Richard Streit

Richard John Streit, affectionately known as “DJ” to his family and friends, died peacefully at his home in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, September 12, 2025. He was just 3 months shy of his 90th birthday.

DJ was born in Chicago on December 21, 1935, to George and Marion (Ross) Streit. He attended Shrine of the Little Flower High School in Royal Oak, Michigan, and went on to study at University of Notre Dame where he graduated with his BSME in 1957. He served in the Marine Corps with training at Camp Lejeune and was stationed in the Asia Pacific for several years.

DJ studied at John Marshall Law School in Chicago and graduated with his JD in 1965. He was admitted to the Illinois State Bar that same year and went on to join the law firm Ladas & Parry where he specialized in patent law. DJ worked there for more than 50 years, only retiring in 2023. DJ was an old-school, hard-working attorney but he was always pursuing his many interests and sharing them with friends and family.

Despite his urban work life, he loved the countryside and farming. He learned construction and completely restored his first farm near White Hall, Wisconsin, where he partnered with his beloved uncle Armond Paquin raising quarter horses. His Circle R Ranch became a beautiful playground destination for DJ’s friends and family, where he introduced us to horseback riding, tractor pulls, snowmobiles, and the music of Bob Wills. He learned to play the guitar and loved singing country tunes for guests at the farm. DJ loved motorcycles and taught many in the family to ride. He took up karate and earned a black belt. He was an avid skier and loved racing his nieces and nephews down the slopes. He married Carol Albright in 1992, and they were together for 25 years, sharing a new farm in Harvard, Illinois. They loved to travel to Mexico and eventually bought a home in Puerto Vallarta where DJ spent his last years after retirement. To help keep his lungs strong later in life, DJ studied opera and could belt out “O Sole Mio” on any occasion. He lifted weights, even at 88 years old. He was incredibly generous and quietly supported many family members and charities.

Out at a restaurant, he would always pick up the check before anyone else at the table. He was like no other and will be sorely missed by his many work colleagues, family, and friends.

DJ is preceded in death by his parents, his sisters Joan Braun and Lois MacGregor, sister-in-law Charlotte Streit, brother-in-law John Tschudy, and nephews Michael Braun and Peter MacGregor (the only one of us who could ski faster than DJ). He is survived by his brother Robert Streit and his sister Susan Tschudy, brothers-in-law Jim Braun and Tom MacGregor, his former wife Carol, his dear friends and adopted children Juan Luis Carbajal Estrada and Maria Lorena Esquivel Gonzales and grandkids Sophia and Richie (aka “Little DJ”), as well as his 16 nieces and nephews and dearest cousins from the Camilli, Grossinger, Johnson, Murphy, and Streit families.

For all of us, one song will forever remind us of DJ and the good times we shared: Almost Heaven, West Virginia Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River Life is old there, older than the trees Younger than the mountains, growin' like a breeze Country roads, take me home To the place I belong West Virginia, mountain mama Take me home, country roads -- From Take Me Home, Country Roads -- By John Denver-Mary Catherine Taffy Nivert-Danoff-William Thomas Danoff A Celebration of DJ’s life is being held in Chicago on October 26. as well as in later in Puerto Vallarta and Michigan.

Please contact the funeral home for information. In lieu of flowers, donations in DJ’s memory can be made to the Santa Chiara Children’s Center in Port-au-Pince, Haiti (https://santachiaracc.org/).

Arrangements by Inclusive Funeral Care, 773-318-1305 or www.InclusiveFuneralCare.com.