By CHARLES MENCHACA cmenchaca@shawmedia.com
OBITUARIES ROY MELGOSA Born: June 26, 1934 Died: June 18, 2014 BATAVIA – Roy Melgosa, 79, of Batavia, passed away June 18 at Loyola Medical Center in Maywood. He was born June 26, 1934, in Geneva, the son of Valeriano and Alvina (nee Salceda) Melgosa. He was united in marriage to Maria Teresa Valenzuela on Nov. 5, 1955, at Holy Cross Catholic Church in Batavia. Roy was employed by Superior Beverage for many years until his retirement in 1997. He was an avid Chicago sports fan of the Bears, the Bulls and especially the White Sox. For many years he co-owned and operated the Fox Gardens Night Club in North Aurora. Roy had a wonderful outgoing personality and loved talking and joking with everyone. He had a love for spending time with his children and adored his grandchildren. He is survived by his wife, Teresa; six children, Rosie (Pat) Kramford, Debbie Melgosa, Lulu (Rey) Magaña, Rick (Sandy) Melgosa, Ralph (Erin) Melgosa and Rachel (Louis) Rivera; 12 grandchildren, Ben (Missy) Garcia, Miki (Rob) Wilson, Royana (Jesse) Towry, Laura Neisendorf, Lukas and Maggie Melgosa, Alex, Jacob, Sam
Sandy Bressner – sbressner@shawmedia.com
John Forni of St. Charles, who portrayed Santa Claus since the 1940s, donated his Santa suit to the St. Charles Heritage Center in 2009. Forni passed away Monday. Forni held several jobs over the years, including at State Street Motors in Geneva and Delnor Hospital, his obituary said. A longstanding tradition
of Forni’s was to dress up as Santa and accompany Ozzie T. Cougar, the Kane County Cougars mascot, on visits to children and at rest homes, Donna Forni said.
the board at special events and different functions, said Jim Cooke, the park board’s treasurer. “He was a very active participant in making sure the concerns of constituents were heard,” Cooke said. Donna Forni said some of her favorite memories are of traveling with her husband across the county for conventions he attended while on the park board. “He just enjoyed doing things, being active and enjoying life,” she said. “He did more than somebody else might do in his [condition].” The visitation for John Forni will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Sunday at Moss-Norris Funeral Home, 100 S. Third St., St. Charles. Forni’s funeral service will be at 11 a.m. Monday at the funeral home.
Mendota. Services will be at 11 a.m. Friday, June 20, at the church, with the Bishop Daniel Jenky, C.S.C., officiating. Burial will be at Holy Cross Cemetery in Lincoln, Illinois. John J. Forni Jr.: Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Sunday, June 22, at Moss-Norris Funeral Home, 100 S. Third St. (three blocks west of the river and one block south of Route 64), St. Charles. A funeral service will be at 11 a.m. Monday, June 23, at the funeral home. Interment will follow at Oak Hill Cemetery in Geneva. Darlene Meloun: Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Monday, June 23, at Moss Family Funeral Home, 209 S. Batavia Ave., Batavia. Funeral services will take place at 10 a.m. Tuesday, June 24, at Lord of Life, 40W605
Route 38, Elburn. Interment will follow the service at Blackberry Cemetery in Elburn. John T. Monnett Sr.: A graveside committal service will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, June 21, at Queen of Heaven Cemetery in Hillside. Leona Claire Irma Nettland Olson: Lee’s memorial service will be at 10:30 a.m. Aug. 8 at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, 1145 N. Fifth Ave., St. Charles. Burial will be private. Dr. Martin Plotkin: A celebration of Dr. Plotkin’s life will be from 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday, June 29, at Eagle Brook Country Club, 2288 Fargo Blvd., Geneva. The Rev. Roy L.F. Schneider: The visitation will be from 9 to 11 a.m. July 19 at Fox Valley Presbyterian Church, 227 East Side Drive, Geneva. A memorial service will follow at 11 a.m.
from preschool through fourth grade are eligible to attend. The theme is “Go Tell it on the Mountain.” There will be crafts, songs, skits, activities and snacks. An ice cream social will be at 6:30 p.m. June 27, for all attendees and their parents. The cost
to attend is $25 a child. Registration forms can be found on the parish website at www.stgall.com, faith formation, children tabs or email dbiggs@stgall.com. For information, call 630-3659166.
FUNERAL ARRANGEMENTS and Will Melgosa, Lucian and Liam Rivera; three great-grandchildren, Anna and Kevin Garcia and Kaitlyn Wilson; a sister, Mona Nelson; and many nieces and nephews. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his three siblings, Robert Melgosa, Margaret Chemes and Joseph Melgosa; and his beloved mother-in-law, Rafaela Cardenas. The visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday, June 20, at Moss Family Funeral Home, 209 S. Batavia Ave. Batavia. Funeral services will begin with prayers from Moss Family Funeral Home at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, June 21, before proceeding to Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church, 801 Oak St., North Aurora, to celebrate Mass at 10 a.m. Interment will follow at Resurrection Cemetery in Geneva. Memorial contributions may be directed to the Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Chicago, 17 N. State St., Suite 650, Chicago, IL 60602. For additional information, contact Moss Family Funeral Home at 630879-7900 or www.mossfuneral.com Please sign the guest book at www.legacy.com/kcchronicle.
Milford A. Austin: Visitation will be from 10 a.m. to noon, with a service to celebrate his life to follow, on Saturday, June 21, at Conley Funeral Home, 116 W. Pierce St., Elburn. Interment will follow at Kaneville Cemetery in Kaneville. Marjorie Anne Scheese Behnke: A memorial service will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, June 28, at the United Methodist Church of Geneva, 211 Hamilton St., Geneva, with a lunch reception to follow. Michael James Buffington: A memorial service will be at 2 p.m. Saturday, June 21, at O-AceIs, 6639 South Route U.S. 31, Bunker Hill, Indiana. Please dress casually. Monsignor Richard G. Fitzsimmons: The visitation will be from 9 to 10 a.m. Friday, June 20, at Holy Cross Church in
LOCAL BRIEF St. Gall Catholic Church announces Bible school ELBURN – St. Gall Catholic Church has announced its annual vacation Bible school, which will be from 9 a.m. to noon Monday through June 27, at the church, at 120 W. Shannon St., Elburn. All children
– Kane County Chronicle
• Friday, June 20, 2014
John Forni Jr. could never sit still, his wife, Donna Forni, said. “They kind of called him the mayor of our subdivision – he would ride the golf cart around everywhere,” Donna Forni said. Whether on wheels or on his feet in the years prior, residents said Forni was known for his hard work and always giving a helping hand to the community. He died on Monday at age 89. Forni grew up in Geneva and St. Charles as the eldest son of seven children. When his father died in 1941, a 16-year-old Forni stepped up to help support the family, according to his obituary. After serving in the South Pacific during World War II,
Mike Forrest dressed up as Ozzie during those visits with Forni, and he plans to do so again at Forni’s visitation on Sunday, said Curtis Haug, the Kane County Cougar’s vice president and general manager. Haug said Forni was an usher at Cougar games until his mobility became limited after three total knee replacements. Then he shifted to press box security and delivered meals on a scooter to the umpires before and after games. “John just had a place in his heart for the Cougars,” Forrest said. “We definitely appreciated everything he did here.” Forni also found time to serve on the St. Charles Park District Board from 1997 to 2011. He was always the first one to volunteer to represent
9 LOCAL NEWS | Kane County Chronicle / KCChronicle.com
WWII vet was active, compassionate to all