Janie Armstrong, who offered consumer tips in Jewel ads once upon a time.

...
In 1966 she was hired by Jewel Food Stores as their first Consumer Affairs person, becoming in 1971 the Vice President of Consumer Affairs and one of the very early Vice Presidents of a major US company. She was instrumental in Jewel’s effort to become a leader in programs that today shoppers take for granted. With Janie’s leadership, Jewel was the first to develop open dating on milk, dairy and other perishable products. Previously, freshness dates were in a code that no one could understand. She served on national committees, USDA and FDA, that developed nutritional labeling where a shopper could read the nutrient content of any canned or packaged product. She also led grocers to use unit pricing where the price per ounce was listed on all packaged products. Janie retired from a long career with Jewel in 1984.
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She was instrumental in Jewel’s effort to become a leader in programs that today shoppers take for granted. With Janie’s leadership, Jewel was the first to develop open dating on milk, dairy and other perishable products. Previously, freshness dates were in a code that no one could understand. She served on national committees, USDA and FDA, that developed nutritional labeling where a shopper could read the nutrient content of any canned or packaged product. She also led grocers to use unit pricing where the price per ounce was listed on all packaged products. Janie retired from a long career with Jewel in 1984.

I am glad to know that there was someone we can thank for contributions to such innovations as nutritional labeling and unit pricing. It's also nice to know that these innovations were connected to the Jewel-Osco chain.

I check unit prices carefully when I shop, and I get annoyed when they are intentionally unhelpful (e.g., price per ounce for one item, price per average-pig's-foot-weight for a comparable item) or just plain wrong (e.g., two spice containers of comparable weight and price with shelf tag unit prices orders of magnitude apart).

Katie wrote:I check unit prices carefully when I shop, and I get annoyed when they are intentionally unhelpful (e.g., price per ounce for one item, price per average-pig's-foot-weight for a comparable item) or just plain wrong (e.g., two spice containers of comparable weight and price with shelf tag unit prices orders of magnitude apart).

I dislike this, too, then I sit there doing the mental calculations. Of course, then I use my phone calculator to check if I was right.*

*I remember when the first handheld electronic calculators came out. I would do the operation, then do it by hand to double-check it.

Emilia Pontarelli, Tony’s Italian Deli matriarch, dead of coronavirus at 93

When customers lined up at Emilia Pontarelli’s cash register at Tony’s Italian Deli on Northwest Highway in Edison Park, they felt like they’d been adopted by an Italian nonna.

She’d ask when they were going to get married.

If they bought her homemade lasagna, sugo (sauce) or giardiniera, she’d say approvingly: “Mama’s cooking for you tonight.”

If any of her grandchildren’s friends stopped in, she’d issue a firm directive: “You tell them to come visit me.”

When it came to staying in touch, there was no digital divide for the 93-year-old, according to her grandson Mike Rendina.

“You text him right now,” she’d tell his friends. “I want to see you text him.”

Now and then, she’d throw in a few of these: “I’m yelling at you because I love you!”
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Nina Balducci, Who Shaped Famed Grocery Store, Dies at 91

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/20/dini ... -dead.html

Sirio Maccioni, Whose Le Cirque Drew Manhattan’s Elite, Dies at 88
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/20/dini ... ticleShare

Dave148 wrote:Sirio Maccioni, Whose Le Cirque Drew Manhattan’s Elite, Dies at 88
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/20/dini ... ticleShare

This was a wonderful tribute, but isn't it standard form in an obituary to include information about the cause of death? I've looked the obit over a couple times and not found it. (It could be there and I'm not seeing it, though.)

https://blockclubchicago.org/2020/04/21/saul-moreno-owner-of-restaurante-cuetzala-dies-of-coronavirus-rogers-park-wont-feel-the-same/

Extremely sad and hitting close to home. Saul Moreno, owner of Cuetzala Gro.

riddlemay wrote: This was a wonderful tribute, but isn't it standard form in an obituary to include information about the cause of death? I've looked the obit over a couple times and not found it. (It could be there and I'm not seeing it, though.)

I've seen plenty of obits with no cause of death listed.

The GP wrote:I've seen plenty of obits with no cause of death listed.

I'm probably just on hyper-alert to when a death was caused by C-19. Never mind.

HI,

Often in obits, they don't usually highlight the cause of death. However, some people make a practice of suggesting donations to a charity related to their cause of death.

I've been reading obits since I was eight years old, which is something that surprises even me.

Regards,
Cathy2

Cathy2 wrote:HI,

Often in obits, they don't usually highlight the cause of death. However, some people make a practice of suggesting donations to a charity related to their cause of death.

I've been reading obits since I was eight years old, which is something that surprises even me.

Regards,
Cathy2

That started about 30 years ago during another epidemic.

In some states, cause of death is public information and can be readily accessed through the local county's vital statistics office. However, in some states like Arizona, you must sign an affidavit that you have a legitimate reason for accessing it.

