Longtime Glen Ellyn resident wanted to give back

Jack Webster was not the type of person to sit on the sidelines.

"He wanted to be involved," said Webster's wife, Judy, on Saturday. "It was important to him to give back where he could."

Webster, a 47-year Glen Ellyn resident, died May 22 at the age of 80 after a battle with cancer. A visitation is scheduled for Friday at the Leonard Memorial Home, 565 Duane St., Glen Ellyn.

Webster left his mark on a host of civic organizations in and around Glen Ellyn. He served on the board of directors of Glen Ellyn Kiwanis. He was a deacon at First Presbyterian Church of Glen Ellyn. He served the Glen Ellyn Public Library in the 1980s as a member of its board of trustees, and more recently with the Glen Ellyn Library Foundation, a fundraising group.

He also was a longtime volunteer with the Mended Hearts organization at Central DuPage Hospital, a group that provides support and education services to heart-disease patients.

"That group meant a lot to him, because he'd gone through two open-heart surgeries," Judy Webster said. "He knew what other patients were feeling."

Work was another big part of Webster's life. He founded the Webster-Hoff Corp. in Glendale Heights in 1970. The company manufactures and sells powdered metal parts all over the United States and in Europe.

Judy Webster said her husband viewed his employees at Webster-Hoff as another family.

"He knew everyone's name over there and still visited the plant regularly until he became really ill a month or so ago," she said.

Though he was born in California and spent years living in Ohio, Glen Ellyn was the place he always considered home, Judy Webster said.

"He really loved this community. We raised our kids here, and two of our grandkids have grown up here. There was a point where the company he used to work for wanted to transfer him, and he said no. Glen Ellyn was truly his home."

Friday's visitation will run from 4 to 7 p.m., and a memorial service will be held at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at First Presbyterian Church, 550 N. Main St. In addition to his wife, Webster is survived by three children and seven grandchildren.