Business Comings & Goings: Lawn Funeral Home to Open in Tinley

Firehouse Subs now open in Orland Park • Brookside Marketplace owner expected to reconfigure former Lane Bryant in Tinley • Pompei in Orland Park remains open after two unaffiliated locations closed before Christmas

Lawn Funeral Home is celebrating its 50th anniversary by building a third location in Tinley Park. The funeral home was founded in Burbank in 1962 by Don Jarka Sr. A second location opened at 7732 W. 159th St. in Orland Park in 1987. Now a third location is under construction at 179th Street and 94th Avenue in Tinley Park. “We just thought it was a good move,” said Don Jarka Jr. “We’re kind of excited about it.” The 16,000 square foot funeral home should be ready by June or July, Jarka said. When complete, the new full-service facility will have a chapel, viewing rooms and a family lounge. For information, call 708-429-3200 or visit Lawn Funeral Homes online. The funeral home is being built by Miller Architects & Builders of St. Cloud, …

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Four Years After the Lane Bryant Shooting: The Road Behind and The Road Ahead

A look at how far our community has come since a tragedy wracked it with grief, and a look at where we go from here.

Four years and 6,602 potential tips later, a storefront still remains empty in Brookside Marketplace. It serves as a stark reminder of what once was — a bustling Lane Bryant store, frequently crowded with shoppers. But four customers and a store manager, all women, were in the wrong place at the wrong time on Feb. 2, 2008. A gunman ruthlessly stole their lives, and remains at large. Thursday marked the fourth anniversary of that day; a day that is branded in the minds of everyone in the Tinley Park community. Those who were there to see it for themselves remember it like it was yesterday. "It was a cold, sleety day. About 28 degrees," Mayor Ed Zabrocki said this past week. "Sleet was coming down, wind was blowing. I got a call from (Tinley…

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Fourth Annual Carrie-Fest an Evening of Contrasts

Both joy and sadness color scholarship fundraiser in honor of the life of Lane Bryant shooting victim Carrie Hudek-Chiuso.

Just like the oversize black and white stuffed panda up for bid on the raffle table, the fourth annual Carrie-Fest held at CD & ME in Frankfort was an evening of contrasts. "Oh, there's always laughter. Everybody always has a great time," said former Homewood-Flossmoor High School co-worker Kay Holdren. "But we're all feeling a little melancholy tonight with this being the last one (Carrie-Fest). I'm sure we'll still do something next year to honor her," she added. Carrie Hudek-Chiuso, a Frankfort resident and Homewood-Flossmoor High School alum who worked at the school as a social worker, was killed in the 2008 Lane Bryant shootings in Tinley Park. "I was sitting at a friend's house when that news came on," said former co-worker Arlene …

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The Editor Speaks

Lane Bryant, Signing Day and I Guess There Was Some Snow: The Rest of the Best of the Week

The weekly list of editor's picks of stuff that happened since the last time the editor made lists of stuff that happened.

Hello, my name is Paul and here are my picks of the best Tinley Park Patch story of the week behind. You're welcome. Seven Andrew High School seniors announced their collegiate sports plans this week. Included was our own Andrew Fall Athlete of the Year. Whose sports career started with the T-Bolts? Read the article to fine out. Join the debate talking trash about which towns did the best – and worst – at clearing the roads post-storm. During what turned out to be the first of two snow days this week, we pulled intrepid teen reporters Sarah Kenny and Austin Gomez away from their assignments covering Kabul and the Hague, respectively, and asked them to spend a day in the life of Tinley Park teenagers. The pair agreed to have cell phones on …

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The Lane Bryant Killings: Victim's Family Keeps Memory Alive by Helping Others (VIDEO)

Carrie Hudek Chiuso's family set up a scholarship fund to keep her legacy of aiding students alive.

Three years ago today, five women were brutally murdered in a Tinley Park clothing store. In honor of this tragic anniversary, Patch is looking at the after-effects of the still-unsolved crime. Monday, we looked at the status of the investigation. Yesterday, we looked at the fate of the abandoned storefront where five innocent lives were lost.  Today, we speak with a Frankfort family who shares its memories of one of the victims.  Feel free to add your own thoughts, memories and hopes for the families in the comments section below any of these stories. ... This is a bittersweet time of year for Mike Hudek.  In 2008, he lost his sister, Carrie Hudek Chiuso, a victim of a gunman who murdered four other women in a Lane Bryant store in Tinley …

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The Lane Bryant Killings: A Silent Spot in a Busy Mall

Three years after the brutal murders of five women, the former Lane Bryant storefront sits vacant.

Updated at 9:55 a.m. to include comment from Ryan Companies. Three years ago tomorrow, five women were brutally murdered in a Tinley Park clothing store. In honor of this tragic anniversary, Patch is looking at the after-effects of the still-unsolved crime. Yesterday, we looked at the status of the investigation. Tomorrow, we will share a story of family shared with us by loved ones of a victim of this senseless crime. Today, we look at the fate of the abandoned storefront where five innocent lives were lost. Feel free to add your own thoughts, memories and hopes for the families in the comments section below any of these stories. ... The term is "Bedroom Community." It means a place where people own homes they commute to at night. It …

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The Lane Bryant Killings: Three Years Later

This week marks the third anniversary of the unsolved mass murders at a Tinley Park clothing store. What are the signs of hope for the investigation?

There's an empty storefront between a beauty supply shop and an undeveloped scraggle of field in Brookside Marketplace shopping center. The butcher paper taped over the windows has begun to peel in places, revealing a shelled interior and a fallen sign that says "Space Available." Five women died here three years ago this week. Wednesday is the third anniversary of the Lane Bryant shooting. A gunman who police believe was trying to rob the women's clothing store executed four customers and the store manager. To this day, he has not been caught. Over the next few days, Patch will be looking at the after-effects of this horror. Today, we will look at the status of the investigation. Tomorrow, we will look at the fate of that empty storefront…

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Lauren Traut

8:21 pm on Sunday, February 3, 2013

Hi, Hugo: This story posted on Jan. 31, 2011. At that time, it had been three years since the killings (hence the headline). Thanks for your readership. Lauren Traut, Associate Regional Editor   more ›