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Daniel Vittum Obituary
Vittum Jr., Daniel W. founding board chair for the Noble Network of Charter Schools, former board chair and general counsel for the Northwestern University Settlement, and notable intellectual property attorney with Kirkland & Ellis, died after a long struggle with lung cancer. He was 70 years old. Dan is a descendant of Joshua Jones, founder of Monticello, Kentucky and cousin to Harriet Vittum, the social activist and long time Head Resident of the Northwestern University Settlement House in Chicago's West Town neighborhood. Daniel was the only son of Kathryn J. Vittum and Daniel W. Vittum Sr. He was born in Kentucky where he lived until his family moved first to Chicago and then Arlington Heights at the age of three. A 1957 graduate of Arlington High School, he was top student and all around athlete, lettering in football, basketball, and his best loved sport, baseball. Dan attended the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana where he continued to excel academically. He graduated with a Bachelors in Science degree in Chemistry with high distinction, Phi Beta Kappa, in 1961. He went on to graduate from the University of Michigan Law School, first in class, Order of the Coif, in 1964. Daniel joined Kirkland & Ellis in 1964, became a partner in 1970 and retired in 2000. During his life, Daniel continued the long family tradition of family service to children, families and communities in Chicago. Under Dan's leadership at the Northwestern University Settlement the Settlement Association doubled in physical size, budget and participation of children and families. The Vittum Theater was constructed and then became home to Adventure Stage Chicago which currently reaches out to 13,000 students and 100 public schools annually. From 1998 to the present, Dan led the Settlement's successful efforts to obtain a charter from the Chicago Public Schools to found Noble Street Charter School. Under Dan's leadership the school has gained national recognition and since 2005 has gone through an expansion which will result in a total of 11 campuses by 2011. Dr. Christine L. Jacobek said of her husband, Daniel, "He was a unique man, brilliant intellectually and compassionate, gentle and unpretentious, personally. I think he experienced and related to the world using the intellect of his mind and the softness of his heart." His loving memory comforts his wife; his two sons Stephen Frederic and Daniel Weeks III, MD; his daughter-in-law, Bernice Man, MD; and his joyous granddaughters, Mora Kai, Tali Elizabeth, and Neenah Kathryn. A Memorial Service and reception will be held on Saturday, May 30, 2009 at 11:00 a.m. at The Vittum Theater. The address is: 1012 North Noble, Chicago, IL. Donations in Daniel's memory would be gratefully received by The Noble Network of Charter Schools at: 1010 North Noble, Chicago, IL 60622 or the Northwestern University Settlement Association at: 1400 Augusta Blvd., Chicago, IL 60622. Information: Heritage Cremations 800-936-1414. 
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Memories and Condolences
for Daniel Vittum
Jeff Stevens
October 9, 2023
I was saddened to learn just now of Mr. Vittum's death. My wife and I knew him from the time we lived in Chicago (up to January 1999).
tali vittum
March 21, 2010
I wish you were still here
Tali Vittum
March 14, 2010
i love you grandpa
Tom Brent
June 3, 2009
Christine, DWVIII and Steve,
I am so very sorry to hear of your loss. I am a friend of Dan and Steve from high school and have many fond memories of Mr. Vittum. Please pass on my thoughts and prayers to your entire family.
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St Claire Adriaan
May 31, 2009
My thoughts and prayers are with you in your time of grief. May your memories bring you comfort.
Todd Sandler
May 28, 2009
Hi Christine, DWV III, and Steve,
I am so sorry for your loss, my thoughts are with your family. I am an old friend of Dan and Steve's from NTHS, and I have been trying to get in touch with Dr. Dan. Please send them my condolences. Be well, and stay strong!
Ericka Arbour
May 27, 2009
Christine,
I was so sorry to hear about Dan. My mother, Judi Doman, was friends with him growing up in Arlington Heights and always had such wonderful things to say about him and his mother. He had been very supportive during the last few years while my mom battled her cancer. She was heartbroken when he was diagnosed.
When I graduated college, Dan did my mother a favor and got me a job at Kirkland & Ellis, where I met my husband, Mike. I thanked him again for that when I saw him at my mother's funeral in February. He has always held a special spot in my memories. I am so sorry for all of the sadness you are feeling during this time.
Ericka Doman Arbour
Suzanne Fong
May 21, 2009
Dear Christine, Bernice, Dan, Neenah, Tali and Mora,
We are so sad for your loss of your beloved family member. We enjoyed our shared time at family gatherings (Thanksgiving and Chinese New Year) while we were in Chicago. We were glad to have met Dan Sr. and spent some time with him. Please convey our family's condolences to the rest of yours.
Love,
Suzanne, Dave, Prudence, Francis and Janette
Bill Hogate
May 19, 2009
Even though I sat out most football games "on the bench,"
Dan treated all with whom he associated as equals, or at
least so it seemed. This is a cherished attribute. God bless
the family of this towering man.
Paul & Babs Gaecke
May 18, 2009
Christine.
Friendships of over fifty years are unusual. But Dan and I shared such a relationship. We were closer in the beginning, as fraternity brothers at Illinois, and in recent years when several of "the brothers" and wives would get together for fun, friendship and discussions, deep as well as insignificant. What beautiful memories. What a beautiful man. What a wonderful friend. It's more often said than true but in Dan's case his life's work, much of it for others, makes the saying incontrovertable--this world is a better place as the result of Dan's life here. We take pride in our friendship and extend our deepest sympathy to you and Dan's family.
Jim Caldwell
May 17, 2009
Dear Christime,
Please accept my dearest sympathy. I have known Dan for over twenty years and he was an excpetional person. You are in my thoughts and prayers.
Janie and Larry Austermiller
May 17, 2009
Dear Christine, Danny and Steve,
Please accept our sincere sympathy. We have loved your family for many years. Know you all are in our hearts
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