Alfred "Fred" M. Entenman, III
October 14, 1959 — April 2, 2024
Mundelein, Illinois
Alfred "Fred" M. Entenman, III
Alfred “Fred” Morris Entenman III of Mundelein, Illinois, passed away Tuesday, April 2, 2024, at the age of 64 after a four-year battle with Mantle Cell Lymphoma. Fred was born in Cleveland, Ohio on October 14, 1959 to Robert John and Helen “Susy” (nee Salt Brown) Entenman, the youngest of three children.
Fred grew up in Hudson, Ohio and discovered his love of music at a young age. As a child he would hit the family piano bench and lampshades with coat hangers to mimic a drum set. He started performing with his first band in middle school as a drummer and soon after began playing the piano and writing songs as well. When he was 11, he was a Fagin Kid in the musical, Oliver. While he was performing, he snuck through the Cleveland Civic Center tunnels and got to witness Elvis perform from 20 feet away. This was a formative experience for him and his love of music.
He attended Western Reserve Academy as a day student and graduated in 1978. He loved spending his days on the beautiful campus and enjoyed the opportunity to meet people from around the world. While at WRA, a high school teacher heard him playing piano and encouraged Fred to study classical music. He would then go on to learn classical guitar and percussion. He was quite popular and was student body president his senior year.
His love of the guitar took him to Kent State where he majored in Classical Guitar and then to the Guitar Institute of Technology in Los Angeles, where he studied jazz and blues guitar. He moved back to Ohio where he finished his studies at Miami University of Ohio, majoring in Philosophy. The beat didn’t stop though; he would often perform at parties, concerts, and bars. One of his songs, “Oxford, Ohio” received airplay on the commercial radio station WOXY-FM and became a local anthem amongst his fellow students.
He graduated from Miami of Ohio in 1985 and moved to Boston where he played locally with two bands, The Cavedogs and The Norumbegas (who later became The Blah Blah Blahs). Throughout his twenties, he put his many talents to the test, working in video monitoring services, sales, video production, and copy writing for advertising. In 1991, he moved with his then wife to the Chicagoland area. Shortly after, he began pursuing his law degree at John Marshall Law School where he was a staff writer for the school newspaper. In June, 1998 he graduated as a Juris Doctor, cum laude, in the top four percent of his class. He went on to be a trial litigator in Law, Municipal, and Chancery Divisions. He was a litigator on behalf of plaintiffs and defendants at trial, mandatory arbitrations, depositions, and court.
His love and passion for music never faltered, and in 2004 he released his album “If You See K…” He played all the instruments on the album and his song, “I Got the Blues” played on WXRT and Q101 in Chicago. He was interviewed on a few local radio stations and frequently performed at Chicagoland establishments. In his lifetime he wrote over 400 songs.
He loved The Beatles (Sgt. Pepper’s and onward) and believed “I am the Walrus” to be one of the greatest songs ever written. He hated brussel sprouts and lima beans, a hang up from childhood. He was an avid sports fan with a strong preference towards the Cleveland Browns, Chicago Bears, and Chicago White Sox, but he would watch any game and make it interesting for himself by choosing a team to root for (usually the underdog). He was a sneaky athlete, deceptively good at golf and tennis. In fact, he was naturally very gifted at most things he tried. He was passionate about politics and always ready for a debate.
He was a member of the Long Grove Community Church and found great joy in attending bible study, church services, and singing along with the church band. He found a loving community in LGCC and was especially grateful for the support his friends from the church provided to him over his four years of cancer treatments. From rides to and from appointments, meal trains, and people calling to check in on him, he never felt alone and always felt the power of God with him on his journey.
He will be remembered for his dedicated AYSO soccer coaching, his hands strumming on guitar strings, his sentimentalism towards treasured items, and his unwavering determination.
He is survived by his children, Jillian Brown Entenman (Joseph Yuan), Alfred “Carey” Entenman, William “Liam” Montgomery Entenman, and Colleen “CeCe” Montgomery; sister, Helen “Holly” Salt (Hal) Kennedy; sister-in-law Athina; five nieces and nephews and one grandniece. He is predeceased by his father, Robert John Entenman; mother, Helen “Susy” Entenman, and brother, Robert John Entenman Jr. He was grandfather to Charles “Charlie” Yuan for only five months, but he was giddy to be called “Grandpa” and made the most of the short time he had. He will be sorely missed and lives on in the hearts of those who loved him.
His family is deeply appreciative of the excellent care he received at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, Illinois and JourneyCare Hospice in Barrington, Illinois.
A celebration of life will be held on Friday, July 12, 2024 at Long Grove Community Church, 1110 Robert Parker Coffin Rd. in Long Grove, Illinois at 11 AM.
