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George R. Schram
George Rudolph Schram, 84, a master carpenter and 46-year resident of Evanston, died at his home Jan. 30, 2002.
Mr. Schram was born Feb. 22, 1917, in Chicago to the late Peter and Mary Schram, nee Stapleton.
Mr. Schram was a graduate of Lane Technical High School.
On April 7, 1945, he married “His Bride,” Helen Grodecki, in Chicago’s Humboldt Park neighborhood.
He was the former owner of Schram Construction in his early career and worked for HillCo Construction and Frederickson Co., working out of the Sears Tower until his retirement.
Mr. Schram was a carpenter who moved to Evanston with his wife to raise their three sons. He helped build many homes in the Dodge Manor area in Evanston and worked on many projects for his family members, friends and neighbors in Illinois and Wisconsin.
Having lived through the Great Depression, both Mr. Schram and his wife handed down the core values of a solid work ethic, pride, the value of family and friends and respect for their fellow man, according to relatives.
Mr. Schram, who owned property in Wisconsin and Florida, was a 54-year member of Local 58, United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners Union of Chicago.
He is survived by sons Ronald Allen Joseph and Michael James, godson Thomas Bondi and many nieces and nephews.
Mr. Schram was preceded in death by his wife of 49 years, Helen Josephine, nee Grodecki, and son Mark Douglas.
He was also preceded in death by in-laws Ignacy and Frances Grodecki, brothers Raymond (the late Iona) and Howard (Edna Mae); sister Dorothy Anderson; brothers-in-law Joseph (the late Genevieve) and Theodore (Joan) Grodecki; Mary (the late William) Smith and his stepmother, Jean Schram.
Visitation was held at Skaja Terrace Funeral Home in Niles on Feb. 8, 2002.
Mass was celebrated at St. Nicholas Catholic Church in Evanston on Feb. 9, 2002.
Interment took place at Maryhill Cemetery in Niles. In lieu of flowers, the sons of Mr. Schram have invited people who knew their father to add their reflections at the Web site www.legacy.com/ chicagotribune.
Dorothy Anderson
Dorothy E. Anderson, a longtime resident of Evanston, died Feb. 23, 2006 at Evanston Hospital. She was 75.
Born Sept. 19, 1930, in Asheville, N.C., she moved to Evanston when she was 9-years-old and attended Dewey Elementary School. She was a graduate of Evanston Township High School.
A telephone operator for the city of Evanston, Mrs. Anderson also worked in the mail room until her retirement in 1989.
She was a longtime member of Second Baptist Church in Evanston.
According to relatives, Mrs. Anderson loved people and was her Aunt Louise's "right hand."
She was preceded in death by a daughter, Joyce Edwards.
Survivors include her husband, Leonard; daughter D. Cunningham of Alaska; five grandchildren; sisters Madelyn and Deborah Fullilove, and Connie Cole, all of Chicago; brother Ronald (Pat) Fullilove of Chicago; two aunts; and many other relatives.
Funeral services were held March 4 at Second Baptist Church in Evanston, with interment in All Saints Cemetery, Des Plaines.
Arrangements were handled by the House of Thompson Mortuary in Evanston.
June Beily
June Diane Beily, a resident of Evanston since 1966, died Feb. 22, 2006 at Midwest Palliative & Hospice Care Center in Skokie. She was 72.
She was born Nov. 5, 1933, in Chicago.
Mrs. Beily was preceded in death by her husband, Robert, in 1969; two sisters, Margaret Fisher and Dorothy Werner; and two nieces.
Survivors include daughter Martha E. Beily (Tom Weflen) of Evanston; son Robert of Evanston; sister Charmaine (Robert) Hamill of Carpentersville, Ill.; brother Walter (Margaret) Hallen of Evanston; nine nieces; two nephews; and many great-nieces and -nephews.
For memorial service information, call Seguin & Symonds Funeral Home in Highwood at (847) 432-3878.
Interment is to be private.
Memorial contributions may be made to Midwest Palliative & Hospice Care Center, 9701 Knox Ave., Skokie IL 60076.
Wilson J. Besant
Wilson J. Besant, 78, of Glencoe, formerly of Winnetka, died Feb. 23, 2006 in his home following a brief illness.
Mr. Besant was born Sept. 9, 1927 in Centralia, Ill. He grew up in Pekin, Ill. where he won the Illinois State High School tennis doubles championship in 1945 representing Pekin Community High School. After graduating from high school that year with honors, Mr. Besant served for a year in the United States Navy.
Upon his return, he entered the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he won the Illinois state tennis doubles college championship in 1950 with his winning high school tennis partner, James Moses. Mr. Besant graduated with honors from the University of Illinois that same year.
He joined Arthur Andersen and Companyin 1954, became a partner in 1963 and retired in 1989. He earned a juris doctorate from DePaul University in 1955 and became a certified public accountant in 1957. He was awarded the Gold Medal of the Illinois Society of Certified Public Accountants for achieving first place in the certified public accounting exam in the state of Illinois. He ranked among the top 10 in the nation on the exam.
