Obituary
Alan Mora Dobry, age 92, of Chicago, died of natural causes on December 29, 2019. He devoted his life to the city, Chicago, and neighborhood, Hyde Park, that he loved. He worked tirelessly for over 50 years to end the reign of machine politics in Chicago working on the campaigns of the famous – Leon Despres, Harold Washington, Barack Obama and Toni Preckwinkle - but most of all campaigning for little known candidates with the courage to give the machine a run for its money despite long odds. He was the first independent Democratic Ward Committeeman in Chicago and represented the 5th Ward for many years on the Cook County Central Committee always fighting for open and honest government.
He was grateful to the University of Chicago for providing a bored 16 year old CPS student with the money to go to college early and ultimately earn a Ph.D. He played it forward by serving as president of the Hyde Park High School PTA and fighting valiantly to keep Hyde Park from becoming a segregated school. A Hyde Parker through and through, he served as president of the Hyde Park Co-op and rode the bike he owned for sixty years (and kept in tip top condition) to countless meetings to preserve Jackson Park, to save his beloved Point and to halt the excesses of urban renewal.
For over 40 years he was member of the Yavneh minyan at the University of Chicago Hillel and was inspired by the prophets in his search for justice. For more than 30 years, he maintained his mother-in-law’s 24 unit apartment building in Englewood using his amazing handyman skills to provide 24 families with a safe and decent place to live. In his over 30 years as a chemist for Amoco Oil, he was president of the professional and technical employees union and developed better fertilizers which he happily tried out on his own beloved garden.
Head usher at Orchestra Hall during his college years, he was one of the Chicago Symphony’s longest running subscribers and a devoted fan of Lyric Opera and Chicago’s many chamber music groups. He was just days from celebrating his 70th anniversary with the love of his life and partner in all things Lois Friedberg-Dobry. He was the loving father of Judy and Shoshanah Dobry. He was a loving brother to Barbara Cannon and loving brother-in-law to her husband Charles. He took delight in being a loving uncle to Alice and Peter Cannon and to Peter’s wife, Therese, and daughter, Gracie. He was a loving cousin to Jeffrey Mora and Steven Mora.
There will be a service to honor Alan’s memory at 11:30 AM on Friday, January 3, 2020 at Montgomerey Place, 5550 South Shore Drive, Chicago. If you would like to make a contribution to honor Alan, please make it to the Hyde Park charity of your choice. For more information, contact amdobry at gmail.com. Arrangements by Chicago Jewish Funerals - Skokie Chapel, 847.229.8822, www.cjfinfo.com
Arrangements by Chicago Jewish Funerals. www.chicagojewishfunerals.com