The original obituary listing can be found here.
Donald (Don) Schindlbeck passed away peacefully on Saturday, July 25, 2020, at the age of 93.
Don lived a full life and was blessed to spend 73 years married to his wife, Melva, who preceded him in death by five months.
Don was from the first generation of Schindlbeck’s born in the U.S. He is the son of an immigrant, who came to the U.S. from Bavaria, Germany via a ship that left from Antwerp, Belgium in 1907. Don graduated from East Aurora High School, which is where he met the love of his life, Melva, when he was a senior and she was a junior. Upon graduation, Don joined the Army Air Corp (later the U.S. Army) where he was deployed to Germany to guard a POW camp during WW2. He told stories of his time in Germany, and the irony of ending up specifically in southern Germany given his familial ties to the location. He also told stories of learning to respect the resilience of humanity from his time in WW2, a respect which he carried with him throughout the rest of his life.
Upon his return from the war, he attended Benedictine University where he earned a degree in electrical engineering. He went on to have a long and storied career with Commonwealth Edison. One of the highlights of his career was becoming the Division Vice President for Com Ed, where he interacted with many fine employees, of which he spoke fondly. Don retired from Com Ed in the mid 1990’s and spent the next twenty years traveling the world with his wife. He returned to Europe almost yearly and went on many cruises all over the world.
Don was involved in many philanthropic causes. Specifically, he spent many years on the Board of the Community Foundation of Fox River Valley. He served as the Chairman of the Board from 1990-1992. Upon his passing, he was a Trustee Emeritus at Aurora University. He first joined the AU Board of Trustees in 1976 and served as Chairman from 1992-1994. During his time as Chairman, he led the effort for AU to affiliate with George Williams College in Williams Bay, WI.
Don was a wonderful patriarch to his family. He is preceded in death by his wife Melva, his daughter Robin Hodgson, and his grandson Matthew. He is survived by his son Craig, daughter-in-law Kathy, son-in-law John Hodgson, grand-daughters Melissa Paukstis and Kelly (Dirk) Summers, and grandson Christopher (Danielle) Schindlbeck. He also leaves behind eight great-grandchildren. He will be greatly missed by all.
Your memorial contribution in Don’s name will be placed in the Robin M. Hodgson Memorial Scholarship Fund.
