DePaul Athletics has learned that men's basketball letterwinner and "Double Demon" Michael J. Perlowski passed away on May 25, 2010. Perlowski, a letterwinner from 1951-55, played alongside some of the best in Blue Demon history: Ron Feiereisel, Jim Lamkin, Ron Sobie and Bill Robinzine. During Perlowski's career, DePaul amassed a 65-33 mark including a pair of 19-win seasons.
After playing as reserve for legendary Hall of Fame Head Coach Ray Meyer, Perlowski completed his economics degree in 1956. After serving in the U.S. Army Finance Corp, he returned to DePaul to earn his law degree in 1963. After working in Chicago for more than a decade, Perlowski was appointed as a Administrative Law Judge in Des Moines, Iowa, where he served until his retirement in 1995.
Obituary from Chicago Tribune, May 30, 2010
Michael J. Perlowski, of West Des Moines, IA, passed away on May 25, 2010, after a hard-fought struggle with leukemia. He was 77 years old. He was born and grew up on the southwest side of Chicago with his mother, Barbara; his father, Michael; and his brothers, George and James. All but James, who lives in Las Vegas, NV, predeceased him.
Mr. Perlowski attended Farragut High School where he was captain of the basketball team and from which he graduated in 1950.
Coach Ray Meyer offered him a scholarship to play basketball at DePaul University. Mr. Perlowski was a member of the Blue Demon basketball team from 1951 - 1955. He graduated from DePaul University with a degree in economics and served as an officer in the U.S. Army Finance Corp. He worked hard for everything he got in life, but he conceded that none of it would have been possible without two lucky breaks, neither of which he felt he had done much to deserve.
One was meeting Coach Meyer, who gave him the chance to go to college. The other, the luckiest thing to ever happen to him, he said, occurred a few years later, on April 1, 1955, when he reluctantly agreed to attend an April Fools' Day dance near the DePaul campus. It was there that he saw for the first time the woman who would become his wife. "It took at least a couple of minutes for us to fall in love after we met," he always said, "and then we lived happily ever after." Michael and Patricia Perlowski were married for 54 years. It would be an understatement to describe their relationship as a love story. They adored each other and were almost inseparable. For the over half-century they were together Mr. Perlowski proved that the age of chivalry was alive and well, at least so far as he was concerned. He always insisted on helping his wife with her coat. He never failed to hold the door for her. Not a day went by when he didn't kiss her hand and tell her he loved her.
They had six children, Michael (Maggie) of Oakbrook Terrace, IL, Janis (Ken Locasha) of Des Moines, IA, Joanne (John Lakis) of San Diego, CA, Patricia of Naperville, IL, Daniel (Wendy) of Lucas, IA and Nancy (David Miller) of Paris, France.
They had thirteen grandchildren, Jeffrey and Timothy, Daniel, David and Andrew, Michael and Jason, Steven and Stacy, Morgan, and Emily, Alexandra and Audrey.
Mr. Perlowski was an attorney. He received his law degree from DePaul University in 1963. He worked for Kemper Insurance Company for most of the time he practiced in Chicago until 1979 when he was appointed as an Administrative Law Judge based in Des Moines, IA. He served as an ALJ until his retirement in 1995. He was proud of his career as an attorney and for his time on the bench, both of which provided him the opportunity to be of service to others.
In retirement, Mr. Perlowski was a member of the Legion of Mary and the Knights of Columbus at Sacred Heart Parish in West Des Moines, IA, where he also regularly worked as a volunteer for the Fountain West Nursing Home.
Sign Guestbook at chicagotribune.com/obituaries\
