Silvano “Syl” Alessia, 69,  (“Unc” to his nieces, nephews and their legions of friends) of Franklin Park, IL passed away on Monday, May 11, 2020.  He is survived by his siblings Vincenzo (Elvira) Alessia, Filomena (Vince) Caporale, Maria (Joseph, d., 2018) Brunetti, Joe (Rosetta) Alessia, Lucio (Barbara, d., 1969; Marlene, d., 2015) Alessia, John (Sue, d., 2017) Alessia, Rita (Frank) Fittipaldi, Ben (Mary) Alessia, and Adolf (Betty) Alessia, as well as dozens of nieces and nephews. Preceded in death by brother Raffaele (Mary) Alessia, parents Gaetano and Maria (nee Greco) Alessia.

Visitation will be on Thursday, May 14^th 2020, from 11am-12pm at Kish Funeral Home, 10000 Calumet Avenue,  Munster, IN.  Entombment will be held at Holy Cross Cemetery, Calumet City, IL immediately following visitation.  Due to COVID-19 restrictions and concerns, visitation will be limited to 1 hr, and to 25 guests at any point in the funeral home.  Entombment will also have similar restrictions (10 ppl).  For those who choose to attend, a face mask is strongly recommended.

Born in Altomonte, Italy, he arrived in Chicago at the age of 5 and attended Bowen HS.  He worked various jobs from the neighborhood bakery, to the ice cream shop, the country club, and the local steel mill.  Syl eventually found his place working alongside his sister-in-law (Elvira) and nephew (Guy) at their family owned Sonny’s Restaurant.  For years, Syl would use Sonny’s Restaurant as his home base for his daily neighborhood travels.

Syl brought simplicity and joy through extreme adversity. His joy came from relating humor through what he found to be silliness and other’s calamity.  He loved humor. Always eager to write and test out a new joke based on some word association. There was no joke like an “Unc” joke. Syl loved to laugh, his infectious laugh that you couldn’t put into words but could never forget if you sat with him watching the Three Stooges, Sanford & Son, or All in the Family.  His laugh was a gift to anyone within earshot of him.

With a love of music, 50’s rock-n-roll became his true lifelong passion.  Whether Christmas or his birthday, Syl had one wish list, another transistor radio.  He’d spend a lifetime of quiet evenings searching the radio dial for a favorite artist.  That artist was Elvis.  He loved everything about Elvis, especially the movies, the style, and the leather boots, which he finally obsessed over when his brother Louie took him to Graceland.  A trip to the Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame Museum in Cleveland allowed him to watch a live radio broadcast of his beloved “50’s On Five”.

Syl loved bowling, especially with his nieces and nephews.  He had a unique form of dropping the ball too early, creating a thunderous pound that could be heard throughout the alley.  We would often hurry out of the bowling alley with heads hung low fearing charges for lane repairs.

Syl loved a great meal, loved escaping from family gatherings, loved a bad joke, and he loved Sunday night TV with Columbo.  He loved to travel to visit his brothers in Texas and Las Vegas.  In Vegas, he’d spend hours on penny slots hoping to hit the big jackpot.  He enjoyed going for walks to the park and sitting on a bench or just people watching in the Lisabet Café.  He reveled in the simple life, and his presence was often a reminder to others to cherish the simple things in life.

He was kind, caring, thoughtful, compassionate, and he was generous with the few possessions that he had.  He was a beautiful soul.

We will miss him dearly,  but we are comforted knowing that his suffering has ended and he has been reunited with his mother in Heaven.  May he rest in peace.