Jonathan "Jon" D. Kucera

Jon had a long love affair with automobiles. It all began at the age of three years. Whenever on a car trip, he could identify and loudly call out every make of every car he saw on the road. When given a toy car or truck, he would take the vehicle apart and rebuild it in his customizing fashion. Years later, his interest extended to his purchase of actual muscle cars, including a Corvette and a Pontiac GTO. Subsequently, his interest morphed into restoration of classics such as a 1940 Buick, 1953 Buick Skylark and even a 1930 Model A Ford.

Jon was born on January 19, 1946, in Hinsdale, Illinois. He grew up in Westchester, attending Kennedy Grade School and Proviso West High School. Subsequently, he earned a B.S. degree from Elmhurst College and a J.D. degree from a predecessor of Northen Illinois University law school.

During his schooling days, Jon developed a serious interest in music, learning to play two somewhat incongruous instruments: the tuba (sousaphone) and the accordion. Of course, the two instruments could not be played at the same time.

Jon began his career with Western Electric, which subsequently became Lucent and ultimately Nokia. His work included telecommunications engineering and services management. Shortly after the beginning of his career, he became a reserves member of 416th Army Engineering Command.

Jon lived in his house in Willowbrook for about 35 years. It had a large yard, so Jon could be seen every weekend bouncing along his tractor trying to control the grass. He also befriended every stray dog, cat and other animals that appeared.

After his retirement in 2013, Jon experienced advancing symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease, which ultimately contributed to his passing.

Jon was predeceased by his parents Jerome and Mildred Kucera and is survived by his brother Daniel and sister-in-law Elizabeth.

Services for Jon will be private.

Donations to the Michael J. Fox for Parkinson’s Research or the Parkinson’s Foundation are welcomed.