Ron Oppedisano, a former Norridge mayor and a longtime village trustee, died Jan. 8 from complications of pneumonia, according to his family.
Oppedisano, 61, served as the chairman of the Zoning Board of Appeals from 1991 to 1999 and later as a village trustee until 2009, when he was appointed mayor after the death of the town’s third mayor, Earl Field, who died at age 62 that year.
While continuing to run his business, Disano Appraisal Consultants — a commercial industrial estate appraisal firm — the lifelong Norridge resident served as mayor until 2013, when a cancer diagnosis from 2010 cut short his plans to seek a second term, his wife Linda Oppedisano said.
“He loved his village and had a warm, outgoing personality,” Linda Oppedisano said. “He was just a good guy, and everyone seemed to love him.”
After being diagnosed with leukemia in 2010, Linda Oppedisano said her husband’s cancer was in remission, but there was a relapse in 2012, and a bone marrow transplant was required.
“He was excited to seek a second term, but at that point he was unable to go through a grueling election,” Linda Oppedisano said. “After that, he was in good health for a few years and the cancer never came back. But there were complications due to the treatments he received in his lungs.”
She said she met her husband while they were both working for the Cook County Assessor’s Office in 1981.
“It was love at first sight and a fairy-tale marriage,” she said. “We loved each other very deeply and had three beautiful kids and four grandchildren.”
Ron Oppedisano coached youth baseball for several years and, while his kids were in high school, dedicated his efforts to the Ridgewood High School Parents Club.
Linda Oppedisano said her husband was a fan of the Chicago Bears and the Cubs, and she said he was overjoyed to see his favorite baseball team win the World Series last year. Aside from following his favorite Chicago sports teams, he also played the guitar and enjoyed fishing, his family said.
After attending Holy Cross High School in River Grove and going on to earn a bachelor’s degree in urban planning from Northeastern Illinois University, Ron Oppedisano obtained his broker’s license to work in real estate before starting his own business, which he ran for 25 years until his death, his wife said.
A member of the Appraisal Institute, an international association of real estate appraisers, his experience in real estate caught the eye of several Norridge Village Board members in the early 1990s. They convinced him to join the Zoning Board of Appeals, his family said. While serving as that board’s chair, he helped advocate for changes in long-running zoning regulations that prohibited homeowners from adding second-story additions to one-story homes, his wife said.
Village employee Kathy Gaseor recalled working with Oppedisano as his secretary during his term as mayor.
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“We were both ‘Type A’ personalities and worked well together,” Gaseor said. “I will always remember him for his dedication to the residents.”
During his years as mayor, Oppedisano helped the village secure state and federal funding that helped the village pay for several road resurfacing projects, including repaving along Montrose, Canfield, and Overhill avenues, said Brian Gaseor, building commissioner for Norridge.
The son of August and Norma Oppedisano and son-in-law of Rita and Richard Valentino, Ron Oppedisano is survived by his wife and three children, Lisa Gannon, Tena McCullough and Vincent Oppedisano, and his grandchildren, Joseph and Leia Gannon and Jack and Lyla McCullough.
“Every single person who has reached out to our family since our dad passed away has said the same thing — that he made them feel so welcome,” Lisa Gannon said. “We have had an overwhelming amount of support from people who loved him and the lives he touched.”
Visitation is scheduled for Jan. 11 from 3 to 9 p.m. at Rago Brothers Funeral Home, 7751 W. Irving Park Road, Chicago. Mass will be celebrated Jan. 12 at 9:30 a.m. at Divine Savior Church in Norridge with services to follow at St. Joseph Cemetery in River Grove at Belmont and Cumberland avenues.
Natalie Hayes is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.