Val Camilletti, Beloved Oak Park Record Store Owner, Dies

OAK PARK, IL — Val Camilletti didn't have to meet you to know which record to recommend, she just needed to talk to you about music for a little bit because that was her lifeblood. Camilletti, who owned Val's Halla Records in Oak Park, passed away Tuesday morning, leaving a huge hole in the collective heart of Oak Park. She was 78.

I spoke with Camilletti once on the phone when her dear friend, actor John Mahoney, died in February. At the time, Camilletti mused about how she and Mahoney were born about a year apart. She'd occasionally put down the phone to point a customer in the direction of their favorite record, returning to enthusiastically tell me about the record shop's nearly 50 years in Oak Park.

What was meant to be a brief interview about the actor quickly veered into Camilletti and I connecting over 1920s blues songs, taking jabs at Amazon, and even delving into relationship advice. By the end of the conversation, she had sent me a friend request on Facebook.

She never mentioned that she was battling breast cancer. The illness claimed Camilletti's life two years after her diagnosis, Sun-Times reports.

Since the news of Camilletti's death was made public, her Facebook page has become a memorial of sorts, peppered with post after post about how Camilletti changed a customer's life by connecting with them over music. Residents have also shared photos of Camilletti surrounded by hundreds of records, holding her beloved cat, Soot, and greeting dogs in the shop.

Camilletti's 239 Harrison St. record store became a sanctuary for people of all ages, whether it was an octogenarian trying to track down their favorite high school love song or a Millennial looking for a rare track to sample for a DJ gig.

Val's halla records has been a welcome oasis in a virtual desert of MP3s and music streaming apps. A place where you can feel and smell the dust on the records, where you can sense the history and imagine the people who played the record before you.

A place you could talk to a woman wearing big glasses, unruly hair, and an unmistakable ear-to-ear smile about music history, Oak Park gossip, or the pressing questions of life.

And that's the type of thing you just can't download.

Image via GoogleMaps Streetview