In recent years, many internet sites like iMDB have been scrubbing their listings to exclude the cause of death when they have had it posted before.

I suspect that practice started when people did not want other people to know they had contracted AIDS and families tried to hide cause of death.

If you think about it, cause of death is really none of our business.

lougord99 wrote:I suspect that practice started when people did not want other people to know they had contracted AIDS and families tried to hide cause of death.

If you think about it, cause of death is really none of our business.

I think it goes beyond that. You almost never see suicide as cause of death announced anywhere, except in celebrity culture type things.

Lot's of things are nobody's business, but that does not stop them from asking.

Regards,
Cathy2

Cathy2 wrote:Lot's of things are nobody's business, but that does not stop them from asking.

And, importantly, just because somebody asks you a question, even if you know the answer, you do not have to answer.

Exceptions:
Judge, apparition with horns and a pointed tail, apparition with halo and harp, man with a gun pointed at your kneecap, Carol Channings ghost.

G Wiv wrote:

Cathy2 wrote:Lot's of things are nobody's business, but that does not stop them from asking.

And, importantly, just because somebody asks you a question, even if you know the answer, you do not have to answer.

I was about to say, but I figured you might chime in.

Thank you!

riddlemay wrote:I'm probably just on hyper-alert to when a death was caused by C-19. Never mind.

The problem with this is that even deaths reported as caused by C-19 are not always truly or solely C-19 deaths. I have a friend who died this last week. He had an advanced stage of brain cancer and had been given just a week or two to live. He got C-19 at the hospital -- and so it was reported as a C-19 death. I think that's a bit misleading. Maybe the C-19 lost him a couple of days, but that isn't what killed him. I've seen news reports stating that this is common.

Despite mass furloughs and cutbacks attributed to the coronavirus shutdown, the Chicago Tribune has nearly quadrupled the number of reporters and editors handling obituaries for COVID-19 fatalities in the Chicago area, according to CNN. Now with 19 reporters assigned to the grim task, managing editor Chrissy Taylor told CNN: “We are preparing to add more people to the team. Our goal is to do as many as we can.” Said lead reporter Christy Gutowski: “I don’t view it as a typical obit with a set template. I am writing a life story to ensure history properly remembers someone’s loved one. . . . I feel that I, in a small way, am making a positive contribution at such a difficult, important time in the world.”

https://www.robertfeder.com/2020/04/27/ ... -michigan/

Ben Benson, Who Put Singles in a Bar and Steak on the Tables, Dies at 89
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/08/dini ... ticleShare

No obit yet, but just got word that Hecky Powell, famous mutt, philanthropist, and owner of Evanston's iconic Hecky's Barbeque, passed away this morning from Covid 19.

So sad and a tremendous loss. A very good civic minded man.

That is too bad about Hecky. The Daily Northwestern just did a story about him a few weeks ago about how he was dealing with the pandemic at his restaurant. I live just a few blocks South of his restaurant, and a few years ago our condo association was barbecuing in front of our building, and he happened to drive by on the way to his restaurant and noticed us, and came back a few minutes later with a few bottles of his sauce.

This is why I would not want to remain open right now if I had a restaurant. The mayor of Chicago has decided that she will not allow outdoor seating at Chicago restaurants even though the Governor has said it is okay.

NFriday wrote:The mayor of Chicago has decided that she will not allow outdoor seating at Chicago restaurants even though the Governor has said it is okay.

That's not quite true. Chicago restaurants won’t be ready to reopen to outdoor dining by May 29 but said she hopes they will in June.

nr706 wrote:No obit yet, but just got word that Hecky Powell, famous mutt, philanthropist, and owner of Evanston's iconic Hecky's Barbeque, passed away this morning from Covid 19.

https://chicago.suntimes.com/2020/5/22/ ... oronavirus

Among some newspaper pages I've saved, I came across a two-page obituary for Jean Banchet, written by Phil Vettel for the Tribune in November 2013. If there's someone who'd like to have it for its historical value or as a keepsake, send me a message with your address and I'll be happy to mail it to you.

Hecky's Tribune obit

I read the obit at the Sun Times. The Trib did not let me view it. It sounds like Hecky's is going to remain closed for a while. I just drove past the restaurant and their was a sign up sending people to his foundations website. Apparently he had a transplanted liver which did not help matters. He came down with covid first, and then came down with pneumonia.

NFriday wrote:I read the obit at the Sun Times. The Trib did not let me view it. It sounds like Hecky's is going to remain closed for a while. I just drove past the restaurant and their was a sign up sending people to his foundations website. Apparently he had a transplanted liver which did not help matters. He came down with covid first, and then came down with pneumonia.

There was a parade in his honor = https://chronicleillinois.com/news/cook ... taurateur/

Hi- They just did a wonderful segment on Hecky Powell on the Sunday Today show about all he did for the city of Evanston, and how he will be missed. I will post a link to it here if I can find it.

Today Show clip [Hecky Powell]