Shirley Ann Jaconetty

Shirley Ann (Lampinen) Jaconetty, age 89, died on February 20, 2025, after a brief illness. She was the beloved wife of Domenick Jaconetty, mother of Ron (Nan) Jaconetty and Kenneth Jaconetty, grandmother of Bianca (Michael) and Natalie (Phil), great grandmother of Wilder Jaco, daughter of John Alfred and Sigrid (Selander) Lampinen and sister of Arnold (Gertrude) Lampinen.

Shirley was a lifelong fan of jazz, having met her future drummer-husband in a jazz club. Their favorite evening out was to listen to live music at Chicago’s storied venues, including Mister Kelly’s, Rick’s Cafe Americain and The Jazz Showcase. Later, she expanded her musical appreciation to classical and opera. And when Shirley dug something, she dug in deeply and developed encyclopedic knowledge of the instrumentalists, the singers, the conductors and the music, itself.

Movie-wise, she loved independent films of the 1960s and 70s, and fangirled on John Cassavetes and Gena Rowlands.

She was also a voracious reader. Jazz-related books, of course, but also biographies and anything by Philip Roth.

Shirley worked continuously in secretarial roles from the time her children could walk themselves to school until her retirement. She balanced her practical suburban life with holiday adventures each summer. She’d prepare meticulous itineraries using travel guides from the local library for road trips to Cape Cod, Niagra Falls, Acadia National Park and Pikes Peak. In 1976, she and her family boarded an airplane for the first time, to San Francisco.

Later, with Domenick at her side, her travel ambitions expanded to many international destinations. The girl who was born to Finnish parents in a little apartment on the north side of the city, who never learned to ride a bicycle or drive a car, had become a fearless traveler. She also knew city bus and train schedules by heart, in order to get to her favorite city locations from her suburban home.

Shirley was strong, independent, stubborn and a survivor. Per her wish, no services will be held, but we suspect it would please her to no end if, in her honor, you patronized your favorite jazz, classical or opera venue, the Siskel Center or the Music Box Theatre.