North Shore Death Notices: Nov. 7 To Nov. 13

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

Georgene S. Meagher, 96, Highland Park

Gladys Louise Grant, 91, Highwood

Hans Jeurgen Rentsch, 89, Punta Gorda, Florida

Ernest Isaac Weis, 88, Winnetka

Theresa Mosser, 68, Highland Park

Erin Kathleen Babington, 35, Lake Forest

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

Gilbert Louis Giannasi, 75, Highwood
Service Nov. 18

Ralph “Red” William Edwards, 73, Round Lake Park
Service Nov. 19

Virginia Ann Stanley, 79, Chicago

Laura Mateescu, 77, Chicago

Barbara Martin, 74, Waukegan

Michael Bowen, 65, Chicago

April Marie Santana Burke, 57, Highwood

Wenban Funeral Home, 320 Vine Ave. in Lake Forest

Michael W. Richards, 63, Gurnee

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

William Gary Spies, 69, Highland Park
Service Nov. 15

Arlyne Marks, 93, Chicago
Service Nov. 18

Moshe Shamoul, 102, Highland Park

William G. Paullin, 101, Evanston

Joseph M. Siegal, 101, Chicago

Rosalie Bertocchi née Salit, 91, Chicago

Melvin Herbert Ashman, 86, Scottsdale, Arizona

Jerome "Jerry" Goldstein, 86, Phoenix, Arizona

Robert P. Mintz, 85, Highwood

Jeffrey “Jeff” Stephen Bohrman, 78, Chicago

William "Bill" Petasnick, 76, Naples, Florida

Nechama Silver née Wolf, 48, Chicago

Bradley J. Chaimson, 41, Highland Park

Donnellan Funeral Home, 10045 Skokie Blvd. in Skokie

Cynthia Denise "Mookie" Connor, 65, Evanston
Service Nov. 15

Leonard Carl Tomasello, 82, Evanston
Visitation Nov. 18, service Nov. 19

James C. Edwards, 81, Evanston
Visitation Nov. 18, service Nov. 19

Carlton Livingston Dixon, 55, Evanston
Service Nov. 26

John C. Goodall, 61, Glenview
Service Dec. 3

Ann Lucas Burns, 92, Glenview
Service Jan. 6

Mary C. O'Dwyer, 95, Evanston

Ann Flinspach Lewis, 82, Evanston

Haben Funeral Home, 8057 Niles Center Road in Skokie

Reinhold “Bud” Hacker, 92, Lombard

Robert H. “Bob” Kurz, 86, Evanston

Judith B. “Judy” Mariani, 85, Chicago

Lauren A. Wegner, 35, Skokie

Thompson Funeral and Cremation, 1917 Asbury Ave. in Evanston

Emma Sprowal, 78, Evanston
Service Nov. 15

J.C. Jemison, 84, Evanston

William Spencer Sales, 77, Evanston

Evanston Funeral and Cremation, 1726 Central St. in Evanston

Esther A. Fox, 101, Lincolnwood

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

Ann Ross LeClair, 83, Salem, New Hampshire
Service Nov. 19

Harold C. Haas, 86,
Visitation Nov. 18, service Nov. 19

David Lee, 85, of Northbrook

Polly Stark Parrilli, 67, Mundelein

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

Wayne Barry Provus, 77, Chicago
Service Nov. 15

Rhoda Alexander née Tennenbaum, 78, Wilmette
Service Nov. 16

William August Toelke, 101, Winter Park, Florida

Ruth Marilyn Barnett Geiderman, 96, Glenview

Mikhail Berkovich, 94, Niles

Anita Schwartz, 93, Scottsdale, Arizona

Deena Wilhelm née Levin, 92, Chicago

Featured Obituary:

Jeffrey “Jeff” Stephen Bohrman - dedicated husband, father of two, “Poppa” of four, a friend of so many, and inspiration to people worldwide - passed away on November 7th, 2022, at the age of 78 in Chicago, Illinois.

Jeff was born January 19, 1944 in Hackensack, NJ to Fred and Rhoda Bohrman. He spent his early schooling at Clarke School for the Deaf, a residential school in North Hampton, MA. By the time he reached middle school, his parents wanted him to attend the rigorous Germantown Academy in Philadelphia where his family lived at the time.

This began a lifelong journey of advocacy for people with disabilities. Germantown Academy was resistant to take him in because of his deafness, but with persistent persuasion by his parents, he was accepted and excelled as a student. At that time there were no accommodations made for his deafness. He carved out his own way by sitting in front of the class, reading lips, and sharing information with his classmates.

His academic pursuits were only beginning. Jeff went on to receive a B.S. in Biology from Dickinson College, Carlisle, PA; an M.S from the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy; an M.S. from the University of Illinois, Medical Center; and a Ph.D in Pharmacology-Physiology from the University of the Pacific, Stockton, CA. He pursued all of this with the tremendous support of his family and wife, Evie, whom he married in 1970.

He spent the first half of his career in Cincinnati working for the federal government as a research toxicologist, developing a method to test workplace chemicals that cause skin cancer. However, it was after he completely lost his sight at the age of 45 that he could no longer continue his scientific pursuits.

As a relentless optimist, he shifted his professional course embarking as a true trailblazer and public inspiration for people all over the world.

After learning braille, sign language, and learning to navigate his new world without sight and hearing, he looked to support others who were in his newfound community. He was instrumental in establishing the Ohio Deaf-Blind Outreach Program at the Columbus Speech & Hearing Center, and the Ohio Association of the Deaf-Blind, a consumer advocacy/networking organization. Beginning in 1989, Jeff served in different capacities with the American Association of the Deaf-Blind (board member, president, first vice-president and treasurer.)

His work also encompassed mentoring young individuals with deafblindness, public speaking on deafblind awareness, teaching classes on interpreting at Columbus State, and in many other forums where he could give himself to others. He traveled worldwide for conferences in Thailand, Estonia, Finland, Columbia, and more. His reach was so widespread and profound that we’ll continue to learn of his impacts as his memories continue on.

Over the years Jeff has received numerous awards for his outstanding efforts in developing support and services for people who are deafblind. A few examples include the National Hall of Fame for People with Disabilities; Alice Cogswell Award from Gallaudet University; Distinguished Alumni of the Year from Dickinson College; Outstanding Leadership Award from the Ohio School for the Deaf; and others. Jeff has held memberships in the American Council of the Blind, the World Federation of the Deaf-Blind and on a number of advisory boards including the Ohio Center for Deafblind Education, and the Helen Keller National Center.

To know Jeff was to know his love of life. If you spent a few minutes with him, you’d get to experience a laugh that would fill a room. His tremendous sense of humor, ability to recall memories, tell an amazing story and simply to laugh at all the challenges life brought him were what made him loved by so many.

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: Oct. 31 to Nov. 6