William Donald Wrobel

William (“Bill”) Donald Wrobel was born on February 9th, 1932 to William Victor and Bernice Violet (Nee Berner) Wrobel in Chicago, Illinois. On August 6, 2020, Bill died peacefully after a full day with family and while in the loving care of palliative nursing staff at Methodist Hospital. He was 88 years old. Bill was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. His father was an optician and Bill had early dreams of becoming an eye doctor. His keen intellect earned him a Chick Evans Scholarship to Northwestern University in Evanston at age 16. Bill’s academic path, however, was not linear and was interrupted by his draft during the Korean War era. In 1953, Bill was drafted into the Army. He was stationed in West Germany as part of the post World War II occupation force. On August 11, 1955, while in Germany, Bill’s entire troop was killed in a “Flying Boxcar” plane crash after colliding mid-air with another U.S. plane. Bill’s life was spared because he was on a three-day pass at the time of the collision. He was the only soldier in his entire troop who was not killed. Soon after, Bill was honorably discharged from the Army and returned home to finish his degree in chemistry. In 1958, Bill met Edna (“Eddi”) Wrobel (Nee Bingham) who would become his wife. Eddi was from California and working as a flight attendant. In 1959, Bill and Eddi married and Bill started his career as a chemist at Nuclear Chicago. Bill readily adapted to the business side of science and changed his academic course to pursue an international business degree from Thunderbird School of Global Management. Following graduation, Bill began his business career with Cummins, Inc. in Columbus, Indiana where his son, William Donald JR was born in 1962. From there, work took Bill and his small family to London England. In 1968, Bill accepted a position with Perkins Engines as head of their marketing for Latin American, moving him and his family to Sao Paulo Brazil. That same year, his daughter Elizabeth Isabel was born. In 1971, Bill and his family moved back to the United States and settled in a small town north of Chicago, Crystal Lake, where he resided for the next 40 years. Bill continued a long-career combining science and business. Ultimately, Bill would own and run his company Dri-Rite East Corp., a manufacturing and packaging facility of raw chemicals. After relocating to Minnesota, to be closer to his children and grandchildren, Bill reluctantly retired at age 85. Over the course of his life, Bill was a son, a brother, a scholar, a soldier, a husband, a world traveler, a father, an entrepreneur and a grandfather. He watched birds, over-fed dogs, collected his change to give away, told (and retold) stories, befriended strangers, indulged in sweets and never shied away from a challenge. Bill’s life was rich and full and never dull. Bill is pre-deceased by his younger brother David Victor Wrobel. He is survived by his wife Eddi Wrobel, son and daughter-in-law Bill and Malyn (Nee Afable) Wrobel, daughter and son-in-law, Elizabeth Wrobel and Mark Smith and grandchildren, Sydney Wrobel, Ben Smith and Emma Smith. On August 25th, Bill will be buried at Ft. Snelling Cemetery with an honors ceremony attended by his immediate family. In lieu of flowers, contributions in his memory may be made to the Crisis Response Fund at Methodist Hospital providing support to employees, patients and students with emergency needs related to COVID-19. For more information, please visit https://www.methodisthospitalfoundation.org/donate/covid-19-response-fund/

Tributes

William Donald Wrobel

February 9, 1932 - August 6, 2020

Tributes

William Donald Wrobel

February 9, 1932 - August 6, 2020

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