Businessman and loyal VFW charter member
Members of the color guard at VFW Post 8741 in Libertyville began preparing this week to don their dress uniforms.
On Saturday, they will present the colors, and offer a full military salute at the funeral services of Theodore F. Vanderwerff, a lifelong Libertyville resident who died on Tuesday. He was 88.
Mr. Vanderwerff was a charter member of the post, serving as its first commander when it opened in 1946. At the time, he had returned from serving as a lieutenant in the Army, in the Pacific Theatre during World War II.
"He was a valued member of the post," says Elmer Hoskins, captain of the color guard. "He served as commander twice, from 1946 to 1947, and again from 1956 to 1957. … He was always here. He rarely missed a meeting."
Coming home to Libertyville after the war was a prosperous time for Mr. Vanderwerff. He married LaVerne Obenauf, and joined his father in the family general construction business.
Theodore Vanderwerff Sr. had settled in Libertyville in 1903, leaving behind his home in rural Holland to come with his brothers to this country.
As a carpenter by trade, he started Vanderwerff Construction in 1918, and the firm built many notable buildings, family members say, including the current Harris Bank Building and the Masonic Temple.
When his son joined the company, he started working on the job with tools, but soon moved to the office, estimating and selling jobs, as well as managing job sites.
He took over the company in 1950, and during his tenure it built everything from banks, motels and industrial buildings, to the Libertyville Municipal Building on Cook Avenue, which now houses the Libertyville Police Department and the village's building department. Other projects included a four-story office building next to what was then Palwaukee airport in Wheeling and a five-building complex for International Mineral & Chemical Co. in Mundelein.
In 1974, Mr. Vanderwerff was joined by his own son, Dale. They worked together, just as Mr. Vanderwerff and his father had done, for 13 years until Mr. Vanderwerff retired in 1987.
The company continues to specialize in smaller commercial buildings, including churches, banks, doctors' offices and smaller retail spaces, with buildings erected throughout Lake County, as well as northern Cook and eastern McHenry counties.
Dale Vanderwerff said his father's imprint still remains on the company, more than 20 years after he retired.
"My father was a man of real integrity. What he said, he meant, and that has stuck with me," Dale Vanderwerff says. "Back then, deals were done with a handshake and a good word. Things are different now, but we still remain true to our word."
Mr. Vanderwerff is survived by his children, Marie (Howard) Hesford of Loda, Ill., Joseph (Mary) Vanderwerff of Winnebago, Dale (Terri) Vanderwerff of Libertyville, Tim (Kim) Vanderwerff of Lake Zurich and Lori (Chuck) Sommer of Libertyville, as well as 12 grandchildren and five great grandchildren.
Visitation will take place from 3:30-8 p.m. Friday at McMurrough Funeral Chapel, Ltd., 101 Park Place in Libertyville, before a 1 p.m. funeral Mass on Saturday at St. Joseph Church, 121 E. Maple St. in Libertyville.