Category: 1970s

John Thomas Lucadamo, a Chicago reporter turned high school teacher, died April 14, 2019. Born Feb. 8, 1946, in Rahway, N.J., he was 73. Lucadamo first earned a bachelor’s degree from Alfred University in western New York in 1968 and then a master’s degree in journalism from Medill in 1970.

Lucadamo reported and edited in Chicago for almost 20 years before changing course and becoming an English and journalism teacher at New Trier High School in Winnetka, according to the Chicago Tribune. Before coming to Chicago, he worked as a reporter and as a copy editor at the Louisville Courier-Journal in Kentucky from 1970 until 1976, and then joined the Chicago Sun-Times in 1976 as a copy editor.

After nine years at the Sun-Times, Lucadamo became a copy editor for the Chicago Tribune in 1985 and then shifted to working as a metro reporter, covering suburban news for the Tribune. Just 3 years after arriving at the Tribune, Lucadamo covered the well-publicized discovery of a Chicago Outfit burial ground in southeastern DuPage County, wrote the Tribune.

Lucadamo eventually developed a respectable and reliable beat covering public schools in the northern Chicago suburbs.

His interest in education led Lucadamo to eventually leave the Tribune in order to explore a career as a schoolteacher. He took classes at Loyola University to earn a state teaching certificate and in 1996 took a job as an English and journalism teacher at New Trier.

Lucadamo also was the faculty sponsor for the New Trier News student newspaper, and he often worked late into the night to help students meet their deadlines and produce compelling journalism that would pique the interest of the student body.

After retiring from New Trier in 2011, Lucadamo taught classics like William Shakespeare and Charles Dickens at Northwestern’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, where he organized classes in his free time.

Lucadamo is survived by his wife, and his children Kirk and Eleanor.

Photo credit: Chicago Tribune

https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/obituaries/ct-met-john-lucadamo-obituary-20190509-story.html

Robert Harris “Bob” Mann, a radio talk show host, reporter, and betting columnist, died Aug. 19, 2019.  He was 68. He is remembered for his lifelong interest in people, stories, and wagering.

Mann was born Sept. 26, 1950, to Paul Harold and Judith Berenson Mann, and grew up in New York. After earning a bachelor’s degree from Medill, he worked first as a radio talk show host in Ohio. He wrote for the National Enquirer and for CNN, which at that time was a fledgling network on its way to becoming a media giant.

Known for his friendliness and curiosity, Mann’s affability afforded him lifelong friends everywhere he worked, including in Nevada’s casino industry, where he moved in the late 1980s. Here Mann met Sondra Lynn Lynch, whom he married in March 1999. Mann successfully founded an enterprise printing parlay cards for casinos, and he wrote well-researched stories about gambling, particularly horse racing, for several publications, including Gaming Today and Sports Handle.

Friends remember that Mann enjoyed tennis and golf, and spending time at the racetrack. He is survived by his wife, Sondra; siblings Bruce, Beth and Steven; and his nephew’s family.

Information and material from: https://obits.reviewjournal.com/obituaries/lvrj/obituary.aspx?n=robert-h-mann&pid=193788113

https://sportshandle.com/las-vegas-bob-mann-tribute/