In memoriam, Rose J. Fortuna

It is with sadness and great respect that we share the passing of Nick Fortuna's beloved mother, Rose. Here from the Chicago Sun Times.com is her obituary tribute. Rose J. Fortuna Obituary

Fortuna, Rose Josephine (nee Coffaro) Age 97. Beloved wife of the late Anthony; loving mother of Frank (Lynn), Nick, and Anthony (Cammy); cherished grandmother of Mark (Tina), Karen (Mario) Alfonso, Tony (Katherine), Nick V., Dimitri; and great-grandmother of 8; dearest sister of the late Vince Coffaro, the late Esther (the late Tony) Pusateri, Katherine (the late Accurso) Solano, Grace (the late Reno) Quilici; loving sister-in-law of Marie (the late Sam) Fortuna; fond aunt of many nieces and nephews. Visitation Friday, August 1, 2014 from 3:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. at Skaja Terrace Funeral Home, 7812 N. Milwaukee Ave., Niles, IL.

Funeral Saturday 10:15 a.m. to St. John Brebeuf Church for 11:00 a.m. Mass. Entombment All Saints Mausoleum. Rose was a seamstress graduate from Washburne Trade School. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations to Rainbow Hospice appreciated. Funeral info: 847-966-7302 or www.skajafuneralhomes.com. Published in Chicago Sun-Times on July 30, 2014 - See more at: http://legacy.suntimes.com/obituaries/chicagosuntimes/obituary.aspx?n=rose-j-fortuna&pid=171911891#sthash.2aSU6aty.dpuf

To share condolences with Nick, you can write him directly at nick@thebuckinghams.com

Comments

In Memory of John Poulos, March 31, 1947 - March 26, 1980

Five days before his 33rd birthday, we lost John Poulos, a dear friend who was like a brother to us, as well as The Buckinghams’ drummer. Often described as the heartbeat of our band, he was known to most Buckinghams’ fans of the 60s simply as Jon-Jon. To know John was to love him. With his outgoing personality, he never met a stranger. His talent is remembered best in the style he displayed on drum fills and riffs on our hits, including “Don’t You Care,” “Hey Baby, They’re Playing Our Song,” and “Kind of a Drag.” It’s not surprising that Jon-Jon was included as one of the Top 10 drummers in Modern Drummer Magazine. Contemporary MySpace profiles of aspiring amateur and professional musicians today include the name John Poulos among their musical influences. That’s an honor both fitting and accurate for a musician who was truly one of a kind. Nick and I recall that one of John’s own musical influences was Bobby Elliot, drummer for The Hollies, whose signature beret and tossing of his he...

In Memoriam — Martin Joseph Grebb

On the first day of a new year and a new decade, friends and family of Marty Grebb read a post on his Facebook page that sparked instant concern. The composition he shared had required much thought, and in it, Marty shared his love, regard, concern, and caring for virtually every person he’d worked with professionally, loved in his lifetime, and showed how deep his feelings ran for an earlier day and time when his body and mind were not wracked in pain by the five types of cancer he said he’d battled over time. The outpouring of love and support, expressions of concern, reminders of so many who had friended him on Facebook and felt as though they’d really known him, were nothing short of amazing. Offers of “please call me” or “we are worried about you” or “hang on, brother, we are here” filled the comments section. If there were a point in time when he was wavering in his attitude about what his plan was, everyone did whatever they could yesterday, New Year’s Day, to show their supp...

Remembering Frank Tesinsky, Beloved Chicago Musician, Key to The Buckinghams' Characteristic Sound

Each time the opening notes to “Kind of a Drag” come on the air, whether it’s your car radio, your phone, or choice of streaming media, the first 23 notes you hear inform you immediately that not only are you hearing “Kind of a Drag,” but you are hearing The Buckinghams. That instant recognition, in turn, is thanks to the talent of musician Frank Tesinsky, who arranged the iconic tune for producers Dan Belloc and Carl Bonafede in a 1966 recording session in Chicago’s Chess Studios. The Buckinghams family was greatly saddened to learn of Frank’s passing on November 9. Catherine Johns, his wife of 32 years, was a beloved part of his life and part of Chicago radio as well. In February 1967 "Kind of a Drag" was #1 on the Billboard charts for two weeks, and it forever defined the sound of five young men from the northside of Chicago. Just 27 notes, right? And yet, it defined the magic of what would become known as “the horn sound” that The Buckinghams are b...

The Buckinghams in Concert

Search This Blog