Mr. Michael A. Labriola Sr.

Michael A. Labriola, Sr., 77, of Alsip, Illinois passed away on August 27th, 2022. Born on May 12th, 1945, Michael was the youngest child to Michael and Mary (Sinisi) Labriola and grew up in an Italian family in Blue Island, Illinois with his sister Barbara and an entire neighborhood full of aunts, uncles, and cousins.
Here his love of cars and their engines grew alongside lifelong friendships (and notable accordion skills) but was interrupted by a draft notice, inspiring him to enlist in the Army. His mechanical abilities and a year of training turned him into a flight engineer on the CH-47 Chinook in the First Cavalry Division of the 228th Air Assault Battalion serving in Vietnam, a time that would yield many happy and sad memories and stories. After the war, he returned to racing and engines, founding his first business around those passions. As his life evolved so did his passions, teaching himself about radios, tool and die making, electronics and eventually computers. He was very proud to retire from his last business as his own boss after 26 years.
Along the way, Michael met and fell in love with an Irish girl named Mary Kinney (quite a rebellious move for both at the time). After taking care of each other through nearly 52 years of marriage, he leaves behind his loving wife Mary, their two sons Michael (Laura) and Christopher (Whitney), his granddaughters Lilia, Miriam and Corinne that he loved and adored so very much, and an extended family and set of close friends that will all miss him enormously.
Funeral Service, Thursday, September 1, 2022, at 6:00 p.m. at Vandenberg Funeral Home, 17248 Harlem Ave, Tinley Park, IL 60477. Military Honors will be held shortly before the Funeral Service. Interment will be Private. Visitation, Thursday, September 1, 2022, from 3:00 p.m.- 8:00 p.m. at Vandenberg Funeral Home, 17248 Harlem Ave, Tinley Park, IL 60477. A gathering to celebrate Michael s life will be scheduled in October.
The family requests those who wish to express sympathy consider making a donation to the Wounded Warrior Project, a charity and veterans service organization that offers a variety of programs, services and events for wounded veterans of the military actions following September 11, 2001. https://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/ For more information 708-532-1635 or www.vandenbergfuneralhome.com