Biagio J. Nigrelli Jr.

On August 20, 2023, the world lost an amazing mind when Biagio Joseph “BJ” Nigrelli, Jr., lost a courageous battle with small cell lung cancer.

Biagio was born on January 14, 1958 to Biagio “Bill” and Geraldine “Geri” (Kozlowski) Nigrelli in Evanston, IL. The family later moved to Kiel where Bill started Nigrelli Systems in the 1970’s. Biagio joined the family business in 1985 doing multimedia for the packaging company.  It was here that his mind was allowed to show its brilliance. One of his favorite ways to pass time was being able to create things the rest of us could never even imagine. He became President of Nigrelli, Inc. in 2012 and his ideas grew wings! He encouraged all those around him to move beyond reality and try to conceive, believe, and achieve things most of us never thought possible.

His greatest talent, though, was in trying to encourage everyone to realize their power to be the best that they could be. He believed in himself to levels often thought to be out of reach, but he obtained so much of what he tried. His favorite saying was that “he amused himself with the questions of the universe but frustrated himself with the answers”.  His understanding of physics and concepts were amazing and changed many minds over the years. 

He enjoyed cooking, designing new concepts, fishing, woodworking, going to the casino, contemplating the universe, talking for hours about physics and the universe, weekends at our home in Eagle River, being at Nigrelli, Inc., and spending time with his dog, Buddy, walking anywhere they could.

Biagio is survived by his wife, LuAnne Heinen-Nigrelli; children, Carissima (Neil) Hollister, Biagio III (Chenoah) Nigrelli, Dustin (Nicky Francour) Heinen, Anthony (Shaevona) Nigrelli, Carissa Heinen, and grandchildren Shayla and Willis Scott, Biagio F. Nigrelli, Wyatt Heinen, Jordan Valle, Jackson and Trenton Barts. He is further survived by his mother-in-law RoseMary Hickman, sisters-in-law Rita and Nancy Nigrelli, Sharon “Kymn” Schicker, Diane (Eric) Stahl, Sherilyn “Cookie” Hickman, brothers-in-law Myron (Kathleen), Byron (Patricia), Duane (Valerie), and Allan “AJ” Hickman, many nieces, nephews, and great nieces and nephews. 

He was preceded in death by his parents, Bill and Geri, father-in-law, Norman Hickman, brothers Nicholas and Terry Nigrelli, sisters-in-law Karen Rambo, and Kerilyn “Mouse” Hickman, as well as grandparents, and numerous aunts and uncles.

At his request, cremation has taken place and a private service for the family will be held with a celebration of his life to follow on Saturday, August 26, 2023, at Zimmer Westview Funeral & Cremation Care Center, W2132 Garton Rd in Howards Grove from NOON until 3:00PM.

We would like to thank the team at the Two Rivers Vince Lombardi Cancer Center who helped to make the last 20 months not only bearable, but enjoyable as he always looked forward to his chats with the team during his treatments.  Thank you to everyone on the Aurora Hospice team that worked with us for their help at the end and the peace he was granted in his final days with their help. Special thank you to Mason from Two Rivers Aurora Hospital Hospice for being with him as he left for his final frontier. A special thank you to all the Nigrelli employees who helped him “Conceive, Believe, and Achieve” all of his visions. In lieu of flowers, please donate to any cancer fund or hospice group of your choice in his honor.