BEVERLY — Michael Patrick McArdle didn't become a bouncer at Cork & Kerry in Beverly by being intimidating.
"He was a great person to have at the front of the bar because you got that happy vibe when you walked in the door," said Ryan Fitzpatrick, 22, a fellow bartender and bouncer at the tavern at 10614 S. Western Ave.
McArdle, 27, of Beverly, was killed in a car crash Saturday morning in the 1100 block of West Division Street in Goose Island, authorities said. Another person was also seriously injured in the accident when the 2007 Cadillac McArdle was driving struck a pole.
Howard Ludwig says Beverly is very close-knit:
McArdle, of the 9700 block of South Winchester, was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 6:43 a.m., according to published reports.
The other occupant, a 28-year-old man, was listed as in serious condition at Northwestern, the reports said.
Fitzpatrick remembered his friend of seven years. Both Fitzpatrick and McArdle started working at the bar as part of the cleanup crew and worked their way up the ranks.
McArdle "was just a happy-go-lucky guy," Fitzpatrick said.
Both of the bouncers attended Mount Carmel High School in Woodlawn. The Rev. Tony Mazurkiewicz, president of the all-boys Catholic high school, said McArdle will be remembered both as a player on the Caravan's football team and as member of the National Honor Society.
"From what I heard, he made an impact on folks when he was here," Mazurkiewicz said Monday.
McArdle also graduated from St. Barnabas School in Beverly and the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign.
In addition to working at Cork & Kerry, Fitzpatrick also attends the Illinois Institute of Technology. McArdle landed a job on the same South Side campus about six months ago working for the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 399.
Prior to his job at IIT, McArdle worked for 2½ years at the Four Seasons Hotel on the Gold Coast as a member of Local 399.
The bartenders would often meet up on IIT's campus. Fitzpatrick remembered his friend for his contagious laugh and positive demeanor.
"He knew how to light up a room," he said.
Visitation will be from 3-9 p.m. Wednesday at St. Barnabas Church at 10134 S. Longwood Drive in Beverly.
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