Freeport IL Funeral Homes
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2514 Il Route 26 South
Freeport, IL 61032
(815) 235-2167
1559 West Lincoln Street
Freeport, IL 61032
(815) 232-5416
321 West Main Street
Freeport, IL 61032
(815) 232-2136
Freeport IL Obituaries and Death Notices
'Obit' takes us inside the first drafts of history - Washington Post
Monday, November 28, 2016On other occasions, an obituary prepared in advance ends up staying in the vault for decades longer than the writers expected. Elinor Smith, known as a teenager as the Flying Flapper of Freeport, merited an advance obituary because the Times thought that, given her aviation stunts, she was likely to die young. She lived until 2010.It’s not merely through individual lives that the obituary desk defines history. Fox acknowledges that she and her colleagues work in “an inherently retrospective genre,” which is one of the reasons she often gets complaints about the racial mix of the subjects. To those who are hoping for change, Fox says: “Ask me again in one more generation.” That’s a bit of a dodge where Gould might have pushed harder, but it’s a rare lacuna in this otherwise very sharp documentary.“There is nothing you can do about dying,” Weber notes at one point. “I thought I just might point that out.” And when we do, the writers at places such as the Times and The Washington Post will weigh our lives as we make our way into history — or not.
Monday, October 03, 2016Memorial in Freeport Community Park pays tribute to deceased childrenTo learn more about children's memorials• Freeport Community Park: Contact the Restore Freeport Park group at 724-295-3651 for future memorials, which will include memorial trees for deceased adults.• The Compassionate Friends of Westmoreland County has a children's memorial at Twin Lakes Park near Greensburg. Details: 724-835-1900. https://www.compassionatefriends.org/Find_Support/Chapters/Chapter_Locator.aspxEmail NewslettersSign up for one of our email newsletters.A rarity among public monuments, a children's memorial was dedicated Saturday in Freeport's Community Park for local youths who died before their time.From the nearby baseball fields and playground, the sounds of children playing and laughing served as appropriate backdrop for the estimated 150 survivors gathered for the dedication honoring the lives of 90 area children.Situated among the park's busy athletic fields, the children's memorial is a circular stone garden...
Monday, October 03, 2016The rectory would be marketed as a single-family home.The neighborhood around the church, just off Freeport Road, was zoned residential after the church was established, so it has existed as a non-conforming but permitted use.The church property has been owned by the diocese since 1948, according to Westmoreland County deeds records. Donadee said the church was built in 1952.Zoning Officer Tony Males said the subdivision plans technically don't meet city requirements because the lot and yard sizes aren't quite large enough.Donadee noted that by enlarging one parcel to meet the requirements, they take away property from the other parcel — meaning there's no way for both parcels to meet the size requirements.The zoning hearing board's attorney, Jerry Little, called the situation an inherited hardship. The three-member board unanimously agreed to approve the plans as submitted by the diocese.Rihn said they have received some interest in the property but have no buyer lined up. She said tentative plans for a child-care facility to relocate there did not work out.The property is being marketed by Coldwell Banker for $450,000.“It really is a beautiful church,” Donadee said.It's across Edgewood Road from the former Alcoa Research Laboratories that are being redeveloped as the A-K Research Park, and just two blocks down Freeport Road from the former John F. Krupa Funeral Home that will be the location for a new funeral home.Liz Hayes is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach her at lhayes@tribweb.com or 724-226-4680.More Valley News DispatchTribLive commenting policyYou are solely responsible for your comments and by using TribLive.com you agree to our Terms of Service.We moderate comments. Our goal is to provide substantive commentary for a general readership. By screening submissions, we provide a space where readers can share intelligent and informed commentary that enhances the quality of our news and information.While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderating decisions are subjective. We will make them as carefully and consistently as we can. Because of the volume of reader comments, we can...
