Joseph Cigan

Joe Cigan's spirit took flight on December 22, 2025, surrounded by family and dear friends. He was 74.

Joe was born in Lendava, Slovenia, on February 15, 1951 to Hungarian/Slovenian parents, Joseph and Marika Cigan. His early years were the stuff of action thrillers. Facing political grievances, Joe's parents gathered three-year-old Joe and his infant sister, Marija, and fled on foot under the cover of night to Austria. They spent three years in an Austrian refugee camp before immigrating to Chicago in 1957. The family landed first in west Pilsen, then moved to Uptown and finally settled in east Lakeview. Joe graduated from Lane Tech High School in 1968, then later attended Wright College, DePaul University and UIC.

Joe often shared fond memories of his childhood and teenage years growing up in the Heart of Chicago and Lakeview neighborhoods...chasing ice cream trucks down Coulter Street with his Eastern European and Mexican friends, hot summer days playing baseball till dark, walking along the Lakefront and exploring the streets of Chicago with his friends. Joe's love of baseball began as a young boy living on the south side of Chicago. Naturally, he and his father became lifelong White Sox fans, as well as die-hard Chicago Bears fans. One of his first nostalgic and memorable jobs as a teenager was at Little Pleasures "Continental Café" in Old Town serving up fancy ice cream creations. He often reminisced about the interesting, colorful and influential people he met there.

It was during his teen years in east Lakeview that Joe's passion for music blossomed. He was a man of many talents - singer, songwriter, guitarist, flutist, saxophonist. He and his friends formed garage rock bands, The Rejected 5 among them. They enjoyed long jam sessions, competed in "Battles of the Bands," and forged lifelong friendships along the way. As decades passed his love of music endured and evolved. His taste expanded beyond the rock 'n' roll he'd grown up with and came to include Jazz, Brazilian Bosa Nova and Afro-Cuban. In 2018 he released a CD under the name CIGANCIGAN titled Event Horizon which he performed live at a couple of Chicago music clubs.

Joe's love of the arts wasn't limited to music. He was a voracious reader of myriad genres: fiction, non-fiction, sci-fi, fantasy, mystery. He recently completed his debut novel, A Sniper in the Mist, which is currently in search of a publisher.

As a young man Joe became increasingly involved in the building trades. Although carpentry was his first love, he quickly became an expert in all the elements involved in the construction and restoration of buildings. Sometimes he worked as the project manager of a crew, undertaking the restoration of a Chicago historic property. Other times he oversaw a battalion of tradesmen hired to build one of the city's residential and commercial buildings including converting long abandoned 30-to-60-unit buildings into decent affordable housing. These myriads projects spanned more than forty years, and they were all bound by two threads: Joe's absolute integrity and the respect he showed both clients and workers. Joe truly was a man for all seasons in the world of Chicago construction.

A great joy simultaneously unfolded in his life: his beautiful children and grandchildren, who would all bring so much light into his life, whose collective love he treasured so dearly.

For nearly two decades Joe was a resident of Lincoln Square with his beloved life partner, Frances. Together they enjoyed so much of what Chicago has to offer: museums, ethnic foods, live music and dancing. In fact, the two met and fell madly in love at Katerina's supper club, owned by Frances' sister. Over the years, they shared the joys of watching grandchildren grow up and hosting holiday and birthday gatherings with family and friends.

The pair were enthusiastic travelers. They explored Greece, Cyprus, Slovenia, Hungary, Portugal, Spain, France and the UK. Closer to home, they made countless trips to Joe's happy place, Galena, Illinois. They visited family and friends in Michigan, New York, Washington, Florida, Texas, N. Carolina, Georgia, California and Puerto Rico and made one very memorable road trip to South Carolina to see the total eclipse of the sun in 2017.

Joe was a treasured life partner to Frances Carson. He's also survived by his loving children, Lily Cigan (Matt Parrilli), Chris (Laurie) Cigan, Lucia Cigan (Paul Swanson) Naomi Campbell and their mother, Susen James, his loving daughter, Sarah Cigan (Will Pollard) of the late Dawn Adams, and Adrian Brown, whom he loved as a son. A loving and doting grandfather to Zoe, Calen, Charley Ann, Liam, Madison and Kinsley. He will be deeply missed by his loving mother, Marika Cigan and sister, Marija Robey (Vincent Pernice), Fond uncle to Seth, Ariel and Sasha, and granduncle to Ronan. Joe's memory will be cherished by his mother-in-law, Maria Carson, sister-in-law Katerina Carson (Panagiotis Alexopoulos), brother-in-law George Carson, cousins and countless dear friends and colleagues. He is preceded in death by his father, Joseph Cigan, Sr. and his father-in-law, Spyros Carson.

Joe lived his life according to the teachings of Kriya Yoga, studying under late Yoga Guru Kriyananda in the late '60s and early '70s. The philosophy focuses on living from a place of kindness, honesty, compassion and love. Joe put these principles into practice daily, always eager to lend a hand, always ready with a kind word, always ready to battle injustice. His selflessness and generosity of spirit are his legacy.

If desired, donations to the American Cancer Society may be made.