Michael J. Verta Sr., 74, a Winnetka resident who worked 38 years for Metropolitan Life Insurance as an agent and a financial consultant, died Friday in Evanston Hospital of a heart attack. Born on the city’s South Side, Mr. Verta graduated from Tilden Tech in Chicago and fought in the Pacific theater for the Navy during World War II. Mr. Verta worked in offices in Chicago and Des Plaines. Mr. Verta’s daughter, Lynn Naylor, said she spent many hours on the phone with her father–“great in conversation and a great listener”–talking about investments and stocks. She added that her father had a green thumb. “Every year until I was a teenager, he would plant another rosebush for my birthday,” Naylor said. “He had a beautiful garden.” Mr. Verta, who lived in Winnetka for 53 years, was an avid golfer. “He was very patient, very dignified, very understated,” Naylor said. “He was a very classy man but wasn’t flashy or showy.” Mr. Verta also is survived by his wife, Ann Marie; a son, Michael; a brother, Angelo; a sister, Rita Granat; and two grandchildren. Visitation will be from 5 to 9 p.m. Tuesday in the Donnellan Family Funeral Home, 10045 Skokie Blvd., Skokie. A funeral mass will be said at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday in Sts. Faith, Hope and Charity Church, 191 Linden St., Winnetka.
