Obituary for William John Rodenbeck
William ‘Bill’ John Rodenbeck passed away peacefully on January 14, 2021 at the age of 93, after fighting a tough battle with complications of Parkinson’s Disease. He is preceded in death by his parents Edwin & Helen Hooper Rodenbeck of Fort Wayne, IN. He is survived by his brother Ron of Fort Wayne IN, his daughters; Louise “Lisa” Rodenbeck Lockman (John), Eva Rodenbeck, and Gabriella “Gabe” Isola Clemens (Paul). He is further survived by his grandchildren Joe and Nick Clemens, and Jack and Luke Lockman. He is also dearly remembered by in-laws, cousins, nieces, nephews, friends and all their families.
He is now reunited in eternal life by two loves of his life; his first wife Anna Louise Schwartz Rodenbeck of Decatur Indiana, with whom he had two daughters; Louise and Eva. His wife Anna lost her battle with cancer at age 32. Bill later fell in love with and married his wife of 49 years, Camille (DiBella), who Bill had known through their mutual work at Chicago Read Mental Health Center in Chicago, IL. Camille and her daughter Gabe joined Bill and his daughters to become a family. Camille passed on to Heaven in July of 2012 at age 92.
As a young man, Bill worked with electronics, especially radios. WWII ensued and he joined the Navy, which interrupted plans to pursue an apprenticeship in electronics, but allowed him further training with electronics. After leaving the Navy, he decided to use the GI bill to further his education. He was intrigued by how mechanical and electronic things worked - and then became intrigued by ‘how people work’ As result he studied psychology, and graduated with high honors from Indiana University with a BS and then earned a graduate degree from Northwestern University. His Doctorate work in psychology was suspended after Anna Louise’s illness and passing to raise his very young girls. Bill then pursued his work in clinical psychology at Chicago Read Mental Health Center, where he started as a staff psychologist. He moved on to be a department head for the psychology department, then was director of admissions, and finally assistant director of operations at Chicago Read.
After retirement, Bill & Camille enjoyed many activities including golfing, serving as literacy tutors for adults, traveling, grandson sitting, and visiting with friends and family. Most near and dear to them was spending time with their children and grandsons. The grandsons and their friends, including Joe’s longtime girlfriend, Allison Rowe, thoroughly enjoyed Grandpa Bill supporting their baseball, volleyball, and soccer games, as well as attending their school concerts, playing various card games, and completing crossword puzzles. Family gatherings, including holidays, birthday parties, graduations, and many other celebrations were very important to Bill and his family.
Bill’s daughters facilitated his move to Thiensville, WI in 2017, where he took up residence at Willowbrook Assisted Living. He developed and enjoyed many friendships there. It was also there that Bill met and fell in love with Dorothy, also a Willowbrook resident. The special relationship they shared brought Bill much joy.
Bill’s family thanks the staff and residents of Willowbrook Assisted Living in Thiensville for their love, care, and support. They also want to thank the staff at St. Mary’s Ozaukee Hospital, as well as Horizon Lawlis Family Hospice for their amazing care of Bill and his family.
Visitation and a service will be held Saturday, February 27 from 11 AM to 1 PM at Schramka Funeral Home, 423 N. Main St., Thiensville, WI. Memorial service to follow at 1 PM.
In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the Parkinson’s Foundation: https://www.parkinson.org/research or Michael J. Fox Foundation: https://www.michaeljfox.org/
The funeral service for Bill will be livestreamed via our Facebook page on Saturday, February 27 at 1 PM Central Time. Follow the link below to our page. The livestream will show up as a video beginning at approximately 12:30 PM, and will be recorded and available to watch after the service as well.
https://www.facebook.com/SchramkaFuneralHomes/
He is now reunited in eternal life by two loves of his life; his first wife Anna Louise Schwartz Rodenbeck of Decatur Indiana, with whom he had two daughters; Louise and Eva. His wife Anna lost her battle with cancer at age 32. Bill later fell in love with and married his wife of 49 years, Camille (DiBella), who Bill had known through their mutual work at Chicago Read Mental Health Center in Chicago, IL. Camille and her daughter Gabe joined Bill and his daughters to become a family. Camille passed on to Heaven in July of 2012 at age 92.
As a young man, Bill worked with electronics, especially radios. WWII ensued and he joined the Navy, which interrupted plans to pursue an apprenticeship in electronics, but allowed him further training with electronics. After leaving the Navy, he decided to use the GI bill to further his education. He was intrigued by how mechanical and electronic things worked - and then became intrigued by ‘how people work’ As result he studied psychology, and graduated with high honors from Indiana University with a BS and then earned a graduate degree from Northwestern University. His Doctorate work in psychology was suspended after Anna Louise’s illness and passing to raise his very young girls. Bill then pursued his work in clinical psychology at Chicago Read Mental Health Center, where he started as a staff psychologist. He moved on to be a department head for the psychology department, then was director of admissions, and finally assistant director of operations at Chicago Read.
After retirement, Bill & Camille enjoyed many activities including golfing, serving as literacy tutors for adults, traveling, grandson sitting, and visiting with friends and family. Most near and dear to them was spending time with their children and grandsons. The grandsons and their friends, including Joe’s longtime girlfriend, Allison Rowe, thoroughly enjoyed Grandpa Bill supporting their baseball, volleyball, and soccer games, as well as attending their school concerts, playing various card games, and completing crossword puzzles. Family gatherings, including holidays, birthday parties, graduations, and many other celebrations were very important to Bill and his family.
Bill’s daughters facilitated his move to Thiensville, WI in 2017, where he took up residence at Willowbrook Assisted Living. He developed and enjoyed many friendships there. It was also there that Bill met and fell in love with Dorothy, also a Willowbrook resident. The special relationship they shared brought Bill much joy.
Bill’s family thanks the staff and residents of Willowbrook Assisted Living in Thiensville for their love, care, and support. They also want to thank the staff at St. Mary’s Ozaukee Hospital, as well as Horizon Lawlis Family Hospice for their amazing care of Bill and his family.
Visitation and a service will be held Saturday, February 27 from 11 AM to 1 PM at Schramka Funeral Home, 423 N. Main St., Thiensville, WI. Memorial service to follow at 1 PM.
In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the Parkinson’s Foundation: https://www.parkinson.org/research or Michael J. Fox Foundation: https://www.michaeljfox.org/
The funeral service for Bill will be livestreamed via our Facebook page on Saturday, February 27 at 1 PM Central Time. Follow the link below to our page. The livestream will show up as a video beginning at approximately 12:30 PM, and will be recorded and available to watch after the service as well.
https://www.facebook.com/SchramkaFuneralHomes/