North Shore Death Notices: May 29 To June 4

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.

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

Frank J. Picchietti, 90, Lake Forest

Terrence "Terry" Jackson, 67, Deerfield

Wenban Funeral Home, 320 Vine Ave. in Lake Forest

Roger Peterson, 74, Lake Forest
Service June 8

John “Jack” Eliot Wright, 93, Lake Bluff
Service June 22

Karen W. Vratimos, 96, Lake Forest

Seguin & Symonds Funeral Home, 858 Sheridan Road in Highwood and 11 West Belvidere Road in Grayslake

Steven J. White, 80, Waukegan

James Richard McMillen, 74, Waukegan

Chicago Jewish Funerals, 8851 Skokie Blvd. in Skokie and 195 N. Buffalo Grove Road in Buffalo Grove

Linda S. Randall, 83, Deerfield
Service June 6

Harriet L. Spizziri, 81, Morton Grove
Service June 6

Richard "Dick" Marvin Pales, 97, Skokie
Service June 8

Richard D. Sinsheimer, 101, Northbrook
Service June 9

Faye Levey Grossman, 95, Lincolnshire

Gerry Fay Bernstein née Prussack, 86, Northbrook

Anthony "Tony" Richard Grosch, 86, Chicago

Libby Nevler Lauria, 85, Lincolnwood

Judi Stone, 85, Lincolnshire

Mark Gelder Drucker, 84, Richmond, Virginia

Janet Lee Arnopolin, 71, Phoenix

Donnellan Funeral Home, 10045 Skokie Blvd. in Skokie

Hazel Louise Barnett, 90, Evanston
Service June 6

Daniel John Spillane, 84, Northfield
Service June 6

John B. Stoltz, 89, Vernon Hills
Service June 7

Olive “Honey” Sheridan née Fox, 87, Wilmette
Service June 7

Richard George French, 58, Northfield
Service June 8

John Robert Curl-Larson, 33, Evanston
Service June 9

Michael James Cornwell, 79, Evanston
Service June 16

Rita McElroy, 80, Wilmette
Service June 24

Ruth Kahn Bauer, 97, Evanston

Ann Whelan, 94, Chicago

Sue Ludgin née Conway, 92, Glenview

Ya-Tai Lin, 91, Kenilworth

J. Allyson Stern, 84, Wilmette

James Vincent O’Connor, 78, Lake Forest

Haben Funeral Home, 8057 Niles Center Road in Skokie

Salvador A. “Sam” Martínez, 68, Skokie
Service June 11

Jaime R. Balanza, 87, Skokie

John M. Bigwood, 85, Skokie

Jeffrey C. Chouinard, 85, Evanston

Joseph J. “Joe” Morris, 63, Chicago

Thompson Funeral & Cremation Services, 1917 Asbury Ave. in Evanston

Teri Pickett, 56, Evanston
Visitation June 8, service June 9

Joan Elizabeth Reece née Dotson, 79, Evanston

Samuel Thomas, 77, Evanston

Cynthia Antionette Doby, 51, Evanston

Simkins Funeral Home, 6251 Dempster St. in Morton Grove

Donald F. Wilkinson, 96, Morton Grove
Service June 8

Carl U. Johanson, 93, Skokie
Visitation June 8, service June 9

Brian Kessem, 54, Chicago
Service June 15

James Patrick Murphy, 88, Morton Grove

Patricia Ruth Baffa née Colt, 87, Morton Grove

N. H. Scott & Hanekamp Funeral Home, 1240 Waukegan Road in Glenview

Donald T. O’Grady, 95, Glenview
Service June 6

Daniel C. Finnegan, 57, Glenview
Service June 7

Janet C. Helton, 73, Lake Bluff
Service June 8

Gregory Sevdagian, 42, Bartlett
Service June 8

Charles J. McCarthy, 85, Northbrook
Service June 12

Mary Frances Kertson Arrigo, 87, Glenview

Edward A. Mazur, 76, Glenview

Weinstein & Piser Funeral Home, 111 Skokie Blvd. in Wilmette

Olga Kvaskova, 97, Chicago

Featured Obituary:

It is with heavy hearts that the family of Rich French share that on May 28, 2023, Rich passed away in his home in Northfield, IL. Though his life was cut short, Rich was still able to fill the world with laughter and wonder.

Richard George French Jr was born March 8, 1965 in Chicago, IL to Connie and Dick French. A trickster, businessman, storyteller, inventor, student, artist, and outdoorsman, Rich was known to his friends and family for his many interests and passions. Each time Rich caught up with friends and family, he was eager to share his latest curiosity and experiment. Recently, Rich started driving for Uber. He was met with microcosmic stories of people’s lives and was so moved by it he started vlogging about his rides. His love for people and their stories was only rivaled by his love for animals. Growing up, Rich cared for his many fresh and saltwater aquariums, cats, and dogs. He had an especially notable relationship with his most recent border collie, Megan. Megan and Rich walked for hours each day through the Skokie Lagoons and Harms Woods. In fact, a common piece of advice told to those he loved was, “When you don’t know what to do, go for a walk.” Rich credited that piece of advice with keeping him sober for over 13 years.

Rich had numerous business ventures during his life, with ideas that often were ahead of his time. Rich was creating websites before most people even had a computer. In his free time, Rich loved to golf, fish, draw, paint, and read. He was especially proud of his two children. Rich loved to golf with his son and watch him coach baseball. He loved mentally sparring with his daughter and laughing about life together. His friends remember Rich as one of the funniest and smartest people they’d ever met. Rich eternally insisted to his daughter that it’s not enough to say something funny, but it’s “all about the delivery!” Rich made an impact on everyone he interacted with. His humor and wit were hard to ignore.

Send obituaries and images to your Patch to be included in future editions: Deerfield, Evanston, Glenview, Highland Park, Lake Bluff-Lake Forest, Niles-Morton Grove, Northbrook, Skokie, Winnetka-Glencoe-Northbrook, Wilmette-Kenilworth

Last week: North Shore Death Notices: May 22 To May 28