‘True gentleman and patriot:’ Bloomingdale mourns loss of longtime volunteer

Marvin Roehlke loved Bloomingdale and was deeply committed to serving it in various ways, including as a volunteer with the police department.

“He was a true gentleman and a patriot. He served our country and our community with great dedication,” the village’s public safety director, Frank Giammarese, said Friday.

Roehlke, 91, died Thursday morning as the result of a car crash in Glendale Heights. His wife, who was also injured, remains hospitalized, according to a village news release.

The crash occurred around 1:30 p.m. Wednesday on the 2000 block of Glen Ellyn Road, just south of Army Trail Road. Roehlke, who was driving, turned left out of a private drive and was hit. Roehlke’s car spun and rolled over, according to Glendale Heights police.

“Marvin was a very good man with a big heart. Our condolences go out to his family, friends and loved ones,” Glendale Heights Police Chief George Pappas said.

Roehlke was a military police officer with the Army during the Korean War. He moved his family to Bloomingdale in 1962, according to the village.

He was a part-time police officer in Bloomingdale in 1963 and 1964.

Roehlke worked for AT&T. At the same time, he served almost 12 years on the Bloomingdale District 13 school board, including a six-year stint as president.

He participated for many years in the Neighborhood Watch program and was a longtime member of the Lions Club and the American Legion, according to the village.

In 1999, he started volunteering with the police department as its senior volunteer program coordinator. According to a 2017 announcement from the village, he gave over 17,000 hours of service to the department. He received an Illinois TRIAD Senior Citizen Volunteer award for his work.

He stepped down a few years ago, Giammarese said. But he was still interested in what was going on.

“He would give me advice in his later years by sending me letters ‒ the old-school way of communication ‒ very formal, and I always accepted them with a smile. He will be missed,” Giammarese said.

In 2017, the village named the street on which he lived “Honorary Marv Roehlke Lane” in his honor.