Born: February 25, 1943 (Chicago, Illinois)
Died: January 27, 2025 (Algonquin, Illinois)
While Dennis Miazga was a man of few words, his presence, advice, guidance and a never-wavering willingness to help others were significant. Dennis died early Monday morning, January 27, at the family’s longtime headquarters in Algonquin due to complications from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. He was 81.
Dennis grew up in Chicago, Illinois, where he is believed to have attended Lane Tech High School. Dennis later enlisted in the United States Army, deployed to a detail in Germany at one point. Upon exit from the military, Dennis matriculated to the northwest suburb of Island Lake near Wauconda where his parents had moved from the city while he was serving his country.
Professionally, Dennis enjoyed a three-decade career at United Airlines at O’Hare airfield where he worked as a cargo supervisor. At one point, Dennis, a significant longtime Chicago Bears football fan, had the pleasure of driving Bear luminaries to the team plane before road trips (the Bears’ players used to park their cars at United Air Freight).
During part of his tenure with the Friendly Skies, Dennis also worked for the Teddy’s Liquors chain in the Northwest suburbs. After retiring from United, Dennis worked for Ryan Management, a local movie theatre company, and also at Wedevag, a toolmaker based in South Elgin. He also found time in retirement to transport less-fortunate area seniors, bereft of automobiles or no longer capable of operating them, to their medical appointments, sometimes waiting hours for patients to wrap up kidney dialysis treatments.
It was at United Airlines where Dennis, a one-time motorcycle aficionado with a penchant for original Volkswagen bugs, met his future wife, Barbara.
The couple, which moved into the current family compound in Algonquin in 1977 after a short residency in Hoffman Estates, was married for 56 years (Barbara passed away Feb. 1, 2024, at a local medical facility, weeks after the couple celebrated that year-56 wedding anniversary milestone on Jan. 21, 2024).
Dennis and Barbara were inseparable, even more so later in their lives, and provided a textbook case study on the true meaning of marriage. They are first-ballot shoe-ins for both the marital and parental halls of fame, both their sons noted.
Dennis was preceded in death by his parents, Joseph and Jean Miazga (of Island Lake), and their dog, Snapper, sister, Darlene, in-laws Lester and Ida Ebel, sister-in-law Ruth-Ann Kramer (Rhody), brother-in-law, Frank Kramer, and cats, Oscar, Betty, Willie and Wally. Dennis, however, was but a passing acquaintance of west-suburban canine legend Fenway the Beagle, a close confidant of Barbara’s. Fenway expired January 2024 at the rare dog age of 18.
Dennis is survived by sons Michael J. Miazga and Grant L. Miazga, grandchildren, Kyleigh Miazga and Danny Miazga, daughter-in-law, Kristin Herigodt-Miazga, sister, Kathy Wiltberger, brother-in-law, Bob Wiltberger, nieces, Amy Kramer, Allison Kramer, Christine (nee Wiltberger) Brown (husband Peter Brown; children Emmett and Ida Rose), and nephews, Andy Wiltberger (wife Tracy, twin children Ashley and Nathan) and Jeff Wiltberger (wife Erica, children, Andrew Joseph and Alexander), as well as cats Murphy (46 pounds, not a typographical error) and Wrigley (a wiry, athletic feline, able to traverse to the top of a massive 8-foot-high hutch cabinet in the family dining room where a bronzed statute of what appears to be a nude woman has stood untouched for nearly 5 decades).
A celebration of Dennis’ life will be held Saturday, Feb. 8 at Wait-Ross-Allanson funeral parlor in downtown Algonquin (201 S. Main St.) with a small, family gathering to be held afterward at a local pizza pub. Dennis and Barbara will lay to rest together at Crystal Lake Memorial Park Cemetery … in the monument section.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Dennis’ honor to the COPD Foundation (www.copdfoundation.org). A special thanks to the hospice professionals at Journey Care for their great care and work with Dennis during his final month.