Deacon Norbert Lesnieski, 88, of Lemont, died Sept. 23. He was ordained in 1972 as a member of the Archdiocese of Chicago’s fist class of permanent deacons, and he served at SS. Cyril & Methodius Parish for 44 years.

Deacon Lesnieski was founder and bandleader of “The Mello- Tones,” and he was the band’s lead vocalist and saxophone player. He was a co-founder of the Lemont Park District and served as president of the Lemont Park District Board for over 35 years, and he was a veteran of the U.S. Navy. He was also an active member of the Jaycees.

He is survived by his wife of 66 years, Jerri; his children James Lesnieski and Suzette Sniegowski; grandchildren Anne Becker, Christina Strehlau, Michael Lesnieski, Josh Sniegowski and Aubrey Sands; and three great-grandchildren.

Deacon Michael Romano, 100, died Sept. 16 at Resurrection Hospital. He was ordained a deacon in 1974.

He served at St. Genevieve Parish for about 15 years. From the late 1980s until his retirement in 2013, he served as a minister in several hospitals. His most recent assignment was to St. Joseph Hospital.

He is survived by his wife of 70 years, Lois, and his sister, Phyllis Romano.

Deacon Roberto Rivas, 57, died Sept. 11.

Deacon Rivas was ordained in 1994 and served at Blessed Sacrament Parish. In 2000, he and his wife, Ana, started Camino y Esperanza, a pastoral ministry for marriages and families.

He is survived by his wife and children, Roberto Jr., Jessica Eileen and Ricardo Rivas.

Divine Word Father Donald Ehr, 87, a beloved parish priest in African-American parishes in Chicago, died Aug. 19 in Techny.

Born in Iowa, he entered the Divine Word high school seminary in East Troy, Wisconsin in 1943 at age 14. He professed religious vows in 1948 and was ordained in 1955. He was sent to Rome to complete a doctorate in systematic theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University. When he returned to the United States in 1960, he served as professor of dogma at St. Mary Seminary in Techny.

In 1968, he was elected provincial superior of the Society of the Divine Word’s Eastern Province and served three three-year terms. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Father Ehr was rector of Divine Word Seminary in Washington, D.C. and Bordentown, N.J., while also working as a hospital chaplain.

He was named pastor of Chicago’s St. Elizabeth Parish in 1984 and remained until 2000. He then was a priest-in-residence at St. Anselm Parish until the week before he died.

He is survived by three brothers, Ronald, Irvin and Francis Ehr, and two sisters, Mary Vogel and Marlene Chaudoir.

BVM Sister Mary Jamesita Keller, 80, died Aug. 15 in Dubuque, Iowa.

Born in Joliet, Illinois, she entered the BVM congregation in 1954 and professed first vows in 1961.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, Sister Mary Jamesita taught elementary school at St. Thomas of Canterbury, St. Eugene and St. Joseph, Round Lake.

She is survived by a brother, James Keller.