William Winkelmann Obituary

Winkelmann, William H. "Bill/Winky" Passed away in his sleep August 2nd, 2014, at Lakewood Nursing & Rehab Center in Plainfield, IL. Bill was born in Chicago, December 10th, 1941. Bill grew up in the Lakeview area. He attended numerous schools, some less often than others, including Saint Luke Grammar School, Lane Tech, and the notorious reformatory Montefiore. Having had his fill of Montefiore, Bill began working on the trucking docks alongside his father. That lasted until he joined the Army in 1961. In 1962, while stationed in Germany, Bill lost an eye in a near fatal jeep accident and was medically discharged from service. Upon returning from the military, Bill went back to the docks, married his neighborhood sweetheart, Paulette, and fathered Paul in 1965 and Sherri in 1967. Bill moved his family to Romeoville in 1972, where he, his dog Angus, and Paulette, who passed away in 1998, lived out the rest of their lives. Bill was a proud member of Teamster's Local 710. He labored on the docks for 30 years before his well-earned retirement in 1992. Bill spent his retirement traveling, gambling (both illegal and state sanctioned), coin collecting, sporting around in his 1970 Malibu and his new Cadillac, attending his grandchildren's games, and watching NCIS and MSNBC. He especially enjoyed yelling at the politicians and Chicago teams on the TV screen. Bill was a fisherman, a street drag racing contestant, a youth football coach, a.k.a Coach Wink, a gambler, a budget beer connoisseur, an opinionated political enthusiast, a Cadillac aficionado, a Bears, Blackhawks, and Cubs fan. Naturally, Bill did not care for the White Sox or the Packers. Bill was sometimes gruff but he was always a caring and giving husband, father, grandfather, uncle, and friend. Bill was preceded in death by his wife of 34 years, Paulette (Herr); parents, William and Caroline (Dressler); his, brother Bobby; and sister, Adeline (Anderson). He is survived by two children, Paul and Sherri; two grandchildren, Max and Zoe, and several nieces, nephews and in-laws. Visitation for Bill will be on Sunday, August 10th, 2014, from 12:00 to 5:00 p.m. at Anderson Memorial Chapel, 606 Townhall Dr., Romeoville IL. Interment will be Monday, August 11th, at 12:00, at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Elwood IL. Funeral procession will be leaving Anderson's for Abe's at 11:00 a.m.