Quilt of Valor shows gratitude for Naperville's Pradel

Gratitude came in the form of a quilt Thursday for Naperville Mayor Emeritus George Pradel.

Pradel became the 14th veteran recognized by the Rotary Club of Naperville with his own Quilt of Valor, an award crafted by volunteers with a national nonprofit organization that creates blankets to recognize veterans for their service.

"I thank you for this quilt," Pradel told club members. "I'll take good care of it and I'll honor it for the rest of my life. Thank you very much for being here and being who you are. You're all my brothers and sisters."

Rotary club member and Community Service Director Alma Jones brought the idea to the group after she heard how touching it was for one of her high school teachers in Kansas to receive his own Quilt of Valor.

The Rotary awarded the majority of the 14 quilts Nov. 3 in a ceremony in time for Veterans Day. But Pradel, battling a type of cancer called multiple myeloma, wasn't feeling well at the time, Jones said.

By Thursday, Pradel, 79, was feeling more like his jolly, bubbly self in time to receive the award at a Rotary luncheon at Meson Sabika.

"I am proud to be up here with these veterans," he said. "They deserve the honor because they served our country. They made it safe for us that we might be able to have peace in our country."

His response, like the responses of the 13 other Naperville veterans to receive a quilt before him, was "an emotional reaction of gratitude," Jones said.

The gratitude goes both ways, as the volunteers who make the quilts, and the Rotarians who arranged for their distribution, want to share their thanks to everyone who has served, Jones said.

"The recognition is very heartfelt from a very grateful group of people," Jones said. "It is such a heartfelt, handcrafted piece of all of the folks that come together to make that quilt."

Pradel served in the Marines before becoming a police officer in his hometown and later became known as Officer Friendly. He parlayed his popularity as a police officer into a post as mayor in Naperville for 20 years from 1995 to 2015.

Other Rotarian veterans to receive a Quilt of Valor in Naperville include Ed Channell, Cliff Crone, Pete Ellman, Dick Galitz, Roger Iliff, Leo Lesage, Ron Ory, Marlin Reishus, John Robbins, Jim Rothermel, John Sims, Frank Slocumb and Richard Stompanato.

These men join 152,617 veterans nationwide who have received a Quilt of Valor since November 2003.