RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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At the peak of a 2025-26 Chicago Bears season that had fans embracing championship aspirations, John Damore dreamed of his "greatest goodbye" — death coming shortly after the Bears won a Super Bowl.
He remained hopeful of that possibility, even after an elimination at the hands of the Los Angeles Rams in the divisional round. But Mr. Damore died of complications from old age on Tuesday at his home in Westmont. He was 92.
"There weren’t many people out there who didn’t just think he was the super nicest guy," said 61-year-old Larry Damore of his father. "He always had a crowd around him."
Mr. Damore was believed to be the oldest alum on the Bears — a title he held since January 2025, when the former oldest living NFL player Gene Schroeder died at 95.
He was born and raised in west suburban Riverside and remembers wearing Bears jerseys as young as 9 years old, decades before he'd wear the team's colors as their offensive lineman in 1957 and 1959.
After retiring in 1959 after an ankle injury, Mr. Damore's love for the Bears only deepened. He spent every Bears game day in his bedroom recliner, with an unlit cigar in hand and his eyes glued to the TV.
"I don’t miss a minute,” Mr. Damore said in a previous interview with the Sun-Times. “I don’t miss a minute, and if it plays twice, I watch it twice.”
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Beyond his love for the Bears, Mr. Damore was equally as passionate about his family.
"I'll remember him first and foremost as a great father," said Larry Damore, who wrestled, and played football and baseball. "He never missed a game, he was always leading the cheers. ... He coached all my teams as a kid growing up."
Mr. Damore's grandson, John Bihun, recalled playing in a T-ball game where Mr. Damore said he could "die a happy man" if he got to see his grandson hit a home run.
As he rounded third base after hitting the ball, Bihun remembered Mr. Damore shouting "I didn’t mean today, Lord!"
"Thank you for showing me how to be a great man, and thank you for being the best grandpa a guy can ask for," Bihun wrote in an Instagram post dedicated to his grandfather.
Mr. Damore was a proud United States Marine veteran and former owner of Damore Construction and Damore Builders in Riverside.
He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Joyce (nee Albert) Damore; children Alison (William) Bihun and Lawrence “Larry” Damore and his granchildren John and Ashley Bihun.
His visitation is scheduled for Aug. 19 from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Conboy-Westchester Funeral Home, 10501 W. Cermak Rd. in Westchester, followed by a chapel service at 10 a.m. Aug. 20 at the same location. The visitation and funeral services at the home are open to the public and will precede a private burial.
Contributing: Mary Norkol
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