Oak Lawn's 'Waving Man' Nick Sanello Dies At 96

OAK LAWN, IL — Longtime Oak Lawn resident Nick Sanello, who forged community connections by waving at every car, child, adult and dog that passed his house, died Feb. 10. He was 96.

Born Sept. 20, 1923, on Chicago's Near West Side, where he grew up "100 percent Italian," Sanello remembered his Taylor Street neighbors sitting on their front stoops while kids played games in the street on summer evenings.

"It was important for him to maintain that neighborhood feeling," his daughter Nickolette Woods said. "He always talked about how all the neighbors knew each other."

He was a boxer, delivered milk in a horse-drawn wagon and owned a bar until he settled on a career in real estate. Nick met his wife and best friend, a lovely Irish lass named Alice O'Donnell, at Chicago's legendary Riverview amusement park. Nick and Alice raised six daughters in Burbank until 1976, when they moved to a handsome new home in Oak Lawn.

"My dad was 50 and my mother was 44 when I was born," Woods laughed. "I was their last try for a boy."

Sanello was a successful real estate agent on the North Side, helping other young couples achieve the American dream of home ownership.

"He drove up Harlem Avenue seven days a week to his office at Belmont and Central Avenue," his daughter said. "He was very successful. He earned awards. People wrote him letters thanking them."

When Alice got Alzheimer's, Nick took a job closer to home at Exit Realtors, 6161 W. 95th St. in Oak Lawn. He cared for Alice until she passed away in 2010. They were married 68 years. After his wife's passing, Nick took on the role of Oak Lawn's official greeter, waving at neighbors, delivery drivers and anyone who passed by his house on 93rd Street. Never mind if Nick knew their names. One of those passers-by turned out to be his granddaughter's future mother-in-law.

"A 21-year-old woman remembered my father waving at her when she was 8 years old," said another daughter Donna Couch.

Up until six months ago, Sanello continued working at Exit, stopping by seven days a week to drink coffee and munch on cookies, greeting clients and chatting with colleagues. He visited the indoor walking track every day at the Oak Lawn Pavilion. He recently stopped driving because he was afraid of getting lost.

Since Nick's passing, strangers who looked for the familiar "Waving Man" on their way to work or school, have been leaving notes, cards and flowers at the foot of Sanello's driveway. The Oak Lawn Park District placed a wreath for Nick in the lobby of the Oak Lawn Pavilion.

Although he outlived two of his daughters and his wife, Nick never complained, filling the losses by imparting a piece of himself waving at his neighbors.

"He made the best of life," Woods said. "He made the best of everything."

Sanello was the loving father of Linda (the late Mark) Harrison, Donna (Bill) Couch, Debra Sanello, retired CPD, Nickolette (Dan) Woods and the late Rose and Joseph Bernth; and Kathleen and Richard Mysliwiec.

He was the cherished grandfather of Christine, Robyn and the late Vince and Nick; and the proud great grandfather of Vince, Joe, Anthony, Michael and Nathan.

Visitation for Nick Sanello will take place from 3 to 9 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 15, with a service taking place at 8 p.m. at Thompson-Kuenster Funeral Home, 5570 W. 95th St. in Oak Lawn.