Oriano "Ron" Nomellini

Oriano "Ron" J. Nomellini, Army Veteran, age 94 of LaGrange Park. Beloved husband of Mary Szynal Nomellini and the late Arlene Nomellini, nee Janiak; loving father of Anne (Ken) Miglieri and Mark (Mary) Nomellini; step father of Lorie (Robert) Kaiser and David (Jennifer) Szynal; proud Poppa to his 13 grandchildren Jack, Matthew and Ben Miglieri, John, Emmett, Mark, Mary Arlene and Pierce Nomellini, Jimmy, Carly and Holly Kaiser, Gracelyn and Grant Szynal; fond cousin to many.

Oriano was born in Gilman, Illinois, to Renato and Zaira, in 1931, shortly after his parents immigrated from near Lucca, Italy.  During the Great Depression, his family moved to Chicago where his father co-owned a tavern on the corner of Ohio and Wells Streets, where Oriano worked as a teen.  Oriano’s first language was Italian.  He learned to speak and read English at the Assumption School for the Italians on Erie Street, established by Mother Frances Cabrini to provide free education for immigrant Italians in the neighborhood. He was the first in his family to attend college.  While at DePaul University, he was the author of a regular column in the DePaulia newspaper called "The Dusty Corner," which he used to praise academia and condemn the excesses of fraternities.  Oriano received a bachelor’s degree from DePaul in 1952, a Master’s in History from DePaul in 1953, and a Certificate of Advanced Studies from the University of Chicago in 1970.  In 1952, he also became a teacher in the Chicago Public Schools, where he remained until his retirement in 1990.  From 1965 to 1990, he served mostly as principal of the Armour School in Chicago’s Bridgeport neighborhood.

As principal of the Armour, Oriano was known for developing the Continuous Progress Plan of education.  Because of the success of the Continuous Progress Plan, the Armour was singled out by School Superintendent Dr. Manford Byrd as having an “exceptional reading program that also met the needs of bilingual students.”  In 1983, Oriano was named as Educator of the Year by the Chicago Chapter of Phi Delta Kappa.  In 1986, he received the Citizens' School Committee Outstanding Principal Award.

Oriano loved books and had a library of many thousands of them.  Well into his 90s, he was almost constantly reading, writing, and reciting Shakespeare and T. S. Eliot.  He had a copy of Thomas Mann’s novel The Magic Mountain open on his final day of his life.  He was known for giving books to his grandchildren, relatives, and friends.  He was a storyteller and could talk for hours without interruption to anyone nearby. He loved cheering on his children and grandchildren at their sports activities.

He was tirelessly loved and cared for by his devoted wife Mary Ella, to whom he was married from 1995 until his death.  From 1961 until her death in 1990, he was married to his adoring wife Arlene, who he met at a dance at DePaul.

He was known for putting the needs and feelings of others first.  At meals, including his own birthday celebrations, he refused to eat until everyone else at the table had been served.

Oriano gave two final pieces of advice in his last hours.  First: “Don’t worry.  Go to church and pray.”  Second: “Love each other to the ultimate extent.”

Visitation Thursday, November 13, 2025 from 3 P.M. to 8 P.M. at Hitzeman Funeral Home, Ltd., 9445 31st St., Brookfield, IL 60513. An additional Visitation will be held on Friday, November 14, 2025 from 10 A.M. to time of Mass 11 A.M. at St. Francis Xavier Church, corner of Spring and Ogden (Route 34), LaGrange, IL.

Entombment Christ the King Mausoleum, Queen of Heaven Cemetery, Hillside.

Memorials appreciated to St. Francis Xavier (SFX) Food Pantry, 124 N Spring Avenue, La Grange, 60525

Information 708-485-2000 or www.HitzemanFuneral.com

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