Monday, August 01, 2016In fact, when he told his parents that he wanted to become a funeral director, they thought he was, in his words, “wack-a-doo.”In 1975, Mr. Abbate got a job working at a funeral home in Freeport, and, in 1980, he purchased the business. But after running that funeral home for 10 years, he saw a large portion of his client base move away.He started looking at options—and saw that the Brockett Funeral Home was on the market in Southampton Village. It was a long-established part of the village: Everett Brockett had founded the funeral home in 1922, in a stately late-1800s building on Hampton Road, formerly the summer residence of a Connecticut U.S. senator. Though he sold the business some 50 years later, Mr. Brockett’s name has remained.It was a hot item—many bids were made on the funeral home, Mr. Abbate said—but the owner, Mr. Bauer, was looking for someone special. Mr. Bauer wanted to sell the business to someone who would raise a family at the home, would take care of the grounds themselves, and, most important, would become part of the community. “That’s the way he ran the business,” said Mr. Abbate. “That’s what he looked for.”He ended up purchasing the business for $350,000—some of the bids were higher, but the competing bidders would not live in the home.Mr. Abbate and his wife, Valerie, ended up raising their four children—Dominick, 27, Anthony, 26, Vincent, 24, and Andrea, 21—in the home. Dominick was the only child who expressed an interested in taking over the business, and the idea came to him on his own—his father never pushed it on his children.“I always told my four kids, I don’t care what you do in life, what your job is, but whatever you pick to do, make sure you enjoy it,” he said. “I can’t think of anything worse than being stuck in a job you hate.”The previous owner, Mr. Bauer, had purchased the business from Everett Brockett in the 1970s and kept the name, out of respect for the founder. Mr. Abbate did the same.“It’s such a landmark name,” said the elder Mr. Abbate, noting that Mr. Brockett was “a real class act.” “I wouldn’t even dream about hyphenating it to Brockett-Abbate. I wouldn’t want to tarnish his image.”Dominick Abbate likewise does not plan to change the name—although he does have a fresh vision for the funeral home. He recently updated the business website, making it more user-friendly. He also wants to be able to have video tributes in the chapel, and possibly to set up a webcam to allow those who do not live nearby to attend the service of a loved one from afar, thanks to digital technology.Mr. Abbate noted that there are many hats he will have to wear once he takes over the business. As director of the Brockett Funeral Home, he will have to cut the grass, be the janitor, do the accounting, become an IT expert, work as an administrative assistant—not to mention the key duties of the funeral home: working with families to set up funeral services, embalming, and mastering the arts of both cosmetology and hair.“It’s a very big moment, and I’m honored to be here for the community,” he said. “It feels really good to be back in a community where I know people and they know me.”...
Freeport News
'Obit' takes us inside the first drafts of history - Washington Post
Monday, November 28, 2016On other occasions, an obituary prepared in advance ends up staying in the vault for decades longer than the writers expected. Elinor Smith, known as a teenager as the Flying Flapper of Freeport, merited an advance obituary because the Times thought that, given her aviation stunts, she was likely to die young. She lived until 2010.It’s not merely through individual lives that the obituary desk defines history. Fox acknowledges that she and her colleagues work in “an inherently retrospective genre,” which is one of the reasons she often gets complaints about the racial mix of the subjects. To those who are hoping for change, Fox says: “Ask me again in one more generation.” That’s a bit of a dodge where Gould might have pushed harder, but it’s a rare lacuna in this otherwise very sharp documentary.“There is nothing you can do about dying,” Weber notes at one point. “I thought I just might point that out.” And when we do, the writers at places such as the Times and The Washington Post will weigh our lives as we make our way into history — or not.
Monday, October 03, 2016Memorial in Freeport Community Park pays tribute to deceased childrenTo learn more about children's memorials• Freeport Community Park: Contact the Restore Freeport Park group at 724-295-3651 for future memorials, which will include memorial trees for deceased adults.• The Compassionate Friends of Westmoreland County has a children's memorial at Twin Lakes Park near Greensburg. Details: 724-835-1900. https://www.compassionatefriends.org/Find_Support/Chapters/Chapter_Locator.aspxEmail NewslettersSign up for one of our email newsletters.A rarity among public monuments, a children's memorial was dedicated Saturday in Freeport's Community Park for local youths who died before their time.From the nearby baseball fields and playground, the sounds of children playing and laughing served as appropriate backdrop for the estimated 150 survivors gathered for the dedication honoring the lives of 90 area children.Situated among the park's busy athletic fields, the children's memorial is a circular stone garden...
