William "Bill" Kubicz

William John Kubicz passed away on Thursday, November 27, 2025, at the age of 84, surrounded by his children and their spouses.

Bill was born in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood on June 27, 1941. He lost his father at the very young age of 4. His mother, Bernice, raised him and his sister Barbara on her own.  He was confirmed at St Ann Church by Cardinal Stritch on November 7, 1950.  He attended St Ann grammar school and St Mel High School, graduating in 1959.

After high school, he met Danielle Roman, the love of his life.  He constantly said of her “She’s the best person I know” and proclaimed to a friend, “I’m a one-woman man”.

He served in the US Army from 1963 – 1965 at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, as a Company Clerk.

When he completed his service, he moved to San Francisco to be near Danielle.  Together, they attend live concerts of Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Blue Cheer, The Doors, The Rolling Stones, and the Grateful Dead, many at the famed Filmore West.  Back in Pilsen, he continued to hang out with his friends who belonged to a social club called 'The Trotters'.

Bill married Danielle at St Ann’s Parish on May 31, 1969.  During their 55 year marriage they traveled often, enabled by Bill’s work on ramp service for TWA.  Madrid, Spain was a favorite spot but they also visited Egypt, Morocco, Kenya, England, France, the Virgin Islands, and Tahiti.  They made sure that their children were exposed to a wider world view.

When he retired from TWA as they filed for bankruptcy in 2001, he went to work for Standard Parking at Malibu East on the north shore of Chicago.  From all reports, he was loved by the residents there, including famed weather caster Tom Skilling.

As a father, he was a man with barely any temper at all unless his children were in danger of being injured, or of injuring each other.  Alan remembers getting in trouble with his father exactly one time, when he stabbed his sister with a pencil.  The other kids on the block were always drawn to him, especially the Duran family next door.  One of the Duran grandchildren would grab her sippy cup and eagerly run to sit on the stoop next door and "have toffee with My Bill".

Bill was a man out of whose mouth one never knew what to expect.  When asked by a 10-yr old boy, “So, what do you do?” Bill replied, “I’m a mad scientist”.  When some homemade food was shared by a resident couple of Malibu East, he later thanked them by saying, “Lesbians sure make good meatloaf!”  When cars did not yield to him and his daughter as pedestrians he advised, “The streets belong to the people.”  He told his young granddaughter, “I like animals and children more than adults.”  He once said, “If we were meant to do things all the time, we would be called human doings.  We are human beings.  We should just BE.”

Later in his life, after Bill & Danielle moved to Lyons, his favorite things to do included counting the hummingbirds that came to their balcony feeder, and acting as furniture for his cats, Zorro, Cupcake, and the late Muffin.

He is survived by his son Alan (“My Favorite Kelly”) Kubicz, daughter Christina (Jim) Kallenborn, Ella “My Favorite Granddaughter” Kallenborn, sister in law Irene Roman, and cats Zorro and Cupcake.  Preceding him in death are his wife Danielle, his father John, his mother Bernice, his sister Barbara, and his cat Muffin.

The family will receive visitors at Heritage Funeral Home, 3117 S Oak Park Ave, Berwyn, IL, on December 8 from 3:00pm – 8:00pm.  A short service is scheduled on December 9 at 10:00am at Heritage Funeral Home, directly followed by procession and interment at Resurrection Cemetery, 7201 Archer Road, Justice.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations to World Wildlife Fund (https://www.worldwildlife.org/), The Nature Conservancy (https://www.nature.org/en-us/), or Greenpeace (https://engage.us.greenpeace.org/ ) are appreciated.

To send flowers to the family, please visit our floral store.