Excerpts from the ChicagoTribune.com:
Retired Elgin Fire Chief John “Jack” Henrici is being remembered as a leader who helped fellow firefighters develop the skills needed to grow in their careers.
Henrici died May 31 at age 84 in Florida, where he had been living since 2017. He joined the Elgin Fire Department in 1986 and retired as chief for the first time in 2003.
During his break from Elgin, Henrici served as interim fire department director for cities throughout the state. He returned to Elgin in 2007 to work as interim chief for 90 days and ended up being lured back to the job by a search committee. He retired for good in late 2010, and continued to work for a time as a consultant.
Henrici spent 50 years working as a firefighter. He started his career in 1960 with the fire department in Skokie, the town where he was born and raised. He was hired by the Elk Grove Village Fire Department in 1966, where he became chief in 1976.
He was the incident commander for the May 1979 crash of American Airlines Flight 191 near Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. He took a job with the National Fire Administration/FEMA in 1981 before being hired by Elgin five years later. He also was involved with the Great Lakes Fire Chiefs Association.
Henrici is survived by his wife, Maryileen, seven children, 13 grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.
A visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m., Monday, June 26, at Laird Funeral Home, 310 S. State St., Elgin. Members of the fire department will provide a silent guard during the wake, and fire service members from various departments will do a walk-through procession at 7 p.m., Cagann said.
The final viewing will be at 10 a.m. Tuesday, June 27, at Laird, followed by a procession from the funeral home to St. Thomas More Church, 215 Thomas More Drive, Elgin, where a funeral mass will start at 11 a.m. Burial will be at St. Michael the Archangel Cemetery in Palatine.
