‘One of the good guys’: Former Elmhurst, Oak Brook elected official Gerald Wolin dies

Oak Brook resident Gerald Wolin is being remembered as a passionate, committed and intelligent civil servant.

Wolin, a former village trustee in Oak Brook who served as an alderman on the Elmhurst City Council before that, died Jan. 17. He was 86.

“He was hard-working and passionate. He did his research, rolled up his sleeves and dug into issues,” Oak Brook Village President Larry Herman said.

“He was a great guy,” added Jacob Margulies, former president of Congregation Etz Chaim in Lombard.

Margulies and Wolin served together around 2010 on a planning committee at the synagogue, where Wolin was a longtime member and a past vice president.

“He was intelligent, competent,” Herman said.

Wolin received a master’s degree in business administration from Harvard in 1963.

An Evans Scholar from Lane Technical High School in his native Chicago, who also studied engineering at the University of Illinois, it was at Harvard where “Jerry” Wolin met his wife, the former Carol Wrubel.

That meeting began a 62-year partnership that produced children Linda, Marcy and Jeff, who gave the Wolins four grandchildren.

Respected for his ethics and listening skills, Wolin used his education to lead sales teams at IBM for 27 years.

After a short-lived retirement, Wolin became an administrator at Waste Management before finishing his career as a consultant.

His business acumen and consideration for the community led him to take leadership positions in both Elmhurst and Oak Brook.

Following the 1987 floods in Elmhurst, Wolin focused his efforts on flood control in the town. That brought him into local government. He served on the Elmhurst City Council from 1991 to 1998.

Later moving to Oak Brook, Wolin served as a village trustee from 2007 to 2015. He remained involved in civic affairs after his time on the board.

“Not everyone always agreed with him, but he did his homework,” said Herman, who knew Wolin before he became a trustee, as a fellow member of Congregation Etz Chaim.

Working with Wolin at the synagogue, Margulies appreciated the older man’s friendliness and mentorship.

“He was one of the ones that stepped up, and I admired him for that,” Margulies said. “Not that I could ever fill his shoes, but it was another thing that kept me going — that I was stepping up. I was following in Jerry’s footsteps.”

Margulies said that Wolin was “always smiling, always helpful” and “always wanted to help people out and to give honest feedback.”

“He’s one of the good guys,” Margulies said.

A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 21, with a reception to follow at Congregation Etz Chaim, 1710 S. Highland Ave.