Rudolph Johnson Jr., the original owner of the nightspot known as The North End, passed away Oct. 4. Johnson was the partner of Michael Wasilewski; brother of Joy Ippolito, Linda (late Barney) Maples, Betty (Kenneth) Anderson, Barbara (William) Schneider and the late Bertha Gandy and James Rhoten; and the uncle of many.
Mike Wasilewski, Johnson’s partner, said that Johnson ‘was an institution of Halsted Street. He lived on Halsted for 28 years down in the DePaul neighborhood and he owned The North End for almost 23 years; it’s a long time for a person to be associated with one street. He was also president of NAMA [Northalsted Area Merchants Association] and was a board member for about 20 years.’ He added that Johnson was so involved in the Halsted Street community that he went to great pains to make sure it didn’t change: ‘He owned quite a bit of real estate on Halsted Street. He fixed buildings up long before the preservationist [movement started].’
As for what Johnson meant to him personally, Wasilewski commented that ‘he was my life. He was a life partner, he was a mentor and he was a good friend. We met playing baseball. He was a big supporter of baseball and gay sports in general. He supported all kinds of organizations.’
Visitation occurred at Herdegen-Brieske Funeral Home Oct. 6. The funeral took place Oct. 7 from the chapel to St. Hilary Church.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be sent to St. Hilary Religious Education Program, 5600 N. Fairfield, Chicago, IL 60659.