James "Jimmy" Campanella

James (Jimmy) Campanella, age 49, of Glen Ellyn, Illinois, passed unexpectedly on March 11, 2023.

Jim was born March 15, 1973, in Strongsville, Ohio, one of three children of Jack and Donna Campanella.

He is survived by his wife of 26 years, Patti (Conrad) Campanella, whom he happily married on September 20, 1997, at Saint Petronille Catholic Church in Glen Ellyn.  Jim was a loving, dedicated father to his four children:  Jack, Maeve, Joey, and Danny.   All of his children considered him to be the person who would do anything for them and could reassure each of them that “everything would be okay” no matter the crisis.       

He was a devoted brother to Gina (George) Sutton and Nick (Jenny) Campanella and caring brother-in-law to Jeanne DeBroeck, Robert (Ann) Conrad, Jr., and Kevin Conrad.  Jim was also a fun-loving uncle to 18 nieces and nephews and great-uncle to 17 great nieces and nephews.

Jim led the sales team at Broadlume, the largest technology company in the flooring industry.  Although his time at Broadlume was brief, he was responsible for two of the best sales months in company history. The tenacity Jim brought to the company was infectious, and he loved seeing his team succeed.  He was a great leader, manager, and co-worker and will be missed dearly.

Jimmy was very active with Glenbard West Boosters and enthusiastically served as past president (wearing his typical uniform of the Vineyard Vines shirt, tucked into khakis, ready to work).  He loved giving back to all the students at Glenbard West.  As his good buddy Chad Allman would say, “It’s for the kids, Jimmy.”  In fact, depending on the day and time, Patti and Jim’s basement was often packed with those “kids,” to which he would yell, from the top of the stairs, “You guys good?”  Which meant that food and drinks were on the way no matter what.  

Jim graduated high school from Saint Ignatius in Cleveland class of 1991, and from there he went on to continue his studies at The University of Dayton and graduated in 1995.  The University of Dayton is a special place to Jimmy and Patti.  They met at UD, and their oldest son, Jack, graduated from their alma mater in 2022, and now their daughter, Maeve, is a sophomore there as well.  Jimmy and Patti traveled back to UD as often as they could and always had a good time.  After Jimmy moved to Glen Ellyn in 1995, he and Patti married in 1997 and moved to Carmel, Indiana, in 2003, where he worked at Monster.com as Vice President of Sales.  In 2013, the family relocated back to Glen Ellyn.

Jimmy was well loved by anyone that crossed his path.  He was a forever friend, a second father, and a leader to many.  He was the life of the party, and he will be greatly missed.  This world lost a beautiful soul.

Visitation will be Thursday, March 16, from 5:00-8:00 p.m. at Leonard Memorial Home, 565 Duane Street, Glen Ellyn, Illinois. Funeral mass begins at 11 a.m. on Friday, March 17 at Saint Petronille Catholic Church, 420 Glenwood Avenue, Glen Ellyn. In lieu of flowers, please consider memorials made in his name, under the Jimmy Campanella Scholarship Fund (please type in the name in the Additional Information Requested box), via Glenbard West Boosters https://www.gwboosters.com