Fox River Grove official dies of cancer

The village of Fox River Grove has once again seen the loss of a valued administrator.

Officials announced Monday that Building and Zoning Superintendent Curt Ulrich passed away Saturday morning after a battle with cancer.

Ulrich worked for the village since 1987, reviewing development plans, inspecting buildings and processing zoning requests.

He was one of the few officials in the state to become a Master Building Code Official, according to a village statement, and was instrumental in the village reaching an office building code effectiveness grading classification of 2 - one of only nine communities in the state to achieve the standard.

Village Administrator Art Osten, who worked with Ulrich for more than a decade, called his colleague a "team player ... a good worker and an outstanding gentleman."

Fox River Grove Village President Katherine "Kay" Laube passed away in September.

"It's quite a shock," Osten said of losing two officials in less than six months. "This is a small community, and this kind of news naturally kind of reverberates."

Visitation for Ulrich will be from 4-9 p.m. Wednesday at Davenport Funeral Home, 419 E. Terra Cotta Ave. in Crystal Lake. Instead of flowers, gifts to the Curt Ulrich Memorial Education fund can be made at Harris Bank in Cary.