Thomas Kallen Obituary

Kallen, Thomas E. Of Chicago, a retired manufacturing executive, died on June 28, 2017 after a brief illness. He was 89. Raised in Chicago, Mr. Kallen graduated from Hyde Park High School and went on to earn a Bachelors degree in Business at the University of Illinois in Champaign. He then enlisted in the U.S. Army, serving from 1950 to 1952 and achieving the rank of corporal. Mr. Kallen was the longtime Chairman and CEO of Bake-Line Products, Inc., which was the largest private-label manufacturer of cookies in the country when he and co-owner, the late Howard Stone, sold the company in 1992 to United Biscuits, Ltd., then-parent organization of Keebler Company.After his retirement from Bake-Line, Mr. Kallen remained active in his community, serving as Treasurer of the Auditorium Theatre Board, a Trustee of Court Theater in Hyde Park, Treasurer of the Board of Trustees for Columbia College, and an adjunct lecturer in entrepreneurship at Columbia College. In addition to supporting the arts, Mr. Kallen traveled extensively with his wife, eventually visiting countries on six of the seven continents. He was also an avid reader and lifelong learner, taking courses at Northwestern's Osher Lifelong Learning Institute until recently. Surviving are his wife, Esta (nee Glazer); his children, Robert and wife Anita, and David and wife Hyla; a sister, Erma Kallen Amstadter; and five grandchildren, Matthew, Elyse, Leah, Jeffrey and Benjamin. Friends and family are invited to a memorial service to be held at Chicago Sinai Congregation, 15 W. Delaware Street, Chicago, on July 6 at 10:00 a.m. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions to the League of Women Voters of Chicago Education Fund or The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society would be appreciated. For funeral information please call Weinstein & Piser Funeral Home 847-256-5700.