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John Wredling, former St. Charles school leader, dies at 101

John Wredling's passion for the education of St. Charles District 303 students did not end when he retired in 1972.

A true St. Charles icon, he would greet students on the first day of classes each year at Wredling Middle School, named after the man who served as district superintendent from 1968 to 1972. And there were assemblies every year at the school to celebrate his birthday. He was also invited to other assemblies, plays, promotional events and more.

Wredling, 101, died Saturday in his home surrounded by his family, according to a news release from District 303.

"He stood for all that is good about education in St. Charles," St. Charles Mayor Ray Rogina said. "He continued to support education any way he could."

Rogina met Wredling when he was being interviewed for a teaching job at St. Charles High School, shortly before Wredling retired. Rogina said he was amazed to learn that, while visiting with Wredling two years ago, Wredling recalled that interview.

"He was the kindest, gentlest, most professional man," Rogina said.

Rogina also recalled Wredling's continued service to the community, in retirement. "He was always around the community," Rogina said.

Wredling spent 38 years as a professional educator, starting with a three-year stint teaching fifth through eighth grades at Lincoln Elementary School in Aurora.

He grew up in Aurora and graduated from West Aurora High School and Aurora University.

After Lincoln, he took a job in West Virginia. When World War II started he enlisted and was assigned to the Army Air Corps. He served on the crew of a B-17 bomber, stationed out of England.

When he returned, Wredling took a job in Aurora with a Boy Scout council, training troop leaders. Then he worked for the county superintendent's office, before becoming an assistant superintendent in the West Aurora district. In 1958 he joined the St. Charles district.

Lifelong St. Charles resident Steve Martin's school days corresponded almost perfectly with Wredling's tenure as superintendent. Both began walking the halls of the district in 1958, but they didn't cross paths until Martin was in seventh grade.

Wredling was visiting the schools, as he often did, and popped into Martin's art class. Some of Martin's drawings caught Wredling's eye, but Martin never suspected he'd made a huge impression on Wredling.

And yet, every time Martin saw him again as a student, and into his adult life in the community, Wredling never forgot his name.

"I don't know how many students he must have come across in all his time, and yet he remembered me. But the way he was, I wouldn't be surprised if he remembered all of his students. He really took a genuine interest in kids," said Martin, 62, this year's Charlemagne Award winner, the city's highest honor for lifetime achievement.

Wredling didn't retire into anonymity. Martin's own children would get to know Wredling as students when he would return to his namesake building on the first day of school and to celebrate his birthday, every year, with the students.

Wredling was often also the first person to volunteer to march in the city's St. Patrick's Day and Christmas parades, Martin said. That enthusiasm continued well into advanced age.

"Sometimes it can be difficult to get guys to march," said Martin, the son of former alderman Jim Martin and a longtime city volunteer who helps organize the parades. "But Mr. Wredling was always there, and I'm talking well into his 90s. I think he did it because he really thought of St. Charles as his community. He stayed here, and he always took an interest in the city and in the local students."

Wredling was a member and officer in American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars posts in St. Charles. He volunteered at his church, Baker Memorial United Methodist in St. Charles. And he was a member of the Rotary Club in St. Charles. Last year, the club named a scholarship after him.

He was also a longtime Boy Scout leader, including overseeing the merger of three councils in to the Two Rivers Council.

In retirement, he served on the senior services committee for St. Charles Township, as a cashier at the Hi-Hat House resale shop run by the Delnor Hospital auxiliary in Geneva, and tutored children in Aurora. He also enjoyed luncheon meetings with a group called the BOYS Club in Batavia. BOYS stood for Benevolent Order of Youthful Seniors.

He was named the 1997 Charlemagne Award winner by the St. Charles Chamber of Commerce.

At the 1995 dedication of Wredling Middle School, he said he was shocked at the honor.

"You spend years in education, but you never expect a school to be named after you," he said.

Superintendent Don Schlomann said Wredling's continued presence in the district gave him a unique level of comfort and support when he first came to St. Charles' schools in 2009. The fact that the school district and community embraced the naming of a school after Wredling told Schlomann all he needed to know about what was expected of a local school superintendent.

"The things he saw in this community, the growth and the impact that he had on that growth and the direction of this community, that's going to last for a long time," Schlomann said. "His legacy is embedded here."

Funeral arrangements are being made at Moss-Norris Funeral Home, 100 S. Third St., St. Charles.

Wredling leads St. Patrick's Day parade in St. Charles

  John Wredling celebrated his 90th birthday at Wredling Middle School in St. Charles. Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com, 2004
  Former St. Charles schools superintendent John Wredling, a World War II veteran, was active in the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5036. RICK WEST/rwest@dailyherald.com, 2009
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