Walter "Wally" Minor, 90, of Park Ridge, passed away peacefully Sunday, December 21 st , 2024 holding the hand of his wife of 67 years. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at St. Paul of the Cross Catholic Church in Park Ridge at 10am Saturday, December 28. Visitation will be 4:00 to 7:30pm on Friday at Cooney Funeral Home in Park Ridge. Wally was born on August 1 st , 1934 in Bath, Illinois, the eldest in a family of four children. A sports stand-out, basketball was his first love. His skill, work ethic, attitude, and hustle caught the attention of a lawyer in town, who guided him to Knox College in Galesburg. While there, Wally worked three jobs to help pay for his room and board. One of those jobs included the Reserve Officers' Training Corps, and after graduation, he was stationed at an Army office on Jackson Street in downtown Chicago, where the country boy met his city girl. He said "he couldn't live without her", and he never did. Wally married Eleanor Capotosto on November 9, 1957 at Our Lady of Angels Church in Chicago. Together they had four children, four grandchildren, and two great-grand-kids, and to him, family was everything. He was a Super Dad, who pitched in with diapers, cooking, homework, and could fix anything with mercurochrome or duct tape. In the 70's and 80's, he won three championships coaching basketball for the Park Ridge Park District, and was always his kids' and grandchildrens' biggest fan. Even last year, you would find him bundled up in the stands at Maine South football games, rooting for his grandson. Wally found a perfect career in sales, first with Duplex Products, and later took a leap of faith and went out on his own, often bringing his granddaughter on sales calls after school. He loved meeting and taking care of the needs of new customers who became old friends. He may have moved to Chicagoland, but his small-town values, honesty, and kindness remained with him always. Wally retired at the tender age of 88. He told his remaining clients, Superdawg , and a local trucking company, that they would have to find a new guy. In 1978, Wally was ordained as a Deacon of the Catholic Church at Holy Name Cathedral, assisting with Masses and helping people at Our Lady of Ransom Church in Niles. He also received his Masters Degree in Theology at Loyola University in Chicago. He loved golfing, and played into his 80's, and while he said his memory was not as sharp as it used to be, he could still give you a play by play, hole by hole account of rounds of golf, including his 70 th birthday trip to Pebble Beach and his closing pars on the 17 th and 18 th . He was a big Nat King Cole fan, enjoyed live music, playing bridge, and spending time with the grandkids in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin and St. Pete Beach, Florida.

Survivors include his wife, Eleanor; children, Chris Minor-Hubbell (Marv), Laurie Citta, Tracy Sernel (Marc); grandchildren Kevan Kresl (Jack), Catherine and Doug Sernel; great-grandchildren James and Charlie; brother Butch (Dixie), sister Sharon McNeil, and many nieces and nephews. He was pre-deceased by his parents, Walter and Margaret Minor, sister Marisue Pope, his son Doug, and grandson Ryan Sernel. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Barth Syndrome Foundation, in honor of Ryan, at Barth Syndrome Foundation, PO Box 419264, Boston Ma 02241, or donations are accepted