Longtime Wheaton resident Smykal dies

Homebuilding was hereditary for Ralph Smykal.

Following the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, his great-grandfather helped rebuild the city's neighborhoods.

Four generations later, Ralph Smykal helped build up Wheaton and other suburbs — not only through his successful real estate business, but through his multiple charitable efforts.

The longtime Wheaton resident died at home Monday at the age of 82.

His father opened the family's first Wheaton real estate office at 117 N. Main St. in 1946. World War II had come to an end and veterans were looking to locate in the suburbs.

“My father was a very committed veteran,” Mr. Smykal said in an interview with the Daily Herald in 2008. “Right after the war, he was going to sell only to veterans. The first homes were in Lowell Manor, close to Lowell School in Wheaton. They sold for $9,990.”

Then came developments such as Dorchester Terrace, Pierce Highlands, Garden Apartments, Coach Homes, Fairway Estates, Briar Cliff Commons and the Woods of Cantigny.

In total, the Smykal family built more than 15,000 homes and apartments in the Chicago area. Mr. Smykal had run the business for about five decades until his retirement in 2008, when he sold the company to Wheaton-based J. Lawrence Homes. But owner John Wozniak has kept the Smykal Homes name on the business.

“The buying of the company was more of an interview process, just to make sure it was in good hands,” Wozniak said. “He was an icon in our industry.”

Joe Keim Sr., another longtime suburban developer based in Wheaton, said Smykal knew how to build a good house.

“I always found Ralph to be very honest,” Keim said. “He was a credit to the building industry.”

Indeed, Smykal played a large part in homebuilding in Wheaton and beyond, but he was also a pillar in the community in other ways, said Wheaton Mayor Mike Gresk.

“I've known Ralph and (his wife) Betty to be extremely generous people,” Gresk said. “He was a very successful businessman who went about his philanthropy in a quiet way.”

The Smykals donated $500,000 to the DuPage Community Foundation, a local charitable group, so it could buy its current office suite at the southeast corner of Main Street and Roosevelt Road in Wheaton.

Mr. Smykal served on the nonprofit's board from 1994 to 2004, said Dave McGowan, the group's president.

“He had it in him to give back to the community,” McGowan said. “When you're part of a legacy of builders that built homes after the Chicago fire, I think you understand the profound impact you've had on the metropolitan area and DuPage in particular.”

Mr. Smykal was also a board member of Central DuPage Hospital in the 1970s — during a time of tremendous growth for the Winfield-based hospital. Jim Anderson, the hospital's former CEO, said Mr. Smykal provided valuable expertise on building issues, along with considerable financial contributions that helped get expansion off the ground.

He also previously served as chairman of the DuPage Airport Authority, director of the Illinois Association of Realtors, and president and member of the board of directors of the DuPage Council of Boy Scouts. He was also a major supporter of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

Mr. Smykal was also once an officer and ranger in the Army National Guard.

He is survived by his wife of 55 years, a daughter, son and eight grandchildren.

Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday at Williams-Kampp Funeral Home, 430 E. Roosevelt Road.