Richard Neal, 84, Physician, WWII Army Medical Corps
Richard Hubbard Neal, M.D., 84, of River Forest, formerly of Oak Park died on April 24, 2007 at West Suburban Hospital. Born in Chicago on Sept. 19, 1922 to William and Carrie Neal, he was raised in Oak Park and graduated from Mann Elementary School and Oak Park and River Forest High School.
He entered medical school at the University of Chicago School of Medicine in 1951, served his internship at Presbyterian Hospital-Chicago in 1952, and had residencies at VA Hospital in Des Moines, Iowa and Medical College of Alabama.
Appointed to the medical staff of West Suburban Medical Center on June 20, 1958, he retired on April 8, 1997. Dr. Neal served as a member of numerous medical staff committees while on staff at West Suburban, where he was considered a distinguished and dedicated member of the medical staff.
He created the first Department of Internal Medicine at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago and was director of Medical Education at West Suburban from June 1963 to December 1964. He also served as chairman of the Department of Medicine from 1967 to 1969, and on the West Suburban Board of Trustees from 1980 to 1987. He also received teaching appointments at Cook County Hospital and the University of Illinois.
Dr. Neal served in the Army Medical Corps during World War II.
He is survived by his wife, Nancy (nee Crafts); his children, Jennifer (Daniel) Peil, Christine Neal (Michael Freeman), and Thomas (Deborah) Neal; his grandchildren, Gretta Peil, Maya and Dorothy Freeman Neal, and Taylor and Avery Neal; and his brother, Phil C. (Linda) Neal. He was preceded in death by his brother, William B. Neal, M.D. and his sister Josephine Peregrine.
A memorial visitation and services were held April 27 and 28 at Drechsler, Brown & Williams Funeral Home. Memorials to West Suburban Hospital or University of Chicago Medical School are appreciated.
Jane Smith, 66
Jane Hagel Smith, 66, of Oak Park and formerly of Springfield, died at home on April 24, 2007. Ms. Smith was born on Feb. 3, 1941 in Beardstown, Ill., to the late Harry and Helen Hagel.
She is survived by her daughter, Elisabeth (Robert) Egan, and her son, Gregory (Lisa) Lowry. She was the devoted grandmother of Colin, Tess and David Egan, and Nick and Ben Lowry.
A reception was held for friends and family on April 28 at the Springfield Hilton Hotel. A memorial service will be held at 6:30 p.m., Thursday, May 3 at Pilgrim Congregational Church, 460 Lake St., Oak Park. Arrangements were handled by Drechsler, Brown & Williams Funeral Home.
Burt Becker, 91
Burt R. Becker, 91, of Hot Springs, Ark., formerly of Oak Park, died on April 22, 2007. He was the husband of the late Dorothy (nee Armbrust); the son of the late Raymond and Ruth Becker; the brother of Raymond (Betty) Becker and the late Russell (Virginia) Becker; the brother-in-law of Virginia Becker and Florence Armbrust; and the uncle of many nieces and nephews.
Funeral services were private, followed by interment at Glen Oak Cemetery. Arrangements were handled by Zimmerman-Harnett Funeral Home.
Vanessa Cote, 33, Charter School teacher
Vanessa Lynn Cote (nee Flores), 33, of Oak Park, died on April 27, 2007. Born in Chicago on Jan. 31, 1974, she graduated from Dominican University in 1997 with a bachelor’s degree in primary education. While at Dominican, she worked as a pre-school teacher at the Richter/Brown Junior Citizens Center with children age 3-5. After graduation, she taught first grade at St. Pius School in Chicago, then taught second grade at Mitchell Elementary, where she served as school liaison with the University of Chicago’s School Improvement Team. That led to her involvement with a team of educators to develop Namaste Charter School within the Chicago Public School system. She taught first grade there and was featured along with her colleagues on network morning news shows.
In Oak Park, she served on the caucus selecting candidates for the OPRF High School Board of Education and she and her husband, Matt, partnered with the Oak Park Police Department’s Youth Commission to advocate for community crime prevention. After the birth of their son, Joseph Richard in 2005, she did volunteer work at the Parenthesis Parent-Child Center.
Call Ascension Church, 848-2703 for funeral information.
–Compiled by Ken Trainor