Retirement calls Willowbrook's piece of American history

Rich Rentner doesn't teach contemporary American history at Willowbrook. Rich Rentner is contemporary American history.

A member of the Greatest Generation, he heard about the Pearl Harbor bombing over the radio - when radio was king - though he was too young by two months to participate in the Allies' invasion of Okinawa in World War II.

After joining the Army at 18, Rentner saw Nagasaki after it was bombed. Part of the occupation forces in Japan he was there, in the room, with Gen. Douglas MacArthur and Japanese Gen. Hidecki Tojo in the 1946 war crimes trial in Tokyo.

"I stood about 40 feet from Tojo," Rentner said. "I took a picture 10 feet away from MacArthur."

Rentner drove automobiles with wooden running boards lining the chassis. Cars had angular vent windows you could push open and closed.

Earlier, before his senior year at Oak Park-River Forest High School, basketball rules had been changed to allow a player to draw five personal fouls instead of four. Known as "Dick" Rentner back then he remembers one game, an experiment, in which one referee officiated on the court and two others viewed the action from a platform above each basket.

And they call it progress.

Rentner depicted himself as a hardworking "average Joe" on the court yet the 6-foot-2 forward earned a basketball scholarship to DePaul. He played for the legendary Ray Meyer and with George Mikan, the 6-foot-10 center who later, with the Minneapolis Lakers, had the same effect on professional basketball that three decades earlier Red Grange had on football.

"George was really a top guy," said Rentner, who scrimmaged daily with the 21-3 Blue Demons and got in three games, 0 for 1 from the foul line. "So was Ray Meyer."

After the Army he attended Loyola and graduated with a marketing degree in 1950. Once out of school he played a little softball with 1953 Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Lattner, the Fenwick grad from Oak Park.

"I've been very fortunate to be in contact with a lot of fellas who were real successful throughout my lifetime, as well as others not as notable," Rentner said. "I feel very blessed during my lifetime, as well as having a good family and good health."

We bring all this up not merely to detail Rentner's 20th century travelogue but to note that at age 88 he'll be retiring after 33 years as a student supervisor at Willowbrook. He worked all but the last several weeks on parking lot detail before moving inside as a hall monitor.

Since arriving at Willowbrook in 1983 after helping his father at the family's six-bay auto service station, Rentner has worked concessions, run the scoreboard and done the announcing for various levels of Warriors soccer, wrestling, basketball and football.

"I wish I had gotten into the classroom, but I was already 56," said the 61-year Elmhurst resident. He wanted to stay in Oak Park but didn't like the 33 percent down payment and 15-year mortgage.

Rentner was 56 but young at heart. He and his late wife of 57 years, Nancy, had six children, who have produced 12 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

With all those kids and having been involved in Little League in Elmhurst, Rich Rentner got out of "something I didn't want to do" and got into education and prep sports as best he could.

"I like kids and I think it's the future of America, and I figured I'll do what I can do over there," he said. "I enjoy kids. They come in as young people, young sons and daughters, and in four years they leave as young women and young men. They start their adult life.

"If you can be a little influence on them as they go through that, I enjoy that. You hope you can be a good, positive influence."

Willowbrook students haven't changed all that much over the years, he said. A little more conservative but very respectful.

"At the school here we're very diversified and we don't have that many problems," he said.

Rentner offers a vague "I guess it's time" when asked why he's retiring from his supervisor role. He's sure he'll miss it, but to soften the blow he plans to return to the press box during football and soccer games again next school year.

He's seen and done a lot in his life - and he's not through yet.

"I enjoy seeing the success of the kids and the effort that's put in, the dedication of the programs, stuff like that," Rentner said. "It's the future."

Step Up to the Plate

Five years ago Wheaton Warrenville South baseball coach Tim Brylka suffered a severe double whammy.

In March 2010 one of his best friends, a teammate both at WW South and Millikin, Brian Schnurstein was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis - ALS. A month later an uncle, Len Kunka, died from the incurable disease.

With the help of Julie Sharpe of the ALS Foundation's Greater Chicago Chapter, Brylka debuted the first of his DuPage Valley Conference Step Up to the Plate fundraising events.

"With Brian and then my uncle, when Julie called me it just made sense to do something," Brylka said.

This Sunday the fifth annual ALS event occurs at crisp Lee Pfund Stadium, the former Legion field northwest of the intersection of Gary Avenue and Geneva Road in Carol Stream.

The tripleheader starts at 11 a.m. with a junior varsity game between WW South against Wheaton North, followed by Naperville Central-Lake Park varsity at 1:30 p.m. and WW South-Glenbard North at 4 p.m.

"It's different being on a Sunday, but I think it'll be good because people will be able to come, hopefully," Brylka said.

Once there fans can get a crack at raffle items and Kane County Cougars-like activities concocted by Brylka's marketing class - hot dog-eating contest, water balloon toss, races around the bases and the like.

"Just some fun little things," Brylka said.

Of course this is serious. Brylka, who also helps organize the Swingin' for Schnur charity golf event each summer, has raised around $22,000 for the ALS Foundation Greater Chicago Chapter with this baseball fundraiser.

He noted that last summer's ALS Ice Bucket Challenge phenomenon was a huge boost for patients overall. Specific to Brian and Lindsay Schnurstein, their 2014 drive on the You Caring website sought $3,100 for a power generator for their home in Portage, Michigan; Brian cannot breathe on his own and a power outage could be fatal. By the end of the donation period, the family had received $22,323 donated by more than 300 supporters.

Schnurstein cannot breathe on his own nor eat on his own, yet remarkably he does what work he can flat on his back for his loyal employer, the Stryker Corporation in Kalamazoo.

"Truly amazing," Brylka said.

So are friends like Brylka for lining up events like Step Up to the Plate.

"It gives the high school kids an understanding of what it means, putting other people before yourself," he said.

doberhelman@dailyherald.com

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