‘Baron of Barrington’ known for generosity, radio show on WJJG
A former Barrington-area car dealer, whose namesake, the Joseph J. Gentile Center, is home to the Loyola University basketball program, has died
Gentile lived in Southwest suburban Berkeley, but he ran Gentile Chrysler Plymouth in Barrington for 29 years before selling it in 2003.
He died Monday, at the age of 87.
“He was an alum and an avid supporter of the Ramblers athletics program,” said the Rev. Michael J. Garanzini, Loyola University Chicago president. “We celebrate Joe’s passion for life and athletics, as well as his commitment to students.”
Gentile grew up in Chicago, attending St. Ignatius High School and Loyola University, where he graduated in 1948. He started teaching at Loyola but turned to sales in the early 1950s at Milo Brook Ford in Chicago and never looked back.
A series of jobs eventually led to Gentile becoming the top Buick salesman in the country for 10 straight years. In 1974 he realized his dream to own his own business, when a Chrysler dealership opened up in Barrington.
He was dubbed the “Baron of Barrington” in 1982 by radio personality Chet Coppick, who broadcast live from the dealership. The name stuck.
Well-known in the Barrington community, he helped out quietly with the local chamber of commerce.
“He turned out to be a fabulous (chamber) member,” said Carol Beese, the former president of the Barrington Area Chamber of Commerce. He supported the chamber and the local business community.
“I had fun because he had such a great sense of humor about doing things.”
The dealership’s success led Gentile to donate generously to his alma maters, including a $1 million to St. Ignatius, which resulted in the Joe Gentile Gymnasium, and a $3.5 million donation to cover half of the cost of the Joe Gentile Center at Loyola University.
A lifelong fan, he sponsored the TV and radio broadcasts of Loyola basketball games for many years, said Bill Behrns, Loyola’s assistant athletic director for athletic communications.
Gentile was the 1990 Man of the Year for the National Italian-American Sports Hall of Fame and won the Founders Award a year later. In 1995, he was nominated by the Illinois Automobile Dealers Association for the Time Magazine Quality Dealer Award.
His philanthropic and humanitarian activities earned Gentile a 1997 meeting with Pope John Paul II. His visit coincided with Gentile’s trip for the dedication of a wing in his name at Loyola University in Rome.
His retirement from the car industry in 2003 allowed him to spend more time with another of his passions, as a radio talk show host. In 1994, Gentile and his wife, Carol, purchased a small radio station in Elmhurst and changed its call letters to reflect Gentile’s name, WJJG.
In retirement, Gentile hosted a weekday morning show from 7 to 9 a.m. Station General Manager Matt Dubiel said Gentile remained involved with the station, even as his health deteriorated.
“As we talked about the radio station and all the plans in the works,” Dubiel said in a tribute to Gentile on the station’s website, “his face lit up with a big smile and he leaned over and said, ‘You can’t conquer the world, but you can have a lot of fun.’”
Station officials pledged to take Gentile’s words to heart and make his sentiment their motto.
Visitation will be held from 3 to 9 p.m. Friday at the Galewood Funeral Chapel, at 1857 N. Harlem Ave. in Elmwood Park. A funeral Mass will take place at 10 a.m. Saturday at St. Vincent Ferrer Church, 1530 Jackson Ave., River Forest.