Eric Kerestes, a 30-year-old student in the Evening MBA Program at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, died after being struck by a taxicab early Tuesday, Aug. 14, as he waited for a bus on the Near West Side of Chicago.
Tatijana Stafets Kerestes, MBA’12, Kerestes’ wife, said the pair had been "inseparable."
“We’ve been together since our freshman year of college, 12 years ago,” she said, adding that they were married two years ago in Portugal.
Kerestes, who started at Chicago Booth in the fall of 2010, was on track to graduate next spring.
“From the day that I met Eric, he's always been warm and welcoming. This quarter, I sought him out as a group member knowing that I would enjoy working with him,” said Don Woods, MBA’12. “Having just completed a project with him on Monday, I am stunned and deeply saddened by the news. My heart goes out to Tatijana and their families.”
While working on his MBA, Kerestes served as a district business solutions manager with Chicago-based infrastructure firm Peter Kiewit and Sons, where he would assist in IT support.
A native of Bloomington, Ill., Kerestes received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Visitation will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 17, at Carmody-Flynn Funeral Home, 1800 Eastland Drive, Bloomington, Ill. A funeral Mass will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 18, at Holy Trinity Catholic Church, 704 N. Main St., Bloomington.
Those who wish may write a note to Kerestes’ wife and family. Blank cards will be available at the front desk of the Evening and Weekend Program Office in Gleacher Center Suite 330 through Saturday, Aug. 25. Cards also may be mailed to: E/W Program Office, Attn: Kerestes Family, 450 N. Cityfront Plaza Drive, Suite 330, Chicago, IL 60611.
—Prof. Jacqueline Stewart
