIC Student Found In Lake
• Monty the Piping Plover has died, authorities said. Monty and his mate, Rose, became Montrose Beach celebrities three years ago when they became the first Great Lakes piping plovers to nest in Chicago for generations. Read more: Monty The Piping Plover Of Montrose Beach Died In Chicago

JUNE

An Arlington Heights resident died at the conclusion of a charity bike ride in California. Glen Brown, 57, was involved in a single-bike accident at the end of the AIDS/Life Cycle 2022 Ride on June 11. Read more: Arlington Heights Cyclist Dies At Conclusion Of AIDS/LifeCycle Ride

JULY

• JoJo, a 42-year-old male silverback western lowland gorilla, died at Brookfield Zoo. He lived at the zoo for the last decade. Read more: Gorilla Known For Breaking Up Fights Dies At Brookfield Zoo
• Pop artist Claes Oldenburg, who turned the mundane into the monumental through his outsized sculptures of a baseball bat, a clothespin and other objects, has died at age 93. Read more: Claes Oldenburg, Pop Artist Who Grew Up In Chicago, Dies At 93
• Funeral services were held for a mother, father and four children who died on their way to a vacation after their van was struck by a wrong-way driver on Interstate 90 in McHenry County. Thomas Dobosz, 32, and Lauren Dobosz, 31, along with their children Emma, Lucas, Nicholas and Ella — whose ages ranged from 6 to 13, died following the July 31 crash. Read more: Funeral Services Held For Family Of Six Killed In Crash On I-90

SEPTEMBER

• Georgios and Georgene Avgeris, longtime owners of Uptown Cafe, died within days of each other. The Elk Grove Village residents owned the East Miner Street breakfast and lunch spot for 33 years. Read more: Memorial Service Held For Uptown Cafe Owners In Arlington Heights

OCTOBER

On Oct. 25, Ryan Plowman, 17, was healthy enough to play in Shepard High School’s varsity soccer playoffs. Ten days later, he was removed from life support, battling a sudden illness that mystified doctors. Read more: 'Ryan Was Amazing:' Crestwood Dad Recalls Son, 17, Who Died Of Mono

DECEMBER

• First-generation Hometowner Kevin Casey, who was elected mayor in 2009 after running as a write-in candidate, died unexpectedly of what friends say was a heart attack. Casey served as mayor of the roughly ten-square block community since 2009. He was 68. Read more: Mayor Kevin Casey, 'Mr. Hometown,' Dies At Age 68
• Illinois State Sen. Scott Bennett died from natural causes after being hospitalized, the Champaign County Coroner announced. He was 45. Read more: Illinois Democrat Senator Scott Bennett Dies Unexpectedly At Age 45
• "Sesame Street" star Bob McGrath, who grew up in Ottawa, died at the age of 90. He appeared on hundreds of episodes of the children's television show since it debuted in 1969. Read more: 'Sesame Street' Star, NJ's Bob McGrath, Dies At 90
• Frankfort resident, Maggie DeVries, 6, died, her family shared with Patch. Maggie was diagnosed in January with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma, which is a rare and inoperable brain tumor. Read more: Frankfort's Maggie DeVries, 'Light Of Family's Lives', Dies at 6
• Mary Compton, a talented photographer and journalist who told the stories of Southland residents for over three decades, died Dec. 24 of ovarian cancer. She was 64. Read more: Southland Storyteller, Photojournalist Mary Compton, Dies At 64