Angelo Bocchieri

Angelo J. Bocchieri, Age 84, passed away on August 13, 2024, at Rainbow Hospice Ark in Chicago. 

Angelo was born on November 8, 1939, to the late Joseph and Stella Bocchieri in Chicago. Angelo is predeceased by his beloved wife Sue, his parents, parents-in-law James and Nona, his sister Rose, brothers-in-law, James and Wilmer and his Las Vegas partners in crime, John & Nellie Romano. He leaves behind his children, Anthony, Susan (David), Christine (Daniel), grandchildren Jillian and Richard, grand dogs Buster, Hooper and Harry, sister Nina (Bob), sisters-in-law, Joyce and Joan and his nieces, nephews, and many friends. 

 He grew up in Chicago and graduated from Steinmetz High School in 1959. Just before graduation in 1959, he met the love of his life Sue on a blind date on April 19, 1959. On August 19, 1961,  he married Sue; and they settled in Franklin Park where they raised their family and where he resided until his death. They were happily married for 55 years. Angelo lost his bride in 2016 and was never quite the same, but somehow, he managed to muddle through life without her. His memorial will be held on Monday, August 19 to honor Mom and Dad’s 63rd anniversary. 

 Angelo and Sue had 3 children, Anthony, Susan (David) and Christine (Daniel). They had 2 grandchildren, Jillian and Richard, which they absolutely adored. He told Jillian she was his favorite granddaughter and Ricky that he was his favorite grandson. 

 While we are heartbroken that he is gone, we have comfort knowing he is with Mom again. We will miss our dad, our hero every single day. 

 Here is how he spent his dash (Poem by Linda Ellis): 

 He met his lifelong friends affectionately referred to as ‘The Club’ in Junior High. While some of the members are no longer with us (Mike Patano, Mike ‘Dago’ Calafiore, Wally Kazakeich, Mino Polizzi, and Ralph Cotugno) he continued to see the remaining members (Kenny Marcuccilli, Nicky Calabrese and Whitey Matouski) as much as he could. One of the highlights of Angelo’s summer was attending the Annual Club Picnics that spanned over 7 decades and continues today. He was able to attend his last picnic this summer. 

 Another special group of friends, the Al & Andy’s group, enjoyed many events which all started with a monthly dinner. They enjoyed many events with them over the years. The group all started when Sue met Bonnie and Carol in the early 1980’s. The group grew to include the late Bob & Bonnie Pritz, John & Carol Fritz, Betty & the late Don Delaney, Pat & John Morgan, Rich Anderson & the late Cheryl. 

 Angelo was a proud Teamster and retired as a Route Salesman from Alpha Baking (Formerly National Baking and Metz Baking) in 2003, after 27 years of dedicated service, but his most cherished job that brought him out of retirement was being a full- time babysitter to his favorite granddaughter Jillian. 

 Angelo was a car guy, he could fix anything on any car, until computers came along, he wanted nothing to do with that!  About 10 years before retirement, he purchased a 1935 Dodge Coupe (Sue was super thrilled about this) that he completely restored with help from his son, Anthony, and brother-in-law Bob. He enjoyed going to car shows every single weekend from about April - October (again, Sue was super thrilled) and has won too many trophies to count. He was able to attend 2 car shows this year, but ultimately decided it was too much for him and ended his car show career earlier this year. 

 In his retirement, Angelo was either working on his car, going to car shows, babysitting his grandkids (and grand dogs) or his favorite...casino hopping with Sue. 

 He could MacGyver anything, his mind was always thinking, and he was as sharp as a tack until the end. He could tell you when, where, and what he paid for something from 40 years ago and we will probably find the receipts to prove it. 

 He was a self-confessed control freak and did everything his way, he was not one to let anyone tell him what or how to do something, this was the hardest thing for him to let go of. He was still telling us what to do up until the end. When the cards were stacked against him, he did nothing but defy all odds that were given to him. When he was told you can’t do this or that, his body said…watch me. 

 He never threw anything away because you never knew when you might need it, he also knew exactly where said items were. This proved to be true regarding a 50-year-old copper pipe that he never threw away when he and John Romano built the addition at 9606. Guess what? He ended up using it when a leak appeared in 2020, and the culprit was the copper pipe installed in 1970! 

 Visitation will be Monday, August 19, 2024, from 3:00PM to 8:00PM at Sax-Tiedmann in Franklin Park.

As Angelo was a car enthusiast, his family requests that everyone attending the visitation to please wear their favorite car make/model attire, navy blue or teal/turquoise. 

This is a very casual event as Angelo was a simple and casual man.