Monday, October 03, 2016The rectory would be marketed as a single-family home.The neighborhood around the church, just off Freeport Road, was zoned residential after the church was established, so it has existed as a non-conforming but permitted use.The church property has been owned by the diocese since 1948, according to Westmoreland County deeds records. Donadee said the church was built in 1952.Zoning Officer Tony Males said the subdivision plans technically don't meet city requirements because the lot and yard sizes aren't quite large enough.Donadee noted that by enlarging one parcel to meet the requirements, they take away property from the other parcel — meaning there's no way for both parcels to meet the size requirements.The zoning hearing board's attorney, Jerry Little, called the situation an inherited hardship. The three-member board unanimously agreed to approve the plans as submitted by the diocese.Rihn said they have received some interest in the property but have no buyer lined up. She said tentative plans for a child-care facility to relocate there did not work out.The property is being marketed by Coldwell Banker for $450,000.“It really is a beautiful church,” Donadee said.It's across Edgewood Road from the former Alcoa Research Laboratories that are being redeveloped as the A-K Research Park, and just two blocks down Freeport Road from the former John F. Krupa Funeral Home that will be the location for a new funeral home.Liz Hayes is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach her at lhayes@tribweb.com or 724-226-4680.More Valley News DispatchTribLive commenting policyYou are solely responsible for your comments and by using TribLive.com you agree to our Terms of Service.We moderate comments. Our goal is to provide substantive commentary for a general readership. By screening submissions, we provide a space where readers can share intelligent and informed commentary that enhances the quality of our news and information.While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderating decisions are subjective. We will make them as carefully and consistently as we can. Because of the volume of reader comments, we can...
Monday, August 01, 2016In fact, when he told his parents that he wanted to become a funeral director, they thought he was, in his words, “wack-a-doo.”In 1975, Mr. Abbate got a job working at a funeral home in Freeport, and, in 1980, he purchased the business. But after running that funeral home for 10 years, he saw a large portion of his client base move away.He started looking at options—and saw that the Brockett Funeral Home was on the market in Southampton Village. It was a long-established part of the village: Everett Brockett had founded the funeral home in 1922, in a stately late-1800s building on Hampton Road, formerly the summer residence of a Connecticut U.S. senator. Though he sold the business some 50 years later, Mr. Brockett’s name has remained.It was a hot item—many bids were made on the funeral home, Mr. Abbate said—but the owner, Mr. Bauer, was looking for someone special. Mr. Bauer wanted to sell the business to someone who would raise a family at the home, would take care of the grounds themselves, and, most important, would become part of the community. “That’s the way he ran the business,” said Mr. Abbate. “That’s what he looked for.”He ended up purchasing the business for $350,000—some of the bids were higher, but the competing bidders would not live in the home.Mr. Abbate and his wife, Valerie, ended up raising their four children—Dominick, 27, Anthony, 26, Vincent, 24, and Andrea, 21—in the home. Dominick was the only child who expressed an interested in taking over the business, and the idea came to him on his own—his father never pushed it on his children.“I always told my four kids, I don’t care what you do in life, what your job is, but whatever you pick to do, make sure you enjoy it,” he said. “I can’t think of anything worse than being stuck in a job you hate.”The previous owner, Mr. Bauer, had purchased the business from Everett Brockett in the 1970s and kept the name, out of respect for the founder. Mr. Abbate did the same.“It’s such a landmark name,” said the elder Mr. Abbate, noting that Mr. Brockett was “a real class act.” “I wouldn’t even dream about hyphenating it to Brockett-Abbate. I wouldn’t want to tarnish his image.”Dominick Abbate likewise does not plan to change the name—although he does have a fresh vision for the funeral home. He recently updated the business website, making it more user-friendly. He also wants to be able to have video tributes in the chapel, and possibly to set up a webcam to allow those who do not live nearby to attend the service of a loved one from afar, thanks to digital technology.Mr. Abbate noted that there are many hats he will have to wear once he takes over the business. As director of the Brockett Funeral Home, he will have to cut the grass, be the janitor, do the accounting, become an IT expert, work as an administrative assistant—not to mention the key duties of the funeral home: working with families to set up funeral services, embalming, and mastering the arts of both cosmetology and hair.“It’s a very big moment, and I’m honored to be here for the community,” he said. “It feels really good to be back in a community where I know people and they know me.”...