In lieu of flowers please consider a gift to Music Will (https://musicwill.org/donate), an organization making music education available to students across the USA.
Fred grew up in Hudson, Ohio and discovered his love of music at a young age. As a child he would hit the family piano bench and lampshades with coat hangers to mimic a drum set. He started performing with his first band in middle school as a drummer and soon after began playing the piano and writing songs as well. When he was 11, he was a Fagin Kid in the musical, Oliver. While he was performing, he snuck through the Cleveland Civic Center tunnels and got to witness Elvis perform from 20 feet away. This was a formative experience for him and his love of music.
He attended Western Reserve Academy as a day student and graduated in 1978. He loved spending his days on the beautiful campus and enjoyed the opportunity to meet people from around the world. While at WRA, a high school teacher heard him playing piano and encouraged Fred to study classical music. He would then go on to learn classical guitar and percussion. He was quite popular and was student body president his senior year.
His love of the guitar took him to Kent State where he majored in Classical Guitar and then to the Guitar Institute of Technology in Los Angeles, where he studied jazz and blues guitar. He moved back to Ohio where he finished his studies at Miami University of Ohio, majoring in Philosophy. The beat didn’t stop though; he would often perform at parties, concerts, and bars. One of his songs, “Oxford, Ohio” received airplay on the commercial radio station WOXY-FM and became a local anthem amongst his fellow students.
He graduated from Miami of Ohio in 1985 and moved to Boston where he played locally with two bands, The Cavedogs and The Norumbegas (who later became The Blah Blah Blahs). Throughout his twenties, he put his many talents to the test, working in video monitoring services, sales, video production, and copy writing for advertising. In 1991, he moved with his then wife to the Chicagoland area. Shortly after, he began pursuing his law degree at John Marshall Law School where he was a staff writer for the school newspaper. In June, 1998 he graduated as a Juris Doctor, cum laude, in the top four percent of his class. He went on to be a trial litigator in Law, Municipal, and Chancery Divisions. He was a litigator on behalf of plaintiffs and defendants at trial, mandatory arbitrations, depositions, and court.
His love and passion for music never faltered, and in 2004 he released his album “If You See K…” He played all the instruments on the album and his song, “I Got the Blues” played on WXRT and Q101 in Chicago. He was interviewed on a few local radio stations and frequently performed at Chicagoland establishments. In his lifetime he wrote over 400 songs.
He loved The Beatles (Sgt. Pepper’s and onward) and believed “I am the Walrus” to be one of the greatest songs ever written. He hated brussel sprouts and lima beans, a hang up from childhood. He was an avid sports fan with a strong preference towards the Cleveland Browns, Chicago Bears, and Chicago White Sox, but he would watch any game and make it interesting for himself by choosing a team to root for (usually the underdog). He was a sneaky athlete, deceptively good at golf and tennis. In fact, he was naturally very gifted at most things he tried. He was passionate about politics and always ready for a debate.
He was a member of the Long Grove Community Church and found great joy in attending bible study, church services, and singing along with the church band. He found a loving community in LGCC and was especially grateful for the support his friends from the church provided to him over his four years of cancer treatments. From rides to and from appointments, meal trains, and people calling to check in on him, he never felt alone and always felt the power of God with him on his journey.
He will be remembered for his dedicated AYSO soccer coaching, his hands strumming on guitar strings, his sentimentalism towards treasured items, and his unwavering determination.
He is survived by his children, Jillian Brown Entenman (Joseph Yuan), Alfred “Carey” Entenman, William “Liam” Montgomery Entenman, and Colleen “CeCe” Montgomery; sister, Helen “Holly” Salt (Hal) Kennedy; sister-in-law Athina; five nieces and nephews and one grandniece. He is predeceased by his father, Robert John Entenman; mother, Helen “Susy” Entenman, and brother, Robert John Entenman Jr. He was grandfather to Charles “Charlie” Yuan for only five months, but he was giddy to be called “Grandpa” and made the most of the short time he had. He will be sorely missed and lives on in the hearts of those who loved him.
His family is deeply appreciative of the excellent care he received at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, Illinois and JourneyCare Hospice in Barrington, Illinois.
A celebration of life will be held on Friday, July 12, 2024 at Long Grove Community Church, 1110 Robert Parker Coffin Rd. in Long Grove, Illinois at 11 AM.
In lieu of flowers please consider a gift to Music Will (https://musicwill.org/donate), an organization making music education available to students across the USA.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Alfred "Fred" M. Entenman, III, please visit our flower store.
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Celebration of Life
Friday, July 12, 2024
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