Photo Credit: Walter Parazaider by Ken Young / CC by 3.0
Walter Parazaider, a founding member of rock and jazz ensemble Chicago, has passed away at 81 after complications related to Alzheimer’s disease.
Walter Parazaider, saxophonist and one of the founding members of rock and jazz band Chicago, has passed away following complications related to a lengthy battle with Alzheimer’s disease. He was 81.
His wife JacLynn confirmed the news and said she was by his side when he passed away in hospice care at 2:10 AM on Wednesday.
“He had put up a good fight with Alzheimer’s, and unfortunately, it ended tonight,” JacLynn told TMZ. “We are going to miss him for sure. […] We were married for 59 years and we had 59 wonderful years.”
His daughter, Felicia, also confirmed his passing in a post on Facebook.
“Thank you for loving my father, even if you didn’t personally know him,” Felicia wrote. “I’m in shock and disbelief, and yet not at all. This was the worst six years. The hardest season of my life. And I’m so grateful that my dad is not suffering anymore.”
Parazaider studied classical clarinet before co-founding the band Chicago—first known as The Big Thing and then Chicago Transit Authority—in 1967 alongside Terry Kath, Danny Seraphine, James Pankow, Lee Loughnane, and Robert Lamm. The band settled on the name Chicago in 1970.
Best known for his sax playing on 1973’s “Just You ‘n Me,” and his flute solo on 1970’s “Colour My World,” Parazaider remained a constant member of the band over the decades that followed. Chicago scored five #1 albums on the Billboard 200 and three Hot 100 hits, including “If You Leave Me Now,” “Hard to Say I’m Sorry,” and “Look Away.”
Parazaider was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame alongside the original lineup of the band in 2016. But just a year later, he was forced to retire due to health complications. In 2021, he revealed that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.
