John Webster Guzzardo

1971-2021

John Webster Guzzardo lived with a zest for life. A genuine, kind person with a booming laugh and magnetic personality, he was a friend to all. His passion for the arts was second only to his love for family. He passed away in Lakewood, California, June 4, 2021 in a car accident. Born May 22, 1972 to George J. and Ann (Webster) Guzzardo in Peoria, IL, he was raised in Kewanee, IL where he was an Eagle Scout and participated in speech and debate team, theater, football, wrestling, and track. A graduate of Kewanee HS, he was granted an ROTC scholarship and pursued a bachelor's degree in Theatre at Northwestern University where he was involved with over 25 productions. Following graduation, John acted, produced, directed, and did stage work in Chicago and Los Angeles. In LA, he met his true love, Teresa Brown, of Thousand Oaks, CA. They married July 28, 2002 in Cambria, CA. Making Chicago their home, John pursued his law degree at Chicago Kent College of Law, where he was a member of the Trial Advocacy Team. He started as a litigation associate in the Chicago office of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP where he spent five years before practicing for nearly a decade at Shaw Fishman Glantz & Towbin, LLC. John joined Horwood Marcus & Berk Chartered as a partner in the firm's Litigation and Bankruptcy practice in 2018. He held multiple leadership positions in the industry including serving as a member of the Chapter 7 Trustee Panel for the Northern District of Illinois.

John is survived by his wife and their beloved son, Giovanni, both of Park Ridge; his parents, of Kewanee; siblings, Mark Guzzardo (Janaki) of Peoria, IL and Sara Renkes (Ryan) of Rock Falls, IL; his sister-in-law, Cindy Rice of Chicago; nieces, a nephew, aunts, uncles, and many cousins. He was preceded in death by his grandparents, Albert J. and Josephine (Abate) Guzzardo and Clifton L. and Barbara Ann (Weaver) Webster; and his in-laws Raymond V. and Eleanore (Koval) Brown. A celebration of life will be scheduled at a later date. A fund has been established for his son's education and future needs. https://www.gofundme.com/f/giovanni-guzzardo-education-and-future . Alternatively, please consider a donation to a charity of your choice in John's honor.