Maureen O’Donnell, the Sun-Times
The vivid vernacular and unexpected reveries and simple observation and distillation that is the knack of the obituary writer puts much deadline newspaper writing to shame. The melody of a life well told in a few hundred words, especially of someone you’ve never noticed on a city street, is veined through the compassion and lyricism of the Sun-Times’ longtime keeper of the dead Maureen O’Donnell. The passing of Pilsen’s ninety-year-old “Churro Man” Taurino Brito is archetypal, surveying the neighborhood to learn about a man who sold delicious pastries for over twenty-five years. “Brimming with guava, cream cheese, chocolate, vanilla, strawberry or dulce de leche filling, they’re infused with a cinnamon-dusted taste of Mexico… He’d been a courtly, kind presence in the lives of many Pilsen customers as they grew from childhood to adulthood. Some saw him as a surrogate abuelito, or grandpa.” And of the recent passing of Nancy Hughes, the widow of Illinois filmmaker John Hughes, “When they met at Glenbrook North High School in Northbrook, she crossed chasms of teen cliques to be with him. And when they were newlyweds with little money or connections, she supported his screenwriting dreams. And whether they were living on the North Shore or in the movie colonies of California, Mrs. Hughes made their homes a refuge, a place immune to shifting Hollywood loyalties and box-office receipts, filling them with good food, lively music and fun card games.” Honor the recently passed via the @suntimesobits Twitter feed. (Ray Pride)
Best of Chicago 2019
