WB_060619

26 | June 6, 2019 | The wilmette beacon FAITH
wilmettebeacon.com
Memoriam
From Page 12
pun-filled way of viewing
the world made interview
subjects open up to him.
Readers looked forward to
the hard-hitting stories in
the newspapers, but when
they turned the page to
‘Hergie,’ they felt like they
were visiting a friend.”
As a rewriteman and
assistant city editor at the
Daily News, George Harmon
sat two dozen feet
away from Herguth for
years. “He never changed:
soft-spoken, humorous,
friendly, a man who daily
demonstrated his extraordinary
skill in writing and
reporting. Incapable of
missing a deadline. Total
professional. Hergie truly
was a role model for everyone
in the newsroom. He
could handle any type of assignment
with competence
and dispatch. No doubt the
news sources trusted him to
tell their stories with accuracy
and respect. And as a
human being, no finer man
could you meet.”
Herguth was born in
Chicago but grew up in St.
Louis. He received a journalism
degree at the University
of Missouri then
worked for newspapers in
El Paso, Texas, and Peoria.
Drafted during the Korean
War, he wrote Army propaganda
leaflets that were
translated into Korean.
He was hired by the
Daily News in 1955, and
over the course of a 45 year
career in Chicago took on
hard news, investigative,
feature, obituary and editorial
writing. Herguth hit his
best stride, however, as the
author of “Hergie’s People”
in the Daily News and
“Public Eye” and “Chicago
Profile” in the Sun-Times.
The popular columns were
typically filled with a mix
of gossip, light news, and
celebrity interviews.
Dennis Byrne worked
FUNERAL SERVICES DIRECTORY
Affordable
Flameless Cremation
Uses WATER instead of fire *Ashes returned to family
Thegreen &gentle choice *Pre-Need available
TheFirst Flameless Cremation Facility in Illinois
708-606-0211
flameless-cremation.com
Ryan Cattoni, Owner
Licensed Funeral Director
Also available with wake and service throughyour local funeral home
with Herguth both at the
Daily News and the Sun-
Times and recalled how
his career as a columnist
began. “He started at 4 a.m.
and was assembling light
news from the wires and
notes from staff for the first
edition. He was already
recognized as a wordsmith,
and finally somebody said,
‘why isn’t his byline on
this?’” Soon it was, and
over the years, Herguth
interviewed thousands of
people, ranging from the
likes of Chuck Norris, Jerry
Lewis and Paul McCartney
to John F. Kennedy and
Nelson Algren.
Herguth’s columns also
featured one of his favorite
literary vehicles — puns.
Writing the foreward to
Harvey Gordon’s “PUNishment:
The Art of Punning
or How to Lose Friends and
Antagonize People,” he explained
his fascination with
the art form: “Puns are to
words what Bach is to music,
what Rembrandt is to
Advertise your funeral services.
708.326.9170
canvas, what a French chef
is to pot roast.”
“He was a maestro of the
pun, which he unleashed
in his bright and breezy
columns upon delighted if
sometimes dizzied readers
of the Chicago Daily News
and then the Sun-Times,”
said former colleague Jack
Schnedler. “He could also
handle breaking news with
his practiced reporting and
writing skills when the occasion
demanded. As a colleague,
he always gave a
morale boost when it was
needed.”
Along the way, he on occasion
put his money where
his heart was. Twelve days
after Herguth became president
of the Chicago Press
Club in 1987 it shut down
because of money problems.
He threw in $2,600
of his own money to help
pay staff.
“He loved his craft and
was a writer to the core,”
said his son Robert C. Herguth,
who followed in his
father’s footsteps and has
fashioned a successful career
at the Sun-Times. “He
lived his life with gentle
humor and kindness, and
that came across in his
writing.”
Father also passed on to
son important journalism
lessons. “He told me, ‘if
you make a mistake you
apologize, you correct it
and learn from it and hopefully
don’t repeat it,” said
Robert.
While at the Daily News,
Herguth met his wife, Margaret.
They were married
from 1966 until her death in
2014. The Herguths moved
to Wilmette in 1968, where
they raised their family and
for four decades could often
be seen riding their bicycles
around town.
“He was a really gentle,
kind-hearted man, and he
was always encouraging to
all of us,” said Jeni Sellers
of her father.
Margaret died in 2014.
Herguth is survived by
three children, Amy
(Sean), Robert (Sue) and
Jeni (Brad), and grandchildren
Mila, Annika, Eli,
Matthew, Aidan, Luke,
Lauren, Ava, Otto, nieces
Jan and Jill, honorary
daughter Coralie. He was
preceded in death by his
sister Joan.
Visitation was held
Thursday, May 30, at Donnellan
Family Funeral
Home in Skokie. A Funeral
Mass was held Friday, May
31, at St. Francis Xavier
Church in Wilmette.
In lieu of flowers, donations
can be sent to the
child literacy group, Sit-
StayRead, 2849 N. Clark,
Chicago, IL 60657, or to
Our Lady of the Angels
Mission, 3808 W. Iowa St.,
Chicago, IL 60651.
Virginia Werner Schneider
Wilmette
native Virginia
Schneider
died May
10 surrounded
by friends
and family
in Virginia, Schneider
Minn. She
was preceded in death by
her 4 siblings, Jane, Bill,
Ted, and Jim, and her late
husband James Edward
Schneider. She is survived
by her only daughter, Sally
Ann Seabert (Schneider),
her only grandson, Anthony
James Seabert, and
an extensive network of inlaws,
cousins, nieces, nephews,
and greats.
She was born April 21,
1929 in Wilmette, as the
second of five siblings.
Around the age of 20, she
met her husband James
Schneider to whom she
was married for over 60
years. In her early years,
she worked as a switch
board operator and a manager
at Hackney’s for 23
years before moving to Ely,
Minn. in 1976. She and her
skilled siblings built an incredible
home on the lake
where hundreds of family
members visited over the
subsequent years, earning
many titles including;
camp counselor, bottlewasher,
and pecan roll
maker. When not hosting
family, she volunteered at
the hospital, participated in
the sewing club, and developed
programs for seniors.
Those that knew her tenacity
would not be surprised
she was the first
and only of her siblings
to reach the milestone of
90 years. She celebrated
this achievement with over
70 family members this
past Easter, a testament to
her vivacious spirit and
graciousness that brought
people together. This celebration
of life will serve
as her memorial, and we
sincerely appreciate all
the incredible folks who
helped to make it happen.
Eileen Williams
Corrigan
Former resident
of Winnetka
and Wilmette Eileen
Williams Corrigan was
born on August 24, 1924
and died May 21. Corrigan
was a resident of Berkeley,
California at the time of
passing.
Former resident of Winnetka
and Wilmette, Corrigan
was born to Oliver and
Marie Williams of Glencoe,
and attended Sacred Heart
High School, Manhattanville
College and Northwestern
University. She was
proud of her Navy service
in WWII and of the pilot’s
license she earned after the
war.
Funeral services will
be held at 10 a.m, June 10
at Saints Faith, Hope and
Charity Church, at 191 Linden
St. in Winnetka with a
visitation at the church beginning
at 9 a.m. Private
burial at All Saints Catholic
Cemetery in Des Plaines.
Friends may make memorial
contributions to a
charity of their choice in
her memory.