Mr. Besant was active in several Chicago community organizations, including the Junior Chamber of Commerce and Junior Achiievement. He also served as board member and treasurer of numerous community and church organizations, including the Winnetka Community House, Winnetka Park District and Winnetka Presbyterian Church.
For the past 21 years he had been an active member of the Kenilworth Union Church in Kenilworth. He also served as a long-time member of the Board of Skokie Country Club in Glencoe, and was its president in 1980.
He was an avid fisherman and a fan of the Illini and the Chicago Cubs.
Survivors include his wife of 53 years, Barbara, nee LaPat; a son, George; three daughters, Bobbie (Charlie) Denison, Susan (Kirk) Martin and Julie Helen; six grandchildren, Todd Wilson (Stephanie) Besant, Charlie, Peter and Julie Denison, and Christopher and Grace Martin; and one great-grandson, Jake Patrick Besant.
A memorial service was held Feb. 28 at Kenilworth Union Church in Kenilworth.
Memorial donations may be made to ENH Hospice, 1603 Orrington Ave., Suite 300, Evanston IL 60201; or Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, 651 W. Washington Blvd., Suite 400, Chicago IL 60661.
Louis Cary Jr.
A memorial service for Louis Heyl Cary Jr. of Evanston, a former resident of Lake Bluff and Waukegan, is scheduled for 2 p.m. March 18, 2006 at the Episcopal Church of the Holy Spirit, 400 Westminster in Lake Forest.
Mr. Cary, 82, died Feb. 23, 2006 in Evanston.
Born July 13, 1923, in Plymouth, Wis., he grew up on a farm near the village of Greenbush, Wis., and was a graduate of Plymouth High School. He attended Carleton College in Northfield, Minn., and, after the war, received a bachelor's degree from Mission House (now Lakeland) College in Sheboygan, Wis. He later was awarded a master's degree in education from Roosevelt University in Chicago.
During World War II, he served as a ship's storekeeper with the U.S. Navy in the Pacific Theater.
He married Marjorie B. Atwell in 1950. Mrs. Atwell preceded her husband in death, in 1997.
Mr. Cary's work at Hardware Mutual Insurance Co. in Wisconsin sent him to Waukegan in 1952. Shortly thereafter, he began a 30-year career as a teacher in elementary school.
In 1975, he and his wife moved to Lake Bluff.
A member and past president of the City Club of Waukegan, Mr. Cary also was a member of the Church of the Holy Spirit in Lake Forest.
Following his wife's death, he moved to Wilmette and then to the Presbyterian Homes in 2004.
Survivors include daughter Alexandra C. (Pedro L.) Rustan of Woodbridge, Va.; two grandchildren; sister Harriet C. Boté of Mequon, Wis.; brother David of Sarasota, Fla.; and his nieces and nephews.
Interment is to be private.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Presbyterian Homes, 3200 Grant St., Evanston IL 60201.
Arrangements were handled by N.H. Scott & Hanekamp Funeral Home in Glenview.
Gerard Curtin
Gerard D. Curtin, a longtime resident of Evanston, died Feb. 22, 2006 at St. Francis Hospital in Evanston. He was 78.
Born July 24, 1927, in Brooklyn, N.Y., he was a graduate of St. Michael High School in Brooklyn and New York University in New York City.
Mr. Curtin, also known as "Jerry," was the former vice president of Encyclopaedia Britannica and president of GDC&A, an advertising agency.
A longtime member of St. Nicholas Roman Catholic Church in Evanston, he volunteered with Meals on Wheels for 24 years.
He was preceded in death by his brothers, Joseph and John.
Survivors include his wife, Agnes (née O'Malley); sons John and Paul; daughter Mary P. (David) Wahlgren; two grandchildren; sisters Regina O'Brien and Dorothy O'Leary; and many nieces and nephews.
A memorial Mass was celebrated Feb. 27 at St. Nicholas Roman Catholic Church in Evanston.
Interment was private.
Memorial contributions may be made to St. Nicholas Church, 806 Ridge Ave., Evanston IL 60602.
Arrangements were handled by Donnellan Family Funeral Services in Evanston.
David Dini
David Dini, 64, of Sarasota, Fla., formerly of Winnetka and Evanston died March 2, 2006.
He was born June 15, 1941 in Evanston and moved to Sarasota in 1984 from Winnetka.
He was a retired firefighter with the Winnetka Fire Department.
Survivors include his wife, Janet of Sarasota; two sons, Roger of Buffalo Grove
and Mike of Palatine; one daughter, Yvonne of Hollywood, Fla.; one step-
daughter, Samantha Stone of Orlando, Fla.; three grandchildren; his mother, Renata; and two sisters, Eva Blowers of Sarasota and Dora Sumner of Wheeling.
A memorial service was held March 7 at Jennings Funeral Home in Sarasota, Fla.
Memorial donations may be made to TideWell Hospice and Palliative Care, 5955 Rand Blvd., Sarasota FL 34238; or the American Cancer Society, 1750 17th St., Suite A., Sarasota FL 34234.
