A MESSAGE FROM THE FAMILY

I'd like to thank everyone for leaving such lovely tributes and memories. It's clear to see that my husband was a well-loved and multifaceted human being, and I was fortunate to have known most of the facets. He strove to be a "riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma", or a "lobster stuffed with tacos", choose your own metaphor. He liked to keep his cards close to his chest, that being a primary reason that it took us nearly twenty years to marry. Sometime within the last few years he told me that I was the only person that he allowed to call him "Jon"; he didn't like the name. To others, he was "Jonnie" or "Jonny", the spelling shifting over the years. At work, he was the natty "JT", and there was a host of other personas, that many of us will cherish in recordings for years to come. Chiefly, of course, there was "Splatter", the stage name suggested by his sister, to match the "Explosive Music" of one the early band incarnations. In 1984, he was a celebrity to the satellites of Old Plank Studio, a group that you would find me among that year. I was at the studio, Mr. Bonnet was mixing down some vocals that I had done for a friend's project, when Jon strode through the control room, sporting a tailcoat. It was potential wardrobe for a Spitballs' reunion. They happened to be rehearsing that night, in the gravel floored basement of the studio, and after my session, I found myself in that basement. I also found myself at the reunion a week later. "Backstage" at the Cubby Bear, I watched him buzz, and hum, and hover, with his eyes sparkling. And although the place was packed, I really only remember him. I remember the feeling of taking the stairs to the apartment, next to the "Fancy Foods", on Main Street in lisle, where the inception of the Binge Corps took place. Drinking Dab beer and programming drum tracks. It was 1985, the year of the Bears, Jon was in his glory, and we first fell in love. He always "got" my jokes, and he was the one who made me laugh harder than anyone ever has: We were at an upscale Easter dinner, at the Pump Room, for my mother-in-law's pleasure, where my sister-in-law was looking for suggestions as to names, for her new brown poodle puppy. She wanted something to do with the color, but not something trite or expected. I had the misfortune to be sipping ice water when he gave his offering, "M&M's Van Halen Won't Eat". It was my job for the last couple of decades to try to keep him happy and healthy. It was not an easy task to perform for a man whose idea of a weight loss plan was cigarettes and cocaine. I hope I'm not shocking anybody, it was the eighties. He was not a man destined to decline slowly. For Jon's sixtieth birthday, I planned a road trip through the south to Savannah, Georgia. It turned out to be our most idyllic trip. Emerging onto the ocean shore at Tybee Island, Jon said, "This is romantic." And we walked the beach, hand in hand. He was the former and he is the latter This is the ballad of Jonny Splatter "There's more to the picture than meets the eye Hey hey, my my." Dig.

OBITUARY

Jonathan Joseph Toerber Jr.

Name: Malec & Sons Funeral Home
Address: Chicago, IL

4 January, 1957 – 3 October, 2020

IN THE CARE OF

Malec & Sons Funeral Home

Jonathan Joseph Toerber Jr., a retired Quantitative Systems Analyst and life-long resident of Chicago, IL, died at home on October 3, 2020 at the age of 63.

Jonathan is survived by his wife, Melissa Toerber (nee Jarosh); his sister, Charlotte Toerber; and his stepsons, Elliot and David (Brittany Mitchell) DeVries.

Jonathan, son of the late Jonathan Joseph Toerber and the late Thekla Schiefferer Toerber, was born January 4, 1957 in Shields Township, Illinois. He was a graduate of William Howard Taft High School and Northeastern Illinois University and worked as a Systems Analyst at Harris Bank for more than 20 years, before becoming a founding member of PNC Capital Advisors, where he worked for more than 15 years. He married Melissa, a kindred spirit, on May 28, 2004.

A memorial will be planned for such time as circumstances will allow.

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